Women's Soccer

TOKYO — Canada reached the semifinals in women's soccer for the third consecutive Olympic Games as goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe saved two Brazil penalties in a 4-3 shootout win on Friday. Australia smashed Great Britain in extra time and Sweden knocked out host Japan.

After Canada captain Christine Sinclair's penalty was saved by Barbara, Labbe rescued her side with two diving saves to keep out Brazil's final two spot kicks from Andressa and Rafaelle.

The USWNT has been far from impressive at the Tokyo Olympics. The defense has been shaky, the midfield often overrun and the forwards unable to stay onside. But Team USA is through to the medal rounds thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the one constant this tournament.

U.S. Soccer morale isn’t too high across the board right now. On the women’s side the USWNT has done anything but impress at the 2020 Olympics with one decent performance and two horror shows. Meanwhile on the men’s side, the B-team is grinding out Gold Cup results and is preparing for its biggest challenge yet, Qatar.

USMNT

I’ve seen several posts online from fans in agreement that they would rather lose to Mexico 5-0 than fall to Qatar at home. I would have to agree in all honesty.

Athletic apparel company Title Nine gifted the USWNTPA $1 million on Wednesday — the largest sum the players association has ever received — saying it’s to help solve the pay gap between the men’s and women’s national soccer teams. It’s an awesome gesture similar to when LUNA Bar made a large donation in 2019. What does it really mean for how much the USWNT is paid for the Olympics? Let’s dig in.

After a 0-0 draw with Australia confirmed the USWNT’s runner-up finish in Group G of the Summer Olympics, our collective focus shifted to Group F with the U.S. scheduled to play the winner on Friday in Yokohama. 

With a 2-0 win over New Zealand, Sweden locked up top spot in Group G at the 2020 Summer Olympics, rendering Tuesday morning’s 0-0 draw between the USWNT and Australia somewhat meaningless. Both the U.S. and the Matildas will be joining Sweden in the quarterfinals, where the Americans will meet either the Netherlands or Brazil.

For all the talk about building momentum and playing their best stuff come the knockout rounds, the USWNT has very little momentum and could put you into a soccer-induced coma heading into a quarterfinal against either the Netherlands or Brazil after drawing Australia 0-0 on Tuesday morning.

The optimist might say “job done.” The USWNT had nothing to gain here with Sweden locking up the top spot in the group, but the team could’ve still dropped to third with a defeat. The realist will say “yeah but that was terrible.”  

Cleaning toilets, mopping floors, 10-hour days packing Amazon boxes, working at least two side jobs, living with parents. These are the lengths many NWSL players have gone through just to be “professional” athletes. The NWSLPA hopes to ensure a living wage for all NWSL players with its new No More Side Hustles campaign launched this week.

Speaking from firsthand experience, I know how hard it can be on your body to wake up in the middle of the night to watch Olympic soccer played in Japan. I thought it was fun in 2002 for the World Cup, but my body rebelled hard after the first day of play on Wednesday. 

And yet, I can’t wait to wake up early for the next Group F match, because those games have been stupidly entertaining at the 2020 Olympics.