Chelsea midfielder Jessie Fleming netted the only goal as Canada caused an upset in defeating world champions the United States 1-0 in their Olympic Games Women’s Football Tournament semi-final tie this morning.
The 23-year-old scored from the penalty spot in the second half as Bev Priestman’s side stunned the Americans to confirm their place in the final where they will take on Australia or Sweden.
The United States were the favourites going into the match but Canada stood up to the challenge as they continued their rapid growth under new boss Priestman.
The first half was a hard-fought, physical affair which offered no goals. The main talking point of the half was the injury sustained to American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. She fell awkwardly after coming to collect a cross midway through the half and she had to be replaced by Adrianna Franch.
The second half saw the United States come out more lively but with the game still deadlocked, head coach Vlatko Andonovski opted to make three attacking changes on the hour with Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe and Christen Press all entering the field. Those changes did make an immediate difference but Canadian keeper Stephanie Labbe was alert and she was able to claw away a Lloyd effort.
The game-changing moment came 17 minutes from time when Deanne Rose was caught by Tierna Davidson. There wasn’t a lot of contact but VAR highlighted the foul resulting in a Canadian penalty kick. Chelsea midfielder Fleming stepped up and fired the ball home to give her side a precious lead.
The United States naturally threw everything at Canada in the final minutes with Lloyd being denied by the crossbar. Priestman’s side held on though to claim their place in Friday’s final.