Briana Scurry explains why winning World Cup and Olympics back to back is so challenging
Briana Scurry won the World Cup in 1999 with the USWNT and then lost the Gold Medal game in the 2000 Olympics to Norway. She explains why the ‘double’ is the hardest achievement possible in Women’s international soccer.
Sports Seriously, USA TODAY
The USWNT has one more game between it and a guaranteed Olympic medal in Tokyo, and its semifinal opponent is a familiar one.
Coming off a quarterfinal game that came down to penalty kicks, the USWNT will kick off against Canada at 4 a.m. ET on Monday for a chance at the gold-medal game. Canada advanced from its quarterfinal against Brazil 4-3 on penalties after ending regulation and extra time in a scoreless draw.
Though the U.S. and Canada are advertised as rivals due to their close proximity, the Canadians have had little success against the USWNT. The two squads have met 61 times prior to Tokyo, with the Americans winning 51 of those matchups.
Should the USWNT win, it will advance to its sixth Olympic final having only missed one since the sport was added in 1996. The USWNT could be the first team to win consecutive World Cup and Olympic titles, having taken the trophy in the 2019 World Cup.
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Team USA will take on host Japan in one of two games on Monday in the quarterfinal round of the Olympic baseball tournament (8 a.m. ET).
Former New York Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka will get the start for Japan. The two-time MLB All-Star pitched for the Yankees for seven seasons before returning home and signing with the Rakuten Golden Eagles of the NPB.
On the mound for the U.S. is right-hander Shane Baz, 22, who was a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2017 draft and is now pitching for the Tampa Bay Rays’ Class AA team.
The last time the two nations met on the international stage, the USA defeated Japan 4-3 in the Super Round of the 2019 WBSC Premier12. However, Japan went on to win that tournament.
In Monday’s other quarterfinal game, Israel will face Korea in a rematch of their first-round clash, which Korea won 6-5 in 10 innings. Israel eliminated Mexico 12-5 on Sunday, while Korea rallied to defeat the Dominican Republic with a 4-3 walk-off win.
For its final game of the preliminary round, Team USA tips off against France at 11:40 p.m. ET. The women will hope to enjoy better success against France heading toward the quarterfinals than their male counterparts.
Team USA won its opening game against Nigeria 81-72 on July 26. Then, on Thursday, it was propelled to an 86-69 victory over Japan by Aj’a Wilson and Brittney Griner.
France fell to Japan 74-70, but beat Nigeria 87-62.
The United States’ No. 1 women’s beach volleyball team plays its first match of the elimination round at 7 p.m. ET.
April Ross and Alix Klineman will take on Echevarria Benitez and LC Martinez Ortega, the Cuban duo that lost two of its three preliminary matches before beating the Netherlands in two sets in the Lucky Loser Round. The Americans won out in the prelims.
Ross and former partner Kerri Walsh Jennings won bronze in Rio. This is Klineman’s first Olympics.
On Saturday, the other pair from the U.S., Kelly Claes and Sarah Sponcil, lost 2-1 to Canada, eliminating them from the round of 16.
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