TNT Sports
Australia v United States - Paris 2024 Olympic Games women's football as it happened
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Published 31/07/2024 at 18:21 GMT+1
Welcome to our live text coverage of the women's football tournament at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Australia come up against the United States in the final group stage match. Emma Hayes has already led the Americans into the knockout rounds after they clinched two convincing wins, while Australia will be in good form after sealing a historic victory over Zambia in their last game.
Trinity Rodman #5 of the United States celebrates scoring with teammates.
Image credit: Getty Images
Full-time: Australia 1-2 USA
Arnold was up but Naeher beat her opposite number to the punch and Australia can't recycle. It's Game Over and America have won!!!
90+6' Kennedy again!
And again she can't control, before Heyman is muscled off the ball in the box but saves a throw-in, that turns into a corner! Could it be?
90+3' ALMOST 2-2!
Where has this Australia been? Their gamplan is clear: aerial balls from deep into the box, and any contact from Kennedy would've grabbed the equaliser but she somehow misses it with Naeher stranded!
90+2' GOAL!!! Australia 1-2 USA (Kennedy)
Out of nothing, they're alive! It was another hopeful ball pumped into the box but this time Heyman - the hero last time out - controlled it for Kennedy and she fires under Naeher!
90' Seven minutes to go
That's the injury time Gustavsson's side have to score the two required goals, can they do it?
89' SO CLOSE!
The initial delivery came to nought but Fowler kept it alive and lifted a ball in from deep that Catley helped towards goal, but it's agonisingly wide for the Matildas.
87' Last chance saloon?
There'll be plenty of stoppage time, but Australia need to halve that defecit as quickly as possible up for a corner...
83' HOW HASN'T SHE SCORED?!?
Sophia Smith's jaw is on the floor along with everyone else's - she beat her defender at the byline and then her shot cannoned off Alanna Kennedy and onto the post... Then onto the other post and finally into Arnold's grateful gloves. It was just the half the ball had crossed the line, but Australia are just about still in this, by a matter of inches.
80' Good news and bad news
That goal doesn't make any difference to Australia's prospects if the game neded right now, but it's doubled the size of their task to claim a draw and secure their passage to the knockouts.
77' GOAL!! Australia 0-2 USA (Albert)
In a game of little quality in front of goal, Albert may well have iced it for America with a dagger to Australian hearts! She slightly shovelled her shot but placed it well enough, past a despairing Arnold and that could be game over.
75' Cooling break
15 minutes to go and the coaches get their final messages onto the pitch.
70' Triple threat
Emma Hayes has just one substitution left in hand after replacing Emily Fox, Lavelle and Rodman with Casey Kreuger, Korbin Albert and Lynn Williams.
66' Sit-rep
Australia must find a goal... And not concede. They're currently level with Brazil in the battle of the third-place teams but have a worse goal difference by one, with Group A rounding us out tonight. If they can't draw in Marseille, the Matildas must hope neither Canada nor New Zealand beat France or Colombia later.
62' Ring the changes
There's more uncertainty over who Emily van Egmond and Michelle Heyman are on for, but eventually it's confirmed as Gorry and Torpey. Hayes is readying her own changes too...
59' Penalty?
Gustavsson is suddenly very animated on the sideline, with more confusion on the after the goal kerfuffle earlier. Rodman wishes VAR was called in once more when she hits the deck in the penalty area, but Letexier waves that away immediately.
56' Zambia 1-2 Germany
Elsewhere in Group B, two goals in two minutes mean Germany retain their lead with Australia looking more and more resigned to third. Will it be with three or four points though?
53' Chances slipping away
Australia have created very little this afternoon, and that doesn't change as a rare shot rolls into Alyssa Naeher's gloves.
49' Lavelle on a mission
She's involved twice in the opening five minutes after a quiet first half! First she attempts to bend a ball into Clare and almost threads the needle - but crucially not quite allowing Ellie Carpenter to clear. Then she takes on the shot herself, but Australia can just about clear.
46' Second half underway
In fact there's subs for both teams. Clare Wheeler replaces Kyra Cooney-Cross for Australia, and Emma Hayes takes off Dunn in favour of Jenna Nighswonger.
