LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, TRINITÉ: THE USA ARE IN THE OLYMPIC SEMIFINALS 🇺🇲

It’s August 4th. Give us four minutes, we give you everything The Women’s Game at the Olympics.

Good morning, TWG readers! I hope you’re all enjoying a coffee and catching up on other Olympic sports today. I watched Chen Ming win the women’s table tennis gold medal match against her own teammate and it was one of the most intense battles I’ve seen so far in this Olympics! 

Luckily for us, the USWNT keeps winning so we are back in action on Tuesday for our semifinal against Germany, a rematch from the group stage game we won 4-1. Thanks to an extra time left foot banger from Trinity Rodman (all hail!) we are moving on and are guaranteed the opportunity to compete for an Olympic medal. 

The performance left something to be desired at times- we did a lot of safe passing around the back as Japan sat deep in an organized low block. But at stage, winning is what matters and we go again. 

After the Japan game, I went live with 1999 World Cup Champion Brandi Chastain to break everything down. That is available right now on our YouTube channel and as a podcast. Tomorrow we’ll be dropping a preview podcast about the semifinal with Viv Miedema, which I cannot wait for you all to hear. After the semifinal, we’re live again with Midge Purce to break down the game in real time. Last time Midge was on, she blessed us with Midge’s Fashion Minute so you better believe we’ll be asking for that again.

Thank you all so much for being here! Your support this tournament has been immense and so meaningful to me. I love hearing from you all so send me an email at [email protected]. You can follow along with us on social at womensgamemib on IG, Twitter, Tiktok, and Threads.

Love,

Sam

PS. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram where we are living every emotion with you, as if we are sitting on your couch watching the games, side by side. 

I. LIBERTÉ, ÉGALITÉ, TRINITÉ: THE USA ARE IN THE OLYMPIC SEMIFINALS 🇺🇲🇯🇵

a. Despite fatigue and Japan’s seemingly impenetrable setup, which presented a true grinding test for the USWNT at the Parc des Princes this Saturday, a moment of magical improvised wonder saved the day. In the 105th minute of the game, 22-year-old Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman collected a visionary pass from indispensable team veteran Crystal Dunn, and whipped in the match-winner. To quote Rodman after the game: "I kind of blacked out. That's the best moment in my career...The last thing I remember is Crystal playing it, and then I was just like, 'Ahhhhhhhhh............!!'" 

b. While the U.S. dominated 71% of possession throughout the match (and 78% in the first half), their passing patterns often seemed to lack purpose as they failed to penetrate effectively in the final third. Hayes’ team has faced multiple low blocks in recent weeks— including in their 2-1 win over Australia and a 0-0 send off friendly against Costa Rica— but Saturday’s challenge felt more precarious than those tests. Japan played a patient game of attrition, producing nearly as many chances as the U.S. with far less of the ball. 

b. Fatigue may have been a factor for a U.S. team still finding their feet in Emma Hayes’ eighth match in charge. Hayes has prioritized getting reps and rhythm for her preferred starting XI, while making few changes (if any) between games and waiting to make subs. Players, on the other hand, have been playing high-stakes games every three days with limited rest. And with Portland Thorns midfielder Sam Coffey suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Hayes was left to utilize a 17-player roster with only six available subs. Remarkably, she didn’t make any changes until the 91st minute of the game (Lynn Williams for Mallory Swanson), and only three subs overall. One massive concern for the USWNT: the status of Arsenal right-back Emily Fox, who went down in the 121st minute of the game with an apparent knee injury, and had to be helped off the field while replaced in the match by Casey Krueger. With fatigue and fitness ongoing concerns, it remains to be seen how this may impact the four-time gold medalists in their semi-final with Germany, as a similarly fatigued Die Nationalelf went the distance into penalties against Canada in their quarter-final.

More: ‘Trinity Rodman kinda blacked out scoring extra-time goal that sent USWNT to Olympic semifinal after 1-0 win vs. Japan’

II. The SEMI FINALS ARE SET 🥇🥈🥉

USA vs Germany (Tuesday, August 6, 12 PM ET, USA, Peacock) 🇺🇲🇩🇪

Spain vs Brazil (Tuesday, August 6, 3 PM ET, E!, Peacock) 🇪🇸🇧🇷

a. Germany defeats reigning gold medalists Canada after penalties 🇩🇪 🇨🇦 

Die Nationalelf overcame Canada in penalties in Marseille to seal their spot in the Olympic semifinal against the United States. With the match tied 0-0 after 120 minutes of stalemate, the quarterfinal was decided by a battle of NWSL goalkeepers: New York/New Jersey’s Gotham FC keeper Ann Katrin Berger played the hero for Germany in one net, and San Diego Wave’s stalwart keeper Kailen Sheridan represented Canada on the other side. Katrin-Berger did her best Alyssa Naeher impression as she saved penalties from Ashley Lawrence and Adriana Leon, then made the final penalty herself to end the shootout 4-2 in Germany’s favor. 🇩🇪

