The United States will face the Netherlands in the quarter-finals of the women s football tournament at Tokyo 2020 after being held 0-0 by Australia to finish second in Group G.
USA bounced back from a shock 3-0 loss to Sweden in their opening game with a 6-1 win against New Zealand, but they dropped further points in the round-robin stage on Tuesday.
Previously unbeaten in 44 games before that Sweden loss, USA failed to break down Australia s defence – Alex Morgan s disallowed goal for offside the closest they came to doing so.
Mary Fowler hit the crossbar for Australia and in the end a point apiece was a fair outcome, with the Matildas also advancing to play Great Britain in the last eight.
It is the first time in history record four-time winners USWNT have finished with fewer than six points in the group stage of a major global tournament.
RAMPANT DUTCH AWAIT USA
Sweden were already assured of a place in the last eight ahead of their clash with New Zealand and saw the job through with a 2-0 win at Miyagi Stadium to finish ahead of USA.
Anna Anvegard and Madelen Janogy were on target for Sweden before half-time and they saw out a straightforward win that condemned New Zealand to a group-stage exit.
It means USA will now take on the Netherlands in the next round in what is a repeat of the 2019 Women s World Cup final. The Netherlands lost that match, but they enter this latest showdown in superb form after thrashing China 8-2 in Yokohama.
Lineth Beerensteyn, Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema all scored twice in the one-sided affair, while Shanice van de Sanden and Victoria Pelova were also on target.
The Netherlands tally of 21 goals from three games is already the most scored by a team in a single women s football Olympics event, surpassing the USA s 16 from London 2012.
The final group standings for the Women s Tournament
Which team has impressed you most so far?
— FIFA Women s World Cup (@FIFAWWC)
HOSTS JAPAN SCRAPE THROUGH
Japan did all that they could in the final round of group games by beating Chile 1-0 through a Mina Tanaka goal 13 minutes from time.
That win took the tournament hosts to four points from three games, enough to send them through as one of the best third-placed sides, along with Australia.
Already through to the quarter-finals, Great Britain snatched top spot with a late 1-1 draw against second-placed Canada in Tuesday s other Group E match.
Caroline Weir s long-range free-kick with 84 minutes played took a heavy deflection and cancelled out Adriana Leon s opener.
Brazil also booked their spot in the knockout stages thanks to Andressa s first-half free-kick in their 1-0 win against the tournament s lowest-ranked side in Zambia, who lost Lushomo Mweemba to an early red card.
The Selecao meet Canada in the quarters, while Australia await Great Britain.