Players are out
Gustavsson spoke to Letexier in the tunnel but it ended more amicably than their last conversation, and the Swede is preparing a change too.
Halftime stats
They reflect the American dominance:
Australia 0-1 USA
Shots/On target: 9/7 - 1/0
Corners: 0-5
Possession: 28%-72%
HT - Australia 0-1 USA
A Swanson shot limps harmlessly through to Arnold and that's half-time! Rodman supplied her striker the ball for that final chance and it's her goal that makes the difference so far.
45+8' Any more for any more?
It's a terrible goal to concede for Australia, and an equally terrible scattered 'Oh when the States go marching in' rendition breaks out to finish the half.
However, the Matildas almost concede an even more terribly-timed second when Swanson breaks clear but can't finish off the opportunity.
45+5' Goal stands
Well that's over five minutes of our lives we'll never get back. The five added minutes become ten, Letexier did consult the monitor after his headset apparently couldn't communicate with the video referee, but only spends a few seconds looking at the replay before signalling this game will remain 1-0.
45+2' Confusion and chaos
Referee Francois Letexier appeared to give the goal but never actually looked at the monitor, it could be a communications issue that's causing the delay. There's five minutes of added time but that will certainly be extended, and Gustavsson picks up a booking too.
45' VAR check...
Sam Coffey was undoubtedly offside bang in the centre of the six-yard box and didn't touch the ball, but did she influence play? That's what VAR is checking, as one fan comments 'VAR is unamerican'.
43' GOAL! Australia 0-1 USA (Rodman)
Rodman has it! Australia have been on the ropes for much of the first half and they're finally punished from a deep corner that Clare headed back across goal, and Rodman reacted quickest to poke it home past a helpless Arnold.
40' What a save!
But Arnold's made up for it there! It's another quarterback-style dink from about 25 yards out into an onrushing striker and this time Horan does make contact, but Arnold somehow deflects it onto the crossbar and Clare Hunt finishes the clearance.
38' What was that?
But with Matildas committed up the pitch, America almost strike. They appeared indecisive in front of goal and that was their undoing, but only just as Dunn eventually opted to go Route One from outside the area and a seemingly harmless shot straight at Arnold almost turned into disaster when she unconvincingly palms the ball just over the bar.
37' Half-chance?
Maybe more - an acrobatic touch by Torpey kept an Australian counter-attack going and a cross nearly bounced all the way through to Caitlin Foord. Luckily for Emma Hayes' side, Dunn was there to mop up.
34' Status quo resumed
After that flurry of action, we've reverted to the mean - the mean in question being over 75% possession for the Americans and an Aussie bus parked in front of Arnold's goal.
31' HUGE chance
She should've scored! Mallory Swanson timed her run off perfectly to latch onto Sophia Smith's sumptuous chip, but just couldn't get any meaningful contact on the ball and Mackenzie Arnold's thigh makes the save.
28' Like father, like daughter
We're not sure if renowned NBA hardman Dennis Rodman is part of the Marseille crowd today but his daughter Trinity certainly left her mark on Kaitlyn Torpey there, and the officials use the stoppage to call for a cooling break.
26' Rare shot for Australia!
It's hard to underestimate how one-sided this feels. And that's partly by design with Tony Gustavsson selecting a more defensive Australian team knowing a draw will guarantee a quarter-final berth.
However, they manage their first expedition forwards and it nearly yields a goal when Gorry and Mary Fowler's neat combination gives the latter a shooting opportunity that just bounces past the post.
23' Rare possession for Australia
That lasts all of about 28 seconds. This game has the feel of one of those games on the primary school playground where it's clear the teams are unfair and everyone's waiting for some goals so there's an excuse to even them up.
But that hasn't happened yet - the US scored earlier than this in their other two group games.
21' Take the shot!
Ultimately it doesn't matter due to an offside flag, but Crystal Dunn received the ball in plenty of space on the left of the penalty area and then dithered painfully before shovelling the ball straight to an Aussie centre-back.
17' Same old, same old
The scoreboard disappeared from the live feed for a few minutes, which is about the most exciting thing that's happened this afternoon. Australia are sitting deep and attempting to break out where possible but haven't moved the ball upfield anywhere near accurately enough.
