Semi-Finals

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Semi-Finals

2004 Final To Be Repeated As USA And Brazil Advance

by Jeremy Ruane

The finalists in the 2004 Olympic Women's Football Tournament in Athens, the USA and Brazil, will do it all again in Beijing on Thursday night, after both recorded come-from-behind victories in their respective semi-finals at the Games of the 29th Olympiad on Monday evening.

Reigning world champions Germany suffered their biggest defeat in six years when crushed 4-1 by Brazil at the Shanghai Football Stadium, in the first semi-final of the 2008 Olympic Women's Football Tournament.

It was a stunning scoreline, made even more noteworthy for the fact that Brazil came from behind to thrash a team they had never previously beaten, and who went ahead in the tenth minute of play through talismanic markswoman Birgit Prinz.

She chose this moment to net her first goal of the tournament, and become the first woman to score in all four Olympic Women's Football Tournaments played to date.

The Brazilians gradually began to impose themselves on proceedings, and two minutes before half-time, struck the first goal German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer had conceded in both this tournament and the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals - a staggering 943 minutes of shut-out time.

Cristiane broke down the left and fired over a cross, but it was Marta's dummy run to the near post which was the key element of the goal which finally ended Angerer's record, as ghosting in behind the reigning FIFA Women's Player of the Year was Formiga. Unmarked, she gleefully thumped home to level the scores.

The `keeper saved superbly from Marta soon afterwards, but after the break the Brazilians tore the Germans apart with some scintillating counter-attacking soccer. A cleared Renate Lingor corner allowed Marta to thunder away downfield before setting up Cristiane to make it 2-1 soon after half-time.

Four minutes later, the talented number ten got on the scoresheet herself, taking on Germany's rearguard before poking home from a tight angle. And with the world champions chasing the game, Cristiane, with her fifth goal of the tournament, broke their resistance once and for all on the

counter-attack fourteen minutes from time to leave the Germans playing for the bronze medal for the third successive Olympic Games.

The Brazilians' opponents in the battle for the gold medal will once again be the reigning Olympic champions, the USA, who came from behind to trounce Japan 4-2 in the second semi-final in Beijing.

Shinobu Ohno gave “Nadeshiko” the perfect start when netting after sixteen minutes, and they were good value for it. But in the shadows of the half-time whistle, the Americans finally broke down Japan's defences, netting not once but twice before the break.

Angela Hucles and Lori Chalupny scored the goals which turned the tide the USA's way, and twenty minutes from time, Heather O'Reilly's strike meant Japan were facing a task of Mt. Everest-like proportions, never mind their own beloved Mt. Fuji!

It proved too big a hurdle for them to cope with, as ten minutes from the final whistle, Hucles' second goal of the game and fourth of the tournament clinched victory for the two-time Olympic champions.

Substitute Eriko Arakawa pulled one back for Japan deep in stoppage time, but “Nadeshiko” will have to content themselves with a shot at the bronze medal against a German side which will take the beating they've suffered at Brazil`s hands very hard indeed.

Japan's conquerors' quest for successive gold medals sees them take on opponents they've beaten in previous Olympics (1-0 in 2000, 2-1 in the 2004 final). A third such success is far from certain - one need only think back to last year's FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final, when the USA were shredded 4-0, as evidence that these Games may be the tournament which finally sees Brazil step up to the top dais in the women's game.

Details:

Brazil 4 (Formiga (43), Cristiane (49, 76), Marta (53)), Germany 1 (B. Prinz (10)) HT 1-1

Japan 2 (S. Ohno (16), E. Arakawa (90)), USA 4 (A. Hucles (41, 80), L. Chalupny (44), H. O'Reilly (70)) HT 1-2

2008