PREVIEW: USWNT facing Netherlands in quarterfinals of Tokyo Olympics

The knockout stage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics is here and it features an intriguing quarterfinal matchup for the U.S. Women’s National Team against the Netherlands on July 30 at the International Stadium Yokohama.

The match will kick off at 8 p.m. ET/7 a.m. ET and will be available for viewing in the United States on NBCSN and Telemundo with streaming coverage also available through NBCOlympics.com and through the Telemundo Deportes App.

After finishing second in Group G, the USA – the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup champions – will take on a familiar foe in the Netherlands – winners of Group F, the reigning European champions and runners up at the 2019 World Cup.

This will be the third time the World Cup finalists have met in the knockout rounds of the subsequent Olympics and the second such instance involving the USWNT. In 2012, the USA beat Japan, 2-1, in the Olympic Final, avenging it’s 2011 penalty kick loss at the 2011 World Cup. Brazil and Germany also met in the semifinals of the 2008 Olympics one year after squaring off in the World Cup Final.

USWNT OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER ROSTER BY POSITION (CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): 22-Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 5), 18-Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 6), 1-Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 76)

DEFENDERS (7): 17-Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City, ENG; 73/0), 12-Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 37/1), 2-Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC; 119/24), 20-Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars; 35/0), 5-Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit; 142/2), 4-Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC; 190/0), 14-Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit; 57/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): 8-Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 113/20), 9-Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 101/23), 16-Rose Lavelle (OL Reign; 59/15), 19-Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyon, FRA; 8/1), 6-Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash; 28/4), 3-Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage; 80/23)

FORWARDS (6): 7-Tobin Heath (Unattached; 174/35), 10-Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC; 309/126), 13-Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 183/111), 11-Christen Press (Unattached; 152/64), 15-Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign; 182/59), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage; 38/11)

LET THE KNOCKOUT ROUNDS BEGIN!

After an exciting first three matchdays of action at Tokyo 2020, all four quarterfinals will be played on July 30, kicking off with Canada vs. Brazil from Miyagi at 5 p.m. local. Canada finished second in Group E while Brazil took second in Group F, finishing behind the Netherlands on goal differential. The winner of Friday’s matchup between the Canada and Brazil will face the winner of USA-Netherlands in the semifinal on August 2.

On the other side of the bracket, Great Britain will face Australia at 6p.m. local/5 a.m. ET followed by Sweden vs. Japan at 7 p.m. local/6a.m. ET. Great Britain and Sweden won Groups E and G, respectively, while Australia and Japan went through to the knockout rounds as the top two third-place teams.

The semifinals will be played on August 2, with the Bronze Medal Match on August 5 (5 p.m. local/4 a.m. ET) and the Gold Medal Game to follow on Aug. 6 (11 a.m. local/10 p.m. ET on Aug. 5).

Any matches that go to overtime in the quarterfinals will be followed by 30 minutes of overtime and then penalty kicks if necessary. Additionally, teams are allowed one extra sub if a match in the knockout rounds goes into overtime. Teams are allowed five substitutes each – a first for a world championship event – plus one potential concussion substitute according to the new established protocols. The U.S. has used all five subs in each of its group stage games with 20 different players seeing game action.

Two yellow cards in separate games over the first four matches will result in a one-game suspension, but single yellow cards will clear after the quarterfinals. Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle each picked up a yellow card in the USA’s match against Australia. If either were to receive another caution vs. the Netherlands on July 30, they would be suspended for the semifinal, if the USA advances.

INSIDE THE SERIES: USA VS. NETHERLANDS

Friday’s quarterfinal matchup will be the ninth meeting all-time between the USA and the Netherlands and their second matchup in the knockout rounds of a world championship. The first such meeting came on July 7, 2019, as the USA defeated the Netherlands, 2-0, in Lyon, France to capture the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup title. Megan Rapinoe converted a penalty kick in the 61st minute for what would prove to be the game-winning goal and Rose Lavelle added an epic finish in the 69th to secure the USWNT its fourth star.

The most recent meeting between the teams came on November 27, 2020, a 2-0 win for the USA in Breda, the Netherlands in the team’s first match in 261 days after a long pause in programming due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A first half goal from Lavelle and a second half score from Kristie Mewis proved to be the difference as the USA closed its 2020 campaign with a victory.

Overall, the USA leads the series with a record of 8-1-0, its lone loss to the Dutch coming in a 4-3 defeat during the first matchup between the teams in 1991. Since then, the USA has won the last eight games, though each of the last five meetings between the teams has been decided by two goals.

