After Brazil toppled Spain for a place in the final and USA took a narrow 1-0 victory in extra-time over Germany, the familiar gold medal competition meets again in the Olympic final on Saturday 10th August.
Previous meetings
This final taking place at Parc des Princes is the 41st meeting overall between the two sides, the second this year, but also the third time in an Olympic Gold Medal Match.
In March earlier this year, the two teams battled it out in the Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup final in California.
On this occasion, the USA took home the trophy after a header from Lindsey Horan put the USA in a 1-0 lead in the final moments of the game.
The Olympic roster this year involves 14 of 16 players which featured in that match, including defender Emily Fox who was responsible for the assist to take the title.
Furthermore, these teams are no strangers to facing each other in an Olympic Final, with this being the third occasion, making it the most in Olympic Women’s Football history but tying with USA vs Japan for the most played major tournament final in international women’s football history.
The first of these meetings took place at the 2004 Olympic Games.
The USA took the lead in the 39th minute with a goal from Lindsay Tarpley, before the Brazilians equalized in the 73rd minute from Pretinha, sending the game into extra time.
The USWNT took the opportunity to retake the lead in the 112th minute through Abby Wambach’s header off a corner for the USA to take home gold.
At the next Olympics just four years later, they matched up again in the final.
Just like the previous time, the USA took the win in extra time, with a goal from Carli Lloyd in the 96th minute sending the Americans 1-0 up.
This match is set to be the seventh meeting all-time between the two sides in knockout stages of a major tournament, which again meets the record of USA vs Japan as the most played fixture of knockout rounds in the history of international women’s football. In the previous six meetings, the USA have won four.
Overall, the USA have the upper hand over Brazil with 32 wins, 5 draws and 3 losses to the former’s name.
They have also won each of the last seven games against one another although nine of the previous ten have been decided by 2 goals or less.
Both sides Olympic journey so far
Emma Hayes’ side looks to continue their win streak this tournament with a complete clean sweep of wins in both the group stage and each of the knockout rounds so far.
The previous two games in this tournament, against Japan and Germany, the USA have taken the lead in extra time, with the final score being 1-0.
In the group stage, the USA had a brilliant run finishing top of the group, achieving all nine points possible. During these games, they conceded just two goals and scored nine, proving both the strong attack and defence the USWNT possess.
Since entering the knockout rounds, the USA are yet to concede a goal.
Brazil, on the other hand, finished third in their group, winning just one game with the other two ending in defeat.
However, with a higher goal difference than other teams in the same position in their respective groups, they came second out of the third-place teams giving them a place in the knockout rounds.
The quarterfinal finished with a narrow 1-0 win over France, but a dominant performance over Spain proved just how strong their attack can be.
Potential lineups for the teams
Brazil have varied their formations throughout this tournament, with the most recent being 3-4-3. This therefore makes it harder to predict how the starting XI will look for the game.
With Marta returning after her red card suspension, it is no doubt she will appear at some point in this match due to the significance she has in the frontline and the experience she provides for the team.
Although this will be her last rodeo, the impact she has had on the women’s game will be long lasting.
The USA have been more regular with their starting formation of 4-1-2-3 up until the semi final where a 3-4-3 was played.
To have a significant impact with their attacking line as well as minimize the threat of conceding, they may switch back to their original lineup.
This will no doubt be an interesting gold medal match considering the teams history of meeting in finals.
This game is due to kick off at 4pm BST on Saturday 10th August.
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