The summer of soccer continues!
After the U.S. Men’s National Team lost its opening match of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games to France on Wednesday, the USWNT began its Olympic journey on Thursday against Zambia.
Right when the match kicked off, the Americans controlled the pace, cruised to a 3-0 lead, and held on until the final whistle.
The USWNT is in Group B alongside Zambia, Germany, and Australia. Entering the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, the USWNT is the favorite to bring home the gold medal with +160 odds. A storied national team, they’ve won gold four times at the Olympic games (1996, 2004, 2008, and 2012).
Now led by former Chelsea FC manager Emma Hayes, the Americans look a bit different going into the Olympics compared to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, but they remain favorites to win gold.
Here is how Thursday’s match unfolded:
USWNT vs. Zambia
The Americans pounced on Zambia right after kickoff. Creating countless chances in the opening minutes, it wasn’t until the 17′ when Trinity Rodman opened the scoring. Rodman took a pass from Lindsey Horan and a clean touch inside the box set her up for a one-on-one against Zambia’s keeper, and she buried the attempt for her first-ever Olympic goal.
In the 23′, Mallory Swanson doubled her country’s lead for her first-ever Olympic goal. Horan, with the setup again, found Swanson with a perfect pass in the box after breaking through Zambia’s defense and then beating the keeper.
Just 70 seconds later, Swanson tripled the lead for the Americans. This time, Sophia Smith found Swanson using her blistering pace into the box and set her up for an easy goal.
After Swanson’s second goal, Zambia would go down to 10 players after Pauline Zulu was shown a red card following a tackle that denied a goal-scoring opportunity.
In the second half, the Americans could not extend their lead further, but Hayes did make multiple substitutions. Smith left before the end of the first 45 minutes and was replaced by Lynn Williams.
At the start of the half, Korbin Albert was subbed on for Rose Lavelle. In the final 25 minutes, Rodman, Horan, and Swanson were all subbed off. Emily Sonnett, Jenna Nighswonger, and Casey Krueger were brought on.
The dominance that was seen from USWNT during the first 45 minutes wasn’t seen much in the following half. Despite a slower second half, the Americans pummeled Zambia in shots at the end of 90 minutes, 27-8, although only eight of those shots were actually on goal.
The Americans will walk away satisfied with three points claimed in their tournament opener and find themselves tied for first in their group with Germany.
Group B Standings:
Germany: 3 points, +3 goal difference
United States: 3 points, +3 goal difference
Australia: 0 points, -3 goal difference
Zambia: 0 points, -3 goal difference
Up Next
The USWNT will take on Germany this Saturday at 3:00 p.m. EDT in Marseille.
