Here are the sports starting before the Tokyo Olympics opening ceremony

TOKYO (KXAN) — Whereas the opening ceremony for the year-delayed Tokyo Olympics airs live Friday at 5:55 a.m. on KXAN, two sports activities will open competitors earlier than the Video games formally kick off.

Led by former Texas Longhorn All-American pitcher Cat Osterman, Staff USA softball takes on Italy in a first-round sport that can air stay at 10 p.m. CDT Tuesday on the NBC Sports activities Community. Osterman resigned from her coaching post with Texas State University in 2019 to arrange for the event, and she or he’s poised to assist pitch the Stars and Stripes to Olympic glory as soon as once more.

Softball has been out of the Olympics for the reason that Beijing Video games in 2008 and was added again to this system by way of a provision that permits host nations so as to add sports activities. Japan received the 2008 gold medal by knocking off Staff USA in one of many largest upsets within the historical past of the game. Staff USA is the No. 1-ranked staff on the earth by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, adopted by hosts Japan at No. 2. Japan takes on Australia at 7 p.m. earlier than the USA-Italy matchup.

The video games might be held in Fukushima, about 155 miles north of Tokyo.

On Wednesday, soccer takes the pitch with the U.S. Ladies’s Nationwide Staff rekindling a rivalry of types with Sweden, the squad that took out the Individuals on penalty kicks within the 2016 Video games. Now not a part of the staff, 2016 US goalkeeper Hope Solo referred to as the Swedes “a bunch of cowards,” after they modified their type to play extraordinarily defensive in opposition to the potent USA assault.

With a gold medal, the US could be the primary staff to observe up a World Cup title with an Olympic title. Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd and Alex Morgan are set to steer the staff once they kick off vivid and early at 3:30 a.m. on the USA Community.

The boys’s soccer event will get going Thursday with a rematch of the 2016 ultimate, Brazil versus Germany. That match kicks off at 6:30 a.m. on the USA Community.