Canada, U.S. women off to winning start at 2024 Paris Olympics

PARIS – Women’s Soccer kicked off at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Thursday, with two Concacaf nations starting their campaigns with victories.

Canada, the gold medal winners four years ago, started their hopeful path to the podium with a win against New Zealand. The United States earned their first three points against Zambia.

Canada comeback victory

The Canadian women’s national team started its gold medal defense with a 2-1 comeback victory against New Zealand at the Geoffroy-Guichard Stadium in St-Etienne, France.

The opponents struck the opening goal from a corner kick in the 13’ as Mackenzie Barry struck inside the penalty area to rebound the ball off the crossbar and into the net.

Adriana Leon struck inside the box in the 35’ as Canada worked to get on the scoresheet.

Nichelle Prince was just wide from close range in the 45’ as the Canadians inched closer to scoring.

Cloe Lacasse broke through to tie the match in the 45’+4 as the teams went even into the locker rooms at halftime.

Evelyne Viens scored the match-winning goal in the 79’ with a diagonal strike from the right side of the penalty area.

With the result, Canada starts its campaign with a victory and a good first step towards qualification for the knockout round. The nation’s next opponent will also be against hosts France in the same setting of their opening victory.

USA also off to winning start

The United States earned its first three points of the 2024 games in a 3-nil victory over Zambia in Group B at the Nice Stadium in Nice, France.

Trinity Rodman opened the scoring in the 17’ with a right-strike inside the box. U.S. captain Lindsey Horan provided the assist.

Mallory Swanson extended the lead for the Americans in the 24’ with a left-footed hit inside the penalty area off another Horan assist.

Swanson completed her brace in the 25’ by circumventing the goalkeeper for a left-footed finish towards the back of the net. Sophia Smith assisted after connecting with Rose Lavelle, who was also key in the build up.

The U.S. women ended the match with 27 attempts and eight shots on goal. Alyssa Naeher collected the clean sheet in her sixth start at the Olympics.

Emma Hayes' squad is tied with Germany for the top of the group. The USWNT's next opponent will be the Germans in Marseille, with first place and a ticket to the knockout stage on the line.

The Dominican Republic prepares for Spain

The Dominican Republic men’s national team will look to build on a historic debut campaign when it meets Spain in Group C on Saturday at the Bordeaux Stadium in Bordeaux, France.

Ibai Gomez’s squad earned their first point in a nil-nil contest against Egypt to open their debut appearance at the Summer Olympics. Xavier Valdez maintained a clean sheet in goal and will look to deliver another top performance against the reigning silver medal winners.

The Dominican attack outshot Egypt 15-13 and will feel confident about their chances to get on the scoresheet. Rafael Núñez and Peter Gonzalez led the frontline with seven combined attempts and two shots on target.

Heinz Morschell also stood out in the debut match with promising efforts from long range. Fabian Messina, who played 76 minutes against Egypt, is being evaluated and could be out for the rest of the tournament due to injury.

Spain leads the group after a 2-1 win over Uzbekistan in its opening match. Marc Pubill and Sergio Gomez were the goalscorers and two of the players that will carry the attention of the Dominican Republic defense.

U.S. men look to rebound against New Zealand

The United States men’s national team will look to bounce back from a loss to hosts France when they meet New Zealand in Group A on Saturday at Marseille Stadium in Marseille, France.

Kevin Paredes and Paxten Aaronson generated chances for the U.S. in the first half against the hosts. The match remained a stalemate into halftime until France broke through in the second half.

Aaronson, Maximilian Dietz and Nathan Harriel all had shots on target in the 3-nil loss. John Tolkin also had a promising attempt as the U.S. attempted to cut the deficit.

A total of 16 players were selected for their Olympic debuts under head coach Marko Mitrovic. Gabriel Slonina and Benjamin Cremaschi will debut if they play against New Zealand.

The U.S. will look for its first victory at the Summer Olympics after not participating in the tournament for 16 years. The match will occur at the same stadium where the team played their opening match.

New Zealand won its opening encounter, 2-1, against Guinea. That result places high stakes for the U.S., which needs a victory to avoid an elimination scenario.