Olympic Soccer 2016: Women's Results, Group Table After Tuesday Matches
The final day of the group stage at the women's soccer tournament at the Rio Games kicked off on Tuesday, with a number of countries jockeying for position and battling for the chance to qualify for the quarterfinal stage.
Below, we'll break down the day's results and tables.
Group F
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Scores
| Germany | 1-2 | Canada |
| Australia | 6-1 | Zimbabwe |
Table
| 1 | Canada | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 9 |
| 2 | Germany | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 |
| 3 | Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 4 | Zimbabwe | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -12 | 0 |
Recap
Canada completed a clean sweep in a loaded Group F on Tuesday, erasing an early deficit to beat Germany, 2-1.
Melanie Behringer's penalty conversion in the 13th minute gave the Germans the early 1-0 lead, but Melissa Tancredi's blistering shot from the edge of the box in the 25th minute equalised for Canada. Tancredi was the hero for Canada, as she then headed home the game-winning goal in the 60th minute off Rebecca Quinn's set piece.
Julie Stewart-Binks of Fox Sports 1 thought Canada's form in the tournament thus far was superb:
Jonathan Tannenwald of Philly Sport was just surprised, meanwhile:
And Sid Seixeiro of Sportsnet was a mix of stunned and impressed with the Canadiens:
Indeed, the Canadiens rested Christine Sinclair and Janine Beckie for this contest, with a place in the quarterfinals already assured, while Diana Matheson was brought on as a substitute but didn't start. That the Canadians still beat a talented German side without several key players was certainly a triumph.
Or a major failure for the Germans, depending on your perspective.
Canada certainly looks like a prime candidate to challenge the United States and Brazil for a gold medal after their impressive showing in a tough group, while Germany will have some recovering to do after a tepid showing in that group. Nonetheless, the Germans remain a threat.
Meanwhile, Australia smoked Zimbabwe, 6-1, in the other Group F contest. Lisa De Vanna (2'), Clare Polkinghorne (15'), Alanna Kennedy (37'), Kyah Simon (50') and Michelle Heyman (55', 66') all scored for Australia in the route, though the Australians came up just short in their bid to surpass Germany on goal differential.
Msipa Emmalulate (91') scored the lone goal for Zimbabwe.
The Australians are now in excellent position to earn a quarterfinal bid, though a tough matchup will await them, as they'll take on one of the top two seeds from the group stage. Nonetheless, Australia did their part to advance in this tournament on Tuesday.
Group G
Scores
| Colombia | 2-2 | United States |
| New Zealand | 0-3 | France |
Table
| 1 | United States | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | France | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 6 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 4 | Colombia | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 1 |
Recap
Hope Solo has had better days.
The United States goalkeeper gave up two goals she normally saves on set pieces on Tuesday evening, allowing Colombia to earn a 2-2 tie against the United States.
The draw wasn't a huge concern for the Americans, who still clinched the group with the point. But it perhaps raises a few concerns about Solo's play as the team heads to the knockout phase.
“I’m going to choose to have short-term memory," Solo said after the match on the NBCSN broadcast. "We got our point, we won our group.”
She added: "We’re going to learn from this game, absolutely… We have to continue to grow."
It's hard to imagine the United States letting the draw affect them too much, especially after both goals came from Catalina Usme set pieces that Solo would handle on her best day. The first tally, in the 26th minute, managed to sneak through the arms and legs of Solo.
The second—which equalised play in second-half stoppage time—was a blistering hit from a tough angle that Solo appeared to misjudge.
Those gaffes erased what were two very nice goals from two of the United States exciting young attackers, Crystal Dunn (41') and Mallory Pugh (59'). Nonetheless, Alexi Lalas of Fox Sports isn't too worried about the performance:
France, meanwhile, guaranteed their spot in the knockout phase with a convincing 3-0 win over New Zealand. Eugenie Le Sommer (38') and Louisa Cadamuro (63', 92' penalty) were the goalscorers for the French, who will be glad to avoid having to qualify as a third-place finisher. Instead, they will face Canada in the quarterfinals.
The loss ensured that New Zealand were eliminated, meanwhile.
Group E
Scores
| Brazil | 0-0 | South Africa |
| China | 0-0 | Sweden |
Table
| 1 | Brazil | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | China | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -1 | 4 |
| 3 | Sweden | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 4 |
| 4 | South Africa | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 1 |
Recap
With the group already in hand, the result for Brazil against South Africa was all but irrelevant on Tuesday night.
But for a group looking for its first-ever gold medal in soccer, there was no slowing down the Brazilians. The problem was, it couldn't find a way past the South African defense in a 0-0 draw in the group finale.
The hosts possessed almost 70 percent of the ball throughout the match and attempted 31 shots. Only nine of them however hit the target, but South African keeper Roxanne Barker was up to the challenge on Saturday night, deterring all Brazilian attackers who came calling.
South Africa's offense was able to accrue a few chances on the counter attack, but they weren't nearly as threatening as Brazil. In total, it attempted seven shots, getting four on target.
Elsewhere at Mane Garrincha Stadium, Sweden and China played to the exact same result, a 0-0 draw in a match that was dominated by China.
It attempted 16 shots compared to Sweden's nine while getting almost 60 percent of possession. Thanks to a superior goal difference of -1 compared to -3, China gets second place in the group despite Sweden also finishing play with four points.
China's reward will be avoiding the United States in the next round, a task that has been assigned to Sweden. Brazil will meet Australia while China gets Germany.
You can follow Timothy Rapp on Twitter.
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