Olympic Soccer Results 2012: Semifinal Scores and Gold Medal Prediction

It's official: Women's soccer is never going to provide a dull moment. Ever. 

After the 2011 World Cup saw four of the final seven matches go to extra time, including three that went to penalties and two—United States vs. Brazil in the quarters and United States vs. Japan in the finals—that will go down as arguably the best matches in women's soccer history, the London Olympics had a lot to live up to.

After Monday's semifinal action, consider it mission accomplished. 

United States Over Canada (4-3)

What is there to say about this one? Wait, no. What I meant to ask was, what isn't there to say about this one?

Let's see, there were (deep breath) seven total goals, three equalizers, a hat trick, a goal off a corner (but not in the way you're thinking. It literally went from Megan Rapinoe's foot in the corner straight to the back of the net), a penalty in the 80th minute and a game-winner in the 123rd minute. Whew. 

Old Trafford has seen some absolute instant classics during its existence, and this one has to be up there with the all-time greats. 

Christine Sinclair, in her attempt to establish herself as the world's best women's soccer player, put the Canadians on top on three separate occasions, but the pesky Americans kept fighting back and won it in dramatic fashion after Alex Morgan headed home the seventh goal of the game at essentially the last possible second.

I feel bad for the gold-medal match because following this thriller is impossible. Knowing women's soccer, however, we will probably see an "instant-er classic."

The sport continues to somehow outdo itself. 

Japan Over France (2-1)

This one didn't quite have the must-see appeal of USA vs. Canada, but it certainly provided plenty of its own unforgettable moments.

The Japanese ladies took advantage of their opportunities, scoring twice in the first 50 minutes on just four total shots. It wasn't necessarily pretty, but that's exactly how this team plays. It sits back on defense and strikes at the perfect moment.

In its own way, it can be beautiful soccer.

France, on the other hand, didn't back down with its relentless attack. The No. 6 team in the world fired off a ridiculous 27 shots (11 on target), but Japan was able to hold down the fort, as it only conceded one goal in the 76th minute. 

Again, this wasn't the type of match that was going to single-handedly break Twitter like the other semifinal, but for the last 20 minutes the nail-biting moments increased exponentially as it appeared France would equalize. 

Gold Medal Prediction

My gut says Japan. 

The United States has looked extremely mediocre in the back (don't tweet at me, Hope) and Japan, a team that has allowed just two goals throughout these entire Games despite playing top squads such as Canada, Sweden, Brazil and France, plays the type of defensive style that will bother the Americans.

Something like 2-1 or 1-0 in favor of Japan, the defending World Cup champs, seems likely.

However, that would imply that I'm not from the good ol' United States of America. So, in what's best for keeping my Olympic pride at an all-time high, I'll officially predict a 2-1 victory for the USA. 

No matter what happens, however, an encore of the 2011 World Cup final would only continue to vault women's soccer up the ladder of the most underrated sports in the world. 

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