The gold medal match is set for Friday at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo. It is the second straight Olympics that the United States has been knocked out of contention for the gold medal match.
The Americans were bounced from the Games by Sweden in the quarterfinals. The U. The Americans, who were vying for their fifth gold medal, had earned a spot in the semifinals on a penalty shootout after a draw with the Netherlands on Friday. But the U. Carli Lloyd hit the crossbar in the 86th minute that came close to trying it. After the match, Lloyd knelt on the turf with her head in her hands.
Starting goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came down awkwardly trying to go up for the ball in front of her goal in the 20th minute. Naeher was attended to by trainers for some five minutes while the backup Franch warmed up. Naeher was key to the victory over the Dutch in the quarterfinals, with a penalty save during regulation and two more in the deciding shootout. Overall, the United States is against Canada. The most recent meeting was a U. The previous Olympic meeting was back in , a controversial semifinal match that went to overtime.
The controversy stemmed from questionable calls, including a rare six-second violation against Canadian goalkeeper Erin McLeod late in regulation — touching off a sequence that resulted in the tying goal. Canada advanced on a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw with Brazil in this tournament. The Canadians have won the bronze medal in the past two Olympics. The United States already advanced further in Japan than in the Rio Games, when the team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sweden.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski has been creative with his lineups throughout the tournament. On Monday, Lynn Williams, originally an alternate, started her second straight game. Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Samantha Mewis were on the bench to start. Rapinoe had the game-clinching penalty kick against the Netherlands.
Abby Wambach converted it for the U. The rule exists to prevent goalies from running out the clock. Pedersen penalized McLeod for holding the ball for 10 seconds. It was a bitter loss for Canada who will play France for bronze Thursday morning.
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now it is free. Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www. Report an error. Olympic team has seven holdovers from , while the Canadians carry over four:.
The two teams also previously met in a Olympic quarterfinal. The USA won that one, too, and needed extra time to do it, In official competitive matches between the two nations — regional qualifying for the Olympics and World Cup — the USA is with seven goals scored and none conceded.
The USA may have the most recognized names on its roster from years of winning titles, but the American and Canadian squads have plenty of similarities: from world class players at fullback Ashley Lawrence vs. Crystal Dunn , to experienced, hard-tackling holding midfielders Desiree Scott vs. Julie Ertz , creative midfielders known for their unpredictability Janine Beckie vs. Rose Lavelle , dangerous wingers who can get in behind defenses Nichelle Prince vs.
Christen Press and veteran forwards still hungry for goals Christine Sinclair vs.
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