The group stage of the women’s Olympic soccer tournament is already over after all 12 teams have played their third and final game to decide the final standings.
Eight of the twelve made it to the quarter-finals, with Sweden impressing again, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Brazil all finishing with seven points and the USA stuttering again.
Here is a full summary of the final results and a breakdown of who qualified for the knockout round …
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Chile 0-1 Japan
Japan got its first win in the competition / Koki Nagahama / Getty Images
Making sure they didn’t leave their home Olympics early, Japan secured their first tournament win against Chile by finishing third in Group E and one of the last places in the knockout round.
Mina Tanaka scored the only goal of the game, but Japan had to wait until the 77th minute. Without them, a draw on other results elsewhere would still have been enough to get through, although the win will instill a little more confidence.
Chile go home without a point after losing all three group games.
Canada 1-1 Great Britain
Caroline Weir was the savior for Team GB / Atsushi Tomura / Getty Images
Great Britain won Group E and remained unbeaten thanks to Caroline Weir’s late equalizer against Canada, which followed in second place – again without losing a game.
Canada even took the lead at the start of the second half thanks to West Ham striker Adriana Leon and would have led the standing stage themselves if it had stayed that way.
But GB fought back and it was Weir’s deflected shot from distance in the final 10 minutes that gave Hege Riise’s team the result they wanted.
Netherlands 8-2 China
The Netherlands with freescoring have blown China away / Francois Nel / Getty Images
Another defeat for the Netherlands saw them increase their record to a staggering 21 in three group games, while China conceded 17 goals in their three games.
It was only in the second half that the game result became particularly one-sided, with the Dutch only leading 3-1 at the break. But Lieke Martens and Vivianne Miedema each scored doubles in the second half, while Victoria Pelova also came into play.
This is the first time since 2004 that China has not made the knockout round of an Olympics, and only the second time it has not won at least one game.
Brazil 1-0 Zambia
Brazil won over Zambia / Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images
Brazil scored free goals in their first two games, but a 1-0 win over Zambia still ensured them move into the knockout round with the second-best record of any team.
Andressa Alves scored the only goal early in the competition and just one impossible retirement would have been enough for Brazil to improve the Netherlands’ vastly superior goal difference. The pair finished tied with seven points, but the latter go through first.
Zambia drew a gap for the first time at this tournament after Barbra Banda previously scored consecutive hat-tricks against the Netherlands and China.
New Zealand 0-2 Sweden
Sweden finished the group stage with maximum points / Koki Nagahama / Getty Images
Sweden are the only team to finish the group stage with maximum points after previous wins against the US and Australia preceded their 2-0 win over New Zealand.
This should always be the cheapest game for the Swedes and one goal each from Everton’s new signing Anna Anvegard and Madelen Janogy in the first half made for a comfortable fight.
New Zealand has always been against it in this group, but a lack of preparation due to the coronavirus pandemic made it even more difficult.
United States 0-0 Australia
Nothing separated the United States and Australia / Brad Smith / ISI Photos / Getty Images
Although New Zealand defeated the sword on Matchday 2, the fighting of the United States continued in this competition as they were held to a goalless tie by a rugged Australia.
In the draw, both the Americans and the Australians ended up tied with four points, with the goal difference alone securing the former second place and a guaranteed place in the knockout phase.
That meant Australia in third place, but the four-point record was still enough to get through.
UK, Canada, Japan, Netherlands, Brazil, Sweden, USA, Australia.
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