Some Brazilian clubs have women’s teams but they are very much the poor relation to the men. These two teams had already faced off once in the group stage, with Canada beating Germany 2-1.
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Lisa Dahlkvist scored the decisive penalty on Sweden’s fifth attempt after Andressa, the youngest player on the Brazil squad, saw her penalty saved by Hedvig Lindahl. The only benefit for Silvia Neid and the Germans is that they have two games worth of film to prepare off of before Friday’s final and hope to make the necessary adjustments to break through Sweden’s packed midfield and flat four defending. “We have the match for the bronze medal now and we will fight until the end to get that medal”.
Solo had castigated Sweden as “cowards” for their defensive display in the last eight, but that seemed to only strengthen the resolve of Sundhage’s women as they barely threatened the Brazilian goal.
Germany, meanwhile, avenged a loss to Canada earlier in the games, sending the Canadians to the bronze medal match for the second straight Olympics.
“It’s all about machismo”, said Adir Fernandes, a middle-aged Vasco da Gama fan who came to the Maracana to see her first women’s game.
The five-time world player of the year walked off in tears after the upset before 70,000 people in a stunned Maracana stadium.
Brazil can still end the long wait for a first Olympic gold medal in football at their home Games as their men remain in the competition and face Honduras in the semi-finals Wednesday.
Germany’s road to the final has been uncharacteristic for the No. 2 team in the world, falling to Canada and drawing with Australia in the group stage, but they’ve still been putting up big numbers for shots and shots on goal.
The teams were goalless after extra time in a semi-final dominated by Brazil in front of about 74,500 fans.
The Swedes had previously progressed through the quarter-finals in similar fashion, frustrating the United States before winning on penalties. “That’s a compliment to her”, Solo told The Associated Press during the Olympics.
Losing this match will do nothing to diminish the legacy of either Sinclair or Marta, both of whom have over 100 goals for their countries, and both of whom are largely responsible for bringing their respective teams to relevance in their home nations.
“This is unbelievable. It is the first time for Germany to reach the final and I am very proud about our performance”, Germany coach Silvia Neid said. She has 10 Olympic goals, tying her for third on the career list with Abby Wambach of the U.S.
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Brazilian coach Vadao said he hoped Marta and the team’s other vets – namely Formiga and Cristiane – don’t walk away following the Olympics.
