The U.S. women's national soccer team will face Australia, Germany, Morocco or Zambia in Group B of the 2024 Paris Olympics, FIFA announced Wednesday at the tournament's draw in Parseville, near Paris.
The tournament will be the Americans' first official game under incoming head coach Emma Hayes. She takes over the team following its worst finish in World Cup history last year, when the U.S. lost to Sweden in the Round of 16.
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“The bottom line is we're excited to have a path set and to know who we're going to play,” Twyla Kilgore, interim coach of the U.S. women's national team, said in a press conference after the draw. Ta.
“We'll start working on a concrete game plan and things like that, but also just to know the logistical path forward.” [helps]. There's a lot to do at the Olympics, with short and crowded games. It's really, really important and exciting that our administration can start planning for that and take bigger steps in the direction of where we want to go. ”
Tournament play begins July 25 in Nice, with the U.S. facing either Morocco or Zambia in a two-leg playoff in April. The Americans have never played with either team before.
The U.S. won four of the first five Olympic Games for women's soccer, but is aiming for its first gold medal since the 2012 London Games. He won a bronze medal at the 2021 Tokyo Games.
The United States recently fell to fourth place in the FIFA rankings, its worst ranking since the rankings were launched in 2003. But the United States was one of three seeded teams for the tournament, along with World Cup champion Spain and host France. England, ranked second in the world, failed to qualify for the Olympics.
The United States has a record of 23 wins, 5 losses, and 7 draws against Germany. Together, the two teams have won six of the nine Women's World Cup titles. The two teams have only met once before at the Olympics, in the 2004 semifinals, with the United States winning 2-1 in overtime on a goal from Heather O'Reilly.
Australia has only beaten the US in one of their 34 meetings. The two teams ended in a scoreless draw in the group stage of the previous Olympics, and faced off again in the bronze medal match, with the USA winning 4-3.
Morocco and Zambia each made their first World Cup appearances last year. Morocco has never qualified for the Olympic women's soccer tournament. Zambia participated in the 2021 tournament for the first time.
Kilgore was satisfied with landing in Group B as “the right type of trip” between Nice and Marseille. He said he plans to meet with Hayes in person on Thursday to further discuss the lottery and future plans. Kilgore has been at the helm of the U.S. national team as interim coach since Vlatko Andonovski resigned following his exit from the 2023 World Cup.
Hayes was announced as the new manager in November but will not begin his role with the team until late May, after completing the European club season with Chelsea.
Kilgore said knowing the opponent won't have a big impact on roster decisions, but acknowledged it's too early to know for sure.
“We're not just looking at group games,” Kilgore said. “The idea is to prepare to move beyond group battles and select the best group of players that work best together to accomplish different tactical tasks.”
Defending Olympic women's champion Canada will face Colombia, New Zealand and host France in Group A of the women's tournament. Spain will join Japan, Brazil and the winner of April's play-off between Nigeria and South Africa in Group C.
The draw for the men's Olympics was also held on Wednesday, and the U.S. men will be competing in this summer's Olympics for the first time since 2008, after missing out on the previous three editions.
The American men were placed in Group A with hosts France, New Zealand and Guinea, the winners of a playoff between the fourth-place African qualifier and the fourth-place Asian qualifier.
The Olympic men's soccer tournament is an U-23 tournament. Each team is allowed his three overage players.
“Number one, we believe we have enough talent to compete,” U.S. Men's Olympic Director Marko Mitrovic said at a news conference. “That’s the starting point.
“And the second is [is] The players' dedication is highly praised by all staff members. And the excitement of actually having to go to the Olympics and the positive vibes that give us confidence. But I also believe that we are ready to meet the challenges ahead of us at the Olympics. ”