WE’RE ALL OLYMPIANS

On June 30, the International Olympic Committee agreed to a more flexible approach towards the participation of the alternate players in the Olympic Football Tournaments, ruling that all participating countries are now entitled, if they choose, to reconstitute their teams ahead of every match. This means that while each team must still only have 18 players on its game day roster for each Olympic match, teams now can choose those 18 from a total of 22 players – the original 18 named to the Olympic Team plus the four named alternates, who are now members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team. The IOC made it clear that this is an exception made only for the Tokyo 2020 Games and does not create a precedent for future Olympics.

The IOC also ruled that a player must be on an 18-player game day roster in order to be considered an Olympian and receive a medal if her team does win one. With former alternates Catarina Macario, Jane Campbell and Casey Krueger appearing on the USA’s 18-player roster for the July 24 match vs. New Zealand and Lynn Williams making the roster against Australia, all 22 players on the USA’s roster are now officially deemed Olympians.

USWNT EYES OLYMPIC HISTORY

Four-time Olympic gold medalists, the U.S. Olympic Women’s Soccer Team had advanced to the gold medal game of every Olympic Women’s Soccer Tournament that had been contested until 2016, when the Americans were knocked out in penalty kicks in the quarterfinal round by Sweden. The USA won the inaugural gold medal in 1996 in Atlanta, won silver in 2000 in Sydney and then won three straight golds after standing atop the podium in Athens, Greece in 2004, Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012.

The USA’s four gold medals are the most by any nation in the history of the Olympic Soccer Tournament – women’s or men’s – and its five total medals lead all women’s teams in the competition.

USA ROSTER NOTES

• All 19 of the USA’s field players have seen action so far this Olympics, joining Sweden, Brazil and Canada as the only teams to use all available field players in the group stage.
• Alyssa Naeher is the only USA player to have played the full 270 minutes so far, but Crystal Dunn has played 254, Julie Ertz has played 225, Rose Lavelle has played 235 and Lindsey Horan has played 199.
• Naeher, Dunn and Rose Lavelle are the only players to start all three group stage matches for the USA.
• Carli Lloyd has the most Olympic appearances on the roster with 19 and the most Olympic goals with eight.
• Tobin Heath, who along with Lloyd is competing in her fourth Olympics, has made 15 Olympic appearances.
• Lloyd’s 19 career Olympic appearances rank second in USWNT history, trailing only Christie Pearce Rampone with 22 while Heath’s 15 Olympic appearances are tied with Mia Hamm for 8th in USWNT history.
• The USA’s 22-player roster averages 99 international caps per player and has a combined total of 125 Olympic appearances and 21 Olympic goals, courtesy of Lloyd (8), Alex Morgan (6), Megan Rapinoe (3), Crystal Dunn (1), Rose Lavelle (1), Lindsey Horan (1) and Christen Press (1). Lloyd and Morgan rank second and third, respectively, for the most Olympic goals scored in USWNT history, trailing only Abby Wambach, who scored nine goals combined at the 2004 and 2012 Olympics.
• Ten players have made their Olympic made their Olympic debut for the USA during Tokyo 2020: Six on July 21 against Sweden – Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson, Rose Lavelle, Kristie Mewis, Samantha Mewis and Alyssa Naeher –three more on July 24 against New Zealand – Emily Sonnett, Catarina Macario and Casey Krueger – and Lynn Williams on July 27 against Australia.
• The USA has advanced out of its group in each of its seven Olympic appearances, winning the group five times and finishing second in Tokyo 2020 and at the inaugural games in 1996, though the USA would go on to win gold.
• So far this year, 12 players have scored the USA’s 43 goals: Megan Rapinoe (7), Christen Press (6), Samantha Mewis (5), Alex Morgan (4), Lindsey Horan (4), Carli Lloyd (3), Kristie Mewis (2), Tobin Heath (2), Margaret Purce (2), Lynn Williams (2), Rose Lavelle (2) and Catarina Macario. Three of the USA’s 43 goals in 2021 have been own goals.
• Sixteen different players have also tallied an assist in 2021: Carli Lloyd (6), Christen Press (5), Lindsey Horan (4), Samantha Mewis (3), Rose Lavelle (2), Megan Rapinoe (2), Kristie Mewis (2), Crystal Dunn (2), Julie Ertz (2), Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger, Emily Sonnett, Casey Krueger, Sophia Smith, Tierna Davidson and Tobin Heath.
• Overall, 19 different players have been directly involved in at least one of the USWNT’s 43 goals in the 2021 calendar year.
• Press (6 goals, 5 assists) leads way with 11 goal contributions followed by Rapinoe (7 goals, 2 assist) and Lloyd (3 goals, 6 assists) with nine goal contributions while and Samantha Mewis (5 goals, 3 assists) has been involved in eight.

