PREVIEW: USWNT Takes on Australia in Bronze Medal Match At Tokyo 2020

Playing in its seventh Olympic, the USA looks to capture its sixth Olympic medal overall. The USA already leads the all-time women’s Olympic soccer medal charts with four golds and one silver. The next closest nation is Germany – who did not qualify for Tokyo 2020 – with four total medals. 

While the USA will be playing in its first bronze medal match in Olympic history, the USWNT has played in three third-place games in its World Cup history, defeating China PR, 2-0, in 1995, defeating Canada, 3-1, in 2003 and Norway, 4-1, in 2007. 

The bronze medal match against Australia will be a rematch of the USA’s final group stage game, a 0-0 draw against the Matildas on July 27. Despite the scoreless draw, the results were enough to send both teams through to the quarterfinals, with the USA finishing second in Group G and Australia third. 

Sweden and Canada will meet in the gold medal match at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium at 11 a.m. local on August 6/10 p.m. ET on August 5. 

Fans will also be able to follow the action via Twitter (@USWNT), Instagram (@USWNT), Facebook and the official U.S. Soccer App. 

USWNT OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER ROSTER BY POSITION (CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 22-Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 5), 18-Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 7), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 78)
DEFENDERS (7): 17-Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City, ENG; 74/0), 12-Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 38/1), 2-Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC; 121/24), 20-Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars; 35/0), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 144/2), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 192/0), 14-Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 57/0)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 8-Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 115/20), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 103/23), 16-Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 61/15), 19-Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 8/1), 6-Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash; 28/4), 3-Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage; 82/24) 
FORWARDS (6): 7-Tobin Heath (Unattached; 176/35), 10-Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 311/126), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 185/111), 11-Christen Press (Unattached; 154/64), 15-Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 184/59), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage; 40/12)

LET’S RUN IT BACK

The group stage matchup between the USA and Australia ended in a scoreless draw despite the USA creating the better chances from the run of play. Alex Morgan threatened first for the USA when she split the defense on a nice counterattacking run inside the first 10 minutes but Australia goalkeeper Teagan Micah saved her shot. The Matildas created some danger on set plays, a few throw-ins and a number of corner kicks, but the USA almost totally shut down the Aussies from the run of play while keeping star striker Sam Kerr under wraps for most of the night. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher did have to make one tough save, leaping to push a header off the crossbar in 18th minute. The U.S. was the only team to put the ball in the net on the night, nearly opening the scoring on a corner kick. After forward Megan Rapinoe played short to right back Kelley O’Hara on the right side, she swung a ball into the box which Morgan met just outside the six-yard box and sent a clinical header into the back of the net. The assistant referee raised the flag and after an extended VAR review it was deemed that Morgan was offside by mere inches, perhaps the closest of the USA’s nine disallowed goals in the tournament.

 NAEHER OUT OF BRONZE MEDAL GAME

U.S. Women’s National Team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher suffered a hyperextension of her right knee and a bone contusion when she landed awkwardly in the 22nd minute while contesting a cross on Aug. 2 in the Olympic semifinal match. She tried to stay in the game, and did so for eight more minutes, but then had to be subbed off. Naeher had an MRI following the game which showed no ligament damage, but she will not be available for the bronze medal match on Aug. 5 vs. Australia in Kashima, Japan. She will likely be sidelined for several weeks.

INSIDE THE SERIES: USA vs. AUSTRALIA

The USA has played Australia 31 times overall, with four previous meetings at world championship events – two draws at the Olympics and two victories for the USA at the World Cup. 

The USA leads the all-time series between the teams, 26-1-4 and while the two countries first met in 1987, Australia only beat the USA for the first time on June 27, 2018, a 1-0 victory in Seattle, Washington. The teams tied 1-1 on June 29, 2018, in East Hartford, Connecticut, but the USA picked up a rousing win in the most recent meeting prior to the Olympics, a 5-3 triumph on April 4, 2019, in Commerce City, Colorado. Alex Morgan scored her 100th international goal, Mallory Pugh tallied a brace in front of her hometown crowd, and Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath added goals of their own in a thrilling matchup that also saw the USA erase a 2-1 deficit.

Over its last four games with Australia, the USA has a record of 1-1-2 and all four matches have been decided by two goals or fewer.

LLOYD CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAP CHARTS

Forward Carli Lloyd is by far the most experienced player on the roster with 311 caps and is now tied with Christie Pearce Rampone for the second-most ever caps in USWNT history. With her next appearance for the USWNT, the 39-year-old Lloyd will take sole possession of the second-most caps in international soccer history, trailing only her former teammate and USWNT legend Kristine Lilly, who amassed 354 caps in her international career. 

Should Lloyd see time in the bronze medal game against Australia, it would give her 22 career appearances at the Olympics, tying Pearce Rampone for the most Olympic caps in USWNT history.

ALL OLYMPIANS

On June 30, the International Olympic Committee agreed to a more flexible approach towards the participation of the alternate players in the Olympic Football Tournaments, ruling that all participating countries were entitled, if they choose, to reconstitute their teams ahead of every match. This means that while each team must still only have 18 players on its game day roster for each Olympic match, teams now can choose those 18 from a total of 22 players – the original 18 named to the Olympic Team plus the four named alternates, who became members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team. The IOC made it clear that this is an exception made only for the Tokyo 2020 Games and does not create a precedent for future Olympics.

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Lydia Williams (Arsenal, ENG), 18-Teagan Micah (Sandviken, NOR), 22-Mackenzie Arnold (West Ham United, ENG)  
DEFENDERS (7): 4-Clare Polkinghorne (Vittsjo GIK, SWE), 14-Alanna Kennedy (Tottenham, ENG), 7-Steph Catley (Arsenal, ENG), 12-Ellie Carpenter (Lyon, FRA), 19-Courtney Nevin (Western Sydney Wanderers), 20-Charlotte Grant (Rosengard, Sweden), 21-Laura Brock (Guingamp, FRA)
MIDFIELDERS (6): 3-Kyra Cooney-Cross (Melbourne Victory), 5-Aivi Luik (Sevilla, ESP), 6-Chloe Logarzo (Kansas City, USA), 8-Elise Kellond-Knight (Hammarby, SWE), 10-Emily van Egmond (Unattached), 13-Tameka Yallop (West Ham United, ENG)
FORWARDS (6): 2-Sam Kerr (Chelsea, ENG), 9-Caitlin Foord (Arsenal, ENG), 11-Mary Fowler (Montpellier, FRA), 15-Emily Gielnik (Vittsjo GIK, SWE), 16-Hayley Raso (Everton, ENG), 17-Kyah Simon (PSV, NED)

AUSTRALIA ROSTER NOTES