Halftime: USA 0-0 Japan

45 min: It’ll be one minute of stoppage time. Swanson was down injured at one point, so that probably accounts for most of it.

44 min: The ball remains in or near the Japanese half.

Stoppage time should be minimal. I’d be tempted to give negative-1 minute.

42 min: Smith takes on a defender and passes wide to Horan, whose pass to Lavelle is knocked out of play.

The US keep possession and … a foul! We have a foul! Tanaka is late sliding on Sonnett. Nothing malicious, and not in a dangerous spot, but noteworthy because it’s the first foul on Japan. And that’s not because the referee has been lenient.

41 min: The restless crowd have started whistling.

39 min: The US work it forward to Rodman, who takes on a defender and earns a corner kick, the first of the game.

They take it short, and Lavelle puts the ball in toward the onrushing Horan, but it’s a simple catch for Yamashita.

39 min: Resume US possession.

36 min: CHANCE FOR JAPAN! Seike flips a lovely ball toward Fujino. Dunn stretches a leg out to try to at least get it farther in the air and delay things until more players can help out, and perhaps that was just enough to make Moriya rush her shot, which goes high.

35 min: SHOT ON GOAL FOR JAPAN! Seike unexpectedly beats Girma and plays for Tanaka, who turns past Horan and has an angle to shoot. She takes a touch to get a better angle, but I think the first one was better. Her shot is straight at Naeher, who makes the first legitimate save of the game.

34 min: Kitagawa intercepts a pass but can only play it out of bounds.

Dunn tries to go a bit more direct on the left flank, but the pass is blocked.

And now it’s back with … you guessed it … Naomi Girma.

33 min: Lavelle and Dunn stumble simultaneously, but there was no apparent foul. Japan have still not committed a foul in this game.

31 min: Fox passes to Smith, which is unfortunate because there are four Japanese players around her, and they win possession.

But Rodman, who is a fierce ball-winner when she tracks back from her forward possession, immediately takes it back.

30 min: A SHOT! WE HAVE A SHOT! Horan flicks the ball to Smith, who seems to be of two minds in the eternal “pass or shoot” dilemma and ends up firing well wide.

30 min: The foul on Fox was the first foul of the game.

29 min: A wonderful give-and-go puts the US under pressure, and Sonnett swings over to cover for Dunn and knock the ball out of play.

Japan falter with the throw-in, and it’ll be a goal kick.

28 min: Hasegawa plays it an onrushing player at the near post, but the US defense is unimpressed and unmoved.

But Japan maintain possession at the back, taking their turn passing it endlessly.

26 min: Seike takes on Emily Fox and does pretty well, holding off a challenge, facing up against her and then getting a glimmer of space. Fox slides to try to win the ball, pokes the ball a slight distance away but then tangles with Seike, who falls. It’s a foul – and it’s a fair call. Fortunately for the USA, it’s barely outside the penalty area at an awkward spot on the side.

25 min: Japan get forward! The danger is snuffed out, and then the USA get numbers forward.

Or not. Sophia Smith races past the defense with the ball and centers … to no one.

24 min: The IOC site says the USA have two shots, one on target. The one on target would’ve been called back for offside if it had mattered. I don’t remember the other shot. This has been a 24-minute keepaway drill, and the USA are winning.

22 min: Julie Foudy has lost patience with this and wants to see the USA play one over the top and then press. They do no such thing.

21 min: US turnover, three Japanese passes, and it’s knocked out of play.

Snoop Dogg is here.

20 min: Now a throw-in for Japan. Two passes, and suddenly Girma has the ball again.

This is looking a bit like the US men vs. Morocco, except that the USA are Morocco in that analogy. Nothing too incisive yet, but Japan seem unable to keep the ball on the rare occasions that they get it.

19 min: Rodman wins a throw-in. I can’t remember the last time the ball was out of play. If we were running one of those experimental 30-minute clocks that only run when the ball is in play, we’d have only 11 minutes left in this half.

18 min: Horan wins a contested ball and plays to Lavelle. Out wide to the overlapping Dunn. Back to Lavelle. Back to Albert … and we’re back to Girma again.

17 min: Almost a break for the USA, but a through ball is well defended, and Yamashita collects at the top of the penalty area.

17 min: And again – Smith turns over the ball, but Japan is pinned against the side of the field and can only manage a couple of passes before Dunn collects, and we reset.

16 min: Japan’s possessions, conversely, are lasting only a few seconds. Korbin Albert limits Japan to a one-pass possession, and now the ball is in Girma’s hands, er, at Girma’s feet.

