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CANADA WIN WOMEN’S OLYMPIC FOOTBALL GOLD AFTER DRAMATIC PENALTY SHOOT OUT AGAINST SWEDEN

Canada have won gold in the women’s Olympic soccer tournament after a 3-2 sudden death penalty shootout win against Sweden, following a 1-1 draw at the end of extra-time.

Stina Blackstenius put Sweden ahead in the first half before Jessie Fleming equalized with her second penalty of the tournament.

Sweden started the stronger of the two sides, controlling the ball and peppering the Canadian goal with shots.

Some lovely link-up play between Kosovare Asllani and Blackstenius saw Peter Gerhardsson’s side break the deadlock on 34 minutes.

The European team went into the break looking confident but Canada came out in the second half with renewed energy.

Their tenacity was rewarded on 64 minutes when Amanda Ilestedt brought Christine Sinclair down in the penalty area.

Initially the referee waved away the challenge but after a lengthy VAR review she awarded the spot-kick.

Fleming, who had scored a penalty against the United States women’s national team in the semifinal, was handed the ball by Sinclair and sent Hedvig Lindahl in the wrong direction to bring the sides equal.

With the match ending 1-1 after 90 minutes, the game went to extra-time and then penalties.

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CANADA STUN USWNT TO REACH WOMEN OLYMPIC FINAL FOOTBALL EVENT.

The United States women’s national team were knocked out of the Olympic Games after losing 1-0 to Canada in the semifinals on Monday.

Jessie Fleming’s second half penalty was enough to see Canada dump the reigning world champions out of the gold medal match.

The USWNT have now failed to reach the final in back-to-back Olympics after suffering defeat at the hands of Sweden in the quarterfinals in Rio 2016.

Vlatko Andonovski’s side will now play in the bronze medal match on Thursday.

The USWNT suffered a major setback in a cagey first-half when goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was forced off with a knee injury after 30 minutes.

They performed better in the second half and forced Canada goalkeeper Stephanie Labbe into good saves from Carli Lloyd and Julie Ertz.

But with 15 minutes remaining, Canada were awarded a penalty through VAR after Tierna Davidson fouled Deanne Rose in the box.

Fleming converted her spot kick and although Lloyd hit the crossbar late on, Canada held on to win the game.

Canada will play either Australia or Sweden in the gold medal match at the Olympic Stadium in Tokyo on Friday.

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ALPHONSO DAVIES BECOMES UNHCR AMBASSADOR

Alphonso Davies, the nascent Bayern Munich and Canada left-back, has become the first footballer ever to be a Global Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Davies has shot to prominence as one of the best young players in world football, the 20-year-old voted into last year’s UEFA Champions League squad of the season having made Bayern’s left-back spot his own on the way to the club’s second continental treble.

It wasn’t always such plain sailing for Davies, though, whose family left Liberia for Ghana as refugees before emigrating to Canada when the player was five years old.

“I’m proud to join the UN Refugee Agency as a Goodwill Ambassador,” Davies told unhcr.org. “My own experiences make me want to speak up for refugees, to share their stories and to help make a difference.

“Whilst the refugee camp provided a safe place for my family when they fled war, I often wonder where I would have been if I had stayed there and not benefited from the opportunities I got thanks to resettlement. I don’t think I would have made it to where I am today.”

Davies has featured in 27 games in all competitions for Bayern this season, but has been similarly busy away from the field, helping Canadian Government launch their Together for Learning campaign in February before connecting with three young refugees in Liberia, Canada and Germany – in a video launched by UNHCR in collaboration with 433 – in March.

“I want people to know about the importance of helping refugees, wherever they are, in camps or cities, in neighboring countries or countries of resettlement such as Canada,” Davies said.

“Refugees need our support to survive, but also access to education and sports, so they can fulfill their potential and truly thrive.”