Well, that’s 12 Olympic wins in a row for the US women’s team, and it was pretty straightforward. New Zealand fought hard, but the gulf in class was stark, and USA didn’t need to over-exert themselves. It wasn’t a classic, but there were two good goals to savor, the first from Carli Lloyd and the second from Alex Morgan, and USA get their campaign off to a solid start. Thanks for reading. Bye!
Full-time: USA 2-0 New Zealand
That’s it!
90 min+4: Yallop’s ball in is pretty hopeless, and USA clear with ease.
90 min +3: Lloyd fouls Percival, and maybe a final chance for a New Zealand goal.
90 min + 2: Solo does well to come out and prevent Pereira winning it in the air. As she volleys a kick down field, the crowd shouts “Zika!”
90 min: Four minutes of stoppage time, which seems excessive.
89 min: Great run from Crystal Dunn, and Nayler does really well to beat Lloyd to it! Brave goalkeeping to deny USA a third, but that was classic wing play from Dunn.
87 min: I should point out that Hope Solo has been receiving some boos from the sparse crowd. Here’s why:
Everyone seems to think this is the source of the boos: https://t.co/JFW6y0IuhE Apparently Brazilians didn't appreciate it?
— Caitlin Murray (@caitlinmurr) August 3, 2016
85 min: Stott did well to win it in defence and bring it forward, but the pass was overhit. Looks like Hope Solo’s clean sheet is in the bag.
83 min: Chance for Heath at the back post, but it’s wide! Great cross from Christen Press, and Heath was free, but the angle was tough.
82 min: Jasmine Pereira is in for Hannah Wilkinson. Both teams now have used all three subs.
81 min: The corner’s cleared, and Stott tries one from distance. It’s wide, but this is New Zealand’s best spell of the match. Sub for USA: Christen Press on for Alex Morgan. And a couple of changes I neglected to mention earlier: Sarah Gregorius is on for Katie Bowen, and Lindsey Horan is on for Morgan Brian.
Updated
79 min: New Zealand’s best move of the game, and they win a corner. Solo punches clear, it’s played back in, and New Zealand win another corner! Pressure from the Football Ferns.
77 min: New Zealand look tired. It’s tough to see where one goal is going to come from, let alone two.
75 min: Heath’s ball in, and Nayler just about smuggles it clear! Great ball in, Lloyd attacked it, and the goalie spilled it, but did enough to push it clear at the second attempt.
74 min: Abby Erceg has played really well in defence for New Zealand, by the way. She’s a class act. Dunn wins a free kick on the right side, and Heath will whip it in again.
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72 min: One aspect of today’s game worth pointing out is that New Zealand have, by and large, matched USA physically. It’s been their technique and passing that’s been lacking. Morgan is offside by a whisker.
71 min: USA still well on top here. The majority of the second half has been played in New Zealand territory.
70 min: Kirsty Yallop enters for New Zealand.
69 min: Duncan, who’s done some really hard work in midfield, is down, and it looks like a change is imminent.
66 min: At 2-0, there’s still a ray of hope for New Zealand, but it looks unlikely. They just haven’t been able to create anything up front. Hearn and Wilkinson have run hard, but they’ve been really isolated.
65 min: Lloyd with it, but it’s over the bar. Disappointing.
64 min: Yellow card for Percival for a trip on Heath, and this is a great chance for a free shot, on the edge of the box. New Zealand’s third yellow card.
61 min: Johnston is down, but did she get away with a tug there? She was challenging Wilkinson for a long ball down the middle, and both players went down as Hope Solo came out … but no call from the ref! Wilkinson didn’t complain, actually – maybe it was just a tangle.
59 min: One slight area of imbalance in this USA team, in my humble opinion, is Klingenberg, a natural right-footer, at left-back. But it worked OK for Paolo Maldini, I guess. Heath shoots over the bar.
58 min: A slight groan from USA, who had the ball on the counter-attack, but referee Kateryna Monzul brings it back for a free kick.
57 min: Good work from Longo, but then Percival misplaces a pass, and the momentum is lost.
55 min: That’s the second time New Zealand have pinched the ball in midfield and looked to break, and the player with the ball, this time Bowen, I think it was, has had zero options. NZ surely have to commit players forward.
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53 min: A collision in the centre of the park as Long and Duncan go in hard. But they’ll be OK: neither player was late.
50 min: But here’s a sorry sight for USA fans: Mallory Pugh is replaced by Crystal Dunn. Is Pugh injured, or is it just tactical?
49 min: Oh, better from New Zealand! It was another ball knocked long, and Percival fired a lovely strike goalward that was blocked, and then Amber Hearn went close! I think Solo had it covered, and Hearn’s shot was off target, but that was much better from the Kiwis.
