Japan made its claim to favorite status at the 2024 Paris Olympics with another win, this time a decisive 3-1 triumph over Nigeria on the final day of group play in France.
Spain, the United States and hosts France will all also be making that claim — Spain also won early Wednesday — as this tournament appears wide-open heading into the knockout rounds.
Still to come…
All times ET
1 p.m.
Australia vs USWNT
Zambia vs Germany
3 p.m.
France vs New Zealand
Colombia vs Canada
Brazil vs Spain
The result wasn’t surprising but the story of the game was a stunner, as the best player of the 21st century was sent of what could be the final game of her illustrious international career.
Brazil star Marta, the 38-year-old six-time FIFA World Player of the Year, was shown a red card just after halftime for a high challenge to beat Spain’s Olga to a high ball outside the Brazilian 18-yard box.
The distraught star left the pitch in tears, as she had already announced the Olympics would be her final senior tournament for Brazil and the red card carries a two-match ban.
That means Marta won’t play again this tournament should Brazil bow out by the end of the day or in the quarterfinals. If Brazil win a quarterfinal match, she’d return for the gold-medal or bronze-medal match.
Spain moved to 3-0 with the win, as Athenea del Castillo scored in the 68th minute and Alexia Putellas struck off a free kick late in a remarkable 16 minutes of stoppage time. The World Cup champions will meet the third-place team from Group A or Group B in the quarterfinal round on Saturday. — Nick Mendola
SEE MORE: Marta shown straight red card in what could be unceremonious Brazil exit
Japan vs Nigeria
Japan continued its impressive run at the 2024 Paris Olympics with a 3-1 win over Nigeria to seal its spot in the quarterfinals.
Although Nigeria owned much of the ball throughout the match, Japan took advantage of its quick pace on the wings and through the middle to be lethal on the counterattack. Pair that up with a superb free-kick scored by Hikaru Kitagawa, the Asian country did more than enough to secure second place in Group C.
As for Nigeria, the loss meant it was the end of its run at the Paris Games, failing to collect any points in its Olympic journey.
Japan will soon learn its quarterfinal opponent, but with squads like Spain, the U.S. and potentially France, Canada, or Colombia, the Japanese women will need to make the most of its counterattacking play to make a deep run in the knockout rounds. — Leo Santos
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