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Finally, the gold medal game. There aren’t many bigger than this in women’s soccer. It’s the biggest game the USWNT has played since the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final. It’s the first time the USWNT has played for a gold medal since 2012 in London. But they aren’t the only team playing in this gold medal game. Brazil has never won a major international tournament and hopes to send their greatest star, Marta, off in style.
USWNT and Brazil have taken long roads to the final
The USWNT’s win over Germany was almost a carbon copy of their win over Japan. Both games were scoreless going to extra time. And in both games, one of the three US forwards found a way to get the goal to send the Americans through.
Against Japan, it was Trinity Rodman who fired home to secure the win. Three days later, it was Sophia Smith who scored to send the US through to the gold medal game.
Additionally, the US win against Germany again didn’t see Emma Hayes make many substitutions until extra time. In regulation, Emily Sonnett and Lynn Williams were brought on. But with the game tied 0-0 in extra time, Hayes could wait no more. She brought on Jenna Nighswonger, Korbin Albert, and Casey Kruger. Fortunately, there are four days between the semi-final and the gold medal game.
On the other side, it’s quite a surprise to see Brazil in the gold medal game. Not because they aren’t talented, but because they got their Olympics off to a horrendous start.
They won their opener against Nigeria 1-0. Things then appeared to careen off the rails as they lost each of their next two games, 2-1 to Japan and 2-0 to Spain. They only advanced to the knockout rounds as the second-ranked third-place team.
In the quarterfinals they pulled off a huge shock, eliminating the host French and causing manager Herve Renard to resign. In their semifinal game, they demolished Spain by a score of 4-2. The win was especially impressive because Spain…
Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/olympics-2/uswnt-vs-brazil-preview-usa-pushing-for-5th-gold/
Author : Lawrence Dockery
Publish date : 2024-08-09 14:03:17
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