A little more than a month prior to the Olympics, the U.S. women’s national team tried to mimic the competition’s cadence with its Summer Series. The level of opposition—Portugal, Jamaica, Nigeria—may not have provided a proper competitive dress rehearsal, but the match schedule and weather conditions in Texas were meant to prepare the U.S. for what would be waiting in Japan.
As it turns out, the more apt preparation may have taken place a couple of months earlier. The U.S. may have salvaged a 1–1 draw vs. Sweden in an April 10 friendly in Stockholm, but it was clearly second-best on the day.