women’s soccer – Page 24 – Women's Soccer Express

2024 Olympics: Match Day 3 Advancement Scenarios

Going into the final six matches of the group stage in the women’s soccer tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympics, only the United States Women’s National Team and Spain have secured a spot in the knock-out phase. Six slots have yet to be determined and none of the other ten teams have been mathematically eliminated.

Please note that the following analysis is contingent on Canada’s 6 point deduction being upheld. FIFA’s decision has been appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and a ruling on the matter is expected on Wednesday, July 31st.

DroneGate Update: Canada Appeals Directly to the Court of Arbitration for Sport

On Monday, the Court of Arbitation for Sport issued a media release announcing that the Canada Soccer and the Canadian Olympic Committee had filed an appeal of the Canadian WNT’s 6 point deduction for the group stage of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Canada is seeking either a cancellation or at least a reduction of the points deduction.

A hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, July 30th, with a final decision expected “around midday” Paris time on Wednesday, July 31st.

2024 Olympics: Match Day 2 Recap and Video Highlights

The second day of group stage matches in the women’s soccer tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics was one to remember:

The USWNT had their best performances against Germany ever at an Olympics, defeating the two-time Women’s World Cup champions 4:1.
Japan had a 2:1 comeback victory against Brazil, which was capped by an awe-inspiring long-distance chip by second-half sub Momoko Tanikawa.
Canada is still in the hunt for a knock-out slot thanks to their 2:1 come-from-behind victory over host France, with the game-winning goal scored by Vanessa Gilles 12 minutes deep into second-half stoppage time.
Oh, And Australia came from three goals down in the second half to defeat Zambia 6:5!

U-15 WYNT: Roster Announced for 2024 Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship

On Friday, U.S. Soccer released their 18-player roster for the upcoming Concacaf Girls’ Under-15 Championship, which runs from August 5th to the 11th. Among the players named to the roster are Mak Whitham, who recently became the youngest player ever signed by an NWSL club, and Carolina Reyna, who is the daughter of two former U.S. internationals, Claudio Reyna and Danielle (Egan) Reyna, as well as the younger sister of current USMNT player Gio Reyna.

The United States will be in the top ‘league’ of the three-tiered competition and will face host Costa Rica, plus Haiti and Jamaica.

NWSL News of Note: Gotham Signs 14-Year-Old Mak Whitham, Dash Fire GM, Audi Field Turf Issues

On Friday, July 26th, Gotham FC announced that they had signed U-15 USWYNT player McKenna “Mak” Whitham. Whitham is the youngest player ever signed to an NWSL club.

Elsewhere, the Washington Spirit’s home stadium, Audi Field, is receiving a new grass surface next week, and, on Thursday, July 25th, the Houston Dash announced that they have “parted ways” with General Manager Alex Singer.

DroneGate: Canada Hit With 6 Point Deduction, Bev Priestman Suspended by FIFA, More Spying Allegations

On Saturday, FIFA announced that that the Canadian Women’s National Team has been penalized with a 6 point deduction from their group standings at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the same announcement, Canada Soccer was also fined CHF 200,000 (about $226,000 USD) and three members of the WNT’s staff were suspended from soccer-related activities for one year: Head coach Bev Priestman, performance analyst Joseph Lombardi, and assistant coach Jasmine Mander.

Also, TSN’s Rick Westhead has an article out that details additional allegations of spying by Canada’s WNT against the United States Women’s National Team and other women’s teams.

DroneGate: FIFA is on the Case, Bev Priestman Sent Home, and Evidence of ‘Previous Drone Use’

Wednesday evening, TSN’s senior correspondent, Rick Westhead, published an eye-opening article detailing past drone spying by the staff of the Canadian Women’s National Team that dates back to at least the (2021) Tokyo Summer Olympics, where Canada won gold.

The allegations in the article indicate that the drone spying against New Zealand could be a “tip of the iceberg” situation, and greatly increases the probability that Canada Soccer, Canada’s WNT, and some of the WNT’s coaching and support staff could be facing significant sanctions in the days and months to come.

Other news from Wednesday include the suspension of head coach Bev Priestman as well as an official statement from FIFA that its Disciplinary Committee has opened official investigations.

2024 Olympics: Match Day 1 Recap and Video Highlights

The first day of group play in the women’s soccer tournament at the 2024 Summer Olympic saw no upsets, with all six matches ending in victories for the higher-ranked teams.

The USWNT had one of the easiest matches, thanks to a strong first half where Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson combined for three goals, with Swanson bagging a brace by scoring goals just 66 seconds apart (OptaJack x.com post). A VAR-upgraded 30th minute red card shown to Pauline Zulu reduced Zambia to 10 players. While the USWNT was unable to extend the lead after the red card, their defense did hold the speedy Barbra Banda and Zambia scoreless.

2024 Olympics: DroneGate! Canada Caught Spying on New Zealand Practices

On Tuesday, July 23rd, news broke that an unnamed “staff member” for the Canadian Women’s National Team was caught using a camera drone to surveil a closed-door practice of the New Zealand Women’s National Team.

A day later, several more facts have come to light about this incident, but a number of key questions remain unanswered.

2024 Olympics – Women’s Soccer Tournament: Squad List Stats and Superlatives

In previous years, before a tournament, FIFA typically publishes a document with historical statistics for that tournament as well as comparative statistics for each team competing in the tournament. I have not found a public version of such a document for this year’s Olympics tournament.

The official squads lists, in PDF format, can be downloaded directly from FIFA, via the following link: https://fdp.fifa.org/assetspublic/ce159/pdf/SquadLists-English.pdf.

For a spreadsheet version of the above squads list, with additional columns, see this Google Sheets file: 2024 Summer Olympics – Squad Lists. Each team is on a separate sheet. The columns for each team can be sorted and/or filtered.