The Olympic call-ups for the NWSL just keep coming. Houston Dash’s very own midfielder Andressa and defender Poliana are officially competing in Rio after being named to Brazil Women’s Olympic Roster. Brazil, the host country, will be tested in Group E with China PR, South Africa, and Sweden. They will begin group play on August 3 against China PR in Rio de Janeiro. On August 6, they will face Sweden and on August 9 they finish group play against South Africa.
First Olympics for successful Dash duo
This is both Andressa and Poliana’s first Olympic tournament. The two earned gold medals in the 2015 Pan American Games last summer, making it Brazil’s third gold in tournament history. The duo continued to receive call-ups and performed well with their national team to earn a spot in the Olympic 18. The Brazilians are two out of seven of their Dash teammates to compete for gold this year. They’re joining the team as Brazil enters their sixth Olympics and search for their first gold ever in the tournament. Brazil has won silver twice, finished fourth twice and lost in the quarter-finals four years ago.
Andressa has 35 appearances and one goal for the national team. She’s started nine games for the Houston Dash this season and scored her first goal for the club against the Orlando Pride on April 23. Poliana has 44 appearances and five goals for the national team. She has also started nine games for the Dash.
Fine tuning
The midfielder and defender will miss the rest of the July’s games this month. Andressa and Poliana are off to train with their national teammates as the big tournament nears. The last test for the duo and the Brazilian national team will be against Dash teammate Lydia Williams and the Australian National Team on July 23.