USWNT vs. Germany: Olympics Semifinal Preview

In a rematch from the Group Stage, the USWNT will take on Germany in the semifinals at the Olympics. The first matchup could not have gone better for the United States with a resounding 4-1 win over the Germans. Now, with the stakes at an all-time high, they’ll have to defeat Germany again in order to make it to the Gold Medal match. Surely, the Germans will be more prepared this time, and we can expect a much more competitive result. Here’s my preview of the USWNT vs. Germany in the Olympics semi-final. 

USWNT vs. Germany Tuesday: August 6 at 12:00 PM ET/9:00 AM PT, USA Network, Peacock, Telemundo 

Both sides had to survive some tough matches in the quarterfinals to get here. Japan, as expected, made life difficult for the United States. While the United States was dominant in the first half, Japan started to create chances and grow in confidence throughout the second half. Each team had chances, but nothing was clear-cut, and most shots were either saved easily or missing the goal by quite a wide margin. 

Trinity Rodman ended up providing a moment of magic to win the game for the United States. A lovely cut inside onto her left foot opened it up for her to bend the ball into the top corner. Rodman’s work on her left foot has been incredible and it went from being a weakness when she first became a professional to now a strength. If Rodman didn’t score, the match was likely to go to penalties, a much more nerve-wracking way to settle the game. Still, it’s all about surviving and advancing in a tournament like this, when teams have only two days in between to recover. 

The same can be said for the Germans, who were in a back-and-forth battle with Canada. Unlike the Japan/USA game, both Canada and Germany had multiple opportunities to win the game late and in extra time. Instead, the match went to penalties and Germany kept their nerve with Ann Katrin Berger as the heroine. Berger saved two penalties and ended up scoring the fifth and final penalty to send Germany through. Now, the USA and Germany are preparing for an epic rematch to get to the final. 

Not too much changes for the United States in this game, the game plan is get the ball to the front three and let them go to work. Korbin Albert filled in well for Sam Coffey, who missed the game with yellow card accumulation. Coffey’s return will be huge for the USWNT in how they can defend and create in the middle of the field. Germany struggled to stay in front of Smith, Rodman, and Swanson, which is why they lost. The question is will they choose to sit back and attempt to counter or try to attack as they did in the first matchup? 

Germany had success going forward as well. Giulia Gwinn’s long-range goal was a beautiful strike, and they had a few instances to tie the game when Mallory Swanson restored the USA’s lead. The problem was when the third goal went in for the United States and while it was a nice shot from Sophia Smith, the heavy deflection was a bit lucky as well. At that point Germany had to abandon their strategy and push to tie the game. The United States defense held strong and because Germany had to push players forward, it led to the fourth goal. 

Expect the Germans to have learned from the previous matchup and mix it up tactically. They know if they line up the same way, they’ll likely lose again. However, they won’t have the benefit of going after Emily Sonnett as Australia and Japan did. If Davidson returns to the backline, they’ll be even tougher to beat coming into this match. 

Germany’s ability to play in a 4-4-2 with two traditional strikers up front is something they’ve only seen against Zambia, but Germany is a far superior opponent. The last time these two teams played, I thought the match would end in the draw, but the USWNT was just too good. With a place in the Gold Medal match on the line, I don’t think the Germans will look to attack as much. I think they’re going to sit back and look to pick their spot to go forward, which won’t lead to many chances, but Germany is clinical enough to where they can score a goal or two. My pick is for the USWNT to win in penalties, but hopefully, it doesn’t come to that. It’s going to be an intense fixture, but that’s how cutthroat the Olympics are. Only the strongest survive as each round progresses, the United States have shown their resilience before and they’ll have to do it again to defeat Germany for the second time in as many days. 

Featured image via @uswnt on Instagram

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