SoccerWise - Olympic Women's Post-Game Show

Episode Date: July 25, 2024

The US got off to a roaring start in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Soccerwise is ready to cover every match along the way. USWNT veteran Kacey White joins the crew to help carry the load. They break down what went right for the US, some injury concerns, and what the rest of the week will look like inside the camp. Then Dave & Kacey catch up on every match on opening day as Canada roar back for a 2-1 win over New Zealand in their repeat attempt. Plus Spains big win over Japan, Frances debut in front of their fans, and Australia's struggles.Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

welcome everybody to sacrifice live here post u.s win his national team three zero victory over zambia to open up 2024 paris olympics the time has come i'm a huge fan of the theme songs i'm already rocking out it's been a great day. And we've got a great show for you because we have, for the first time ever, a guest host here on SoccerWise, Casey White, former U.S. Women's National Team player yourself. You're going to be with me here over the course of the next few weeks as we talk these Olympic games. So thanks for being here. Of course. I'm so happy to be here, especially when we start off the way we did today with the U.S. So I'm excited to be on.

It's a lot easier to talk about a team that just won 3-0 and scored goals and was flowing and everything than yesterday when I went on after the men's Olympics game and they lost 3-0 and I did a solo show. So you are my good luck charm at this point. I hope so. You are tied in because as long as the results keep flowing this way, that's what we're going to do. We're going to talk all about this game. Of course, a big day of women's international soccer coverage across the board because every single team has played here now their first match at the Paris Olympics. So we'll get you caught up with everything there, especially with Canada's results. The 2-1 come from behind win against New Zealand earlier on today. Casey, before we get

into it, though, tell people a little bit about yourself. Tell them about your soccer background and how you ended up here. Well, you already gave me a good introduction, so I appreciate that. I played for the women's national team from 2006 to 2010, and I was an alternate for the Beijing Olympics actually in 2008. Six-year player in the WPS and overseas in Sweden, so it's a little bit of my playing career. I was lucky enough not only to wear the badge as a player, but I also was a head and assistant coach for our U.S. youth national team. So there's a couple players that are now on the senior team that I was able to come across when they were a little bit younger. So spent some time with U.S. soccer, and then now I'm a current broadcaster for the NWSL. A lot of soccer experience, a lot of tie-ins to this team right here, because I didn't know this until midway through the second

half, this was the youngest starting lineup for the U.S. Women's National Team since 2008 at the Olympics. Yeah, that bodes well for what they're doing. And we saw that a little bit in the previous World Cup. It was a pretty young roster at times. And you're starting to see some of those movements come together of those young players adapting a little bit more different styles of play. And that's exciting for the group. It is something we've talked about a little bit on this show jordan yelled at me for it because i was like i could see a world in which you don't win this gold medal but it's still a positive because it's a change of generation and there hasn't been one since that 2008 this was a huge moment i think for a lot of these young players trinity rodman gets a goal in this one sophia smith has a big

game mal swanson scores her first olympical in eight years because she is a goal in this one. Sophia Smith has a big game. Mal Swanson scores her first Olympic goal in eight years because she is the veteran in this team at this point. A big moment for this squad in the 3-0 victory. Let's start with the starting lineup, though. Let's go all the way back, and then we'll dig into the game because right before the game started, we got the news officially out of U.S. Women's National Team camp that Jaden Shaw with a leg injury unavailable for the match.

So, Corey Bethune was moved into the lineup. Sam Borden saying, for what it's worth, quote, well, we'll obviously learn more from Hayes after the game, but Jaden Shaw's injury occurred during training yesterday, and I'm told that they don't believe it's serious. So, that was some big news for the U.S. The big lineup expectation that me and Jordan got wrong yesterday was that Jenna Niswonger not coming back into the team and Crystal Dunn getting the U.S. The big lineup expectation that me and Jordan got wrong yesterday was that Jenna

