YOKOHAMA: Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe saved two spot-kicks in a nail-biting shootout as Canada defeated Sweden 3-2 on penalties to clinch Olympic women's football gold for the first time Friday in Yokohama.
Stina Blackstenius scored her team-best fifth goal of the tournament to give Sweden the lead, but Jessie Fleming's penalty in the second half sent the match to extra time and it finished 1-1 after 120 minutes.
Labbe, the hero of Canada's quarter-final shootout win over Brazil, saved from Anna Anvegard and Jonna Andersson as Sweden captain Caroline Seger missed a chance to win it when she blazed her attempt over.
Julia Grosso then squeezed her penalty beyond Hedvig Lindahl to trigger wild celebrations for Canada and their iconic captain Christine Sinclair, who had to settle for bronze medals at the past two Games.
Organisers relocated the final from Tokyo's Olympic Stadium, the venue used for the athletics events, south of the capital to Yokohama and delayed kick-off from 11am to 9pm because of heat concerns.
Yet it was still 29 degrees Celsius (84.2 degrees Fahrenheit) as Sweden made their second straight appearance in the final. High humidity bumped the heat index up to 34C.
Sweden, runners-up to Germany in 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, entered the final with a perfect five wins from five -- including an opening 3-0 rout of the United States.
Four players from that silver-medalling winning side five years ago started here; Seger, Lindahl, Sofia Jakobbson and Kosovare Asllani.
Canada coach Bev Priestman unsurprisingly stuck with the starting XI that eliminated the USA, four-time Olympic champions, in the semi-finals.
Fridolina Rolfo, whose goal saw off Australia in the previous round, forced a save from Labbe with a curling effort from distance before Jakobbson's header was palmed away.
Sweden grabbed the lead on 34 minutes after Canada midfielder Quinn was dispossessed just inside halfway. Asllani countered and squared for Blackstenius to sweep home via a deflection off Vanessa Gilles.
Canada showed far more attacking intent after the break. Defender Ashley Lawrence had her effort hacked off the line after substitute Deanne Rose kept the chance alive following a spill by Lindahl.
Just like in the semi-final against the USA, Canada were awarded a penalty upon review as the 38-year-old Sinclair was caught by a lunging Amanda Ilestedt.
Fleming again stepped forward, this time sending Lindahl the wrong way to bring Canada level. The Chelsea midfielder nearly bagged a quick-fire second, rifling narrowly over moments later.
Rolfo and Asllani wasted chances to win it for Sweden in normal time, and the exertions of playing six matches in 17 days in sweltering conditions made a shootout almost inevitable.
Canada desperately scrambled the ball clear as Sweden threatened to snatch a late winner, but instead they watched their hopes of a first major trophy since the first Women's European Championship in 1984 elude them in the cruelest of ways.
Canada edge Sweden on penalties to win Olympic women’s football gold
https://arab.news/6w7y4
Canada edge Sweden on penalties to win Olympic women’s football gold
- Goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe saved two spot-kicks in a nail-biting penalty shootout as Canada clinches football gold for 1st time
- Sweden entered the final with a perfect five wins from five
Al-Ittihad slump to fourth defeat of season in home loss to Al-Ettifaq
- Visitors’ Khalid Al-Ghannam scores only goal of the game as the reigning Saudi Pro League champs drop more points after drawing with Damac on Tuesday
- Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak ends with 1-1 draw against Al-Najma, and Al-Khaleej enjoy comfortable 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood
RIYADH: Al-Ittihad’s disappointing defense of their Saudi Pro League title continued on Friday with a 1-0 home defeat at the hands of Al-Ettifaq.
Khalid Al-Ghannam scored the decisive goal for the visitors as the hosts dropped more points after their draw with Damac on Tuesday.
In the absence of Fabinho, who was suspended after being sent off late in Tuesday’s match, Mahamadou Doumbia partnered with N’golo Kante in midfield for Al-Ittihad. The Malian showed his composure early on when he shielded the ball under pressure before unleashing a long-range shot in the 10th minute, but it was comfortably saved by Marek Rodak.
The deployment of Al-Ghannam proved pivotal, as he repeatedly tested the hosts. In the 23rd minute he burst down the left flank, beating three defenders with some clever dribbling before testing Predrag Rajkovic in goal, who parried the effort.
Al-Ghannam bothered the defense again just minutes later, threatening the Serbian goalkeeper with another attempt from a similar position. However, the game remained goalless at halftime.
The second half began with Al-Ittihad on the front foot. Within minutes, Roger Fernandes found himself in front of goal and put the ball in the net, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.
Al-Ghannam’s effort and influence eventually paid off for the visitors in the 54th minute. Operating as a left-sided striker during an Al-Ettifaq counterattack, he cut inside to curl a powerful shot into the far corner.
Al-Ittihad’s attacking approach varied as they fought to get back into the game, with Fernandes patrolling the left flank, Muhannad Al-Shanqeeti cutting inside near the byline, and central contributions from the combination of Doumbia and Steven Bergwijn. But the Al-Ettifaq defense remained resolute.
Danilo Pereira, pushing up into an advanced midfield position as Al-Ittihad forced Al-Ettifaq to defend deep, unleashed a long shot in the 67th minute, urged on by the home fans, but his effort went wide.
With time running out, Sergio Conceicao made four substitutions in the space of seven minutes, bringing on Ahmed Al-Julaydan at right-back for his crossing abilities, Abdulaziz Al-Bishi and Ahmed Al-Ghamdi to play between the lines, and Saleh Al-Shehri for added impetus up front.
Despite several chances, Al-Ittihad were unable to grab the equalizer, and in the 85th minute things got even worse for them. Keeper Rajkovic tripped on his way to confront a Mohau Nkota counterattack and stuck out his hand at the edge of the box to push the ball away. A review by the video assistant referee ruled he had handled the ball outside the box and he was shown the red card.
After seven minutes of added time, and one final attempt by Doumbia to salvage something for the hosts through a free-kick, the referee blew the final whistle.
It was the fourth defeat of the season for Al-Ittihad and means they remain in sixth place in the table, three behind Al-Qadsiah who have a game in hand. Al-Ettifaq are seventh, just two points behind the defending champions.
Earlier, Al-Fateh’s five-game winning streak came to an end when they returned from a trip to Qassim to face Al-Najma with only a point. The visitors took the lead in the 12th minute but a goal for the home side by Ali Jasim in the 75th denied them all three points as the game ended 1-1.
In the Eastern Province, Greek duo Giorgos Masouras and Kostas Fortounis proved the main inspirations for Al-Khaleej in a 4-1 victory over Al-Okhdood that temporarily lifted them into seventh place in the table, until Al-Ettifaq reclaimed the spot.
On Saturday, Al-Fayha face Damac, Al-Kholood take on fourth-place Al-Ahli, and second-place Al-Nassr are in action against Al-Shabab.
