Hayes maintains unbeaten Olympics start as United States top Group B

Emma Hayes’ unbeaten record as the United States head coach continued as her side remained perfect following their 2-1 win over Australia in Group B.

Hayes, who took charge of the USWNT in May, has won six of her seven games at the helm, conceding just twice in that time.

The USA, along with Spain, are the only two sides to win all of their games at the Paris Olympics so far and will have great confidence heading into the knockout stages.

Trinity Rodman’s second goal of the tournament two minutes from half-time sent them on their way, as Korbin Albert’s 77th-minute strike saw her become the the youngest substitute scorer for the USA at the Olympics since Mallory Swanson against Colombia in 2016.

Alanna Kennedy’s late strike would take some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display, but the United States dominated from the first whistle.

Hayes’ side accumulated an expected goals (xG) of 2.82 from the 21 shots they had compared to Australia’s 0.46, ending the match with 71.7% possession.

The United States will face Japan in the quarter-finals of the tournament, while Australia face a nervous wait to see if they qualify as one of the best third-placed teams.

GROUP B SWEEP!!!#USWNT x @Visa pic.twitter.com/G4IddXKJLV

— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 31, 2024

In the other Group B encounter, Germany confirmed their place in the knockout stages alongside the United States following a comfortable 4-1 win over Zambia.

Lea Schuller opened the scoring in the 10th minute, with Klara Buhl adding the Germans second of the afternoon shortly after the restart.

Zambia captain Barbra Banda threatened to make the encounter a more difficult affair with her fourth goal of the tournament two minutes later.

But Schuller and Elisa Senß would add further gloss to the performance soon after to secure second place in the group.

Germany’s triumph sets up a meeting with the runners-up of Group A, which could be either one of Colombia, France, Canada or New Zealand.

VIERTELFINALE!!! #TeamD #ZAMGER #RoadToParis2024
Getty Images pic.twitter.com/aD98PY2BV1

— DFB-Frauen (@DFB_Frauen) July 31, 2024