The semi-finals of the women’s football tournament at the 2024 Paris Olympics took place on Tuesday as the match-ups for the gold and bronze medal fixtures were confirmed.
2023 World Cup winners Spain faced Brazil, who were without taliswoman Marta due to suspension. Four-time gold-medalists USA, led by former Chelsea boss Emma Hayes, faced Germany in the early kick-off.
The bronze medal match will take place on Friday 9 August, while the gold medal match will be contested the following day on Saturday 10 August.
90min have gathered the semi-final results, and selected our player of each match…
Much like the quarter-finals, it was another cagey game for the majority of the 90 minutes. The USA had the better chances, with seven shots on target compared to Germany’s four inside normal time.
Five minutes into extra time, Sophia Smith finally broke the deadlock to put Emma Hayes’ side in front. She ran onto a lofted ball over the top and beat Germany’s Bibiane Schulze, before lifting an effort over Ann-Katrin Berger.
Player of the match: Naomi Girma (USA) – 8/10 – An outstanding defensive display from the centre-back. Any fires set alight by Germany were hastily put out by Girma and her reading of the game is exquisite. Her passing and quality on the ball is also just as valuable as her work off it.
Spain’s clash with Brazil was far more open as the World Cup winners were stunned once again in the early exchanges. Spain trailed Colombia in the opening 12 minutes of the quarter-finals over the weekend, and it was a similar story in Marseille on Tuesday night.
An error from goalkeeper Cata Coll, leading to an Irene Paredes own goal handed Brazil an early lead and Priscila had a golden opportunity to make it two just before the 40 minute mark. However, she could only send her effort wide of the post as Brazil continued to search for another strike.
Although, Brazil didn’t need to wait long to get the second goal as Gabi Portilho managed to stay onside and finish a cross in from Yasmim. Just like the game against Colombia, Spain found themselves two goals behind with it all to do in the latter stages of the match.
Substitute Adriana scored a third for Brazil with 20 minutes left to play as they put one foot in the Olympic final. Spain didn’t make it comfortable, however, as Salma Paralluelo pulled one back late on. Alexia Putellas very nearly scored a second with an effort from range, but Lorena was alive to it and made the save.
Despite 15 minutes of additional time, another substitute, this time Kerolin, scored a fourth to restore Brazil’s three-goal cushion and make it 4-1. Paralluelo scored a second for Spain in the dying minutes of the game, but it wasn’t enough for the world champions.
Player of the match: Lorena (BRA) – 8/10 – In truth, every Brazil player was worthy of this accolade for such heroic performances all over the pitch. Despite one nervy moment in the first half, Lorena was fantastic in the Brazil goal. One of the most decisive moments of the game, shortly after Spain pulled a goal back, and before Kerolin added a fourth, she made two outstanding stops to deny Putellas from range and ensured Spain weren’t able to mount any form of a legitimate comeback.
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