14' Defensive Matildas
Australia are sitting back into a 5-3-2 every time America take the ball forwards, and have seen just 20% of possession as a result.
10' Germany lead
Over in the other Group B game, Lea Schuller has given Germany the lead over Zambia. That makes it harder for Australia to qualify as runners-up in this group but improves their overall prospect of reaching the quarters - Zambia must win to have any chance of overhauling then for third.
6' Had to score!
This game felt 50-50 for about five minutes, but the favourites are making their mark now. Trinity Rodman created space on the right but there was no one to latch onto her cross, they'll come again though.
A deft Lindsey Horan touch allows Mallory Swanson to loose a shot but the Matildas scramble the ball clear.
3' Yellow card!
It's been a pedestrian start to a game in which a draw would benefit both sides, which makes it all the more surprising when Sam Coffey is booked for a heavy challenge on Katrina Gorry. That means the midfielder will miss the quarter-final thanks to another caution picked up against Germany.
1' Kick-off!
The US take control of the ball early, but it's new addition Emily Sonnett who makes the first mistake of the game, passing it straight out for a throw-in.
17:56 - National anthems done and dusted
Which means it's only a few minutes until we get this thing underway! Here's a reminder of the teams:
Australia: Arnold, Carpenter, Torpey, Kennedy, Hunt, Catley, Raso, Gorry, Cooney-Cross, Foord, Fowler.
USA: Naeher, Fox, Girma, Sonnett, Dunn, Horan, Coffey, Lavelle, Rodman, Swanson, Smith.
17:50 - discovery+ is LIVE!
It's T-10 minutes and you can now catch the rest of the buildup live on discovery+! Or if you'd rather keep an eye on Germany v Zambia that's live too - we're not the home of the Olympics for nothing after all.
17:45 - The permutations
The situation is simple for the USA: win tonight and face the runner-up in Group C. Their games are drawing to a close as we speak, but right now it looks like Japan. Even if they don't win, Germany would need to beat Zambia and improve their goal difference margin by eight to top Group B
Australia can qualify as runners-up if they beat Germany's result, or match it and wipe out their own two-goal defecit in the table. But thanks to Canada's points deduction, they can also guarantee qualification for the quarter-finals with a draw. Otherwise it will be a nervy wait to see if Canada can beat Colombia in Nice in a few hours' time - it's win and in for the Canucks.
17:40 - Locked and loaded
Just 20 minutes until kickoff, and both sides are in the zone:
17:35 - State of play
Anyway, enough about the past. Ahead of kickoff in Marseille, the US are already guaranteed to make the knockouts, while Australia are set to join them - for now.
However, they need to both better Canada's bizarre (thanks to Dronegate) total and stay ahead of Zambia, who also kickoff against Germany at 19:00 local time. For now, here's how Group A looks - and if anyone was wondering, the tiebreakers are goal difference; goals scored, head-to-head record.
1. United States - 6 points (GD +6)
2. Germany - 3 (0)
3. Australia 3 (-2)
4. Zambia - 0 (-4)
17:30 - Heavy hand of history?
The two former British colonies have met 34 times in the past, with the USWNT winning 28 of those and unbeaten in four years, since the Aussies notched their only victory in the tie. The pair also locked horns in a goalless draw at the 2004 that helped both teams through to the knockouts in the tournament eventually won by the Americans.
17:25 - Matildas match opponents
Emily van Egmond drops to the bench for Australia's all-important final group game, with Kaitlyn Torpey a more defensive replacement.
17:20 - Hayes makes one changes
It's Emily Sonnett in and Tierna Davidson out for this one, with the defender unavailable due to a leg contusion.
17:15 - Hello and Welcome!
And just like that, the Olympic football group stages are almost over! But not quite, and both Australia and the US could do with a result tonight, so don't click away just yet.
The Matildas' victory over Zambia in the most improbable match of the Games so far (and maybe the whole footballing summer) means they're still in contention for the knockout stages, while the USA need a point to guarantee top spot in Group B. This one gets underway in 45 minutes and it will be live on Eurosport and discovery+, we'll keep you updated with all the buildup until then!
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discovery+ is the streaming home of the Olympic Games, and the only place you can watch every moment of Paris 2024 this summer.
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