Zambia’s women’s soccer team was supposed to be the feel-good story of the tournament. The team shocked Cameroon to get to Tokyo, came to the tournament with nothing to lose and have a striker who was a sprinter in the 2008 Olympics. The fun ended rather quickly when the World Cup runner-up Netherlands torched the Copper Queens 10-3 on Wednesday.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the USWNT suffered a crushing end to its 44-game unbeaten streak and opened the Tokyo Olympics with a humbling 3-0 defeat to the only team that’s been able get the better of the U.S. in recent times, Sweden.
Stina Blackstenius — who scored against the U.S. at Rio 2016 — hit a brace, and Lina Hurtig put the game beyond doubt in the 72nd minute.
Men’s Olympic soccer is a weird experience. Not quite a major international as it is on the women’s side and not quite a full youth competition, the result is a bizarre amalgamation of young and old players on the 16 national team rosters. So before you wake up at 4 a.m. and wonder who in the holy name of Ted Lasso are these blokes running around in Japan, here’s a guide for the weird and notable over-age Olympic soccer players to watch this summer.
Las cosas suelen ser confusas cuando uno está despierto a las cuatro de la mañana. Es una nebulosa en la que uno, a veces, no sabe distinguir si lo que se experimenta es la realidad o es solo un sueño. Y el sentimiento, seguramente, lo vivieron muchos de los aficionados de la súper poderosa selección de Estados Unidos que vieron la aplastante derrota que sufrían ante Suecia, en su debut en los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio.
¡3-0! ¿Un mal sueño? ¿Una pesadilla? No, una dolorosa verdad.
The USWNT is the undisputed greatest team of all time in women’s soccer with four World Cups and four Olympic gold medals. But for 90 minutes in Tokyo on Wednesday, the U.S. was absolutely hammered, as longtime rival Sweden outclassed Team USA 3-0 in the Group G opener in the 2020 Olympics.
And no, that score is not a typo. And yes, it could have been much, much worse.
FT: #USWNT 0 Sweden 3
Nadie puede negar el amor que André-Pierre Gignac siente por México. Apenas llegó a Tigres, en 2015, el delantero se enamoró de su comida, de su cultura y su estilo de vida, al punto que recientemente reconoció que espera los papeles para naturalizarse mexicano y adoptar la nacionalidad de sus hijos. Sin embargo, todo ese cariño quedará suspendido por 90 minutos este jueves 22 de julio, cuando Gignac se ponga la camiseta de su natal Francia para enfrentar al Tri, en el debut de ambas selecciones en los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio.
At the age of 22, Racheal Nachula was representing Zambia at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the women’s 400 meters after winning bronze at the African Championships. She did her country proud in Beijing, qualifying for the semifinal round after running a hugely impressive 50.62.
Three Olympics and 13 years later, now age 35, Nachula is back, but in an entirely different discipline — soccer.
A menos que haya una suspensión de última hora, debido a los problemas derivados de la Covid-19, los Juegos Olímpicos de Tokio comienzan a vivirse este martes 20 de julio con la fase de grupos del softball, deporte que debuta en la cita de los anillos.
Luego viene el fútbol. ¡Siuuuu!
Como las Olimpíadas son en Japón, el gran debate en tu cabeza será ver los partidos en vivo o respetar los ciclos de tus sueño y ponerte al día más tarde con una repetición o un video con highlights.
Maybe it’s just the nostalgia of waking up in the middle of the night to watch the 2002 World Cup, but something about the idea of throwing my circadian rhythm out of whack to watch soccer fills me with excitement. If you’re like me and want to watch the USWNT and/or Mexico men compete live in Japan this summer, here’s our guide for how to watch Olympic soccer in the U.S. And if you just want to watch the games later at normal human hours Stateside, we’ve got you covered, too.
The U.S. women's soccer team is looking for payback when it kicks off its Olympic campaign with what promises to be a tough challenge against Sweden on Wednesday, with memories still fresh of their quarterfinal defeat in the Rio Games five years ago.
Whether you're Team No Sleep or setting ALL the alarms, don't miss out on the action tomorrow from Tokyo!
(also coffee. ALLLL the coffee ) pic.twitter.com/j4NeWq69Zs