Niswonger not coming back into the team and Crystal Dunn getting the start. Rose Lavelle, it did return, pushing Lindsey Horan a little bit deeper. What did you make of sort of the way Emma Hayes handled this out from the start? Well, you touch on a few good things there. Jaden Shaw, obviously, it's not great news, her being out. The fact that they don't think it's serious, I think, is great, just from a depth perspective, as the U.S. team attempts to go through, you know, the entirety of the tournament, hopefully. But you mentioned Jenna Niswonger and Crystal Dunn inserting into that outside back role. I think we all know this. Crystal Dunn is a veteran player. She's played in that role, and although she was taken more as an attacking position player for this roster

and the way they broke it down, that's exactly why also she's so incredible to have on the roster. Because in an instance where you maybe don't have Jenna Niswonger as a 90-minute player quite yet, you can slide Crystal Dunn in and work Jenna Niswonger back into it. I think that made a whole lot of sense from Emma Hayes going into this game. I believe it was Herve Renard, manager for France, who mentioned coming into the Olympics,

there is flexibility in moving alternates in and out of the team. That hasn't been the case in the past. So my understanding is IOC and FIFA can rule on Jadon Shaw, and then they can bring Jadon Shaw back into the team, which in the past it was once you're out, you're out. And so that gives flexibility for this team to make this move. Corey Bethune not appearing in the game. But as you mentioned, Crystal Dunn's versatility, we saw her play as a 10 and as a left back in this game as things went along because the U.S. was playing with a little bit of

a lead. They came out flying. We asked yesterday for them to come out on the front foot, to be aggressive, to even make the game chaotic, even if it hurts yourself. It didn't have to hurt them, but it felt like they came out with that pop and energy we didn't see in the send-off series,

and it felt like a lot of it came behind Trinity Rodman's performance. Well, you're exactly right, and that's why you have a send-off series. You have a few little things you want to tweak here and there. You want to have those games prepare your team for what they're going to see once it comes to game time in the Olympics. So, you know, Costa Rica sitting in that block, it was hard.

There was efficiency in front of goal. They were going to see a little bit of that today with Zambia. But I agree with you. Trinity Rodman, Mal Swanson, Sophia Smith. I could go on. Really, the entire front five came out popping, ready to go, moving the ball, and we saw the efficiency in front of goal early that was missing in that last send-off game.

Yeah, not immediate. Lindsey Horan gets the chance 30 seconds in. She's set up by Emily Fox, who's pressing high. Rodman hits the crossbar. Smith hits the crossbar. Smith hits the crossbar. Horan has two cleared off the line. And then there's a moment where you're thinking, oh, no. Is it one of those days?

Is everything cursed? What's going to happen? It was the 15th minute. They hit the crossbar. Horan has a shot cleared off the line. Then Rodman has the shot saved off onto the corner kick. And then you get the goal. Finally. It's Sophia Smith dropping deep.

Dropping out to the left hand side. Which was a major factor in this first half. Her positioning out there at times. She picks it up. She drives past the defender. Her ran into half space. Into Rodman's feet. And it's one of the best finishes I've seen in a while.

It's a Cruyff turn between two defenders to get out. And then she's able to just slot's feet. And it's one of the best finishes I've seen in a while. It's a Cruyff turn between two defenders to get out. And then she's able to just slot at home from there. And it was with all three of those players, it feels like their peak moments of like, this is why this is a world-class team and what they're capable of. And as I said, Rodman cruising, I think this is the best I've ever seen her play with the U.S. specifically. Well, I'm sitting on my couch and I see Sophia Smith around the corner there and I go, oh, this is good. And I could see it coming. It got me excited. You know when it's on the feet of her ranch, it's going to have a little bit of texture on the ball. She understands spaces, slipping balls in. But what I didn't expect was that Cruyff turn. Anyone that knows me

knows that I loved a Cruyff turn. So that got me so excited to do that between two players, to understand Trinity Rodman, her momentum, and what momentum that would take the defenders to turn. Then seeing the goalkeeper step out and a calm finish, I just thought that was a really pivotal moment for Rodman as well. And a lot of what we saw from Rodman, it felt like watching the Washington spirit, which that had been the frustration over the last year

was you watched Rodman, especially at the Olympics last year, and they were crying out for 1v1 creativity, and chance creation, all these things, and you know she's capable of it, and then you watch the first half of the year in NWSL, and you see her capable of it, and it felt like it finally clicked,

and I don't know, you mentioned the send-off series. Maybe it's building a little bit and it's time for her. Or was it mentality? Like, what do you make of this switch, flipped switch? Switch flipped. I think it's a combination of things. You mentioned the Washington spirit for the last couple years for Trinity Rodman. She had a very free role to kind of go in and out of spaces.

