Team USA men's soccer look to join women in knockout rounds; Canada try to advance despite spygate penalty

Hello! Everything came up Team USA in the Olympic soccer events over the weekend, while Canada are on the hunt to survive their points deduction as the spygate fallout continues. I'm Pardeep Cattry with an Olympics-themed update to start the week.

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Tuesday, July 30
🥇 Olympics (men): U.S. vs. Guinea, 1 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🌍 Preseason: Manchester City vs. Barcelona, 7 p.m. ➡️ ESPN
🇺🇸🇲🇽 Leagues Cup: Monterrey vs. Austin, 9 p.m. ➡️ FS1

Wednesday, July 31
🤝 Preseason: Newcastle vs. Urawa Red Diamonds, 6:30 a.m. ➡️ Golazo Net
🤝 Preseason: Team K League vs. Tottenham, 7 a.m. ➡️ CBSSN

⚽ The Forward Line

🇺🇸 Knockouts on the horizon for Team USA

The U.S. men's and women's teams picked up matching 4-1 wins over the weekend in Marseille, each putting in impressive performances that puts them in pole position to land exactly where they want to be -- the knockout rounds.

U23 USMNT smash New Zealand

The U.S. men put their 3-0 defeat to hosts France behind them on Saturday, putting in an attack-heavy performance to beat New Zealand and rise to second place in Group A. The U.S. benefited from an early penalty, which Djordje Mihailovic converted in the eighth minute. It was the perfect foundation for the team to go on a scoring tear as Walker Zimmerman scored four minutes later and Gianluca Busio put the team up 3-0 by the 30th minute. Paxten Aaronson scored in the 58th minute before Jesse Randall scored New Zealand's consolation goal in the 78th minute.

The goalfest was a reflection of their forward-minded approach, since the teams played a fairly even game in possession but the U.S. outshot New Zealand 22 to nine. Zimmerman quipped post-game that the men's team took a page out of the women's team book , since they were up 3-0 well before the break in their opening game of the Olympics against Zambia on Thursday.

• Zimmerman: "We had to get off to a good start, a fast start, because every goal matters here. It's kind of do or die time, and we knew it would come down to the start that we had. To get an early goal was huge, gave us confidence to really get into the tournament. And we added some quick ones after that. Being up at the half 3-0 was probably inspiration from the women's team. We saw they could do it, we wanted to join in on the fun."

The commanding win has them tied on points with New Zealand but with the heavy goal differential advantage, the U.S. are now in pole position to advance to the knockouts with a win over Guinea on Tuesday. It would mark the first time the U.S. men advanced out of the group stage since 2000, when a team including future legends Landon Donovan and Tim Howard played in the bronze medal game.

USWNT impress in win over Germany

Emma Hayes passed the first big test of her USWNT tenure on Sunday, beating Germany 4-1 to book a spot in the Olympic quarterfinals . Another three-goal first half proved crucial in a statistically even match, with Sophia Smith's 11th minute goal kicking things off. Giulia Gwinn's 22nd minute equalizer complicated things slightly for the U.S., but Mallory Swanson's 26th minute strike restored the team's advantage and Smith's 44th minute gave them a 3-1 lead at the break.

The second half was a much more complicated task, though, as Germany began to outpossess and outshoot the U.S. slightly. It required Hayes' team to show off a different skillset to kill off the game, and their ability to suffocate Germany worked really well. The U.S. ultimately limited Germany to only a handful of meaningful chances at goal, with Gwinn doing all she could to boot up her side's attack. In the end, the U.S. were not just able to keep Germany at bay but padded the scoreline with a strike from Lynn WIlliams in the 89th minute, four minutes after coming on.

The U.S. continue their streak of playing in the quarterfinals at every edition of the Olympic Games since 1996, when women's soccer became an Olympic sport. They have the chance to top the group with a draw against Australia on Wednesday -- and avoiding a premature matchup with Spain in the process.

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🔗  Midfield Link Play

🇨🇦 Canada battle against points deduction

Canada's women's national team experienced an up-and-down weekend at the Olympics as the ongoing spying scandal looms large over their attempt to defend their gold medal from Tokyo, with the story not planning to slow down anytime soon.