IN FOCUS: NETHERLANDS | FIVE THINGS TO KNOWFIFA WORLD RANKING: 4

UEFA Ranking: 3
Olympic Appearances: 1st (2020)
Best Olympic Finish: N/A
Overall Record in Olympics: 2-0-1 (GF: 21, GA: 8)
Record vs. USA:1-8-0
Head Coach: Sarina Wiegman

NETHERLANDS OLYMPIC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM ROSTER BY POSITION

GOALKEEPERS (3): 1-Sari van Veenendaal (PSV), 16-Lize Kop (Ajax), 22-Loes Geurts (Hacken, SWE)

DEFENDERS (8): 2-Lynn Wilms (FC Twente), 3-Stefanie van der Gragt (Ajax), 4-Aniek Nouwen (Chelsea, ENG), 5-Merel van Dongen (Atletico Madrid, ESP), 12-Sisca Folkertsma (FC Twente), 15-Kika van Es (FC Twente), 17-Dominique Janssen (Wolfsburg, GER), 21-Anouk Dekker (Montpellier, FRA)

MIDFIELDERS (5): 6-Jill Roord (Wolfsburg, GER), 10-Danielle van de Donk (Arsenal, ENG), 13-Victoria Pelova (Ajax), 14-Jackie Groenen (Manchester United, ENG), 20-Inessa Kaagman (Brighton & Hove Albion, ENG)

FORWARDS (6): 7-Shanice van de Sanden (Wolfsburg, GER), 8-Joelle Smits (PSV), 9-Vivianne Miedema (Arsenal, ENG), 11-Lieke Martens (Barcelona, ESP), 18-Lineth Beerensteyn (Bayern Munich, GER), 19-Renate Jansen (FC Twente)

NETHERLANDS ROSTER NOTES

• Making their first ever appearance at the Olympics, the Netherlands finished atop Group F with seven points from three matches (2-0-1). Brazil also finished with seven points, but the Netherlands claimed first in the group with a plus-13 goal differential, compared to plus-6 for Brazil.
• Netherlands has had a remarkable start to the Olympics, scoring a record-breaking (for an Olympic tournament, never mind a group stage) 21 total goals, winning 10-3 over Zambia, tying Brazil 3-3 and then downing China PR, 8-2. The 21 goals are 12 more than any other team in the tournament. The previous single-tournament high was 16 goals, set by the USA during its run to gold at the 2012 Olympics in London.
• The eye-catching score line vs. Zambia set Olympic records for the most goals scored by one team during an Olympic match (10) as well as the most combined goals from both teams (13).
• Seven different players have scored for the Dutch, led by star forward Vivianne Miedema, who has tallied an Olympic record eight times. She scored four goals vs. Zambia, two vs. Brazil and two vs. China PR.
• Miedema’s eight goals broke the Olympic record of six previously held by Canada’s Christine Sinclair for her performance at London 2012. Her four-goal effort also tied the Olympic single-game scoring record, matching Germany’s Birgit Prinz, who scored four goals against China during the 2004 Olympics.
• Only five players, including Abby Wambach (9) have scored more goals in their Olympic careers than Miedema has in just three games in this tournament.
• With 81 international goals, Miedema is not only the leading scorer on the Netherlands Olympic roster, but the top scorer in the history of the Netherlands Women’s National Team with 81 scores in 99 career caps. Miedema could earn her 100th cap against the United States, which would make her the fourth player on the Netherlands Olympic roster with 100+ caps.
• Forward Lieke Martens is the most experienced player on the roster with 126 international appearances and is second in scoring with 53 international goals. Reserve goalkeeper Loes Geurts (125 caps) and van de Donk (117) have also eclipsed the 100-cap milestone for the Dutch.
• Martins has found the net four times, forward Lineth Beerenstetyn has three, forward Sherice Van de Sanden has two, as does midfielder Victoria Pelova. Jill Roord and Dominique Janssen (who was Dominique Bloodworth during the World Cup) have each scored once.
• For the match in Breda, the Netherlands was without Miedema, who had a hip injury. At the age of 25, with five years left in her 20s and a scoring rate of .081 goals per game, Miedemahas to be considered a favorite to break Sinclair’s all-time international scorer record, which currently sits at 187.
• Physical midfielder SheridaSpitse, who is the Netherland’s all-time leader in caps, was ruled out of the tournament prior to the start of the games with an injury and was replaced by forward Joelle Smits, who has four caps.