The United States women’s national team met expectations in their first two matches at Rio 2016, defeating New Zealand and France. But against Colombia in their final group stage game, they stumbled, drawing 2-2 as legendary goalkeeper Hope Solo made two uncharacteristic errors. They’ll need to bounce back in the Olympic quarterfinal on Friday against Sweden and former USWNT coach Pia Sundhage.
USA vs. Sweden 2016, Olympic soccer: Time, TV schedule and team news for USWNT
The American women are expected to beat Sweden to get to the medal rounds.
The game kicks off at noon ET, and you can watch it on NBCSN, as well as online at NBCOlympics.com.
Going into that match against Colombia, the Americans knew that they only needed a draw to win the group, so they rested some stars. Tobin Heath, Meghan Klingenberg and Julie Johnston all sat out the entire game, while Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd only played one half each. Jill Ellis also used the game as an opportunity to get 30 minutes for Megan Rapinoe, who’s returning from an ACL tear and a calf injury suffered during her rehab.
Sweden was extremely disappointing in the group stage. They got crushed by Brazil and only managed a 0-0 draw against China, but scraped third place in the group by defeating South Africa 1-0 in their opener, where they conceded just as many good chances as they created. While Sweden has been a medal threat in the past, they haven’t been very good since Sundhage took over as coach, and a win for them would be an enormous upset.
Key player: Carli Lloyd
Hey, it's a knockout stage game in a major tournament after all. This is where Lloyd scores goals. Though she managed to get off to a quick start this time around, scoring twice in the group stage. In any event, she'll be playing as the most advanced midfielder for the United States, and she'll be expected to contribute to a goal.
Key matchup: Morgan Brian vs. Caroline Seger
If Sweden is going to stop disappointing and start playing up to their potential, Seger has to be the player to get them going. She's been the Swedes' most creative midfielder over the last decade, but she's had trouble getting on the ball in dangerous positions during this tournament. She needs to do that on Friday, and Brian needs to stop her.
Match date/time: Friday, noon ET
Venue: Mane Garrincha National Stadium, Brasilia, Brazil
TV: NBCSN (U.S.), Viasat, TV3 (Sweden)
Online: NBCOlympics.com