15 min: The passing percentage for the USA must be through the roof here. But very little of it is going forward.

14 min: Turnover from Rodman, but fine work from Fox to win it back quickly.

12 min: Dunn has overlapped with Lavelle, interestingly. Not often you see a No. 10 move back to left back. Lavelle moves up a bit, and Sonnett scoots out to move into more of a three-back set as they patiently seek holes in Japan’s defense, with Girma playing almost as a point guard rather than a center back.

11 min: Lavelle, one of the purest playmakers the US women have ever had (only the oft-injured Aly Wagner springs to mind as a analogue), feeds Rodman. Japan recover, but the ball goes back to Lavelle, who dribbles through two defenders and tries again.

An active Lavelle spells doom for any opponent.

10 min: Rodman springs Swanson on a through ball. The US forward does indeed seem to have recovered well.

9 min: The IOC site is listing Horan’s shot as an official shot on goal and a save. Maybe so, though if Horan had scored, VAR would have taken it away – correctly.

7 min: Girma holds it … holds it. Safe to say this isn’t being played at super speed.

Mallory Swanson is down – looks like Koga stepped on her foot as they both attempted to play the ball.

We get the obligatory camera shot of someone warming up, but Swanson will shake this off.

6 min: Shot on goal for Horan … no, not really. She was offside on Sonnett’s cross. Nice idea, though.

5 min: If Japan are to win this game, they cannot give the ball away so simply to Crystal Dunn and let her combine with Smith on the left. That was dangerous.

4 min: If you’re wondering whether Japan would line up five defenders across the field when the USA have possession, the answer is yes.

2 min: It’s a poised attack for Japan. But they let Sophia Smith get behind them and are fortunate that Smith’s centering pass is nowhere near anyone.

NBC points out that Albert is playing at home in Parc des Princes. Sort of. How often do PSG’s women actually play there?

1 min: The US defenders look a little shaky moving the ball around under Japan’s press. Nerves?

Kickoff: USA in all white, Japan in all blue. Shirts, shorts, socks. Consistent.

Game officials

USA lineup

Japan lineup

And just after typing that, I checked the schedule, and the USA just took another silver medal when a gold was in sight.

I won’t mention the sport in case people don’t want results spoiled. The trend is the important thing. That is the 19th silver medal for the USA.

In some cases, of course, silver and bronze are great. The women’s rugby team taking bronze has been one of the highlights of the Games so far. Evy Leibfarth’s stunner in canoe slalom is another. Silver and bronze in men’s skateboarding isn’t bad. But when will those silvers turn into gold?

In fact, what’s the record for silver medals? Hmmm … more spreadsheet work in my future …

Nations turn their lonely eyes to you …

We’re far enough along in the Olympics for US fans to be concerned about the medal count. Not the overall medal count, which has typically been what US fans notice most, but the gold medal count, which the rest of the world tends to point towards.

I’ll spare you the detailed calculations I used to project gold and overall medals for the USA and China and the update a few days ago. It’s too early in the day for math. The bottom line is that my model that pegged the USA for 48 gold medals is now down to 41. A more subjective count gives the USA something closer to 33 — which might still be enough to take the top spot, because China are behind their projection as well, and France aren’t likely to sustain this momentum, etc., etc.

Anyway — yes, the USA have been dealing with a mix of expected triumphs (Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky), a few surprises (two women’s foil golds, men’s four rowing), and a lot of shocks (US men’s swimming, BMX cycling, surfing, 3×3 basketball – pending further play, shooting – pending the skeet competitions, women’s eight rowing, and women’s tennis).

In soccer, things were looking up for the USA – until yesterday, when the score of the men’s 4-0 loss to Morocco accurately reflected the gulf in technical and tactical acumen between the teams.

So while US fans wait for Simone Biles or maybe Suni Lee to win a couple more gold medals and wait for a potentially giant haul in track and field (starting today with Ryan Crouser and Sha’Carri Richardson?), this women’s soccer team could boost some spirits.

But if you think the USA have had it rough in France, consider Japan.

Sure, they have eight gold medals — three judo, two skateboarding, two gymnastics and one fencing. But in team sports, they’re struggling. Men’s soccer cruised through an easy group but lost in the knockout rounds. Other teams — men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s volleyball, women’s field hockey, men’s handball, men’s rugby sevens and men’s water polo — are a combined 2-22 after men’s water polo lost 23-8 to Spain today. (Women’s rugby sevens won three times to finish ninth.)

Women’s soccer offers a chance to put things right.

Preamble