USWNT drawn into tough group for Olympic tournament in Brazil
The United States women's national team has learned who the first opponents standing between them and a fourth consecutive Olympic gold medal in Rio de Janeiro will be this summer. The Lady Yanks were drawn into Group G – which is actually just the third of three women's groups … don't ask – with France, New Zealand and Colombia.
Strictly speaking, it was a tough draw in the sense that the Americans, seeded in Pot 1 as the defending champions and highest-ranked team in the world, were put in a group that also included the top-seeded teams in Pots 2 (France) and 4 (Colombia). Only New Zealand, ranked lowest in Pot 3, wasn't a top seed.
That said, the Americans are heavily favored to win a fifth gold medal in the sixth Olympic women's soccer tournament ever staged. (In 2000, the U.S. won silver.) And all the opponents will be underdogs when they face the 2015 Women's World Cup winners. The U.S. beat France in the 2011 World Cup semifinals and in the group stage of the 2012 Olympics in London. The French have never beaten the Americans in 16 contests, losing 14 of those.
The other sides in Group G aren't expected to fare much better. The Americans are 10-1-1 against New Zealand – losing only in their first-ever matchup in 1987 in Taiwan. Colombia, meanwhile, fell to the U.S. in the last two World Cups – in the group stage and the round of 16, respectively – and took a cumulative 10-0 beating over two friendlies earlier this month.
The USA will open against New Zealand in Belo Horizonte on Aug. 3 and take on France in the same venue three days later. On Aug. 9, they will conclude the group stage against Colombia in Manaus – deep in the Amazon – where the U.S. men played Portugal in the 2014 World Cup. (The Olympic soccer tournament will be spread across all of Brazil in six cities.)
If the Americans, as expected, win their group, they will face a third-place finisher from Group E or F, which consist of Brazil, China, Sweden and South Africa; and Canada, Australia, Zimbabwe and Germany, respectively. Japan, finalists in the last two Women's World Cups and the 2012 Olympics, did not qualify.
But the U.S.'s biggest challenge to more Olympic glory is expected to come off the field. Several U.S. players, the most vocal being star goalkeeper Hope Solo, have expressed concern about the Zika virus, which remains uncontained and can cause birth defects in pregnant women. Meanwhile, the players and the United States Soccer Federation are battling through contentious negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, a labor war that escalated further when the players filed a federal gender discrimination complaint.
The Olympic women's gold medal match will be played in Rio at Maracana Stadium on Aug. 19.
Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer columnist for Yahoo Sports. Follow him on Twitter @LeanderAlphabet.
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