48 min: Well, this is a tough ask for New Zealand now. How on earth do they find two goals in 40 minutes? USA arin control of this one.
47 min: USA began on the front foot, pushed New Zealand back, and Morgan Brian slipped a lovely ball to her left for Alex Morgan, who thrashed a left-footed shot past Erin Nayler. But Nayler was beaten on her near side – should the goalkeeper have done better?
GOAL! USA 2-0 New Zealand (Morgan 46)
And within a minute, USA are two up!
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We're back!
46 min: USA, who are seeking a fourth consecutive gold in women’s soccer, get us under way again.
Score update: Germany have just beaten Zimbabwe 6-1.
Well, it wasn’t always pretty, but that was an effective 45 minutes from the holders. They started very well, scored a good goal within 10 minutes, and then kept New Zealand at arm’s length. The Football Ferns have been rugged and physical, but haven’t really created anything. USA on top. See you shortly.
Half-time: USA 1-0 New Zealand
That’s the half.
45 min +1: One minute added on.
45 min: Carli Lloyd is offside, for about the third time this half. I can’t imagine there’ll be too much stoppage time.
44 min: Klingenberg crosses from the left, and Morgan Brian heads over the bar under pressure from Stott.
42 min: Duncan’s ball in, but USA’s defending of set pieces has been excellent, and it’s headed clear again.
41 min: Good cross in from the right side, and O’Hara miscues her clearance. Corner New Zealand.
40 min: Meghan Klingenberg passes it straight out of play on the left side. It’s been that sort of game.
38 min: Tony Readings, New Zealand’s coach, looks somewhat pained.
36 min: USA haven’t really sparkled since the goal. They started in decisive fashion, and created two or three chances before Lloyd’s opener, but not much since. They’re comfortable, though.
35 min: Another long ball knocked in by New Zealand, but it’s to no one in particular, and USA clear with ease.
33 min: Not much happening, to be honest. USA seem happy to keep things ticking over, and, alas, New Zealand don’t quite have the creative quality. So if that cup of tea needs making, now might be a good time.
29 min: For a moment it looked as though New Zealand might be in, but Solo was quickly off her line to claim. We’re just in a slight lull.
27 min: New Zealand knock it long again, but again, it’s safely through to Hope Solo. The Football Ferns struggling in attack at the moment.
25 min: New Zealand wanted a foul, but no free kick was given, and USA were away. Lloyd Fed Pugh, on the right, and she crossed first time, looking for Morgan, but Erceg was there to knock it behind for a corner. Curled in by Heath, and everybody missed it!
23 min: Lloyd trips Riley, and it’s a New Zealand free kick 40 yards from goal. Duncan plays it in, but it’s to no one in particular, and it’s behind for a goal kick.
21 min: New Zealand seeing more of the ball in these past few minutes, but they haven’t been able to create anything of note.
19 min: Whipped in, but Nayler claims comfortably.
18 min: Heath is crudely chopped by Hassett, by the touchline on the left side, and that’s a clear yellow. No argument from Hassett, and now a good area for the set piece.
16 min: New Zealand just settling in to the game. But that’s another trip, this time from Katie Bowen, and it’s a USA free kick.
15 min: Crude foul from Heath on Percival, but no booking.
14 min: Hassett wanted a corner just then, and she probably should have had one: I think the last touch came off a USA leg.
13 min: Not much happening in attack for New Zealand, but Riley crosses from the left, Johnston heads behind, and it’s an NZ corner. Good delivery from Duncan, but Johnston heads clear.
12 min: Here’s Don Kavanagh: “Typically black shirts? Not for NZ football teams – they are traditionally white. It’s the oval ball games where they usually don the black, he said pedantically...”
Thanks Don!
10 min: That’s a great header from Carli Lloyd. Heath turned back on to her right foot from the left, crossed deep, and Lloyd did so well to turn her body and loop a header over Nayler. An excellent start from USA, and a deserved lead.
GOAL! USA 1-0 New Zealand (Lloyd 9)
And it’s the captain!
Updated
8 min: This has been a good start from the Olympic champions – they’re quickly into their stride. We still haven’t seen a replay of that Nayler save from Lloyd, but it must have been from about four yards out. Great goalkeeping.
6 min: Heath with it, and Morgan heads over the bar! She got free in the box, and should have done better.
5 min: Oh, how did that stay out?! Amazing. Erin Nayler with two big saves from close range – first from Johnston, I think, and then from Lloyd on the follow-up, who seemed certain to score. Now Lloyd is tripped on the edge of the box, and this is a big chance.
4 min: Great run into the box from Pugh, from the right side, and Erceg puts it behind for a corner.
3 min: First look for USA, and Heath, was it, crosses from the left, but it’s headed clear by the Kiwis.
