Picture of perfection: Trinity Rodman, Emma Hayes and USWNT's winners and losers entering Olympic quarterfinals

Emma Hayes couldn't have mapped this group stage out any better. Three games, three wins, all relatively straightforward - as close as possible to a coach's dream. The U.S. women's national team is cruising into the Olympic quarterfinals, beating Australia 2-1 in the group stage final Wednesday, and having collectively outscored their three opponents 9-2.

There were speedbumps, of course: Jaedyn Shaw's three-game absence, Tierna Davidson's injury and a costly yellow card to Sam Coffey chief among them. But, by and large, this was an unequivocal statement to the rest of the world that this team is back.

The attack dominated, scoring those nine goals in three games against three very different opponents. The defense was largely dominant, conceding just those two goals. The nine goals are the most it has ever scored in any Olympic group stage. And Hayes, the master tactician, has gotten everything right from the opening whistle.

The USWNT have now won all three group-stage matches for just the second time in eight Olympic appearances. It happened previously in 2012. Those Games ended with a gold medal win over Japan and this tournament will continue with a quarterfinal against the same opponent.

Now, the hard part begins. First up, Japan will certainly test the U.S. in the first match of the knockout round, kicking off at 9 a.m. EST Saturday.

The USWNT is 31-1-8 (W-L-D) against Japan all-time, with the lone defeat coming at the 2012 Algarve Cup. Japan finished second in Group C following an opening loss to world champion Spain then had impressive wins over Brazil and Nigeria. The winner of the U.S.-Japan quarterfinal will move on to an Aug. 6 semifinal in Lyon against either Germany or the Group A runner-up.

If the U.S. gets past Japan, they can start thinking about medals - but if we know anything about Hayes, she will keep the focus on the present, not the potential rewards.

That won't stop the rest of us from projecting, though. If this group stage was evidence, the USWNT is ready to contend for the podium, at minimum. They're here, they're ahead of schedule, and they are pushing for gold. With the knockouts beckoning, GOAL breaks down the winners and losers of the USWNT's group stage run.