After a crazy day of quarterfinals filled with upsets and penalty kick shootouts, four teams advanced to this afternoon's semifinals. The winners today will advance to the Friday gold medal match at Maracana and the losers to the bronze medal match in Sao Paulo. Both semifinal matchups are repeats of group stage games.
Germany vs. Canada
It took 13 games between Canada and Germany until Canada won last Wednesday but now the Canadians will seek to repeat on Wednesday's 2-1 victory. Canada advanced to the semifinals last Olympics but fell 4-3 in a controversial game against the United States. Last week, Canada won despite not starting top attackers Christine Sinclair, Diana Matheson, and Janine Beckie but Germany also rested two of its top players. Germany has struggled this tournament but nonetheless the team managed to advance to the semifinals with a 1-0 win over China. Germany's Melanie Behringer scored in the 76th minute but China nearly equalized towards the end but Wang Shuang's shot hit the post and no Chinese player could convert the rebound. The Canadians weren't the best team on the pitch last Friday against France but still managed to eke out a 1-0 win. France failed to convert its shots and stumbled as the team often does in high-pressure matches but Canada also deserves some credit for the win.
Location: Minerao (Belo Horizonte, Brazil)
Kickoff time: 3:00pm Eastern
Available TV: NBCSN (English), NBC Olympic soccer channel (English), NBC Universo (Spanish)
Available streaming: NBCOlympics.com (English), NBC Sports Live Extra app (English), Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (Spanish)
Brazil vs. Sweden
Both teams advanced to the semifinals due to penalty kicks but there wasn't much drama when the two teams met in the group stage, Brazil crushed Sweden 5-1. Marta scored two goals against Sweden in the group stage and added an assist to Christiane's 24th minute tally. Marta is in her eighth year playing soccer in Sweden, presently for FC Rosengard. Since the 5-1 dominant performance against Sweden, Brazil has played to two 0-0 draws while the Swedes will have increased confidence after the team's upset over the United States. Sweden's gameplan of sitting deep and then pulling off a quick counter attack worked last Friday against the United States but the team has struggled in its other three matches.
Location: Maracana (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Kickoff time: 12:00pm Eastern
Available TV: NBCSN (English), NBC Olympic soccer channel (English), NBC Universo (Spanish)
Available streaming: NBCOlympics.com (English), NBC Sports Live Extra app (English), Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (Spanish)
Treat this as your gamethread for both matches.