The Canadian Women’s National Soccer Team overcame incredible obstacles to even arrive in the knockout round. With their head coach Bev Priestman suspended from football and other staff members sent home with her, Canada won all three games in Group A to overcome their six point deduction for spying— something the players maintain they had no part in. Janine Beckie of the Portland Thorns feels the team ‘won’ regardless of how they went out: “This is how our story ends. In my mind, we’ve already won. We got through what some people said was an impossible situation. To do that and put the kind of performance we did (against Germany) is pretty remarkable.” 🇨🇦

More: ‘The only thing that could stop Canada’s soccer women at these Olympics: penalty kicks’

The U.S. will now face Germany for a second time in the Paris Olympics (after beating them 4-1 in Group B). This time they’ll meet in the semifinal, marking an incredible fifth time the two teams have met in the semifinal of a major tournament. 

b. Marta’s Brazilian dream lives on; La Roja show their class in late comeback as Olympic hosts and Colombia’s Cafeteras head home 🇪🇸🇨🇴🇧🇷🇫🇷

i. With Brazilian legend Marta watching emotionally but helplessly from the stands (due to red card suspension), Las Canarinhas beat the Olympic hosts France by a slim 1-0 margin in Nantes to continue their journey in Paris ‘24. In a day filled with goalkeeper heroics, Brazilian keeper Lorena made a hugely consequential save in the 16th minute, denying Sakina Karchoaui from the penalty spot. 29-year-old Corinthians midfielder Gabi Portilho sliced home the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute, sealing Brazil’s spot in the semifinal. The team’s dream of winning a medal in Marta’s final international tournament stays alive: and look at what it means. 🇧🇷

France, who remain a deeply talented team that continually falls short of their potential, has now departed another major tournament in the quarterfinal. Les Bleues have been knocked out in the quarterfinal round for seven of their last eight major tournament appearances. 🇫🇷

More: ‘Quarter-final curse continues for France, eliminated by Brazil’

ii. Colombia’s Las Cafeteras made history in a major tournament for a second straight year this summer, as yesterday’s quarter-final in Lyon marks their first Olympic knockout match in program history. The highly skilled Cafeteras took an initial 2-0 lead over the reigning World Cup Champions Spain thanks to goals from Chelsea striker Mayra Ramírez and newly signed Washington Spirit midfielder Leicy Santos. But Spain struck back with two goals starting in the 79th minute. La Roja’s all-time leading scorer Jenni Hermoso subbed into the match and found their first goal, and captain Irene Paredes found the equalizer in the 97th minute of stoppage time. Taking the match through to penalties, Spanish keeper Catalina Coll stopped two of Colombia’s strikes, sealing Spain’s victory in the 4-2 shootout. 🇪🇸🇨🇴

III. News and Notes 📰🗞️

a. AC Milan has announced a new maternity policy for players and staff, which includes protections for players that become pregnant in the final year of their contract, stipulating that their contracts are automatically renewed. 🍼

b. 18-year-old Kansas City Current midfielder Claire Hutton scored her first professional goal over the weekend, and it’s a stunner. The goal came in Kansas City’s 4-1 win over Liga MX Femenil side Tigres on Friday evening in Kansas. ⚽

c. In the U.S., the inaugural Summer Cup wrapped up the group stage this past weekend. With six Liga MX Femenil teams and all 14 NWSL teams playing three games each in five groups of four, the top-ranked sides will head straight to the tournament semi-final. In this first edition, all four semi-finalists hail from NWSL, with Gotham set to play Angel City on Tuesday, and Kansas City Current to play North Carolina Courage the next day. 🏆

d. USWNT legend Heather O’Reilly (who’s won three Olympic gold medals and a World Cup) is now a Como 1907 Club advisor. O’Reilly’s focus will be on the women’s team, who have their eye on promotion to Italy’s top flight league Serie A, where the men’s side play. 🇮🇹

IV. Parting Shots 🥃

“Here’s something I haven’t said in awhile: happy game day”: Christen Press has returned to competitive football after four ACL surgeries and 781 days away. 

V. Good Reads 📚

a. From Kieran Pender in The Guardian, ‘They are not being pampered: FA boss dismisses silly talk about Matildas’.

b. From Harleen Uppal in The Guardian, ‘Anna Sandberg offers firm foundations for new-look Manchester United’.

c. From Cathal Kelly in The Globe and Mail, ‘Elimination spares Canada women’s soccer the worst of the spying scandal — for now’.