Aug. 2, 2021, 6:05 a.m. ET
KASHIMA, Japan — The United States women’s soccer team lost, 1-0, to Canada in an Olympic semifinal match Monday night at Ibaraki Kashima Stadium, ending the Americans’ hopes of following up their 2019 World Cup title with an Olympic gold medal.
The United States lost its star goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the penalty-kick shootout hero of its quarterfinal victory, to a knee injury just half an hour into the match. But in the end, it was a shot that no goalkeeper was likely to save that sank them.
In the 74th minute, Canada midfielder Jessie Fleming, striding to the spot after a video review awarded her team a penalty and a chance to take the lead, lashed a penalty kick high and hard to the left of Adrianna Franch, the American backup keeper. It rippled the side netting in the corner of the goal, sending her team into raucous celebrations.
The penalty call had not been made initially on the field, but it was confirmed by a second look from the video assistant and the match referee, Kateryna Monzul of Ukraine. It came after the United States defender Tierna Davidson and Canadian forward Deanne Rose came together to chase a bouncing ball in the penalty area. Davidson took a swing at it, but missed, and instead clipped the leg of Rose, who went tumbling to the ground.
Monzul reviewed the contact on a sideline monitor and then returned and, dramatically, pointed to the spot.
The loss sent the Americans spiraling out of a tournament in which they never looked totally comfortable. They fell to Sweden, 3-0, in their opening match and looked tentative and ponderous at various points thereafter.
Canada now has a chance to win a gold medal after winning the bronze at two straight Games.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:58 a.m. ET
Carli Lloyd is down on one knee about a dozen yards from the Canada celebration. At 39, what is she thinking?
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:58 a.m. ET
Canada will play the Sweden-Australia winner for the gold on Friday. The United States will play the loser for the bronze on Thursday.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:56 a.m. ET
FULL TIME: It’s over in Kashima. Canada 1, United States 0. The Canadians sprint off their bench and you can probably hear their screams of joy outside.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:55 a.m. ET
90′+3.5 Franch came up for the corner but Canada clears. Briefly. The ball comes back and Lavelle tries to lead an invisible teammate in space. No one there. Tick, tick, tick ....
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:55 a.m. ET
90′+3 U.S. wins a corner ... Rapinoe to take ...
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:54 a.m. ET
90′+2 Halfway through stoppage time as Franch grabs a ball and restarts play.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:53 a.m. ET
90′ Four minutes of stoppage time. Last chance saloon time for the U.S. or it’s the bronze-medal game. Superb effort by Canada in the second half here to hold this off.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:50 a.m. ET
88′ Another sliding U.S. shot curls well wide. Canada shifts into full-on sock-checking, ball-setting, slow-rolling delay.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:49 a.m. ET
87′ Canada sub: Jordyn Huitema for Sinclair, who surely would have wanted to see the end of this one. Tick, tick, tick ....
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:48 a.m. ET
86′ Carli Lloyd hits the crossbar! A rocketed centering ball from Megan Rapinoe finds her at the spot, but she dings the bar above a beaten Labbe.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:45 a.m. ET
82′ Frantic moments for the United States, but Canada is answering every test. Mewis and then Press head the ball in, but the last is a lollipop that Labbe grabs.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:43 a.m. ET
80′ The United States needs offense, so on comes Sam Mewis for right back Kelley O’Hara. The Americans have a little more than 10 minutes to make something happen.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:41 a.m. ET
77′ (That was a fantastic penalty by Fleming, for what it’s worth. Straight into the right-side netting. No goalkeeper saves it.)
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:40 a.m. ET
77′ Canada, of course, may see that as justice for 2012, when a soft penalty sent their semifinal against the U.S. to extra time in a game the Canadians eventually lost. Fleming was 14 years old that summer.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:38 a.m. ET
76′ This should bring the game to life even more. No second chances here, and the U.S. has the fresh legs.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:37 a.m. ET
74′ Jessie Fleming steps up to take the kick, drills it to Franch’s left, and the keeper has no chance to save it. That’s a great, confident penalty from the Canadian.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:36 a.m. ET
75′ GOAL!
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:35 a.m. ET
73′ PENALTY! Wow.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:35 a.m. ET
72′ VAR review for a possible penalty on the United States. Canada’s Deanne Rose collided with a backtracking Tierna Davidson and fell, but that would be harsh.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:29 a.m. ET
67′ Not a good foul there by Canada’s Ashley Lawrence, who turns a good situation (Rapinoe facing her sideline) into a dangerous one (a free kick) by running her over from behind.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:31 a.m. ET
68′ That’s why: A driven cross forces a Labbe save, and O’Hara, cycling the ball back in, wins a corner. That produces a point-blank header from Ertz — oooooh, she drives it right at Labbe, who pushes it over her bar. The ensuing chance is dangerous, too, but Canada breathes a sigh of relief as Labbe falls on it.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:28 a.m. ET
65′ Carli Lloyd forces a leaping save from Stephanie Labbe! Llyod was standing inside the box and tried whipping a first-time shot toward goal. It seemed to cross up Labbe, who had to palm it over the bar.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:23 a.m. ET
60′ Not a bad trio of attackers to bring on as substitutes: Christen Press, Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd come on for the United States. And Lynn Williams, Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath are out of the game.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:22 a.m. ET
60′ Line changes: Three subs for the U.S. and two for Canada. The Canadians are Julia Grosso (for Quinn) and Deanne Rose (for Prince, who was excellent today).
