4 players you should be watching in women’s Olympic soccer

Even though the Women’s World Cup was just a year ago, some new stars have popped up on the teams contending for Olympic medals. These four athletes might be unfamiliar to American or casual women’s soccer audiences, but could be absolutely crucial for their countries at the 2016 Summer Olympics. They’re all on teams that could conceivably make deep runs in the tournament as well and are, despite their youth, already experienced at the senior level.

This next generation of young female footballers transitioned from youth development to senior team in the era beginning with the 2011 World Cup, when the technical development of the women’s game really started to leap forward and reap the benefits of investment over the previous cycle. They should all be part of an interesting 2015­-to-2019 cycle that will see transition for many of the top teams as players like Marta, Carli Lloyd, Anja Mittag, Camille Abily, and Christine Sinclair start to wind down their storied careers.

Andressa Alves has a lot of things in her plus column going for her: She’s relatively young at 23, but she’s been learning at Marta’s feet for a couple of years now; she’s a forward who’s capable of working hard on the defensive side of the ball; she can play left or right side of the field; she’s got that confident attacking flair that lets her take defenders one-on-one. And her connection with Marta might run near the top of the list for importance.

Like all great players, Marta draws a huge amount of defensive attention, making it crucial for her to have the right strike partner. Alves fills that role, using her off­ the ball movement and timing to wander into the spaces that Marta leaves behind. It’s already paid off in these games, with Alves scoring against China off a quick Marta assist.

Alves drifts from the Chinese back line as they all focus on Marta settling the ball, knowing the centering ball is coming. Also, she sometimes does stuff like this for fun.

At only 21, Kennedy is a key member of Australia’s defense as one of their center backs. But as part of Australia’s “early and often” investment in youth players, Kennedy got capped for the senior Matildas as a teenager and is already sitting on 45 caps. She’s already had a lot of responsibility for a young player, something we saw perhaps get to her in Australia’s opener against Canada, when she and Laura Alleway got caught pressing high and gave up the fastest goal in women’s Olympic soccer history.

Now as Australia faces Germany, it’s more crucial than ever for Kennedy to play up to her true potential. If Kennedy can avoid errors like the one she had against Canada — which, to be fair, was something she did for long stretches in that game -— that will do wonders for the team moving forward. Her versatility is important to Australia too; Kennedy can play midfield or push up as needed.

Check out this goal against Vietnam.­ The initial run to step and intercept the ball at the edge of Vietnam’s defensive third is great.

Of course, Vietnam is no Germany, and there probably won’t be the same space in midfield for Kennedy to go HAM like that, but it demonstrates her vision and awareness, both of which could be crucial in springing players from deep and utilizing Australia’s bevy of speedy attackers.

Lawrence just turned 21 in June and is part of John Herdman’s efforts to start turning over an aging Canadian roster. She’s been shifted around a little bit, going from midfield to left fullback, and is now part of a much calmer and more organized Canadian defense than the one we saw at the World Cup. Lawrence’s attacking instincts and speed also serve her well in that position in helping to push forward along the left, which could be part of attempts to overload on that side. Her usual counterpart on the right, Rhian Wilkinson, does her best to create overlaps and make runs, but she’s more of a stay ­at ­home defender who is slowing with age.

Lawrence was a real bright spot for a Canadian team that struggled last summer, and though there were hopes she might establish herself as part of Canada’s attacking corps in a way that links up more directly with Christine Sinclair, her value for Canada as a fullback is tremendous. Lawrence adds another tool to Canada’s attacking capabilities, something the team has sometimes struggled with, especially if Sinclair is having an off day or is dealing with an injury, but at the same time can be relied on defensively to track back and to not give away fouls in dangerous areas.

Another young attacking fullback at 21, Griedge Mbock plays on the left for France and has had a very good career in France’s youth system. She’s got a nice first touch, some cheeky skills on the ball, and can send good service into the box after leaping up the side of the field or creating impressive give-and-gos.

In this video you can see her pick up the ball behind the halfway line, then outrace two players to the 18-yard box, look up, and center it on the ground, leading to a goal. She knows how to stay calm under pressure and is fine working with longtime French stalwart Wendie Renard, helping to keep the French back line coherent. She can shift centrally if she has to but she’s best out on the wings, hitting it left­ or right-­footed for the likes of Euginie Le Sommer or Marie Laure Delie.

Every women’s Olympic team is in action on Saturday, August 6, and again to wrap up the group stage on Tuesday, August 9. The quarterfinals are on August 12, the semifinals on August 16, and the medal matches are on August 19. You can find TV listings for your country here, and in the United States, you can stream all of the matches on NBCOlympics.com.