Women’s soccer’s main force in the world, the United States, on Tuesday managed to qualify for the quarter-finals at the Olympics in Tokyo-2020, but with an unprecedented fact: it was the worst group stage in the history of selection, winning four golds. Holds the rank of greatest champion in the category with medals (Atlanta-1996, Athens-2004, Beijing-2008 and London-2012).
The United States only drew 0–0 with Australia and advanced to the knockout stage with four points in second place in Group G. This is the first time American athletes have won just one game in the first leg of the Olympics.
In a monotonous match, with few chances to score and many passes, the United States and Australia shared a training game without much desire to go for the goal. The strategy worked for both teams in terms of classification, but due to mechanical football presented in the group stage, there is concern for the quarter-finals.
The United States will face the Netherlands, which consolidated into the same group as Brazil, finishing first after an 8–2 loss against China.
Sweden, which won all three group stage games with an emphasis on victory against the United States on their debut, not only finished first, but also the best team ever in women’s football. Sweden will face Japan, who beat Chile 1-0 this Tuesday and finished third in Group E.
Great Britain and Canada drew 1–1 in the final round, ending the match for the quarter-finals and would face Australia and Brazil respectively. All women’s football quarterfinal games at the Tokyo Olympics will be played this Friday.
See full table:
Canada (2.ºE) x Brazil (2.ºF), at 5:00 am (from Brasilia), in Miyagi
Great Britain (1.ºE) x Australia (3.ºG), 6 a.m., in Kashima
Sweden (1.ºG) x Japan (3.ºE), 7am, Saitama. In
Netherlands (1.ºF) x United States (2.ºG), at 8 a.m. in Yokohama
