Saturday marks the second day of competition in women’s soccer, and the showcase match includes the United States.
The reigning gold medalists (and World Cup champions) play their second group stage match Saturday afternoon, as they take on France in a Group G showdown in Belo Horizonte. The match kicks off at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, and it will be streamed on NBCOlympics.com and on the NBC Sports app. This will be the second consecutive Olympics in which the two teams have met in the group stage, with the United States winning 4-2 in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. France grabbed a 2-0 lead in that match inside of 14 minutes before the Americans replied with four unanswered goals to grab the win.
WATCH: United States vs. France on NBCOlympics.com
While both teams had little trouble winning their opening matches Wednesday, France tallied four goals in their 4-0 thrashing of Colombia that was even more lopsided than the final margin would indicate. Mads Toppel’s own goal inside of two minutes got France going, and they were unrelenting in their pressing of a Colombian side that was ill-equipped to deal with them. The United States beat New Zealand 2-0, and while their final scoreline wasn’t as impressive as the one posted by France Jill Ellis’ team was in control for much of their match.
Alex Morgan, who scored twice in the win over France in the 2012 Summer Olympics, scored in the 46th minute with captain Carli Lloyd’s header in the ninth minute opening the American account Wednesday night. With both teams opening in Belo Horizonte travel won’t be an issue for either, as the teams did not make the trek to Rio for Friday’s Opening Ceremony.
That’s the second of six matches to be played in women’s soccer Saturday, with Canada taking on Zimbabwe in a Group F match in Sao Paulo. Canada beat Australia 2-0 in their opener, and they’ll be expected to grab all three points against a Zimbabwe side that fell 6-1 to Germany in their Olympic debut. With their loss to Canada, Australia enters Saturday’s matchup with Germany in Sao Paulo in need of a result as they look to advance into the knockout stage.
Playing in Rio Saturday will be hosts Brazil, who face Sweden in the second game of a doubleheader at the Olympic Stadium. Both teams are coming off of wins in their opening matches, with Brazil taking care of China and the Swedes beating South Africa. China and South Africa will meet in the first match at the Olympic Stadium.
All six matches will be available at NBCOlympics.com and on the NBC Sports app.
Saturday’s Olympic Women’s Soccer Schedule (all times Eastern):
2:00 p.m.: Canada vs. Zimbabwe - WATCH LIVE
4:00 p.m.: United States vs. France - WATCH HERE
5:00 p.m.: Germany vs. Australia - WATCH HERE
6:00 p.m.: South Africa vs. China - WATCH HERE
7:00 p.m.: Colombia vs. New Zealand - WATCH HERE
9:00 p.m.: Brazil vs. Sweden - WATCH HERE