Priestman Suspended, USA Dominate, Matildas Lose to Germany on MD1 of the Olympics

With no draws on match day 1 of the women’s Olympic football tournament, six of the 12 sides have set themselves up comfortably, as the biggest storyline of the Games continues to unfold off the pitch.

Round Ball Australia is here to wrap-up all the biggest talking points out of match day 1 of the 2024 Paris Olympics Women’s Football Tournament.

Bev Priestman suspended by Canada Soccer as drone fallout continues

The biggest story of the day came in the early hours of Friday morning in France after the match day had been completed, with Canada Soccer announcing it was suspending head coach Bev Priestman until the completion of an external review after “additional information has come to our attention regarding previous drone use against opponents, predating the Paris 2024 Olympic Games,” the governing body said in a statement.

The Canadian Olympic Committee then made the decision to remove Priestman from the Canadian Olympic Team, with assistant coach Andy Spence set to lead the side for the remainder of the campaign. 

TSN’s Rick Westhead reported in an article on Friday morning (AEST) that coaching staff and contractors working with the men’s and women’s Canadian teams have been engaged for years in efforts to film the closed door training sessions of opponents. This included the Tokyo Olympics gold medal winning campaign, according to “two sources with first-hand knowledge of the situation,” per the TSN article. 

Statement: Suspension of Bev Priestman

— Canada Soccer (@CanadaSoccerEN) July 26, 2024

On the pitch, the gold medal winners from the Tokyo Olympics got its campaign off to a good start, defeating New Zealand 2-1.

After Mackenzie Barry scored from a corner routine to give New Zealand the lead early in the first half, a goal from Cloé Lacasse would send the two sides into half-time locked at 1-1, before an Evelyne Viens goal in the second half was enough to see the Canadians emerge victorious.

Poletti

The Matildas suffer 3-0 defeat to Germany

After falling short of a medal in Tokyo, losing in the bronze medal game to the USA, the Matildas were hoping to get their Paris campaign off to a good start against Germany, who themselves were hoping to rebound after a group stage elimination at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.

The Germans would open the scoring inside the opening 25 minutes en route to a 3-0 victory over the Aussies, who struggled throughout the match to gather any sort of momentum.

Seeing the Germans sit off, the Tillies were afforded the ability to take the initiative in the match, but were largely unable to break through, with any over commitment of numbers, punished by a lightning fast German counterattack.

The result puts Australia in a precarious position as they prepare to face Zambia in its second group stage match, where a victory is a must to keep the Matildas’ hopes of advancing to the knockout stage alive.

Poletti

The host nation race to the top of Group A

The first 45 minutes of France’s victory over Colombia saw the host nation race out to a 3-0 lead with a brace to Marie-Antoinette Katoto headlining the performance.

Colombia would spend the second half trying to find a way back into the match, showcasing why football fans fell in love with them during the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

Catalina Usme would get a goal back from the spot in the 54th minute, before Manuela Pavi would add a second 10 minutes later. 

The South American side would be unable to add a third, and the closing stages of the match would see Mayra Ramirez pick up a red card, and she will be unavailable for the match against New Zealand on Monday morning (AEST).

Poletti

USA dominate Zambia with three-goal first half

The USA looked to exorcise the memories of their last major tournament’s underperformance as a masterclass of offence put minnows Zambia to the sword.

The USWNT made a statement to open the Games as they shook off their disappointment of their quarter final exit at the prior World Cup. 

Three goals in an eight minute window in the first half set the tone as a free wheeling attack constantly looked to press their advantage before a red card to Zambia locked in the result.

The result was headlined by a brace to Mallory Swanson and sets up a mouth watering clash with Germany on match day 2, where the winner will head to the top of Group B.

Chris Macpherson

Other results

Elsewhere, Brazil got a 1-0 victory over Nigeria in Group C through a 37th minute goal to Gabi Nunes, and Spain got its first ever Olympic victory in a 2-1 win over Japan, the only side to defeat the Spaniards en route to its 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup victory, with Aoba Fujino’s goal for Japan being a goal of the tournament contender.