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OneFootball
Padraig Whelan·30 July 2021
🥇 Tokyo 2020: USA beat Netherlands on penalties! Team GB stunned
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OneFootball
Padraig Whelan·30 July 2021
It is quarter-final day in the Women’s Olympic football from Tokyo.
This is what went down.
Scorers: Miedema 18′, 54′; Mewis 28′, Williams 31′
Following a tense penalty shootout, favourites USA bounced back from their disappointing 2016 showing to edge out the Netherlands and reach the last four.
In a rematch of the most recent World Cup final, Vivianne Miedema gave the Netherlands the perfect start with her 82nd for her country on her 100th cap and it came in typical fashion from the Arsenal ace too, somehow controlling a difficult bouncing ball in the box before swivelling to send a low volley into the corner.
But a Sam Mewis header restored parity before Lynn Williams marked her first Olympic start to put USA ahead just minutes later.
However, Miedema’s record-smashing 10th goal of the tournament nine minutes after the interval levelled things up again before her side were given a late chance to win it from the penalty spot but Lieke Martens saw her effort kept out by Alyssa Naeher to force an additional 30 minutes.
In extra-time, the USA incredibly took their offside goals tally for the tournament to a staggering nine as neither side managed a breakthrough, leaving spot-kicks to decide it and after Miedema and Aniek Nouwen both had efforts saved, Megan Rapinoe blasted home to wrap up the win.
Scorers: White 57′ 65′; 115′ Kennedy 35′, Kerr 89′, 106′, Fowler 104′
A late lapse of focus and crucial missed penalty in extra-time saw Team GB go tumbling out of Tokyo against Australia despite Ellen White netting a hat-trick.
After goalkeeper Teagan Micah had to thwart Britain with one more than one big first half save, while Keira Walsh also struck the post from distance, they struck for a lead at the interval when Alanna Kennedy pounced to net from a corner.
But the deserved equaliser came shortly after half-time when Ellen White headed in her fourth goal of the tournament from a Lauren Hemp delivery and the fifth soon arrived through the Man City star, who finished calmly after the ball broke her way in the area.
However, with just moments remaining, the ever-reliable Aussie captain Kerr popped up with an opportunistic equaliser to send the second game of the day to extra-time, where more stunning drama unfolded.
A soft penalty was awarded to Team GB which Caroline Weir saw saved by the excellent Micah and that miss was punished emphatically when a deflected Mary Fowler strike was followed up by a second from Kerr to send the Matildas into the semi-finals as another fantastic White header to claim the match ball proved to be in vain.
Canada are the first team into the final four in Tokyo after holding their nerve from the spot to see off Brazil.
In a scoreless 90 minutes in the day’s opener, it was Canada who came closest to breaking the deadlock midway through the second half, only for Vanessa Gilles to steer her header off the bar.
There was still no splitting the sides after an additional 30 minutes, which left penalties to decide it and in the shootout, Stephanie Labbé made herself the hero with two huge saves late to send her side through to face either neighbours USA or the Netherlands.
Scorers: Eriksson 7′, Blackstenius 53′, Asllani pen 68′; Tanaka 23′
Hosts Japan’s dreams of an extended Olympic run were at the hands of a superior Sweden side on Friday.
The Europeans took the lead after just seven minutes thanks to Chelsea’s Magdalena Eriksson, who planted home a close range header following a cross from the left.
Although Mina Tanaka volleyed in a right wing cross to level at half-time, Sweden have regained the lead through the unstoppable Stina Blackstenius and put it beyond the hosts thanks to a Kossovare Asllani penalty.