Women’s soccer Olympics, Spain and the US in the quarters.The Canada team beats France Results and upcoming matches
A day full of excitement saw Spain and the United States secure their place in the knockout stage by entering the quarterfinals – it remains to be seen with which final position and consequently against which opponent – also important are the successes of Australia, Canada, Colombia and Japan, to which, however, the points for the moment are not enough to be able to think more calmly about what will be the second round of play.
France defeated, Canada penalized
France ‘s resounding defeat against defending champions Canada reacted in the best way possible to the resounding ruling of the Olympic Disciplinary Ethics Committee, which imposed six penalty points on the Canadian team whose coaches had spied on their opponents’ training with a drone equipped with cameras.
An unprecedented episode at the Olympic Games that caused much controversy and from which the Maple Leafs emerged admitting all responsibility, apologizing and accepting a very harsh sentence.
Their response on the field, however, was that of a team of extraordinary character
Group A
New Zealand-Colombia 0-2 27′ Restrepo, 72′ Santos Colombia got its first points at Paris 2024 with an impressive victory over New Zealand in Lyon.
The Cafeteras played the entire match on the attack from the start and with some intensity.
Midway through the first half, Marcela Restrepo found the right corner with a beautiful volley from outside the box.
A lead also legitimized by the resounding crossbar hit by Manuela Vanegas, by far the best on the field, also decisive in building the goal action of the doubling which, from a cross of hers was perfected by Catalina Usme and bagged by Leicy Santos.
It just cancels out a good reaction in the final by New Zealand that seemed both physically and technically far behind the performance of the Colombians. France-Canada 1-2 42′ Katoto, 58′ Fleming, 90’12 Gilles Icy shower for the French crowd that crowded the Saint Etienne stadium and had to postpone the dream of seeing the host formation in the quarterfinals.
What decided an extremely hard-fought and balanced match was a goal with plenty of time left on the clock in what could almost be considered extra time.
France paid for many missed chances and some carelessness in managing their moments of superiority.
The hosts were not satisfied with a goal from the usual Marie-Antoinette Katoto, her third goal in two games, who perfectly hit the target at the end of the first half, thanks to an assist from Dali.
Canada picked up the pace in the second half and found the equalizer early in the second half with its captain Jessie Fleming good at capitalizing on a personal action in a decidedly ill-prepared defense.
The game remained in the balance until the 90th and much beyond considering the very long recovery decreed by the referee.
And what seemed to be favorable conditions for France, which chased victory throughout the match, became the viaticum for the winning goal: Vanessa Gilles’ tap-in was decisive, on a shot by Huitema rejected in the corner but not held by Peyraud Magnin
Group B
Australia 6-5 Zambia 1′ Banda, 7′ Kennedy, 21 Kundananji, 33′ Banda, 35′ Raso, 45’+2 Banda, 56′ Kundananji, 58′ Musole own goal, 65′ and 78′ Catley, 90′ Heyman Anything really happens in the challenge between Australia, which desperately needed a win after its debut defeat, and a Zambia that relies everything on physicality and speed point but ends up collapsing in defense.
The 6-5 final perfectly represents the intensity of a match that offered the highest score ever recorded in an Olympic women’s soccer tournament.
Opening the scoring was the first of three goals by Barbra Banda, on her third Olympic hat trick.
Zambia reacted to Alanna Kennedy’s tentative equalizer by scoring in quick succession again with Racheal Kundananji and Banda.
In the 56th minute after another goal by Kundananji and Banda, Zambia was resoundingly up 2-5.
But here the match completely changes physiognomy: Australia asserts greater focus and athletic consistency and puts the result back on its feet with a Steph Catley double before Michelle Heyman closes the score at 6-5 which at the moment gives no guarantee of promotion to Australia just as it does not yet condemn Zambia to elimination.
United States-Germany 4-1 11′ Smith, 22 Gwinn, 26′ Swanson, 44′ Smith, 89′ Williams If a high-profile game was expected from the U.S. in what was in fact the first real examination for the Emma Hayes-coached team, the U.S. national team fully lived up to expectations with a truly top-notch game against one of the teams that had made the best impression in the first outing.
Julia Gwinn’s immediate equalizer to Sophia Smith’s early lead was not enough.
Once again it was Mallory Swanson, her second goal in two games, who was good at intercepting Berger’s rebound on a shot by Smith with several responsibilities on Hegerber’s defense putting the U.S. back in the lead.
The third goal even before halftime, signed by Smith herself thanks in part to some luck and a deflection.
In the second half one expects a far more competitive Germany.
The Germans pick up the pace create something, force some important interventions from goalkeeper Naeher but in fact do not risk more than that and close with Lynn Williams, a Gotham player who took over a few minutes ago from the bench, to close out the scoring with a wide margin that allows the United States to directly detach the coupon for the quarterfinals.
Not a bad Germany, perhaps punished beyond its own demerits, definitely not very concrete compared to what it created.
Quite the opposite of a U.S. team that played absolutely ruthless and focused.
Group C
Brazil – Japan 1-2 56′ Jhennifer, 90’+2 Kumagai, 90’+6 Tanikawa Another very strange match that saw Japan beat Brazil thanks to two goals as time expired profusely. Japan which had the luxury of wasting a penalty kick as the first half expired with an inaccurate shot by Tanaka intercepted by Lorraine. Breaking a substantial balance is Jhennifer who brings Brazil ahead by capitalizing on Ludmila’s preparation work. Brazil reacted to the lead without the ability to close the game, and Japan became more intense and aggressive as the minutes passed. Also fair was the second penalty kick awarded to the Nipponese entrusted this time to Roma‘s Saki Kumagai who accurately converted a very heavy ball. Brazil, completely at the mercy of events, gave the game and the match to the Nipponese with a defensive blunder that allowed Momoko Tanikawa the most valuable winning shot imaginable and worth a truly golden victory. Brazil now forced to win their last game against world champion Spain to avoid going out of the picture before the quarterfinals.
Spain – Nigeria 1-0 86′ Putellas (86) A narrow victory for Spain against Nigeria thanks to a decidedly very late goal by former Ballon d’Or Alexia Putellas.
The tight score should not mislead because the world champions really dominated the field from start to finish building a lot but wasting just as much. Spain was devastating and from the first minutes came very close to scoring on several occasions, a goal nullified in the 56th minute when Salma Paralluelo slotted the ball into the net on Teresa Abelleira’s cross before VAR cancelled everything. Nigeria a bit cumbersome in its restarts, yet still dangerous. It took a fairy-tale free kick by Alexia to unlock the result and take Spain directly to the quarterfinals. The third and final day is scheduled for Wednesday, August 1. Three rounds of play that will see teams from each round playing at the same time.
Next round
Group C 5 p.m. Brazil-Spain 5 p.m. Japan-Nigeria Group B 7 p.m. Australia-United States 7 p.m. Zambia-Germany Group A 9 p.m. New Zealand-France 9 p.m.00 Colombia-Canada These are the provisional rankings Group A Colombia 3 (+1), France 3 (0) Canada 0 (2)*, New Zealand 0 (-3) Canada penalized 6 points Group B USA 6 (+6), Germany 3 (0) Australia 2 (-2), Zambia 0 (-4) Group C Spain 6 (+2), Japan 3 (0), Brazil 3 (0), Nigeria 0 (-2)
