Why USWNT is not a lock in these Olympics

It’s not just that this is perhaps the least sure-thing United States women’s national team we’ve ever seen — down to an all-time-low No. 5 in the world rankings, seeking a major tournament rebound from last summer’s disastrous Round of 16 exit from the World Cup, incorporating a new generation of players under the supervision of a coach who’s had all of four games of prep time.

It’s that the other programs in the 12-team 2024 Olympics women’s soccer tournament — which the U.S. won in 1996, 2004, 2008 and 2012 before losing a stunning quarterfinal in 2016 and scratching out a bronze medal three years ago — are so much better now.

Take, for example, Zambia, the opponent for the United States when it opens group-stage play Thursday (3 p.m., USA Network) in the city of Nice in southeast France.

“I can’t overemphasize it: We’re only thinking about Zambia,” new U.S. head coach Emma Hayes said this week from the team’s camp in Marseilles, and she was just getting warmed up.

Mallory Swanson scores two goals a minute apart as USWNT cruises in 2024 Olympics opener over Zambia

“I think one of the biggest problems has been too often we keep talking about … what happens when you get to the semis or the finals. I think it’s disrespectful to the rest of the world to talk like that.

“And I think that the game has moved to a point where that isn’t the case. It isn’t a shoo-in to get somewhere. It has to be earned, and there’s no given … when women’s football has developed the way it has across the world that there are top football nations in this tournament, and any given day, any opponent can beat anyone.

“I do believe that — I don’t think shocks in the women’s game exist anymore. I think we need to reframe our focus a little bit and have respect for the rest of the world.”

Simone Biles looking unstoppable in Olympics practice after ‘twisties’ fallout

Zambia won a group-stage game at the last World Cup, and features maybe the most dangerous striker in the world in NWSL leading scorer Barbra Banda.

The USWNT then will face traditional nemesis Germany (ranked No. 4 in the world) and Australia in Group B with just two days between games — all while carrying the smaller 18-player roster that is typical of the Olympics.

“This is just a lot more compact in terms of the time we have together and time between games,” U.S. right back Emily Fox said. “Every group is so difficult, and I think we saw that in the World Cup. And we’re going to see this here again, when we play Zambia first.”

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Group A includes host France (ranked No. 2) and defending gold-medal winners Canada, which was caught in a Spygate scandal this week after support staffers were found filming an opponent’s practice via drone.

An absolutely loaded Group C comprises reigning World Cup champions Spain, Japan, Nigeria and Brazil, which has the unparalleled Marta competing in her sixth Olympics.

But that is only the context.

The standard for the USWNT — boasting an unmatched pedigree and the exciting talents of Sophia Smith, Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Gotham FC star Rose Lavelle up top — remains relatively unaltered: to shrug off the World Cup setback and come home from Paris with another gold medal.

“With Emma coming in, we’ve learned a lot, we’ve grown a lot, and we’ve introduced a lot of new things that I think will help us have success in this tournament,” Smith said. “We’re just looking towards this tournament and not backwards, because there’s really no point in doing that.”

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