FIFA hit Canada with a six point deduction on Saturday, as well as a one year ban for head coach Bev Priestman and assistants Jasmine Mander and Joseph Lombardi. It meant the reigning gold medalists entered Sunday's clash with hosts France on -3 points, needing to pick up all six remaining points to have a shot at advancing to the quarterfinals as a third-place team. Things seem to skew out of Canada's favor even further when they entered halftime on Sunday down 1-0 courtesy of a goal from Marie-Antoinette Katoto, but then Canada shockingly rallied back to win 2-1 and keep their Olympics hopes alive.

Despite having just 38% possession, Canada matched France's shot count of 12 and then got their equalizer in the 58th minute courtesy of Jessie Fleming. The dramatic game-winner came in the 12th minute of second half stoppage time, when Vanessa Gilles scored to give her team their second win of the Games. Gilles admitted post-match that it has been an emotional several days for her and her teammates , who say they were unaware of the coaching staff's attempts to spy on the opposition.

• Gilles: "I've never felt so many emotions in a game, even in the Olympic final. … Just 12 hours ago we were in a circle crying our eyes out after hearing about the news. Punching walls. Crying our eyes out again. Laughing about it in delusion and then crying again. It's been three days where none of us have really slept. None of us have been able to really eat. Lots of tears. We're not cheaters, we're damn good players, we're a damn good team and we proved that today."

Canada are now third in Group A thanks to a significant goal differential advantage over New Zealand, while Colombia -- Canada's next opponent -- and France are tied on points with three each. Colombia currently sits atop the group with a +1 goal differential compared to France's 0.

The group stage finale will not be the only thing to keep an eye on Wednesday. Canada Soccer and the Canadian Olympic Committee officially filed an appeal on Monday, hoping to see the points deduction either reduced or done away with entirely. A decision from the Court of Arbitration of Sport is expected midday on Wednesday, hours before kickoff.

🔗  Top Stories

✅ USWNT's big win: Sophia Smith scored a nine in the latest batch of USWNT player ratings , while the team's victory over Germany already offers a strong sign of Emma Hayes' talents as a head coach .

📈 USMNT's upward trajectory: Here's a preview of the U-23 USMNT's game against Guinea on Tuesday, as well as a look at what they need to advance . Plus, a glance at the strong performances Djordje Mihailovic and Tanner Tessman have put in at the Olympics and an interview with Nathan Harriel from France.

🇨🇦 Spygate latest: Ex-Canada men's and women's national team coach John Herdman is now emerging as a central figure in allegations that Canada's national teams have been spying on opponents for years, something U.S. Soccer reportedly knew about as early as 2021.

🇦🇺🇿🇲 11 goal thriller: Australia came back from 5-2 down to beat Zambia 6-5 in the women's soccer event at the Olympics on Sunday, marking one of the highest-scoring games in the competitions history. Zambia's Barbra Banda also scored her third-ever Olympic hattrick, setting a record.

🔴⚫ Pulisic focuses on Milan: Christian Pulisic is focused on building upon his strong first season with AC Milan as the Italian club kicked off their preseason tour over the weekend, and hopes to put the USMNT's "disappointing" early Copa America exit behind him.

🩹 Injuries for United: Rasmus Hojlund and Leny Yoro exited Manchester United's preseason loss to Arsenal with injuries , potentially delivering a blow to United's season before it even begins.

💬 'Players will die': Pep Guardiola complained about fixture congestion yet again , arguing that organizations like FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League do not care about player wellness by packing the calendar with as many games as possible.

🥇 Loudon's Olympic impact: USL Championship side Loudoun County and parent  club D.C. United have helped produce several players on the U-23 USMNT's Olympic team , establishing itself as a top pipeline for American talent in the process.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• Olympics men's soccer: U.S. vs. Guinea, Tuesday, 1 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: U.S. to win 2-0 (+650) -- After a commanding win over New Zealand on Saturday, the U.S. are in pole position to advance with a win over Guinea, who have zero points so far in Group A. Guinea are not a particularly porous side but after conceding three goals in two games, a talented U.S. attack might be able take just enough advantage to make the Olympics knockouts for just the second time in the team's history.

📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network

☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form , so you'll never have to miss an episode.

3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Thursday): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our coverage of the women's game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long. And don't miss Wednesday live streams on YouTube at 11 a.m. ET .

⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and friends cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States. You can also catch the show streaming live on YouTube every Monday at 11 a.m. ET.

🥅 Scoreline ( Daily ): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.

📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app , Pluto TV and Paramount+ .