USA vs. Japan: Match Recap & Highlights | 2024 Paris Olympics

PARIS (Aug. 3, 2024) – Ahead Trinity Rodman ended an extra-time stalemate with a spectacular purpose and the U.S. Ladies’s Nationwide Crew’s quest to achieve the highest of the rostrum at Paris 2024 will proceed because the USA outlasted Japan, 1-0, in a tense and tight quarterfinal.

Within the Olympic host metropolis of Paris eventually after spending the group stage in southern France, the U.S. was held in test for greater than 105 minutes by a decided Japanese facet that defended in a low block and with excessive self-discipline. Midway by way of further time on the Parc des Princes, nonetheless, Rodman delivered, sending the fifth-ranked Individuals to an Aug. 6 semifinal in Lyon towards both Germany or Canada. Will probably be the USWNT’s seventh journey to the ultimate 4 in eight Olympic appearances.

Rodman’s game-winner on the finish of the primary interval of time beyond regulation the newest purpose the USWNT has scored within the Olympics since Alex Morgan’s purpose within the 120+3 towards Canada within the 2012 Olympic Semifinal.

The USA, underneath just lately appointed head coach Emma Hayes, has now began an Olympic event with 4 wins for simply the second time. The final got here in 2012, when it wound up defeating Japan for the gold medal. USA-Japan has turn into a knockout-round fixture lately and Friday’s conflict was the seventh elimination sport between the pair at both a Ladies’s World Cup or Olympics, the most typical knockout-stage fixture within the historical past of the 2 world competitions.

The U.S. now holds a 32W-1L-8D benefit over Japan all-time and has prevailed in six of these seven elimination affairs. However the one wherein it fell — the memorable 2011 Ladies’s World Cup Closing — and the problem Japan constantly poses has left the rivalry feeling a lot nearer on the sphere than it seems on paper. So it was once more Friday on the Parc des Princes, the place the seventh-ranked Nadeshiko almost stymied an American assault that had netted 9 instances in three group-stage video games.

Hayes made one change to the staff that defeated Australia within the Group B finale, inserting Korbin Albert into midfield instead of the suspended Sam Coffey (yellow card accumulation). Coffey was one in every of three Individuals, together with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and heart again Naomi Girma, who performed each minute of the group stage. Heart again Tierna Davidson (leg contusion) missed her second-straight match and Emily Sonnett as soon as once more crammed in admirably beside Girma.

The remainder of the staff remained intact as Hayes prioritized momentum and chemistry within the USA’s fourth match in 10 days and her eighth sport on the helm. These qualities could be important, as Japan, the Group C runner-up, sat again excess of traditional and compelled the Individuals to attempt to play their method by way of their 5-2-3 formation on protection. The U.S. held the overwhelming majority of the ball (almost 80% possession) throughout a quiet opening half hour, however the Nadeshiko have been intent on testing the USA’s persistence and limiting any potential attacking forays out extensive or in behind.

Within the thirtieth minute, the U.S. lastly acquired a glimpse of the Japanese purpose. A midfield flick-on by captain Lindsey Horan set ahead Sophia Smith free on the precise, however the striker’s shot from an acute angle missed the mark. Japan compelled the primary save from Naeher 5 minutes later as latest Utah Royals signing Mina Tanaka was capable of activate Horan and hearth a low effort towards the goalkeeper. Miyabi Moriya and Rose Lavelle traded possibilities towards the top of the primary half, however the Japanese shot went excessive and the American bid was comfortably saved.

The stalemate continued after intermission with Japan regularly taking a number of extra possibilities going ahead though ahead Mallory Swanson barely missed a 63rd-minute roller. Japan’s numerical benefit in midfield carried the potential to create issues for the USA when the ball turned over, however Korbin Albert, Horan and Lavelle hardly ever did. Manchester Metropolis’s Yui Hasegawa was the orchestrator of a number of threatening Japancounterattacks and blasted a promising look over the crossbar within the eightieth. The U.S. then mustered its greatest attacking spell of the half throughout stoppage time, but it surely was unable to interrupt by way of because the Japanese fell again and clogged capturing lanes.

