Four teams remain in the women’s soccer tournament at the Olympics. World champions USA face Canada in one semi-final, while Sweden faces Australia in the other.
The Swedish women’s soccer team won the quarter-final against Japan 3-1.
Magdalena Ericsson gave Sweden a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute, but Japan’s Mina Tanaka equalized at 1-1 after a quarter of an hour.
During the first half of the second half, Sweden started to move. Stina Plakstenius gave Sweden a 2-1 lead in the 53rd minute and Kosovare Aslani made it 3-1 with a penalty kick in the 68th minute.
Sweden had margins on its side. A Japanese penalty kick was withdrawn after a review of the video assistant referee, and Aslani’s penalty was preceded by a video review.
– it was hard. Very tough. The most difficult match during the entire Olympic Games, said the captain of the national team Peter Gerhardson according to Expressen.
The victory means that Sweden faces Australia in the semi-finals.
The elimination of Great Britain
Australia came back again and defeated Great Britain 4-3 in an eventful match. The match went to extra time after Australia tied the score at 2-2 in the dying minutes.
In extra time, Great Britain scored a penalty and soon after Australia took a two-goal lead. The Briton didn’t even come close to being reduced.
The other semi-final match would be the North American encounter between Canada and the United States, both of whom won their quarter-finals on penalties.
Canada and Brazil were 0-0 after both 90 and 120 minutes. In the shootout, Canada’s winning numbers were written 4-3.
The United States goalkeeper shone
The two highest-ranked teams in the tournament, the United States and the Netherlands, faced off in the final quarter-finals on Friday. The two teams met in the World Cup final two years ago, a match the United States won 2-0.
The Olympic quarter-finals were tied 2-2 after regular time after Dutchman Liek Martens missed a bad penalty kick in the 81st minute.
The extension was goalless. In the penalty shootout, the Netherlands managed two penalties out of four, while the United States took four penalties.
Thus, USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naher became a huge hero as she saved three kicks out of five in total.
The United States of America, who were considered the favorites before the tournament, and Sweden are clear favorites in the semi-finals and could advance in the final on Friday.
Quarter-finals, Friday:
Canada – Brazil 0-0
Canada advanced to the semi-finals after winning 4-3 on penalties.
Sweden-Japan 3-1 (1-1)
Great Britain-Australia 2-2 (0-1)
Australia reached the semi-finals after winning 2-1 in extra time.
Netherlands – USA 2-2 (1-2)
The United States advanced to the semi-finals after winning 4-2 on penalties
Semi-finals, Monday:
United States and Canada at 11:00
Australia – Sweden at 2 p.m
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