When the U.S. women's national team finally begins its Olympic campaign in Japan, it will be the massive favorite. There are some good reasons for that, including its No. 1 world ranking and its title as the reigning World Cup champion.
But there's an even better reason: there's just not a ton of competition. With only 12 teams in the entire tournament, many of the best teams in the world won't even be there.
Germany, the gold-medal winner of the 2016 Olympics and the No. 2-ranked team in the world? It'll be watching from home.