Crystal Dunn (2) and Mexico midfielder Lizbeth Ovalle (17) work for the ball in the second half Thursday night. (David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports)

By Michael Lewis

FrontRowSoccer.com Editor

It’s T-minus 18 days and counting for the U.S. women’s national team’s opening Olympics game against archrival Sweden in Tokyo July 21.

If you’re a USWNT supporter, you already know Sweden ended the Americans’ medal hopes by eliminating the USA in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Summer Games in a shootout.

So, it will be a topic that will be brought up from today until the opening kickoff.

Rockville Centre, N.Y. native Crystal Dunn was asked about the Sweden confrontation during a Zoom session with the media Saturday afternoon.

The USWNT left back said that the match will “raise a whole lot of emotions within us.”

“But I do think we’re a completely different team than we were in 2016,” she added, as the USWNT captured the 2019 Women’s World Cup. “We’ve had a lot of years under our belt, fine tuning things, gaining better chemistry and things like that. So, I think the team is pretty confident but we also understand we have to show up and be our absolute best.

“It’s not enough to just step into a game, say, ‘Oh, we’re the U.S. women’s national team. It’s about putting out a great performance and really fighting hard to the very last. It’s a game that’s going to be intense and it has to be decided on whose performance is better.”

Dunn celebrated her 29th birthday with the national side in East Hartford, Conn. Saturday as the team prepares for its second and final Send-Off Series match against Mexico. It wasn’t the first time she had a birthday away from home. She was in France for the World Cup two years ago. Forward Alex Morgan celebrated her 32nd birthday Friday and forward Megan Rapinoe will observe her 36th birthday Monday.

“Before Alex’s birthday came around, I was basically like hyping the team up like, ‘I hope you guys are ready because like once it starts it’s just going to be bang, bang, bang,” Dunn said. “Today is my birthday and I think I really tried to do a really good job of celebrating myself. I don’t do it enough. We get caught up in being like, ‘Oh, my birthday is in camp so like it’s just going be a normal like a training day.

“Today I’m trying to make it feel a little bit more like, ‘No, it’s my birthday. It’s okay to celebrate and be wild and crazy. Well, extra wild and crazy. So, I’m having a blast. It’s been really fun.”

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.