We know she's dangerous when she's in the wide areas. What we didn't see a year ago was her in the wide areas. She was pinched in a lot more tactically, and that's just really not Trinity Rodman's game. I love that we saw her evolve in that role a little bit, but what you're noticing now with Emma Hayes coming in, Mal Swanson comes inside, allowing Crystal Dunn to create the width off the left. But Rodman, they are giving a free reign to her to stay extremely wide. And you see more of Emily Fox coming into the space inside, or you see Rose Lavelle occupying that space. I think that really bodes well for Trinity to be able to face up and go at people. And it's not that Rodman won't be part of the game in field.

We saw it on the goal, but it's as a back post finisher or a second chance finisher rather than coming inside and playing consistently and having to pick up the ball and move things. She is an elite goal scorer when she gets into those spots, especially once the ball runs all the way through and the goalie's coming across goal, and she knows she can strike it back to the far post with power with strength we saw it a couple times she almost curled one in in the second half she almost got that goal moments before she finally

scored in the first half let's talk about that left outside space though because then after this goal where smith went out and helped create that chance she then creates the next two goals sofia smith goes out wide left swanson comes inside she plays plays it to Lindsay Horan. And if you didn't watch all the games today, go back and watch Jesse Fleming's assist for Canada on the second goal. I thought it was going to be the best pass I saw today. And then Lindsay Horan broke that like within four hours with this pass to Swanson that just had, you talked about texture, English, you know, everything you need from a ball like that. It was perfection. And that's what you get by having Horan a little bit higher. And yes, she went higher in the second

half, but she comes underneath Sophia Smith so well, getting those balls, texturing it in. And it's not only the texture, like you mentioned, but just the timing of run from Mal Swanson as well, having to time that perfectly. That final third is really where you want to see creativity. We talked about Trinity Rodman staying wide in the middle third, but when you get into the final third, as a manager, you want your players to be creative. Even though you might go through different runs for ideas, you want to see what comes of their play and their creativity in that moment, and Lindsey Horan highlighted it with that pass. Horan not playing as the true 10, but playing as more of an eight in this one with Rose Lavelle back in the team. And there was a lot of talk after the Costa Rica game about what does she do best? Where does she fit in all these things? And

we talked about it for a while last week on this show. And this was where we sort of fell, which is she's not a 10. And breaking down a low block, that's not her great skill. But you saw the freedom today. And when you saw the freedom, all of a sudden, she's the deepest on the build outs on one end. And then she's got the assist or the shots herself in that left half space on the other end. And it felt like she was fully comfortable for the first time in a little while with

this group. I would agree with that i think lizzie heran facing the field is much more dangerous with a little bit of space to penetrate into so those runs from a little bit deeper position to join the attack a lot of times players aren't tracking that and that's when you want players like her with that creativity because she's not going to be someone that just goes off the dribble with speed like a rose lavelle but she's going to be composed she's going to be a little cheeky and when she's facing forward she can find those gaps and she had a fantastic day today a lot of people did and Sophia Smith continued to as well like a minute and a half after I believe it was the second goal they scored the third this time it's Smith herself on that left channel setting

up Swanson and she just looked super comfortable. We see Smith in positions like this with Portland and with the U.S. I like the idea of her starting a center forward because I want her near a goal more often. But I love that she's finding that time and space to then go out and become a chance creator, knowing that she has finishers around her like a Swanson that she can set up. It felt like for Smith again, and I'm now saying this about three or four players, really finally coming to figure out

where they fit in this team and sort of what they can do at their best amongst this group. I agree with you. And I think we're seeing the NWSL as well, helping them in their movement because both Mal Swanson and Sophia Smith have a pretty free role. Even though they start a lot centrally, both of them in that position,

they kind of move into midfield at times in that role. And so you're seeing those two really interchange a lot, which is very hard for the backs because center backs get pulled out and then there's bigger gaps to create because both of them in their own right, and you mentioned Sophia Smith in two different times in this game, is so good in the 1v1 so she's going to usually beat a player she draws a center back and now you have that interchange to allow Mal Swanson to get involved and and that third goal came from Mal Swanson defending all the way back into the middle third as well and then getting back up top so there's just so much interchange that makes it hard for Zambia. Now let me ask you this.

You have coached a long time, so you take teams out of moments like this and sort of break it down and digest it. Clearly this is not going to be the level the entire Olympics. And we talked about yesterday on the show we did a full Olympic preview, so if you want to go get that, just go into the SoccerWise feed and it's there. But one of the huge storylines is Zambia has a head coach who's not allowed to interact one-on-one with the players because he's being investigated for sexual assault against these players. It is as bad an environment as you can have. So these players are battling against a ton. And then you get the red card sort of laid on in the first half, and it kind of picked the result.

