Current time in Tokyo: July 30, 10:54 p.m.
July 30, 2021, 9:51 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:51 a.m. ET
YOKOHAMA, Japan — The United States women’s soccer team beat the Netherlands in a penalty shootout on Friday to advance to the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics, a thrilling and resilient moment in a tournament journey that had previously been marked by defeat and frustration.
Megan Rapinoe, the team’s steely and outspoken veteran forward, delivered the winning kick that beat the Netherlands, 4-2 in the shootout, after the teams played to a 2-2 tie. But goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was the Americans’ true star, making several big saves in regulation — including a penalty kick — and then stopping two Dutch attempts in the shootout.
July 30, 2021, 9:49 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:49 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
And it’s Rapinoe with another signature moment. She never loses her cool. She looked so loose stepping up to smash that shot where it couldn’t be saved. And when it hit net, she did a 180-degree hop, folded her arms, and stuck out her tongue, waiting for her teammates to swallow her up in hugs.
July 30, 2021, 9:47 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:47 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Some of the Dutch players are in tears. The Americans, after a round of hearty celebrating, are slowly making their way over to shake their hands. Naeher, in between hugs, exhales deeply. What a game it was for her.
July 30, 2021, 9:45 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:45 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
It all comes down to… Who else? Megan Rapinoe. She takes a deep breath and smashes it into the roof of the net! She’s swarmed by her teammates as the U.S. wins the shootout, 4-2!
July 30, 2021, 9:45 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:45 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Anieh Nouwen, the third straight defender after Miedema is up. SAVED! NAEHER SAVES A SECOND! That keeps it at 3-2, and it can end here.
July 30, 2021, 9:44 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:44 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Christen Press shoots third and slots it coolly along the grass inside the left post. It’s 3-2, United States. You can hear the players screaming encouragement at one another.
July 30, 2021, 9:44 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:44 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Another defender, Stefanie van der Gragt, is third for the Netherlands. She SCORES! But oh goodness that was close: She dinged her shot off the post but it caromed in. It’s 2-2.
July 30, 2021, 9:43 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:43 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Kicking second for the United States is Alex Morgan. She SCORES! She takes a short run up to the ball and buries it low, into the right corner, sending the keeper the wrong way. The Americans are up, 2-1.
July 30, 2021, 9:42 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:42 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Defender Dominique Jansen goes second for the Netherlands. She SCORES, rolling a low kick to her right as Naeher dives the other way. It’s 1-1.
July 30, 2021, 9:41 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:41 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Up next to kick is Rose Lavelle, who jogs in confidently from the center circle. She then curls the ball nicely inside the left post. The U.S. goes ahead, 1-0!
July 30, 2021, 9:40 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:40 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
Pre-shootout, both teams gather on the midfield stripe, knowing this will end in triumph or tears. The Netherlands’ Miedema, the top scorer in the Olympics with 10 goals, goes first against Naeher: SAVED! NAEHER SAVED IT, diving to her right!
July 30, 2021, 9:36 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:36 a.m. ET
New to soccer? Here’s what happens now.
Each coach will select five players — generally their steeliest, most trustworthy ones, which may not be the players you would choose or expect — and the teams will take turns from the penalty spot.
Miss or make. Win or lose. Strap in.
You can win a shootout early, if one team misses a few, or it can go on forever.
But one thing is clear: It’s an absolutely cruel way to settle a tie, and probably the worst one there is.
Except for all the other ideas you’ll hear.
July 30, 2021, 9:36 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:36 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
FULL TIME. Three whistles from the ref, and it’s on to penalty kicks. The teams retreat to their sidelines for water, and to pick the penalty takers. Right about now is when you really notice the lack of a crowd.
July 30, 2021, 9:32 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:32 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
119′ Everything’s flowing through Rapinoe right now on the left side. If the Americans snatch a late goal, she’ll provide the assist, I bet.
July 30, 2021, 9:31 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:31 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
118′ Horan makes a crucial interception in the Americans’ half and blasts a beautiful through-ball the length of the field into the path of a galloping Rapinoe. Rapinoe tries to take the whole Dutch defense on, but she leans back and blasts her shot over the bar.
July 30, 2021, 9:28 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:28 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
113′ MORGAN WINS IT——NOPE. Of course it’s offside. That’s nine offside goals for the United States this tournament, which means Disallowed Goal now feels like it’s threatening Abby Wambach and Mia Hamm in the U.S. record books.
July 30, 2021, 9:24 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:24 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
109′ Another U.S. goal canceled out by an offside call! Megan Rapinoe pinged a diagonal cross from deep in midfield and dropped it onto the foot of Christen Press, who settled it cleanly and drove it smoothly into the net. But she was a step offside. That’s the eighth potential goal called offside for the United States in this tournament.
July 30, 2021, 9:21 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:21 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
108′ Tired legs = loose passes = nervous moments. Both sides have had a couple gasps in extra time already.
July 30, 2021, 9:20 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:20 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
106′ The Americans win a corner on the left side, but Rapinoe can only drive it low into a wall of Dutch defenders. It’s cleared, and on they go in search of a goal.
July 30, 2021, 9:19 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:19 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:16 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:16 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
105′ There’s the whistle. So 15 minutes to get a goal. Or 15 minutes to penalties. Not sure either team wants it to come down to that.
July 30, 2021, 9:14 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:14 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
105′ Press finds herself in front of goal, staring down a dangerous cross whipped from the left sideline. But she gets under it and bloops it over the crossbar with her head, a nice ball wasted.
