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Women’s Olympic soccer starts Wednesday as the USWNT takes on New Zealand
What you need to know as the tournament gets underway.
Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
The opening ceremonies of the Olympics aren’t until Friday, but the games get started on Wednesday with the women’s soccer tournament. All 12 teams are in action, with games getting underway at noon. You can find a full schedule here.
Since winning the World Cup, the United States women’s national team has changed dramatically. They’ll be trotting out some new stars that didn’t feature in Canada last year. Their opening game is at 6 p.m. ET against New Zealand on NBCSN. Here’s what you need to know and how to watch.
Goal of the day
This Australian cup stoppage time winner from 40 yards.
In the news
Hey look, AC Milan probably isn’t getting sold! (Football Italia)
The Nigerian men’s national team’s flight to Rio is being held up. They play on Thursday. (Guardian)
Mohamed Salah has officially moved from Chelsea to Roma permanently. (Chelsea FC)
Leicester City announced the signing of young Polish winger Bartosz Kaputska. (Leicester City)
Luciano Vietto has moved from Atlético Madrid to Sevilla. (@SevillaFC_EN)
Wonderkid Marco Asensio is going to stay at Real Madrid instead of going on another loan. (Marca)
Mark Clattenburg has tattoos of the trophies of the finals he’s refereed. (Telegraph)
Seattle center back Roman Torres is back to full training after tearing his ACL. (MLS)
You should be reading
Carrie Dunn on Marta, who probably has one last chance to lead Brazil to a major title as their dominant superstar. (Guardian)
Bhavya Dore on FC St. Pauli, Germany’s far-left activist pro club. (Unusual Efforts)
Adam Hurrey on the wonderful history of goal-mouth scrambles. (The Set Pieces)
From the rumor mill
Please don’t take anything in this section too seriously, for your own sanity.
Paul Pogba freaked everyone out by telling a fan outside a hotel in New York that he's staying at Juventus. (Mirror)
Reports from Riyad Mahrez’s native Algeria say he’ll sign for Arsenal. (Le Buteur)
Real Madrid might loan some young players to Newcastle to get Moussa Sissoko. (Guardian)
The door is open at Bayern Munich for Bastian Schweinsteiger to return. (Sky Sports)
Jese looks set to move from Real Madrid to PSG. (Marca)
Piotr Zielinski is expected to have a medical at Napoli soon ahead of his move from Udinese. (Football Italia)
Julian Draxler wants out of Wolfsburg, and is talking to Arsenal and Juventus. (Bild)
What to watch on Wednesday (click for listings, all times ET)
Women’s Olympic soccer: Six games (from 12 p.m.) -- The early match between South Africa and Sweden should be good. Canada-Australia is likely the best game of the day.
International Champions Cup: Three games (from 2 p.m.) -- Some of Europe’s biggest teams play their final overseas preseason games.
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