USWNT suffers heartbreaking loss to Canada, won't compete for gold in Tokyo
By Doug McIntyre
FOX Sports Soccer Writer
The United States women’s national team won’t become the first reigning World Cup champion to win Olympic gold, as the USWNT lost 1-0 to Canada early Monday in the semifinals at the Tokyo Games.
With a little more than 15 minutes of the match remaining, U.S. defender Tierna Davidson sent Canada to the penalty spot when she fouled Reds substitute Deanne Rose. Backup U.S. goalkeeper AD Franch — who replaced the injured Alyssa Naeher, the hero of the Americans’ quarterfinal shootout win over the Netherlands, in the first half — could do nothing to stop Jessie Fleming’s powerful shot into the side-netting.
It was the USWNT’s first loss to Canada since 2001, snapping a 37-game unbeaten run. The U.S. will play for a bronze medal Thursday against Australia after the Matildas lost 1-0 to Sweden in the other semifinal.
Here are three quick thoughts on the USA’s defeat.
The USWNT got what it deserved
Sure, the call on Davidson was harsh in the sense that it looked like a nothing play. The infraction initially went unnoticed by the referee. But as the video assistant spotted and the center ref confirmed after review, Davidson clearly (if completely accidentally) kicked Rose’s leg inside the box. It was a foul and, in the end, an easy call to make.
With Canada’s stout defense not giving the Americans an inch, it was always going to be hard for the U.S. to find an equalizer in time, though Carli Lloyd nearly managed to when her header shook the crossbar in the 85th minute.
But while the USWNT outshot their northern neighbor 13-3 (including a 4-2 advantage on shots on goal) and enjoyed 60% of the possession, they barely tested Canadian backstop Stephanie Labbé. As they had all tournament, the Americans just looked off.
The most dominant team in women’s soccer history couldn’t connect simple passes. Once again, they looked like they’d never played together, even though Vlatko Andonovski’s squad is almost exactly the same as the one that steamrollered foes two summers ago in France en route to the 2019 World Cup title.
"It’s terrible," veteran Megan Rapinoe told NBC afterward. "Not our best game. Not our best tournament."
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It would be too easy to say that this U.S. squad, which was supposed to compete in Tokyo a year earlier, was too old. But few USWNT players of any age performed well in this tournament. They sure never looked good collectively, save for the 6-1 victory against overmatched New Zealand that fell between two other group stage games in which the USWNT were shut out. In all, the U.S. failed to score in three of their first five games in Japan.
How much of that is on Andonovski? Plenty. The U.S. coach couldn’t get anything out of his players at his first major tournament, with Naeher the notable exception, and that’s on him. Why exactly that happened will be dissected endlessly.
But the cold, hard truth is that whatever the reasons, the U.S. simply weren't good enough at these Olympics. And if they don’t play much, much better in the bronze-medal match, the team that reached five consecutive Olympic title matches from 1996 to 2012 will go home empty-handed for the second straight Games.
Naeher’s injury was the turning point
If any U.S. player didn’t deserve to limp out of Monday’s match, it was Naeher. The 33-year-old stepped out of Hope Solo’s considerable shadow at the last World Cup, making a key penalty stop in the semis against England.
At these Olympics, she was the Americans' best player. The U.S. wouldn’t have reached the final four if not for Naeher’s heroics against the Dutch, which included another late PK save, plus two more in the tiebreaker.
As such, it was especially cruel to see Naeher’s knee buckle under her after she leapt to snare a first-half cross by Fleming. Naeher attempted to continue but realized she couldn’t after taking a goal kick, immediately signaling to the U.S. bench for a sub. That thrust the 30-year-old Franch, a two-time National Women’s Soccer League Goalkeeper of the Year, onto the field for her first action at a World Cup or Olympics.
While there was nothing Franch could do about Fleming’s perfect strike from 12 yards, it would’ve been nice if Naeher’s teammates had repaid her for bailing them out in the quarters. Instead, the sight of her leaving the contest seemed to sap the little energy they had.
Keepers blossom late, and Naeher is young enough that she should still be in the mix when the next World Cup kicks off in 2023. It would be terribly unfair if Monday marked her swan song on the global stage.
Is this it for Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe?
For decades now, USWNT supporters have been accustomed to seeing their country compete for trophies. But any fans who are tempted to skip Thursday's third-place game will miss what could well be the final international game for two of the most decorated players in program history.
Lloyd is 39 and has been mulling retirement for years. She seriously considered hanging it up after the last World Cup. Had these Olympics not been postponed 12 months because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the hat-trick hero of the 2015 World Cup final win almost certainly would’ve walked away last year.
Rapinoe, 36, hasn’t said much about her plans. But it’s obvious that during this competition, she has been a far cry from the player who scored six goals on her way to winning the Golden Ball as World Cup MVP in 2019.
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"Obviously, we want to send everyone out on the happiest note," Rapinoe said. "We weren’t able to do that tonight."
It’s not just Lloyd and Rapinoe, either. Captain Becky Sauerbrunn is 36. Tobin Heath is 33, and Alex Morgan, Christen Press, and Kelley O’Hara are all 32. Some of these players will have to make way for the next generation over the next two years.
As Monday’s heartbreak proved, the USWNT is desperately in need of some new blood.
One of the most prominent soccer journalists in North America, Doug McIntyre has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams in more than a dozen countries, including multiple FIFA World Cups. Before joining FOX Sports, the New York City native was a staff writer for Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre.
