The dream of the double is over.
Canada defeated the U.S. Women’s National Team (USWNT), 1-0, in an Olympic semifinal on Monday in Kashima, Japan, ending the squad’s quest to become the first women’s soccer team to win a World Cup and an Olympic gold medal back-to-back. The defeat also marked what could be a changing-of-the-guard for one America’s most popular, and at times polarizing, teams.
The U.S. suffered a major setback in the 20th minute, when goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher—who was essential to the team’s quarterfinal win against the Netherlands—collided with Julie Ertz, resulting in her leaving the game.
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Early in the second half, the U.S. failed to convert on three straight corner kicks. But the team kept threatening and threatening; Canadian keeper Stephanie Labbe knocked away shots from Carl Loyd and Ertz. By the 71st minute, the USWNT had taken 11 shots—three on goal. Canada had one shot.
A U.S. score felt inevitable. But the game turned suddenly in the 74th minute. A penalty was called on U.S. defender Tierna Davisdon for Canada’s Deanne Rose. Canada’s Jessie Fleming converted the penalty shot against backup goalie Adrianna Franch, who dove to her right but couldn’t catch it.
The game ended an up-and-down Olympics tournament for the USWNT. In the quarterfinals, the U.S. team showed its resilience by fighting back from a goal down against the Netherlands to take a 2-1 lead. When the Dutch equalized, Naeher made several key saves, including stops in the penalty-kick session that won the U.S. the game. But a 3-0 loss to Sweden—the team’s worst in years—in pool play served as a disturbing sign.
READ MORE: How the Lethargic U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Can Save Its Olympic Dreams
The victory was sweet Olympic revenge for Canada. At the 2012 London Games, the Canadians lost to the U.S., 4-3, in an Olympics classic at Old Trafford Stadium after Alex Morgan scored on a header in the final minute of extra time. Canada has claimed the bronze twice in the last two Olympics, always falling short of the final.
Coming into the Tokyo Summer Olympics, accomplishing what remains an elusive feat—the Olympic-World Cup back-to-back—served as key motivation for the U.S. women’s squad. The USWNT won the 2019 World Cup in defiant fashion: fans in France and back home in the United States serenaded the players, who are still waging a gender discrimination against their national federation in the courts, with cheers of “Equal pay! Equal pay!” (There were no such vocal enthusiasm here in Kashima; the teams played the game in front of 75,000 mostly empty seats.)
The USWNT is out of contention for the gold medal, but the squad’s Olympics are not finished yet; the team will play for bronze against the loser of the Sweden-Australia match.
The Americans were counting on coming home with gold. After winning the 2015 World Cup, the U.S. fell to the Swedes at the 2016 Rio Games, a bitter defeat. (The U.S. also won the 1999 World Cup, and fell to Norway in the gold medal game in Sydney.)
Veteran stars like 36-year-old Megan Rapinoe, who won world player of the year distinction in 2019 after scoring six goals in the World Cup, and 39-year-old Carli Lloyd, the world player of the year 2015 after scoring a hat trick within 13-minutes in that World Cup final, are nearing the end of their careers.
The U.S. may have to start thinking about retooling personnel going forward. (The next Women’s World Cup is in 2023, in Australia and New Zealand). But such planning was supposed to come later, after celebrating an Olympic gold.
Not now. Not after failing to even reach the gold medal game.
Read more about the Tokyo Olympics:
- Naomi Osaka: ‘It’s O.K. to Not Be O.K.’
- Motherhood Could Have Cost Olympian Allyson Felix. She Wouldn’t Let It
- Simone Biles’ Olympic Team Final Withdrawal Could Help Athletes Put Their Mental Health First
- ‘Unapologetic and Unafraid.’ Sue Bird Stares Down Olympic Glory in Tokyo and Equity Off the Court
- Meet 6 Heroes Who Helped Battle COVID-19 Before Competing in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics
- Here’s How Many Medals Every Country Has Won at the Tokyo Summer Olympics So Far
- 48 Athletes to Watch at the Tokyo Olympics
- The Olympic Refugee Team Was Created to Offer Hope. Some Athletes Are Running Away From It
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