The USA then entered further time in a third-consecutive Olympic quarterfinal. The primary two, towards Sweden in 2016 and Netherlands in 2021, went to penalties. Hayes’ curiosity in avoiding one other tiebreaker prompted her first substitute of the afternoon as ahead Lynn Williams relieved Swanson. Smith created the USA’s greatest likelihood of the sport within the 97th as she dispossessed defender Moeka Minami and raced towards purpose. Japan netminder Ayaka Yamashita got here out rapidly and smothered Smith’s shot.

As the primary interval of additional time entered stoppage time, Girma tried a go the U.S. had been missing to that time, an extended, angled ball excessive. It proved promising. Her supply into the precise nook was received by Rodman, however the ensuing cross didn’t join. Nonetheless, the concept to bypass Japan’s financial institution of defenders was clearly one and Dunn tried it seconds later, this time from the middle circle. Rodman was open once more and this time she introduced the ball down, raced into the field and reduce the ball again towards Japan’s Hikaru Kitagawa earlier than unleashing an ideal left-footed blast over the flying Yamashita and into the upper-left nook of the online.

It was Rodman’s third purpose of the Olympics, following scores towards Zambia and Australia. She hadn’t scored in any of her pervious 12 USWNT appearances this 12 months however has been flying in her first-ever Olympics. Rodman additionally had an help on Smith’s opening purpose towards Germany, giving her a purpose contribution in every of the USA’s 4 Olympic matches.

Naeher’s shutout was her second of the event and her tenth in 20 profession Olympic or Ladies’s World Cup appearances.

The semifinal will happen on the Stade de Lyon, an iconic location in USWNT historical past. It was the location of the 2019 Ladies’s World Cup Semifinal win towards England after which the defeat of Netherlands within the World Cup Closing. Seven gamers on this Olympic squad have been on that World Cup championship roster. The venue can be the house floor for Horan, who joined Lyon in 2022 and has already received a pair of French league titles and the UEFA Ladies’s Champions League.

Group B runner-up Germany and Group A runner-up Canada are scheduled to play afterward Saturday in Marseille.

The Olympics will proceed past Aug. 6 whatever the semifinal consequence. Defeat will ship the Individuals to the bronze medal sport on Aug. 9, whereas a win will carry them again to the Parc des Princes, now without end the location of Rodman’s iconic strike, for the Aug. 10 gold medal sport.

GOAL SCORING RUNDOWN

USA — Trinity Rodman (Crystal Dunn), 105+2nd minute: An attractive, long-range change of play from Dunn discovered Rodman in the precise nook and the in-form ahead did the remainder. Rodman beat Hikaru Kitagawa on the dribble and whipped a left-footed shot throughout the face of purpose and into the higher left nook. USA 1, JPN 0 FINAL

