Viewing parties for telecasts of the U.S.-France women's Olympic soccer group play game Saturday will be held in three sites in Los Angeles County and one in Orange County.
The game matching two of the world's three top teams from Mineirao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, will begin at 1 p.m. and be televised in English by cable's NBC Sports Network and the Soccer Specialty Channel and in Spanish by cable's NBC Universo.
The game will also be shown online by NBCOlympics.com and on the NBC Sports App.
The viewing parties will be held at:
- The Auld Dubliner, 2497 E Ave., Tustin;
- Q's Billiard Club, 11835 Wilshire Blvd., Brentwood;
- 1739 Public House, 1739 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; and
- Shannon's On Pine, 209 Pine Ave., Long Beach.
The parties are organized by chapters of American Outlaws, a nationwide support group for the U.S. men's and women's national soccer teams. The game will also be shown on a big screen in high definition at the Paley Center for Media, 465 N. Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills.
The U.S. is first in the rankings compiled by FIFA, soccer's international governing body. France is ranked third.
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The U.S. is 15-0-1 in 2016, recording 14 shutouts, including 11 by Hope Solo, and outscoring its opponents 54-4. France is 7-2-1, including a 1-0 loss to the U.S. on March 6 when Alex Morgan scored in stoppage time in the second half.
The 18-player U.S. team includes three players who played on the high school level in Los Angeles County -- Morgan, fellow forward Christen Press and defender Whitney Engen.
Morgan, a graduate of Diamond Bar High School, scored 34 seconds into the second half in Wednesday's 2-0 victory over New Zealand to open Group G play.
Press, a Chadwick School alumnus, replaced Morgan in the 81st minute Wednesday. Engen, a former Peninsula High School standout, did not play. France, known as Les Bleues, opened play in the 2016 Olympics with a 4-0 victory over Colombia Wednesday.
All but two of the French players play on club teams in France. The exceptions are midfielders Amandine Henry, who plays for the Portland Thorns of the National Women's Soccer League, and Elise Bussaglia, who plays for VfL Wolfsburg of Germany's Bundesliga.
Henry is a teammate of U.S. defender Meghan Klingenberg and midfielders Tobin Heath, Lindsey Horan and Allie Long with Portland.
All but one of the U.S players play in the NWSL, now in its fourth season. The one exception is 18-year-old forward Mallory Pugh, who plays for the club team Real Colorado. She has signed a letter of intent to accept an athletic scholarship from UCLA.
Pugh started against New Zealand and was replaced by Crystal Dunn in the 51st minute.
The U.S. is 16-1-2 against France, with the only loss coming in 2015. The teams played to ties 2006 and 2014. The U.S. has outscored France, 51-14.
The U.S has won a record 12 consecutive games in Olympic play, with its last loss coming to Norway to open the 2008 Olympics.
