It has been just nine days since the U.S. Women's national team rolled to a 4-1 victory over Germany in the group stage of the 2024 Olympics. And while the opponent might be familiar, both sides enter Tuesday's semifinal in Lyon with strong momentum.
Considering the previous result in the group stage, conventional wisdom would suggest the USWNT are the favorites to win this semifinal and go directly on to the Gold Medal game. Yet, Germany has improved since the last encounter between the two sides, and could prove to be a more challenging prospect for Emma Hayes' team. Complacency is not an option for the U.S., despite four straight wins at these Games.
More important, the U.S. have much to learn from their knockout round opener against Japan. In that match, the U.S. wasn't allowed to play beautiful soccer. Instead, they were forced to endure, which they ultimately did after 120 grueling minutes, hanging on for a 1-0 victory.
Tuesday’s match at the Stade de Lyon will be seventh meeting between the U.S. and Germany at the World Cup or Olympics, with four of those match-ups coming in the semifinals. The teams met in the semifinals of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which the USA won 2-0 on the way to its third World Cup title.Overall, the U.S. leads the head-to-head series, 5-1, at world championship events. Germany’s only win over the U.S. at a championship came in the semifinals of the 2003 Women’s World Cup, a 3-0 victory.
What will these 90 minutes against the Germans look like, or will it be another 120? GOAL offers five things to watch in the USWNT's rematch against Germany.