LYON, France (AP) — Sophia Smith scored in overtime to help the United States beat Germany 1-0 on Tuesday and advance to the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics.

The Americans, undefeated in France under new coach Emma Hayes, will be competing for their fifth gold medal in what will be their sixth Olympic final appearance in women’s soccer.

The U.S. will face the winner of Tuesday’s match between Brazil and Spain in Paris on Saturday, while Germany will play in the bronze medal match in Lyon on Friday.

In the fifth minute of extra time, Smith outpaced defender Felicitas Rauch and German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger to end the tie.

Smith, who scored his third goal of the tournament, fell to the ground in joy and hugged teammate Mallory Swanson.

As the final whistle blew, American players ran onto the field to embrace goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

The Americans had beaten Germany 4-1 in the tournament’s previous group stage.

The U.S. women’s national team has failed to advance to the finals in the last two Olympics, was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and fell to the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Games three years ago.

Germany were without experienced captain Alexandra Popp due to illness, the only current German player from the 2016 gold medal-winning squad.

Lea Schuller, who scored twice against Zambia in the group final that took Germany to the quarter-finals, was not included in the squad due to inflammation in her right knee.

The United States recalled defender Tierna Davidson to the matchday squad after she missed the last two games with a leg contusion. Defender Emily Sams, who was activated in Davidson’s absence, returned to the reserve list.

Midfielder Sam Coffey, who missed the quarter-finals after receiving a yellow card, returned against Germany.

There were few chances on either side in the opening half. Klara Buehl forced a diving save from U.S. goalkeeper Naeher in the 29th minute, but Naeher was offside. For most of the match, Germany hunkered down defensively without Popp and Schuller.

Rose Lavelle had a chance for the USA early in the match but her shot went into Berger’s arms.

Mallory Swanson broke through the field in the 62nd minute and had a clear shot on goal, but she sent her shot into the side netting.

The match appeared to be open in the final 20 minutes of regulation time. Janina Minge had a shot cleared by Naeher in the 73rd minute. About five minutes later, Lindsey Horan’s header was caught by Berger.

Swanson scored in the 85th minute but was sent off for offside.

The United States advanced to the semifinals with a hard-fought 1–0 win in overtime against Japan, with Trinity Rodman scoring the only goal, her third of the tournament.

Germany advanced to the next round on penalties after a goalless draw with Canada in the quarter-finals, with Berger stopping two Canadian attempts and then converting his own penalty kick to win the match.

The U.S. has won 27 of its 38 games against Germany. The last time the teams faced each other in the Olympic semifinals was in 2004, when the Americans won 2-1 and won the gold medal.

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-gamesGermany

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