The U.S. women escaped the Dutch—and their manager’s most questionable choice.
In the final, most crucial moments of its Olympic quarterfinal against the Netherlands, the U.S. women’s national team finally appeared dominant against a good team.
While the match itself was a back and forth affair that finished 2–2, U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher left no doubt in the penalty shootout, stopping the first and fourth Dutch kicks to go along with the penalty she saved in regulation. Her teammates didn’t miss any of theirs, with penalty specialist Megan Rapinoe putting the deciding kick into the top corner to send the U.S. into the semifinals.Naeher is the hero, and has historically been so good at facing penalties that the U.S.
Early signs were worrisome. The Netherlands scored on its first real chance, star forward Vivianne Miedema wrangling a deflection and turning and firing before the U.S. defenders could react. Miedema has mastered the striker’s art of creating space for herself with a single step or a shift of her weight, escaping defenders’ challenges with the economy of movement of a bullfighter.
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