But how do you as the U.S. take something out of this and then still be able to say, oh, there's nuggets that we can learn from? Like, what are you going to go back and watch on tape and say, this is what we want to carry forward? Well, a couple things, and I'll address Zambia first. I think they've got to look to their leadership of Barbara Banda and Kudumanji, all those players that were playing really well today in this game because it's such an unfortunate situation. So the leadership has to come from within the team.

And that's not fair to ask of them. But there are very good leaders and players within that group to propel them forward. On the flip side, for the United States, getting three goals early as a manager, you are so excited about that because it just opens up your world of how you want to manage the game because you have to focus on the day that's happening. But at the same time, when you have that luxury, you can start to think about sub patterns. How do you rest players? What partnerships do you get on the field as well to see what works? Maybe what doesn't work? And ultimately, that's what you need when you have the games coming

as quickly as they are. And the ability to see that in the first game is really nice because now Emma Hayes can step away and go, okay, what did I like about the sub-patterns? What maybe didn't work, especially when you know what's coming ahead in the next games? It is, I think it's telling. Rose Lavelle's the first player off because at halftime the injuries

and sort of what what she's coming off of sophia smith forced to come off at the end of the first half we are hoping that it is not a a serious injury that would be a huge hit but like lynn williams comes off the bench you're talking about the all-time leading score in nwsl history and a player that fits in that position very well you You only get 18 players on the Olympic roster, but that is a level of depth most teams can't match around the world. 100%. And you mentioned it earlier as well, the ability to bring players in and out of the 18-player game day roster. I'm jealous. That did not happen in 2008. That was an alternate. So I'm glad it's moving forward, just a tiny bit jealous. But in all seriousness, though, I think it really does allow you to kind of get everyone a touch, too.

So many players got in today. You get those first touches out of the way. I think what you have to think about, though, for this U.S. team, especially as the game went on, was just the efficiency in front of goal. If I'm Emma Hayes or the staff, I'm stepping back and going, okay, we were up a player and we weren't able to score. And look, scoring is the hardest thing to do, but you still have to think about that efficiency. Even the header early on from Trinity Rodman, she ended up getting a great goal.

But those kind of things, you might only get one of those in these upcoming games, and you've got to be able to put them away at this level. Yeah, there were some – I mean mean it took them 20 minutes to score you mentioned Trudy Rodman had the header off the free kick wide open in the middle of the box puts it back across goal but not able to put it on frame you had Corbin Albert's big chance in the second half after she came off the bench the one two with Lindsay Horan she completely rushes her chance and puts it straight into the goalkeeper's body.

Lynn Williams had a few opportunities as well on some rebounds that they don't put away, and you mentioned it, credit to Zambia. They created chances. Banda got out on the break. She threatened Davidson had to make a slide tackle. Girma had to recover and make a tackle as well. But overall, it sort of felt like as the second half rolled along, everyone kind of accepted 3-0 was the result. That's what you're going to get. It could have gotten worse, by the way.

I had France-Colombia up at the same time. France was up 3-0. And I'm thinking, oh, these are the two best teams right now. And then Colombia scores two and makes it 3-2. And we'll talk about that coming up in just a moment. But you mentioned the partnerships, the changes. Would you expect to see anything different in a starting lineup for the next game? Or after a performance like this, if everyone's healthy, do you just leave it?

I think what you said, if everyone's healthy, I think you leave the starting 11 how it is. You could potentially bring a Jenna Niswonger in, but when she came in today, she went more into an attacking position with Kruger taking the space on the back line. So that makes me think she might not be being considered in the next game as an outside back, but who knows? So I would stick with the same lineup. As you mentioned, we were talking about the efficiency and the partnerships. It is the hardest thing to do is score those goals.

But I think Julie Foudy mentioned it on the broadcast. She said Zambia was being so aggressive there could have been some more cuts and some more time in front of goal in those situations. But if I'm a manager, I'm going into my group and saying, hey, we got away with a few misses today, let's just tighten it up a little bit. But look at these great goals we scored, look at the movement, and you kind of reverse that thinking even though you know that there might only be a couple chances in some of these tougher games.

And we heard Emma after the Costa Rica game and the Mexico game talk about it takes time. I've been in games like this before. We're facing teams that are sitting in. You know, it's not that easy to score. It feels like she's already in a place where she is going to be probably more positive than critical in a moment like this, especially because it felt like such a relief in that first half. I think for a lot of us, I'm thinking back as I watch this game and like I can't remember a game for a while.

