The USA go up against Australia at 6pm BST on July 31 for Group B’s final game before playoffs.

Australia is set to play the USA on match day three, which will round off these Olympic group stage games. Both Group B matches will take place at 6pm BST, with Zambia taking on Germany, confirming which of these four teams will make it out of the group stage.

Australia and the USA are set to play at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseilles under head coaches Tony Gustavsson and Emma Hayes.

Making it to the knockouts

As well as Spain, the USA have already earned their place in the knockout rounds, with both teams topping their groups on six points so far.

In Group B, the USA is followed by Germany and Australia with three points, although Australia sits lower on goal difference. Zambia places bottom of the table prior to this last group stage matchup with zero points after two losses.

The USA will of course be looking for a result, but Australia will also need points in order to make their own advancement to the knockout rounds. Their current standing will be enough if this match goes well for them and keeps them in the three highest ranking third placed teams.

Team form

Embed from Getty Images

The USA follow their 4-1 win against Germany, which saw the team concede only their first goal under Emma Hayes.

Germany got their foot in the door, but the USA defence is clearly tight. Could Australia be the ones to break it down?

Emma Hayes spoke on the Matildas before the matchup: “They’re very organised, they’re very compact, very disciplined.”

She described Australia as: “Unbelievable with set pieces, they really are. I think best in the tournament with their deliverers. So, they pose a massive threat. […] This is a top game,”

The Matildas come off a game of goal madness which saw them beat Zambia 6-5.

Embed from Getty Images

There are of course two sides to this result: yes, the team attack was stellar, particularly off set pieces, but they conceded a huge number of goals, and all of them in the first half.

This tells us, however, that Australia can show up and makes a huge comeback if needed.

From the USA’s tournament play so far, they tend to come up big in the first half and wane slightly in the second. These kinds of recent play along with the combination of Australia’s stellar set pieces and the USA’s three-pronged attack of Rodman, Smith and Swanson, set this match up to be very spicy indeed.

Davidson out with injury

Tierna Davidson will sit this game out due to a leg contusion following a knee-to-knee collision in the USA’s last match against Germany. Hayes has not confirmed who will replace her but confirms that she has a few players in mind.

Based on recent substitutions, the defender in place of Davidson in the starting XI looks to be Emily Sonnett.

Despite not being a like-for-like replacement, Sonnett brings a valuable layering of versatility and veteran leadership that she has shown in the first two group games after being substituted.

Embed from Getty Images

Forward Sophia Smith spoke on what to expect from the USA in their next game: “You could put anyone out there and know that we all have the same goal. We all trust each other to get the job done.”

Group B’s USA will take on Australia on July 31 at 6pm BST at Marseilles’ Stade Vélodrome in the final matchday before playoffs.

The game will be streaming live on Discovery + and Max from 5.50pm BST.


Featured image courtesy of LittleBlinky via Wikimedia Commons. No changes were made to this image. License details found here


For more of our Paris 2024 Women’s Football Olympic coverage click here.