Sophia Smith scored the winning goal in extra time as the United States beat Germany 1-0 on Tuesday to advance to the Paris Olympics women’s football final.
Smith settled a close-fought but generally poor semi-final in Lyon by firing past Germany goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to finally break the deadlock five minutes into extra time.
The USA, record four-time gold medallists, were also grateful to goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher for a crucial late save from Laura Freigang and now head to the French capital for the final on Saturday.
“I saw a little opening of net and I thought I’ve just got to put it there. It was a good feeling,” Smith said of her goal.
“I had a few other chances in this game that I should have put away but sometimes one is all it takes.”
Germany, who won gold in 2016, can still claim a bronze medal as they stay in Lyon for the third-place play-off on Friday.
The Germans had been the more accomplished side in normal time although quality was desperately lacking in the final third from both teams on a stiflingly hot day.
Emma Hayes’s USA played at a level far removed from their clinical display in beating Germany 4-1 in the group stage in Marseille.
However, once again the quality of their attack made the difference.