Maybe the South Korea, the friendly, but over the last two years when you bring the World Cup back in as well of like a game that felt this straightforward for the U.S. and it felt a lot like what you saw against Thailand in 2019, where it was a team that was ready to win a competition and in one mindset against a team that wasn't. And that's not what wins you a championship, but it's nice to see a group that looked mentally in that space once again.

I think they reaped the rewards today of what they faced in the send-off series. There were great movements in that game. They just couldn't find the back of the net. And so when you're thinking about that as a captain, as leadership, whatever it may be, you have to reiterate that with the team because you have to respect the fact that it's difficult to score in those moments when people are sitting back in those really compact, low blocks. And so when you see all the movements that were created, now today they created them and they put it away. And that's got to be a huge positive going forward.

So a big day for the U.S. 3-0 win. They moved to first in the group in a tie with Germany. Germany knocked off Australia 3-0 in their match. Two corner kick goals to open things up for Germany. It felt like it was going to get a lot worse. Australia, from what I watched in that game, felt like it was going to get a lot worse Australia from what I watched in that game felt like they gave up which is very alarming I think for this group it has felt at times with Sam Kerr out and all of it that they were fighting and fighting and fighting and sometimes when the

energy of that goes away especially in a moment like that it's hard to get it back in a short tournament like this because we've talked about a number of times, the Olympics are very unique in the way they're set up. You were around one as a player. Talk to me a little bit about like the setup, the group being around the games, but not being in the host city. And then in five days, you're either in or out of the next round.

Well, that's what's so difficult is the travel piece of it and what that looks like. And, you know, soccer is always known to be starting before the opening ceremonies. Then you have that come in and you realize what a special environment this is and how wonderful it is to represent your country. And then you're off to the next thing. And so it is definitely a different environment. But these players get it.

I mean, they travel all the time. They understand that. But the Olympic Games just has that little extra feel. You know, it's just something different. You see all the other sports and everything like that, which always has a really positive impact. It is awesome. It's so cool that it starts with soccer because soccer gets to be on this platform that, yes, now more often. But I think for both of us growing up, soccer was never really on a space and platform like this.

So it's been really cool over the last 48 hours to have everyone talking about these teams. And this is the team that you want to be the star. And it has been a conversation for a while now, but like it is Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith and Swanson's team. And it was nice to see them have their moment, whoever the opponent was. And it's going to be huge to carry it over into that next game against Germany.

That will be for first place in the group. If all the results fall your way, you might have already qualified going into the third game against Australia, which is a game that I was worried about because of the way Australia plays, I think is tough for this U.S. group. Jordan calls it a mid-block. I call it a low block, depending on what day you get Australia. And their transition opportunities. And you saw it from Mary Fowler in this game against Germany. She's a threat over the top, similar to what

Banda will give you, but probably more quality following up and being able to help her. And Germany are Germany. Like, there was the huge questions. Oberdorf's out. What will it look like? They didn't build as much through midfield, but they put up three goals against a World Cup semifinalist because they're Germany. And there's so much talent and confidence across that team. So it's going to be fascinating to see what happens in that one. And we, of course, will be live with you postgame because that's what we're going to do here for the rest of the Olympics. It's going to be so much fun.

And then the final game is next Wednesday. So we won't do our normal NWSL Wednesday show that we always do. We will do a U.S. Olympic postgame show that we hope is a preview of the knockout rounds going forward. Let's tie up some loose ends on the rest of what happened here today. Canada trailing 1-0 against New Zealand in their opening game. They're able to come all the way back, take a 2-1 win. Evelyn Viennes was the one who scored the goal off that ball from Jesse Fleming that I talked about. A ball from deep from Fleming. Basically the only time New Zealand extended their lines and tried to go and create a game-winning goal. Fleming takes advantage,

ball over the top, through the lines, and Viennes, one-touch finish. One of the best goals you will see. But New Zealand put up a fight. And so with Colombia and France now ending the way it is, I think this is a more complicated group than people realize best third place teams get through Casey it's really weird to do that because you don't face the competition you're up against there but it is one of those the team that's the worst across the three groups is probably the one that sets up who the best third place teams are because they're probably the ones that lose all three games and New Zealand did not look like one of those teams today. I would agree with that it's so nuanced too and how you approach that because as a staff you have to think about and as a player we got to try and win we got to try and get points we got

