The gold mission of the United States football world champion had already failed in the semi-finals. The stars surrounding Megan Rapinoe lost to their North American rivals Canada 0:1 (0:0) and will play only for the consolation prize bronze on Friday (11.00am CEST). In the second semi-final, Olympic runners-up Sweden and Australia (1 pm) face each other.
Jesse Fleming (75th, penalty kick) secured Canada’s first win in 20 years against their dominant neighbors after a first-half turmoil at Kashima. The four-time tournament winner thus missed the Olympic final for the second time in a row, while the third-place finisher from 2016 and 2012 is playing for the Olympic gold for the first time.
The American team had to accept the first blow after just 30 minutes. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naher, the heroine celebrated in the quarter-final thriller against the Netherlands (4: 2 iE), was injured and was replaced by Adriana Franch. He suspected that Fleming’s winning goal was a right corner, but the penalty shot was well placed.
After gold in Rio in 2016, the German selection missed qualifying for Tokyo through the quarter-finals at the 2019 World Cup.
