The U.S. women’s soccer team has done it again and fulfilled all the predictions: they beat Canada in the semifinals in the “Theater of Dreams” from Manchester and will fight for the gold medal in the final game against Japan.

The finalist was not decided until the last minute of extra time. During the 90 minutes, Canada went ahead on the scoreboard three different times, but the Americans managed to tie the game every time Canada scored.

The first Canadian advantage came with Christine Sinclair, who made the first goal of the night. In the second half, the Americans managed a draw thanks to Megan Rapinoe.

However, Sinclair again put his team ahead three minutes before Rapinoe drilled on goal again. In their particular duel to become the best player in the game, Sinclair scored a hat-trick, but when the game seemed already over, Abby Wambach tied it in the 80th minute with a penalty kick.

With the score at 3-3, the semi-final went to over time and it was not until the second part of the extension in the third minute of injury time, when Alex Morgan put the U.S. into the final, avoiding penalties with an agonizing goal.

Canadians have complained that the fourth goal came when the game should have been over. They have also showed their disagreement with the American’s third goal, which came after a penalty preceded by an indirect free kick that was indicated when Canadian goalkeeper, Erin McLeod, was called for time wasting, something that is rarely whistled.

“Obviously, we’re disappointed and upset. We felt that the referee took it away from us, so, yes, we are disappointed,” Canada captain Sinclair said. “We feel like we didn’t lose, we feel like it was taken from us. It’s a shame in a game like that, which is so important, that the ref decided the result before the game started.”

Canadian coach John Herdman also showed his anger: “It felt like it was America and the referee against us.”

On the other hand, American players refused to talk about the polemic, as they were celebrating going into the final. “I’m still in shock,” Morgan told NBC following the game. “I was saying the whole time, ‘I don’t care who scores as long as we freaking score, as long as we win. I just got my head on it in the end and I didn’t see it go on.”

“Even when they scored their third goal, there was something in me that knew that we had more, that we could give more,” Wambach said. “I don’t know what that means, quite honestly. I don’t know if it’s just confidence until the end, but this team has a belief in itself, even when the going gets rough.”

Now the final against Japan is on the horizon, and will take place on Thursday at London’s Wembley Stadium. Americans will have the chance to seek revenge against the Japanese, who defeated them in last year’s World Cup final. American Morgan has not forgotten about this game: “We wanted the rematch with Japan, and we got it.”

Image Courtesy of   fstockfoto / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympics 2012 Women Soccer: U.S. Defeats Canada appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

The quarterfinals for the soccer Olympics are already here, as the group stage games ended on August 1. This has been so far an Olympics full of surprises, as favorite Spain and Luis Suarez’s Uruguay have not made it to the next round. It is especially startling in the Spanish case. The winners of the last World Cup and Euro Cup have not even scored a goal on the three games played in the group stage, and could just tie one of their games (0-0 against Morocco)

The group stage was composed of 16 teams divided within 4 different groups. Teams that have made it into quarterfinals are Great Britain and Senegal in group A, Mexico and South Korea in group B, Brazil and Egypt in group C and Japan and Honduras in group D.

With Spain out, the favorite is the ever-feared Brazil and host Great Britain. Giovani dos Santos’ Mexico is the third front-runner to lift the title. However, the other countries must also need to be taken into account as they have already struggled, and triumphed, through different battles.

A draw has already been made for the quarterfinal round, which will be played on August 4th. Host Great Britain will play against South Korea. Favorite Brazil will have to beat Honduras, who already won to mighty Spain. Mexico will play against Senegal, and Japan and Egypt will face off in the last quarterfinal game.

The most attractive game from the last day of the group stage was Brazil’s victory against New Zealand by 3-0. The Brazilians won the game with even a greater superiority than what the final result reflected. The first two goals were scored before the first half an hour by Leandro Damiao and Danilo. The third one was Sandro’s work at the beginning of second half.

The other big game of the day was the one played between Great Britain and Uruguay in Cardiff, Wales. The Brits won by 1-0 with Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge’s goal in a game that started shrouded in controversy since it was feared that Welsh were going to boo on the God Save the Queen British anthem. At the end fans respected the anthem.

Image Courtesy of  Cyril Hou / Shutterstock.com

The article Olympic Soccer: Quarterfinals are Already Here appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.