The venerated United States women’s soccer team fell to Canada in the semifinals of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament, dashing the team’s gold medal dreams.
Canada beat the U.S. for the first time since 2001, breaking a 36-game losing streak against the USWNT.
The U.S. women’s team has failed to reach the finals for a second consecutive Olympics after losing to Sweden in the quarterfinals at the Rio Games in 2016. Sweden would go on to win silver after falling to Brazil in the final that year.
The lone goal in the 1-0 match came off the boot of Canadian midfielder Jessie Feming, who scored on a penalty in the game’s 74th minute. The USWNT suffered a major setback when star goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the hero of the team’s quarterfinal victory over the Netherlands last week, left the game with an apparent knee injury about 30 minutes into the game.
Canada now has the chance to win gold after two consecutive Olympic bronze medals in Rio and London, and will play the winner of Australia vs. Sweden on Friday.
The U.S. will have the chance for Bronze on Thursday against the loser of Australia vs. Sweden, capping off an uncharacteristically uneven tournament for the team.
The USWNT began Olympic play with a 3-0 loss to Sweden, which snapped a 44-game unbeaten streak, and a scoreless draw with Australia in the group stage.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
