While the 2012 London Olympics will not hold the Opening Ceremonies until Friday night, women's soccer kicks off on Wednesday morning in Britain with qualifying round matches. Team USA will take on France at noon, looking to follow up on their Women's World Cup semifinal win last year against the French. The US women have been in Glasgow for a week but will finally get on the field for their opening game Wednesday at historic Hampden Park.
There are a host of familiar names and faces, including Hope Solo, Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, and Christie Rampone, who will begin the gold-medal defense on Wednesday. Here's a complete schedule of the opening day of women's soccer action:
Great Britain vs. New Zealand, 11 a.m., MSNBC
USA vs. France, 12:00 p.m., NBC Sports Network
Cameroon vs. Brazil, 2:15, NBC Sports Network
Colombia vs. North Korea, 2:30, MSNBC
Japan vs.Canada, 4:00 pm., NBC Sports Network (tape)
Sweden vs. South Africa, 4:30 MSNBC (tape)
In advance of the Summer games, SB Nation's Amy K. Nelson sat down with the captain of the team, Christie Rampone, who talked about her experience in the Olympics and her leadership role heading into London 2012:
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