July 30, 2021, 9:12 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:12 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
103′ Naeher makes a beautiful safe for the U.S. to preserve the 2-2 scoreline. Miedema went airborne to win a header from close range. But Naeher went flying to her left to punch the dangerous shot away.
July 30, 2021, 9:08 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:08 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
100′ Gold star for Julie Ertz, whose scrambling recovery smothers Miedema after another Horan giveaway.
July 30, 2021, 9:08 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:08 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
99′ Rapinoe makes a dangerous dribbling run from the left side, shedding Wilms and van de Donk with a pair of nice moves, but she drags her shot just outside the near post!
July 30, 2021, 9:07 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:07 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
99′ This bit where everyone stands around while a Netherlands defender looks for the best way to send a long ball to Miedema in probably not a game the United States wants to play. Pressure dies along with the legs, sometimes, but space is the Americans’ enemy right now.
July 30, 2021, 9:04 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:04 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
96′ In the midst of a loooong VAR review here. So much riding on it.
No goal.
July 30, 2021, 9:03 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:03 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
94′ This time the offside goal saves the U.S. from disaster. A corner, a header off the crossbar that falls free and is knocked over the line past Naeher. But Martens appeared to be clearly offside.
July 30, 2021, 9:02 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:02 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
92′ Horan makes a huge mistake giving up the ball in her own half. Van de Donk swipes it from her and gets it quickly to Miedema at the top of the box. The Americans get lucky when Miedema, so lethal this month, fires it straight at Naeher, who corrals it safely.
July 30, 2021, 9:02 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 9:02 a.m. ET
One of these teams will win tonight, and one will lose, and one might even go on to win the gold. But this game is about much more than that for both of them.
A Netherlands victory will reaffirm the Dutch as the world’s rising power, a team of lethal scoring threats and growing experience that could supplant the United States if it continues its trajectory. The Dutch won the European Championship in 2017 for the first time, played in the World Cup final two years later, and now have their eyes locked on Olympic gold.
A United States victory could push all of that back, again, and re-energize a program that seems to set the standard, and then meet every challenge in the nick of time. They may not be ready to surrender their dominant position just yet; tonight’s effort, if nothing else, showed that.
But a United States defeat, and a second straight medal-free Olympic trip, could mean something else entirely. Hard questions about the coaching and job security of Vlatko Andonovski. Tough ones about the futures of several top players. A loss could also have implications for the future of the game itself on the global stage, where many nations are rapidly closing the gap with infusions of club millions, and an empty throne could have many claimants.
That’s what we will learn about. But not until this night is over.
July 30, 2021, 8:54 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:54 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
FULL TIME. Tweet! Tweet! Tweeeeeet! That Rapinoe free kick was the last chance. We’re going to extra time in Yokohama.
July 30, 2021, 8:53 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:53 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
90+4′ Van de Donk wipes out O’Hara’s legs from underneath her, getting herself a yellow, and giving the U.S. a dangerous free kick from the left side. But Rapinoe sends it looping out of bounds for a goal kick.
July 30, 2021, 8:48 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:48 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
90′ They announce five minutes of additional time, plenty of time for someone to snatch this win.
July 30, 2021, 8:48 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:48 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
89′ Two of today’s quarterfinals went to extra time, and as we near 90 minutes in Yokohama you get the sense that’s where we are headed here, too. Let’s hope the late bus back to Tokyo is running ….
July 30, 2021, 8:47 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:47 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
89′ Rapinoe wins a corner, but she sends the ensuing kick sailing over everybody’s heads. Things are getting tense now.
July 30, 2021, 8:45 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:45 a.m. ET
Every tournament run has a moment, that split-second where a single decision, a single action, can determine a team’s fate.
Alyssa Naeher’s penalty save might have been just that. And it’s not her first. She quietly saved her team’s World Cup title run several times in 2019 with big saves, most notably against England in the semifinals with a save a lot like that last one there against Lieke Martens.
Naeher is one of the quietest members of the United States team. You might not know much about her: She gives little away in interviews, and rarely smiles on the field until the game is over. In other words, a total pro.
But her teammates and her coach trust her implicitly. And she just showed why. Again.
July 30, 2021, 8:41 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:41 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
81′ That was not a good penalty from Martens. She stood over the ball forever while waiting for the review. I wonder if that tightened her up. Regardless, she sent the ball, low and slow, toward Naeher’s left. Naeher guessed correctly and easily brushed the ball aside. That saved the tournament for the Americans.
July 30, 2021, 8:39 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:39 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
81′ Lieke Martens will take it ….. VAR review ….. confirmed ….. SAVED!!! NAEHER!
July 30, 2021, 8:38 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:38 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
80′ Kelley O’Hara took out Lineth Beerensteyn in the box to draw the whistle!
July 30, 2021, 8:37 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:37 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
80′ PENALTY!
July 30, 2021, 8:37 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:37 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
77′ Lindsey Horan gets the first yellow card of the game. She charges hard at a ball that’s sitting at the feet of Danielle van de Donk and takes a huge chunk of the Dutch player’s foot with her slide tackle. Looked painful. That’s the first booking of the night.
July 30, 2021, 8:35 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:35 a.m. ET
77′ With Rapinoe and Lavelle in the game, the U.S. now has both goal-scorers on the field who helped secure the team’s victory over the Netherlands in the 2019 World Cup final.
July 30, 2021, 8:30 a.m. ET
July 30, 2021, 8:30 a.m. ET
reporting from Yokohama, Japan
70′ Andonovski was just waving his players forward a minute ago after a clearance. He wants them out of their own end, clearly. But he probably wants pressure of the field when they clear the ball out, too, to keep it out.