And we're off!
1 min: New Zealand in all black, typically, and USA in all white.
Anthems done. Time for kick-off!
The teams are coming out from the tunnel. It’s a nice evening in Belo Horizonte: about 73F, or 23C. Now time for the anthems.
We’re about 10 minutes from kick-off. The crowd in the stadium is exceedingly sparse.
Here’s some more on that Canada-Australia game:
And Canada beat Australia 2-0, too. Janine Beckie’s opener for the Canadians came after just 20 seconds, which is a new Olympic record.
Some results from earlier: hosts Brazil eased past China 3-0, and Sweden beat South Africa 1-0. But both matches struggled to find an audience. Here’s how the AP saw it:
“After a build-up plagued by organisational, health and security fears, Sweden and South Africa took to the field in the opening match of the women’s football tournament in front of scarcely more than a few hundred fans at the 60,000-capacity Olympic Stadium.
“Huge swathes of blue seats remained empty all around the deathly-quiet venue, the home ground for club side Botafogo.
“More spectators, clad in both the yellow of Sweden and Brazil, drifted into the stadium as the match progressed, with the hosts taking on China in the second game of the day.
“The official attendance was given as 13,439. Optimistic is putting it kindly.”
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Carli Lloyd wants gold, and gold only. “I don’t play the sport and compete to settle for anything less than gold,” the USWNT skipper said earlier. “I know that sounds pretty bold but that just really is what our team is about. I have been to two Olympics so far and I am going for a third gold medal. That’s the plan.”
So, what looks like a full-strength team for USA, with Lloyd breaking from midfield to support Morgan and Pugh, who, interestingly, will wear the No2 shirt. Watch out for Amber Hearn and Hannah Wilkinson for New Zealand, while Sarah Gregorious and Rosie White could make an impact from the bench.
Tonight's teams
USA: Solo, O’Hara, Klingenberg, Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Heath, Long, Brian, Lloyd, Morgan, Pugh. Subs: Engen, Horan, Krieger, Press, Rapinoe, Dunn, Naeher.
New Zealand: Nayler, Percival, Erceg, Stott, Riley, Duncan, Hassett, Bowen, Longo, Wilkinson, Hearn. Subs: Green, Pereira, Gregorius, Yallop, White, Moore, Rolls.
Referee: Kateryna Monzul (Ukraine)
Updated
Hello and welcome
The 2016 Rio Olympics haven’t officially started – the opening ceremony is Friday night – but for the US women’s soccer team, today is all systems go. The current world champions are looking for their fifth Olympic gold, having won last time out in London four years ago, and they start this evening against New Zealand in Belo Horizonte. The great Abby Wambach has gone, but the bulk of the team that won the World Cup in Vancouver last year are still here – Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan – and in 18-year-old Mallory Pugh the US women have a star in the making. They’re the No1-ranked team in the world for a reason, and anything less than silver for Jill Ellis’s team would represent a major disappointment.
New Zealand are not quite in USA’s class, but they reached the Olympic quarter-finals in 2012, and have one or two classy players, notably captain Abby Erceg, who plays for Western New York Flash. The skipper sounded optimistic on the eve of the tournament: “When you’re at the Olympic Games you’re going to come up against the best players in the world, that is obviously what you want to do. It’s about the communication and cohesion we have at the back and, with our back four, we’ve been together for so long. We have a lot of experience and I think all our players bar one have over 100 caps. Hopefully we can use that.”
But USA are firm favorites, and why not: they’ve got experience, skill, physical power and individual class. They’ll be looking to make a statement, and should have too much for the Football Ferns.
Kick off is 6pm local time, which is the same ET. Join us then.
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Tim will be here shortly. In the meantime, read why the US Olympic team is treading carefully in Rio:
The US delegation are aware that as one of the wealthiest countries in the world, any attack on Brazil’s lack of preparedness for the Games will be perceived as arrogance. And while no one from the USOC will reference the current presidential election or Donald Trump, they seem determined to keep their team from being one more thing the rest of the world dislikes about the US. The last thing the USOC wants is for its athletes to be booed in front of a worldwide audience at Friday’s opening ceremony.
The US is also deep in a bid for Los Angeles to host the 2024 Games. While complaints about the conditions in Rio probably won’t damage that bid, they won’t help either – the IOC makes its decision on the 2024 host city in September 2017.
American officials and former athletes have visited different teams in recent weeks to talk to athletes about how they should act in Rio, in addition to other training. Swimmers, for instance, were instructed the day after trials ended in Omaha, Nebraska, last month; golfers were met at the PGA Championship in Baltusrol. A group of USOC officials even went to the men’s basketball practices in Las Vegas to talk to the NBA players who will be playing. Their key message was the same: hold off on complaining.