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:20 a.m. ET
58′ A Horan header wide of the goal ends a run of three straight corners for the United States, a really good spell of pressure and menace that, if one of those corners had met a head better, could have changed this game.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:16 a.m. ET
52′ Well, that would have been a nice goal. Tobin Heath stood near the top of Canada’s box and nonchalantly knocked a cross out of the air with the back of her foot, dropping a no-look pass into the path of Lynn Williams, who was charging in from the left side. But Williams’s shot sailed high over the bar.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:14 a.m. ET
50′ As in the first half, the early pressure is from the United States. They’re not letting up, and Canada is feeling it a bit right now.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:05 a.m. ET
Rapinoe is keeping her training bib on, for now. So no changes for the U.S. to start the second half.
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:03 a.m. ET
Megan Rapinoe is the first United States player out after halftime, and she immediately starts a purposeful warmup. Is there a sub coming?
Aug. 2, 2021, 5:03 a.m. ET
The United States and Canada are tied, 0-0, at halftime of this Olympic semifinal in steamy Ibaraki Kashima Stadium.
Canada looked like the team in control, moving the ball easily through midfield, largely dictating the rhythm of the game. The Americans, on the other hand, were left to counterattack and never really looked like a threat to score.
The most notable development of the half, then, was the loss of the American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who crumpled to the grass in pain around the 20th minute after landing awkwardly on her right leg and bending it the backward. She was on the ground for about five minutes, and tried to stay in the match.
But when she attempted a goal kick a few minutes later, she immediately grimaced and waved toward the sideline. She left the game in the 30th minute, handing the baton to Adrianna Franch, her backup.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:53 a.m. ET
United States goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the hero of her team’s quarterfinal victory in the Olympic women’s soccer tournament, left the team’s semifinal match against Canada on Monday with a knee injury.
Naeher was injured in an awkward fall while leaping to intercept a Canada cross in the 20th minute. Colliding with teammate Julie Ertz as Canada’s Nichelle Prince raced by both of them on the challenge, Naeher landed with her right leg extended. Her right knee appeared to bend backward as her foot stuck in the turf.
Naeher immediately rolled over in obvious pain, and the game was stopped so she could receive treatment. Lying on her back and then sitting up, she was attended to by two U.S. trainers for about six minutes before deciding to stay in the game.
But about four minutes later, after the United States won a goal kick, Naeher took it and, swinging her right leg hard for the first time, aggravated the injury. She hopped on her landing, realized she could not continue and waved to the bench immediately, calling for a substitute.
Adrianna Franch, who had quickly warmed up while Naeher was being treated initially, sprinted on to take her place.
Naeher left the field by the closest route possible — the end line behind her goal — and then slowly limped her way around the corner flag and back to the United States bench.
By the time she was close enough for her teammates to come out to greet her, Naeher appeared to be wiping away tears with her yellow jersey.
Naeher had been the only U.S. player to play every minute of the Olympic tournament entering Monday, but it was her heroics on Friday, when she made several diving saves and blocked a late penalty kick against the Netherlands, that showed her real value.
She made two more saves in the penalty shootout after the U.S. and the Netherlands played to a 2-2 tie. Her final stop booked the Americans’ ticket to the semifinals.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:51 a.m. ET
45’+5 The U.S. wins a corner, which might be the last chance of the half. After some sustained Canada pressure, and the loss of Naeher, it will feel good to play in the Canada half for a bit.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:42 a.m. ET
41′ Alex Morgan is on the ground holding her right leg in pain. She and Quinn were charging for a 50-50 ball, and the Canadian swiped a big chunk of Morgan’s shin with a slide tackle. Morgan is back on her feet now, walking gingerly, but seemingly OK.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:33 a.m. ET
31′ Naeher left the field over the end line behind her goal, realizing she’d never make it to Franch for a traditional substitution at midfield. And she appears to be wiping away tears with her jersey as she nears the U.S.W.N.T. bench. You have to think her Olympics are over. Brutal moment for her.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:31 a.m. ET
30′ Adrianna Franch, to be clear, is an outstanding goalkeeper, and might start for all but a handful of teams internationally. Just not her own. But her team needs her now.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:30 a.m. ET
29′ That’s got to be it for Naeher. She took a goal kick and immediately grimaced in pain and began waving toward the sideline. She’s down on one knee. They knocked the ball out of bounds. She’s coming out of the game. Franch is in. That’s a huge loss for the United States, who have come to trust and rely on Naeher in a big way.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:27 a.m. ET
26′ And, wow, Naeher is staying in the game! That was about a six-minute break there. But she’s back on her feet. Now we watch and see if she’s at full strength.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:25 a.m. ET
25′ Five minutes into the delay here and Naeher is now up and flexing and trying to see if she can continue. If she cannot, it would be a serious blow for the United States.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:23 a.m. ET
22′ Ouch! Replays show that U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher came down awkwardly on her right knee, and it bent back the other way. It looked really painful, and she’s still on the ground. Adrianna Franch, the backup, is frantically warming up on the sideline.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:21 a.m. ET
20′ Really dangerous cross from Canada there, but Naeher pays the price for meeting it. Under pressure from Prince, she collides with Julie Ertz and goes down in a heap, dropping the ball and forcing a frantic clearance by a teamate. But she really looks like she’s hurting. Trainers out.
Aug. 2, 2021, 4:20 a.m. ET
19′ Nichelle Prince of Canada is looking dangerous through the first 20 minutes of this game. She’s caused two or three hold-your-breath moments already with just her speed alone, bursting through the middle of the United States defense. The Americans have evaded trouble each time, but she’s a player to watch.
How Canada Beat the U.S. in the Women’s Soccer Semifinal - The New York Times
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