LYON: Sophia Smith scored the winning goal in extra time as the United States beat Germany 1-0 on Tuesday to advance to the Olympic women’s football final.
Smith settled a close-fought but poor semifinal in Lyon by firing past Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to finally break the deadlock five minutes into extra time.
The USA, record four-time gold medallists, will go to Paris for the final on Saturday against either World Cup holders Spain or Brazil, who play their last-four tie later.
Germany, who won gold in 2016, can still claim the consolation of bronze as they stay in Lyon for the third-place play-off on Friday against the loser of the second semifinal.
The Germans had been the more accomplished side in normal time although quality was desperately lacking in the final third from both teams on a stiflingly hot day.
Emma Hayes’s USA, meanwhile, played at a level far removed from their clinical display in beating Germany 4-1 in the group stage in Marseille.
However, once again the quality of their attack made the difference.
In Saturday’s quarter-final win over Japan, it was right-winger Trinity Rodman who scored the only goal of the game in extra time.
This time it was Smith who was the match-winner, firing past Berger after being picked out by a Mallory Swanson through ball.
It was a third goal at the tournament for the Colorado-born forward who will turn 24 on the day of the final — her other two strikes came against Germany in the group stage.
Contrast that cutting edge with Germany, who were dealt a serious double blow ahead of the game when ill captain Alexandra Popp and the injured Lea Schueller, the two most prolific and experienced goal-scorers in their squad, were ruled out.
The Americans had chances in the 90 minutes, including from a late Lindsey Horan header that was kept out by Berger.
Swanson even had the ball in the net, although she was well offside and the flag was raised early.
But they found a way through in extra time, and Smith was then only denied a second goal by a good Berger save.
There was drama right at the death, with USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saving at close range to deny Laura Freigang an equalizer before Smith almost got a second on the break.
The USA won the last of their four women’s football gold medals at London 2012. They claimed bronze three years ago in Tokyo and were also silver medallists in 2000.
Germany, whose coach Horst Hrubesch was in charge of the men’s team that won silver in Rio in 2016, will now hope to leave with Olympic bronze for the fourth time.
USA edge Germany in extra time to reach Olympic women’s football final
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USA edge Germany in extra time to reach Olympic women’s football final
- Smith settled a close-fought but poor semifinal in Lyon by firing past Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to finally break the deadlock five minutes into extra time
- Germany, who won gold in 2016, can still claim the consolation of bronze as they stay in Lyon for the third-place play-off on Friday
UK Athletics admits corporate manslaughter in death of UAE Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei
- UK Athletics had initially denied the charge when it appeared in court in March 2025 but entered a guilty plea on Friday
LONDON: UK Athletics has admitted corporate manslaughter over the death of Emirati Paralympian Abdullah Hayayei, who was killed in a training accident in London in 2017, it was reported on Friday.
Hayayei, 36, died after a heavy metal cage collapsed on him while he was preparing for the World Para-Athletics Championships at Newham Leisure Centre in July of that year.
The governing body had initially denied the charge when it appeared in court in March 2025 but entered a guilty plea on Friday during a hearing at the Old Bailey in London, media reports said.
Keith Davies, the head of sport for the London 2017 World Para-Athletics Championships, also pleaded guilty to a health and safety offense.
The 78-year-old had previously denied a charge of gross negligence manslaughter.
Prosecutor Karen Robinson told the court a two-day sentencing hearing should be scheduled for early June, confirming the prosecution would not pursue a trial and that all remaining matters would be resolved following sentencing.
Davies was granted continued bail, subject to conditions including cooperation with the UK Probation Service in the preparation of a pre-sentence report.
At the time of the fatal incident, Hayayei was training to compete at the London championships.
The UAE athlete had been due to take part in the F34 shot put, discus and javelin events.
A father of five, Hayayei made his Paralympic debut at the Rio Paralympics in 2016, finishing sixth in the javelin and seventh in the shot put.
London 2017 was set to be his second world championships appearance, having placed fifth in the discus and eighth in the shot put at the 2015 event in Doha.
A moment of silence was observed in Hayayei’s memory during the opening ceremony at the London Stadium.
