The U.S. women's national team is a game away from playing for a fifth gold medal but first must get by a regional foe that it's dominated but won't take lightly.
The U.S. and Canada meet in Kashima for the right to face either Sweden or Australia in the gold-medal game at the Tokyo Olympics. Both teams advanced to the semifinals of the 12-team tournament on penalty kicks, with Canada outlasting Brazil thanks to Stephanie Labbé's consecutive saves that sent Marta & Co. back home empty-handed. Labbé's U.S. counterpart, Alyssa Naeher, also made two saves in a penalty shootout, lifting the USWNT by the Netherlands in what was a 2019 Women's World Cup final rematch.
How to Watch:
Time: 4 a.m. ET
TV: USA, Telemundo
Live Stream: You can stream the match on fuboTV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial.
Lineups:
USWNT XI: Naeher; O'Hara, Sauerbrunn, Davidson, Dunn; Ertz, Horan, Lavelle; Heath, Morgan, Williams
Canada XI: Labbé; Lawrence, Gilles, Buchanan, Chapman; Fleming, Scott, Quinn; Sinclair, Beckie, Prince
The U.S. and Canada have met plenty of times before, with the neighbor to the north the U.S.'s most frequent opponent ever. The USWNT holds a commanding 51-3-7 all-time record, with two of those wins coming on the Olympic stage.
There was a 2008 extra-time triumph in the quarterfinals in China before they played one of the greatest games ever in the semifinals of the 2012 tournament in England. Alex Morgan's winner secured a 4–3, extra-time victory for the ages and paved the way for the U.S.'s last gold medal.
