The scenario is straightforward for the U.S. women’s national soccer team: Win or draw against Australia in the final Group G match and it will secure second place in the group, an automatic quarterfinal berth, and a likely matchup against the Netherlands. Australia needs a win to accomplish the same thing.
If there is a loser in the game, that team will finish third and will have to wait for the conclusion of the other groups later in the day to see if it has one of the two best third-place records. If not, that team is eliminated. If one of Australia or the USA qualifies as the third-place team, that team would face Canada or Great Britain in the quarterfinals.
The USWNT is coming off a 6-1 trouncing of New Zealand, which followed the shock of a 3-0 loss to Sweden. Meanwhile, Australia got all three points with its 2-1 win against New Zealand before it also lost to Sweden, a 4-2 thriller that saw star forward Sam Kerr score two goals and fail to convert a penalty kick that would’ve momentarily made it a 3-3 game.
MORE: Updated Olympic women’s group standings
Sporting News will be following the match live and providing real-time updates, commentary and highlights from the USWNT vs. Australia Group G finale.
USWNT vs. Australia live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| USA | 0 | — | — |
| Australia | 0 | — | — |
(All times Eastern)
1st min.: We’re off and the USWNT is already in Australia’s half.
3:56 a.m.: Late lineup change by Australia at forward. This is good news for the USA. Foord was a menace in the first two matches:
3:50 a.m.: There will be some atmosphere at this game. We’ll see who the kids root for:
3:48 a.m.: There’s a lot of reaction to Abby Dahlkemper being out and Tierna Davidson taking her place. Although Dahlkemper has made errors in the first two games, this sub is not about performance, it’s about getting her rest like every other regular starter:
I’ll just say this now because I know people will say it after the game. Tierra Davidson is the best center back on this team #USWNT
— Warren Backhus (@warrenbackhus) July 27, 2021
11:40 p.m.: You probably had to do this a few days ago. Don’t think the boss will appreciate the late notice:
USWNT vs. Australia probable lineups
U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski promised there would be more lineup changes to provide his players with sufficient rest ahead of the single-elimination knockout rounds. Center back Abby Dahlkemper, who played the full 90 in both matches so far, sits out and backup forward Lynn Williams makes the 18-player roster.
As for Australia, the Matildas can’t relax too much in this game. A heavy loss could cost them a spot in the quarterfinals if other results don’t go their way. The starting XI has just two changes with starting wide midfielder Hayley Raso sitting out and center back Alvi Luik on the bench.
MORE: U.S. women Olympic team roster
USA
Starters (4-3-3, left to right): 1-Alyssa Naeher — 2-Crystal Dunn, 12-Tierna Davidson, 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (capt.), 5-Kelley O’Hara — 3-Samantha Mewis, 8-Julie Ertz, 16-Rose Lavelle — 15-Megan Rapinoe, 13-Alex Morgan, 11-Christen Press
Substitutes: 18-Adrianna Franch-GK, 20-Casey Krueger, 6-Kristie Mewis, 9-Lindsey Horan, 10-Carli Lloyd, 7-Tobin Heath, 21-Lynn Williams
Sitting out: 22-Jane Campbell-GK, 14-Emily Sonnett, 17-Abby Dahlkemper, 19-Catarina Macario
Australia
Starters (3-4-3, left to right): 18-Teagan Micah-GK — 14-Alanna Kennedy, 4-Clare Polkinghorne, 12-Ellie Carpenter — 7-Steph Catley, 13-Tameka Yallop,10-Emily van Egmond, 6-Chloe Logarzo — 11-Mary Fowler, 2-Sam Kerr (capt.), 17-Kyah Simon
Substitutes: 1-Lydia Williams, 5-Aivi Luik, 3-Kyra Cooney-Cross, 19-Courtney Nevin, 21-Laura Brock, 15-Emily Gielnik, 9-Caitlin Foord
Sitting out: 22-Mackenzie Arnold-GK, 16-Hayley Raso, 20-Charlotte Grant, 8-Elise Kellond-Knight
How to watch USWNT vs. Australia Olympic soccer
- Date: Tuesday, July 27
- Time: 4 a.m. ET
- TV Channels: USA Network
- Spanish-language TV: Telemundo
- Replays: USA Network (10 a.m., 6 p.m. ET), NBCSN (11:45 p.m. ET)
- Streaming: fuboTV, NBCOlympics.com, TelemundoDeportes.com, NBC Sports app and Telemundo Deportes app (with user authentication)
USA vs. Australia will air live on USA Network and Telemundo at 4 a.m. ET. Those channels can be streamed on fuboTV (free 7-day trial).
MORE: Complete Olympic women’s soccer schedule
All soccer matches are also streamed in the USA on NBCOlympics.com, TelemundoDeportes.com, NBC Sports app and the Telemundo Deportes app — all with user authentication.
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