to do this but goal differential comes in and you're not sure what's happening with everyone else and so that third place piece definitely does play a factor in just how you approach things as we get a little bit deeper into the group stage. But I think you're right about the groups, especially, you know, with this group, Zambia today wasn't able to build through midfield at all, but we did see Girma have that matchup with Banda. So she was a little bit tested today, I would say, or maybe a lot actually, a few moments. But they didn't have the buildup you're going to see out of either a Germany or an Australia. Germany, I think, is going to pick moments. I think they can come at us with the quality they've always had, but they're also very structured, and so that will be very interesting.

It'll just be a little bit higher up the field, and like you said, who knows with Australia, mid-block, low-block. I mean, you guys have a debate going here, so maybe I can settle that, but you don't know so i think all these different groups are going to provide so many things that are going to be exciting for fans to watch as we go throughout the group stage yeah so canada takes the 2-1 win france comes out under her bernard we know it's his last tournament we know the success he's had at tournaments in general winning two african nations cup and they came out in leon in front of their fans absolutely flying and i'm thinking here it is.

Because we talked a little bit yesterday about 2019 should have been, I saw someone write it this way, which was better than the way I worded it. It should have been France's women's 99er moment, where they win something at home in front of their fans. And now all of a sudden the stadiums are packed for the French League games and everyone becomes a superstar. And you see what happened for England when they won their home Euros and the way everyone got platformed after that and all of that,

and it didn't happen, and we haven't seen France succeed at a high level. And through 45 minutes, you're thinking, here it is. You've got these attacking pieces, the ability to attack 1v1, create, connect. Diani's doing work on the left side. That sucks in the whole defense. Now you're finding open options across the midfield. They come out of halftime, and all of a sudden it's 3-2, and Columbia continue to fight back.

They are one of the must-watch teams, as we said. A little bit of worrying stuff for them. Myra Ramirez picks up a red card late on, so she'll be suspended. And Linda Caicedo went down. I don't know if it was a contact injury. She goes through a slide injury. She goes through a slide tackle. She then goes down later holding her ankle. Those are two huge concerns for this team. But for France, it just feels like they can't get out of their own way to put out the

performances. Oh, sorry. To put out their performances. You're excited about this. That's how frustrated I am. Because when you watch them at their best, you're thinking this is a medal favorite. This is the team. And then you watch them at their best, you're thinking, this is a medal favorite. This is the team. And then you watch 90 minutes, and it never maintains for the full match. And that is incredibly frustrating. And yes, everyone can say, we'll just take the win, which you will at the end of the day. But there's still concerns that come with that. It's like, how are you not cruising even more?

Yes, Colombia is an amazing side. And you mentioned the two players. That's the two you don't want to lose on the flip side for them going forward. But in regards to France, they have to figure some of those things out. You cannot just play a half every game and get through this tournament unscathed. Yeah. Yeah. And the three points means you are potentially a result away from clinching a spot in the next round. I think for them, knockout matchups are a little different because they're going to get support anywhere they go. You know you're going to play a tough team. There's no easy route. And so I think maybe for France that matters a little bit less. It's more about

the confidence and what you want to see from this team. We haven't even talked about the favorites yet. Spain, 2-1 win over Japan to open up the day's play. Japan actually took the 1-0 lead, a little bit against the run of play. Spain then found their feet, and they do what they do. They kill you by a thousand passes. They're never going to be hurried. They're never going to rush themselves. Substitutes were a big part of this as well. But this is one of those games you walk away from, and I felt the same as I did coming into this, which is if either of these teams won a gold medal, I wouldn't be shocked. And coming out of this game, even though Japan wasn't able to win, they still looked like

the team I thought. A team that can play in different ways, has different match winners. None of them stepped up in this moment, but you saw the flashes of a Tanaka up top. You saw the different options they have in that they can beat anyone. And I think both these teams should feel pretty good about this performance going forward. Brazil sits in first place in this group as well, alongside Nigeria. Caroline came off the bench and made her debut first game since the ACL injury that took her out of the playoffs after her MVP performance last year. Marta gets an assist.

