The Olympic women's soccer tournament, like the rest of the Rio Olympics, kicked off this week, and the USA started off with a victory, comfortably beating New Zealand 2-0. More than any other team in international soccer, anything short of gold for the Americans will go down as a failure — putting USA fans in the strange situation of rooting for the heavy favorites.
The USA has won four of the five Olympic gold medals in a tournament that — along with the World Cup — is one of the two most important internationally in women's soccer. It's not as if the team has seen major changes since lifting last year's World Cup trophy, either. The USA squad is much the same team that crushed Japan in last year's World Cup final; retirements and pregnancies have taken away a few regulars, but the USA has filled the gaps with teenage wunderkind Mallory Pugh and attacker Crystal Dunn, the best player in the NWSL last year. And since the World Cup ended the squad has played 24 matches, winning 21 and losing just one, while shutting out the opposition 18 times. Amazingly, that includes wins over China, Brazil, Canada, England, France and Germany — virtually every other team in the Olympics that might compete with the Americans.
Thus to manufacture some worries will take some hard work. The best Olympics stories are about people that overcome the odds, not about the odds-on favorites. So let's start with today's game with France (3 p.m., NBCSN). The French might have been the best team besides the USA at last year's World Cup. Lose today, and the USA will still certainly qualify for the knockout round — but will probably have their most difficult knockout-round draw ever.
Then there's the fact that all 24 of those dominant post-World Cup games were at home in the USA, not on the road. Brazil is no pushover, and in December 2014, the USA played Brazil on the road twice — and lost both times. Throw favorin a couple of worrying injuries and the every-third-day schedule, and the USA's chances start to seem positively dicey; superstar midfielder Carli Lloyd missed more than two months with a knee strain this spring, and star winger Megan Rapinoe still hasn't played for the national team after tearing up one of her knees last year.
The big question remains whether the USA can dredge up the motivation to climb to the top of the international mountain again. No team has ever won the Olympics the year after winning the World Cup; it's hard to imagine that the Americans have the same drive as Brazil. It's harder to defend a title than to win one. But winning another gold medal would cement this USA squad as the greatest of all time.
Weekend watch guide
English Championship: Nottingham Forest vs. Burton Albion, 9 a.m. Saturday, beIN Sports. Sure, this is a nothing game in the English second division, between a middling Forest side and Burton, which is newly promoted from the third division. But it's Week 1 of the new English season, and if you can't get excited about European soccer getting started, then I don't know what to tell you.
Community Shield: Manchester United vs. Leicester City, 10 a.m. Sunday, FS1. The traditional first-division season-opening game matches last year's FA Cup winners against last year's Premier League champions. It's our first truly competitive look at Jose Mourinho in charge of Man United, and our first look at Leicester City's title defense, without N'Golo Kante but (so far) everyone else back.
MLS: Kansas City at Portland, 3 p.m. Sunday, ESPN. Sporting KC has won five straight at home, but has failed to win any of its past nine road games. Portland hasn't won a road game in 2016, but has been very strong at home. As a result, neither team has a lock on a playoff spot; Portland — last year's MLS Cup champion — may very well miss out entirely. The Timbers need a win, badly.
