Being defending world and Olympic champions is a tough spot to be in, but the United States women’s national soccer team has handled it perfectly so far at Rio 2016. After beating a very good France team in their last match, they’re heavily favored in their final group game against Colombia, and should rest several star players.
United States vs. Colombia, Olympics 2016: Time, TV schedule and team news
The Americans are expected to give their stars some rest after passing their toughest test over the weekend.
John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports
The match gets underway just after 6 p.m. ET from Manaus. You can watch on TV in English on NBCSN and in Spanish on NBC Universo. The game is also streaming online live on NBCOlympics.com.
While the Americas are cruising towards the medal rounds, this has been a tough tournament so far for Colombia, who have been unable to re-create their form from the World Cup. Some star Colombian players have had a dispute with the federation in the time since. They’ve been convinced to return to the team, but Yoreli Rincón, arguably the team’s best player, is missing this tournament with an injury.
What’s at stake?
The Americans already know that they’re through to the quarterfinals, and it’s possible they could finish first in Group G even with a loss. A draw will guarantee them first place and the right to face a third-placed team in the next round. However, that might not be an easy matchup -- one of Germany or Australia could end up as the third-placed team the Americans have to face.
Colombia has not been eliminated yet, but they need both a win and help. If they pulled off an upset win, hey’d need for Australia to fail to beat Zimbabwe or for China vs. Sweden to not end in a draw. In the second scenario, they’d also need to make up goal differential.
Key player: Christen Press
We’re going out on a limb here. The Olympics is a brutal tournament with a lot of games bunched close together, and this is the best chance the USWNT is going to get to rotate heavily. Expect everyone who hasn’t gotten a start yet to see the field if they’re fit to play.
Press fits into both categories, and she’s unfortunate to be behind so many great players. She’s been excellent as the center forward and attacking midfielder when either Alex Morgan or Carli Lloyd has been out injured, so she’ll be expected to get on the scoreboard no matter where she starts against Colombia.
Match date: Tuesday, Aug. 9
Match Time: 6 p.m. ET
Venue: Arena da Amazonia, Manaus, Brazil
TV: NBCSN
Online: NBCOlympics.com (U.S.)
