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Olympic Soccer 2021: TV Schedule, Live Stream and Times for Matchday 3
July 25, 2021
Matchday 3 of the men's and women's Olympic Games soccer tournaments will have plenty of drama, with spots in the final eight on the line.
In the women's draw, the eight knockout-round qualifiers from the 12 teams in the group stage are clear, but the order in which the squads finish in their respective groups is still up in the air.
The United States women's national team will likely finish second in its group with a win over Australia because of Sweden's two Group G victories.
An USWNT win would set up an intriguing dynamic in Group F, from which the Netherlands or Brazil would have to face the U.S. in the quarterfinals.
Wednesday's matches in the men's draw will be more tense since only the top two teams from each group advance to the knockout phase.
Japan is the only one of 16 teams to win both of its group-stage contests. Every team in Group B has three points, and three teams in Groups C and D have at least one win.
Olympics Soccer Matchday 3 Schedule
Tuesday, July 27 (Women's Soccer)
New Zealand vs. Sweden (4 a.m. ET)
United States vs. Australia (4 a.m. ET, USA Network)
Chile vs. Japan (7 a.m. ET, NBC Universo)
Canada vs. Great Britain (7 a.m. ET)
Netherlands vs. China (7:30 a.m. ET)
Brazil vs. Zambia (7:30 a.m. ET, Telemundo)
All games can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com and NBC Sports app.
Great Britain and Sweden secured two of the eight spots in the quarterfinals by winning both of their first two group-stage games.
Team GB shut out Japan and Chile to move on top of Group E ahead of its clash against Canada, which is also in a good position to progress. Canada snagged four points from its first two games and needs one more to secure its place in the final eight.
The success of Great Britain and Canada put Japan in a precarious position, but the good news for the host nation is it faces group minnow Chile in its final group-stage game. If Japan defeats Chile, it should make the quarterfinals. Four points should be enough for any third-place team to move on.
The third-place teams in Groups E and G should be aided by the lopsided matchups that conclude the Group F slate.
Brazil and the Netherlands, the two group favorites, respectively take on China and Zambia on Tuesday. China and Zambia combined to concede 23 goals in their first two matches.
If both favored sides win in Group F, the third-place teams from Groups E and G will qualify as long as Japan beats Chile.
At the moment, the Netherlands hold a two-goal advantage on Brazil atop Group F. But it may not be ideal for either team to win the group since the United States or Australia will await it in the final eight.
In Group G, Sweden needs a win or draw to secure first place and a meeting with one of the two third-place teams in the quarterfinals. Sweden should defeat a New Zealand side that is viewed as the weakest in the group. The Football Ferns let up six goals to the United States on Saturday.
The United States and Australia will be playing for second place. The loser of that match will qualify as a third-place team, barring a handful of unlikely results in the other groups.
The Americans should have enough attacking firepower to beat the Matildas, but they must be aware of the threat posed by Sam Kerr. She has 45 international goals and has found the back of the net on three occasions in Japan. If she works between the space in the U.S. defense, Australia could cause some problems.
The USWNT defense let in four goals in its first two games in Tokyo, and if the defensive lapses are not fixed, Kerr could strike again.
However, the Golden Boot may already be out of reach for Kerr. Vivianne Miedema of the Netherlands has six goals in two games.
Wednesday, July 28 (Men's Soccer)
Saudi Arabia vs. Brazil (4 a.m. ET, NBC Universo)
Germany vs. Ivory Coast (4 a.m. ET, NBCSN)
Romania vs. New Zealand (4:30 a.m. ET)
South Korea vs. Honduras (4:30 a.m. ET, Telemundo)
Spain vs. Argentina (7 a.m. ET, NBC Universo)
Australia vs. Egypt (7 a.m. ET)
South Africa vs. Mexico (7:30 a.m. ET, Telemundo)
Japan vs. France (7:30 a.m. ET, NBCSN)
Group A has the easiest dynamic to figure out when it comes to knockout-stage qualification.
Japan has six points and could be in good shape to qualify even if it loses to France, which sits in third place.
The host nation comes into Matchday 3 with a plus-two goal differential. France would need to beat Japan by three goals to make up the difference and put the host nation's chances of progression in jeopardy.
France put four goals past South Africa on Sunday, but it failed to contain the Mexico attack in its opening game. El Tri scored four times in the second half on Thursday. Mexico should be in good shape to advance with a win against South Africa, which conceded five times in its two defeats.
South Africa is technically still alive in Group A, but it would need to make up a massive goal difference with a victory, and it needs Japan to beat France in order to move on.
Group B will be filled with drama. South Korea, Honduras, New Zealand and Romania all have three points, and there is little separating them.
South Korea leads the group with a plus-three goal differential from its 4-0 trouncing of Romania on Sunday. On Matchday 3, South Korea faces a Honduras side that put three goals past New Zealand in its second game. New Zealand and Romania square off in the other match.
In Group C, Spain and Argentina square off in a showdown of international powerhouses with maybe one knockout-round spot on the line.
Spain leads Group C with four points. Argentina is tied with Australia on three points and needs to better the Socceroos' result because of its head-to-head loss on Matchday 1. Australia has the easiest matchup on paper against Egypt, so a draw against Spain likely will not be enough for Argentina to get through.
Germany and Ivory Coast will be under the Group D microscope on Matchday 3 since the winner of that match will go through alongside Brazil.
Brazil is expected to beat Saudi Arabia and top the group with seven points. A draw between Germany and Ivory Coast would put the African nation through to the final eight. Germany needs a win to progress.