Like there's a lot of talent on this team Marta still a central force for it Marta being Marta just a moment that outside of the football great in behind Nunez like it was a very very good goal and she drops more into that midfield space now later in her career and she's still so essential she had some opportunities herself but you know you mentioned Japan you mentioned Spain both of those teams I think it is a positive performance besides the lack of three points or even a point to Japan. You're right. They look dangerous. And Brazil, excuse me, is Spain on the other side. Also, it's hard to follow up what they've done and get that first game, especially with lower number of teams in the Olympics. The quality is so incredibly high and condensed. So for them to get three

points and come out, that is very good for a team that has such high expectations on them. Yeah, you think about the U.S. from 2015 to 16, I think. And that's what I felt a little bit watching Spain the first 30 minutes of like, oh yeah, you can't settle in to an Olympics like you can a World Cup because the groups are stronger because there's less teams. But they found their feet. Of course, when you've got the Ballon d'Or winner, it's nice to have that option of someone that can get you back into a game. There's still a ton of options. And so therefore, it's really hard to double down and bring defensive pressure over to

any specific individual when you feel like there's a threat and a very calming, I think, second half for this Spanish team going forward. We went through who we thought would win groups and who we thought we would get out over the course of yesterday. I felt confused about a lot of it, but I took a risk. I still feel confused, which I think is why the Olympics are fascinating. As we keep saying, at such a condensed level, you wouldn't be shocked to see most of these teams in the semifinal, I think.

No, I think you're right. And like we said, with just the lower number of teams in, like anything can really happen. I mean, even today, even the U.S. taking the 3-0 lead early, Zambia hung in there, down a player. I mean, it is going to be a very difficult road. So you guys taking on the pre-Olympic show of predictions, like I don't envy you.

I get to sit here after and talk about it. That's way easier because all of these teams have a lot of quality. And what's so interesting is they all match up different tactically, which fascinates me. And how these managers are going to deal with each of those matchups could be really the key of what's going to separate these groups. Yeah. Reminder, Zambia out at the World Cup. They won their final group stage game, though, and put together a performance. You see Nigeria getting through at the World Cup. They won their final group stage game, though, and put together a performance. You see Nigeria getting through at the World Cup. They lose this first game.

They're not going to lay down, though. They're going to have opportunities. Although Oshala did not appear off the bench, which I think is very interesting for this team. She's had a bit of a struggle to open things up at Bay FC. So talk to me a little bit before we go here. First game's over Thursday. Second game's on Sunday. What do the next two days look like inside the camps of these teams?

What are you physically doing? What are the conversations like? Well, one of the biggest things is enjoy the moment. Be happy about the three points. Don't take that for granted because a lot of times that can happen, not necessarily with the U.S., but in general. It's like already on to the next thing. But there has to be respect for what you just did as well, which is a good thing. And so I'd say enjoy it. Start to take care of your bodies. The staff's going to have to figure out,

okay, what does it look like? How are our players feeling? And then once they hit tomorrow, all eyes forward. And that's what it has to be like so they can be focused on going into the next game. It is going to be fun. Germany against the U u.s it could be a final that's how good it could be and it's going to be the second game of a group stage uh going forward as a reminder all of the games are always on the same day so sunday a load of great uh women's soccer you've got france against canada which is a huge one that might decide the winner of that group. New Zealand and Colombia facing off. The other side of that group trying to figure out who's going to find their feet. Australia, can they bounce back against the Zambia team,

who will, of course, be playing down a defender from the start because of that red card and the suspension. And then in the final group stage game, Spain against Nigeria is going to be a fascinating one to watch in that one, and Brazil-Japan starting the day off. This is going to be the third time they will face off in this year, which is bizarre in a tournament like this for two teams from a completely different region, but they are two teams that are trying to find games when European and North American teams are playing each other, and they often find each other because they're kind of at

that equal level, which means it's going to be a very even game. I think it's going to be a really fun one to watch to open things up. Casey, thank you for being here. Of course. This is a lot of fun. We're going to continue doing it. Thank you to everyone else for listening. Of course, you can listen anywhere you get your podcast. If you want to be in the discord while these games are going on, you can also see our depth charts for the u.s women's national team and nwsl a record 56 players in this olympics from nwsl we have a depth chart for every single team so you can see where these players normally play where they fall all of that you can get with the patreon subscription so go search soccer wise get into our patreon be a part of the convo hang out with us we're gonna have a ton of these shows coming up plus our normal regular scheduled shows uh with tom talking mls and us men's national team and all of

that as well going forward so thank you to all of you uh for watching thank you casey again for being here thank you to everyone listening wherever you get your podcasts and we will talk to you all again very, very soon.