Women’s Soccer in Quarterfinals
The US women’s soccer team had a disappointing run in group play as they were shut out twice in three games with a loss and a draw. Their second-place finish was enough to advance to the knockout stage, and they will face the Netherlands in the quarterfinals. The game is a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, won by the United States 2-0.
The Netherlands had great success in their group as they won two of three games and scored an Olympics-leading 21 goals. They scored 10 goals against China and eight against Nigeria while tying Brazil 3-3. Vivianne Miedema leads the tournament with eight goals in three games, while Lieke Martens has scored four times.
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 am ET on Friday. The US is a slight favorite at +135, with the Netherlands at +180. A draw after 90 minutes is +290. The winner will face either Canada or Brazil in the semifinals.
Men’s Basketball Finishing Group Play
After losing to France and thrashing Iran, the men’s basketball team will finish group play against the Czech Republic. A win guarantees the USA a spot in the knockout round, while a loss means they would finish third in the group and need help to make the final eight.
Damian Lillard led the team in scoring with 21 points in the 120-66 win over Iran. Jrue Holiday led the way in the 83-76 to France with 18 points.
Former NBA player Jan Vesely led the Czech team with 19 points as they lost 97-77 to France after beating Iran 84-78 in the opener. NBA player Tomas Satoransky has led the Czechs in assists in both games with 17 total.
The Americans are -23 (-115) in Saturday morning’s contest. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 am. ET on Peacock and the Czechs are +1500 on the money line.
Women’s Basketball Takes Opener
After a rough series of games leading up to the Olympics, the women’s basketball team got going in the second quarter of their opener to beat Nigeria 81-72. A’ja Wilson led the way with a 19-point, 13-rebound double-double while veteran Sue Bird added 13 assists.
Next up for Dawn Staley’s squad is a group game against host Japan. The Japanese team held on to beat France 74-70 in their opening group game.
Tipoff is scheduled for Friday at 12:40 am. ET. The Americans are -19 (-115), and the game has a total of 161 points. Japan is +1200 on the money line in the second of three group games for both teams.
Volleyball Group Play Continues
The men’s and women’s volleyball teams are both in a position to make the quarterfinals knockout round. Both teams have played three of their five pool-play games and sit in second place.
The men’s team have a 3-0 win over France and a 3-1 win over Tunisia. They lost 3-1 to Russia, who are currently atop the group. Gold medal favorites Brazil are up next for the US, who will finish the group against Argentina.
Brazil is -2.5 sets (-120) against the US and -150 on the moneyline. The US is +120 on the moneyline and +2.5 sets (-110). The contest between the second and third place teams in Pool B is set to start at 10:05 pm ET on Thursday.
The women are 3-0 in pool play but sit a point behind Italy in the standings. They have 3-0 wins against Argentina and China while beating Turkey 3-2.
They will play third-place Russia on Friday before finishing the pool play with a showdown against the Italians.