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• The U.S. advances to the Olympic semifinals for the seventh time in eight journeys to the Olympics and the fifteenth time in 17 complete appearances at world championships, solely failing to achieve the semifinals on the 2016 Olympics and 2023 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup.
• The USWNT improves to 32W-1L-8D towards Japan, together with an 8W-0L-1D towards the Japanese at world championship occasion.
• The U.S. has now received all 5 conferences towards Japan on the Olympics, its most wins ever towards one opponent on the Olympic video games.
• The USWNT has now received 12 consecutive matches in France courting again to the 2019 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup, its longest profitable streak in any nation outdoors of america.
• This marks the second time the USA and Japan have gone to further time and the primary because the 2011 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup closing, which Japan received over the USA on penalty kicks.
• This was the USA’s tenth further time match on the Olympics and the primary because the 2020 Quarterfinal towards the Netherlands. In that match the usadvanced 4-2 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw by way of regulation and further time.
• The USA is now 7W-1L-2D all-time on the Olympics in further time matches.
• That is the primary time the U.S. has saved a clear sheet within the knockout rounds of the Olympics since shutting out New Zealand 2-0 within the quarterfinals of the 2012 Olympics.
• With midfielder Sam Coffey suspended on account of card accumulation, Korbin Albert made her first begin of the Olympics. The 20-year-old Albert turned the third-youngest participant to ever begin for the USWNT on the Olympics, trailing solely Mallory Swanson (18-years-old at Rio 2016) and Tiffany Roberts (19-years-old at Atlanta 1996) and the youngest to start out for the USA at a world championship since 20-year-old Tierna Davidson began and tallied two assists towards Chile at Parc des Princes within the 2019 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup group stage.
• Emily Sonnett made back-to-back begins for the USWNT for the primary time ever at a world championship as she began once more at heart again instead of the injured Tierna Davidson (leg contusion).
• Rodman now has targets in back-to-back video games for the second time in her worldwide profession, the one different occasion coming within the USA’s September 2023 wins over South Africa.
• Her three targets are actually tied Mallory Swanson for the staff lead this event and are tied for the fifth-most by any USWNT participant at single Olympics.
• At 22 years of age, Rodman is the youngest participant to attain for the USWNT in an Olympic knockout spherical match since 20-year-old Lindsay Tarpley scored within the 2004 gold medal match
• Along with her purpose, Rodman has now been immediately concerned in a purpose in all 4 matches on the Olympics, the longest streak by any USWNT participant at a single main event since Carli Lloyd on the 2015 FIFA Ladies’s World Cup and the longest by any USWNT participant on the Olympics since Alex Morgan (6 straight) and Abby Wambach (5 straight) on the 2012 Olympics in London.

– U.S. WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM MATCH REPORT –

Match: United States Ladies’s Nationwide Crew vs. Japan
Date: Aug. 3, 2024
Competitors: Paris 2024 Olympics Quarterfinal
Venue: Parc des Princes; Paris, France
Attendance: 43,004
Kickoff: 3 p.m. native / 9 a.m. ET
Climate: 75 levels, partly cloudy

Lineups:
USA: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 7-Crystal Dunn, 14-Emily Sonnett, 4-Naomi Girma, 2-Emily Fox (6-Casey Krueger, 120+1); 3-Korbin Albert, 10-Lindsey Horan (Capt.), 16-Rose Lavelle (13-Jenna Nighswonger, 106); 11-Sophia Smith, 9-Mallory Swanson (8-Lynn Williams, 91), 5-Trinity Rodman
Substitutes not used: 18-Casey Murphy, 15-Jaedyn Shaw, 21-Emily Sams
Suspended: 17-Sam Coffey
Head coach: Emma Hayes

JPN: 1-Ayaka Yamashita; 20-Miyabi Moriya, 6-Toko Koga (5-Hana Takahashi, 91), 4-Saki Kumagai (Capt.), 3-Moeka Minami, 13-Hikaru Kitagawa (19-Remina Chiba, 106); 14-Yui Hasegawa (16-Honoka Hayashi, 106), 10-Fuka Nagano; 15-Aoba Fujino (7-Hinata Miyazawa, 81), 11-Mina Tanaka (9-Riko Ueki, 70), 8-Kiko Seike (17-Maika Hamano, 46)
Substitute not used: 22-Shu Ohba
Head coach: Futoshi Ikeda

Stats Abstract: USA / JPN
Pictures: 15 / 13
Pictures on Purpose: 3 / 1
Saves: 1 / 2
Nook Kicks: 6 / 4
Fouls: 3 / 6
Offside: 4 / 2 

Misconduct Abstract:
USA – Emily Sonnett (Warning) 57th minute

Officers:
Referee: Tess Oloffson (SWE)
Assistant Referee 1: Almira Spahic (SWE)
Assistant Referee 2: Francesca di Monte (ITA)
4th Official: Espen Eskas (NOR) 
VAR: Ivan Bebek (CRO)
AVAR 1: David Coote (GBR)
AVAR 2: Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)

Michelob Extremely Superior Lady of the Match: Trinity Rodman