The Women’s Olympic soccer tournament was superb in Tokyo and it was one heck of a topsy-turvy competition as Canada won the Gold medal for the first time in their history.
It was also the first time in history the Gold medal game was decided by penalty kicks.
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Canada beat Sweden on penalty kicks in the Gold medal game, as Stina Blackstenius put Sweden ahead but Jessica Fleming equalized from the penalty spot during the game.
It went to penalty kicks and Canada won a thrilling shootout 3-2, as both teams missed three penalty kicks in a row and Canada’s goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe and midfielder Julia Grossa were the heroes in sudden death as the former saved and the latter slotted home the deciding kick to spark wild celebrations.
The win means Canadian legend Christine Sinclair, 38, wins a Gold medal and Sweden has now back-to-back Silver medals at the Olympics.
FOR THE FIRST TIME - CANADA HAS WON GOLD IN WOMEN'S SOCCER! 🥇#TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/nj0TwLt8Z9
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 6, 2021
The United States women’s national team has won the last two World Cups, but their 2016 Olympics was a rare failure as the team failed to medal for the first time in six tournaments.
They did win Bronze at Tokyo 2020, with Vlatko Andonovksi’s side battling to a position on the podium despite being the pre-tournament favorites.
After being hammered in their opening group game by Sweden, the USWNT hammered New Zealand to get back on track and then drew with Australia to finish second in Group G and limp into the knockout rounds.
The USWNT then defeated the Netherlands on penalty kicks in dramatic fashion in the quarterfinals, but then lost to Canada in the semifinals as they had to settle for a Bronze medal against Australia.
Megan Rapinoe scored an Olimpico in stunning fashion against Australia in the Bronze medal match, as she repeated the clever goal she scored at London 2012 v. Canada.
While Carli Lloyd became the top scorer in USWNT history at the Olympics as she scored twice, along with Rapinoe’s double, to seal a thrilling 4-3 win against Australia to win Bronze.
WATCH. THIS. GOAL.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
An unbelievable corner by Megan Rapinoe! #TokyoOlympics x @USWNT
Stream: https://t.co/FmEtvutDRA pic.twitter.com/jvod0GDyAB
HISTORY MADE!
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 5, 2021
ICYMI, Carli Lloyd becomes @USWNT's leading scorer in Olympic history with 10 goals. @TeamUSA x #TokyoOlympics // @OnHerTurf x #OlympicHERstory pic.twitter.com/bqNRK3wKHr
The goal of the tournament was from Dominique Janssen, who scored an incredible free kick for the Netherlands against Brazil, and you can see her stunning strike in the video below. What a hit.
🤯🔥🇳🇱 Dominique Janssen, what a goal! Netherlands against Brazil was a classic. #Olympics #Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/HWs21j0dz9
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) July 24, 2021
After being postponed due to COVID, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics will take place in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, July 23 – Sunday, August 8, 2021.
[ MORE: Latest schedule for USMNT, USWNT ]
As always, NBC is home to the Olympics and will provide coverage, which can be accessed on local NBC stations as well as streamed on NBCOlympics.com, NBC Sports, and Peacock.
When is Soccer at Tokyo Olympics 2020?
Soccer is scheduled for Saturday, July 24 – Saturday, August 7.
Who is on the USWNT roster for the Olympics?
A lot of names you know: Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Tobin Heath, Christen Press
And maybe some you don’t. Here’s the 18-player USMNT squad for the Tokyo Olympics.
Odds for Women’s Olympic Soccer, USWNT odds - full odds provided by our partner, PointsBet
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Women’s Olympic soccer schedule & results
Medal matches
Aug. 5
USA 4-3 Australia (Kashima) - USWNT wins Bronze medal
Aug. 6
Canada 1-1 Sweden (Tokyo) - Canada wins 3-2 on penalty kicks and wins Gold Medal; Sweden wins Silver medal
Women’s Olympic soccer results -- Group stage, knockout rounds
Quarterfinals
Friday, July 30
Canada 0-0 (4-3 PKs) Brazil
Great Britain 3-4 Australia
Sweden 3-1 Japan
Netherlands 2-2 (2-4 PKs) USA - RECAP, ANALYSIS, HIGHLIGHTS
Semifinals
Aug. 2
USA 0-1 Canada - RECAP, ANALYSIS, HIGHLIGHTS
Australia 0-1 Sweden
July 27
USWNT 0-0 Australia (Kashima) - RECAP, ANALYSIS, HIGHLIGHTS
New Zealand 0-2 Sweden (Miyagi)
Canada 1-1 Great Britain (Kashima)
Chile 0-1 Japan (Miyagi)
Netherlands 8-2 China (Yokohama)
Brazil 1-0 Zambia (Saitama)
July 24
Chile 1-2 Canada (Sapporo)
China 4-4 Zambia (Miyagi)
Sweden 4-2 Australia (Tokyo)
Japan 0-1 Great Britain (Sapporo)
Netherlands 3-3 Brazil (Miyagi)
New Zealand 1-6 USWNT (Tokyo) - RECAP, ANALYSIS, HIGHLIGHTS
July 21
Great Britain 2-0 Chile (Sapporo) - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
China 0-5 Brazil (Miyagi) - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Sweden 3-0 USWNT (Tokyo) - RECAP, ANALYSIS, HIGHLIGHTS
Japan 1-1 Canada (Sapporo) - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Zambia 3-10 Netherlands (Miyagi) - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Australia 2-1 New Zealand (Tokyo) - VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS
Women’s soccer at the Olympics -- Standings
Group E
Great Britain - 7 points (Qualified for quarterfinals)
Canada - 5 (Qualified for quarterfinals)
Japan - 4 (Qualified for quarterfinals)
Chile - 0
Group F
Netherlands - 7 (Qualified for quarterfinals)
Brazil - 7 (Qualified for quarterfinals)
China - 1
Zambia - 1
Group G
Sweden - 9 points (Qualified for quarterfinals)
USWNT - 4 (Qualified for quarterfinals)
Australia - 4 (Qualified for quarterfinals)
New Zealand - 0