Sophia Smith’s extra-time goal sends the U.S. women’s team into the Olympic final, beating Germany 1-0

LYON, France — Sophia Smith spotted a piece of net and shot just wide.

Smith’s goal in overtime secured a spot in the gold-medal game at the Paris Olympics with a 1-0 victory over Germany on Tuesday.

The Americans, unbeaten in France under new coach Emma Hayes, will be seeking a fifth gold medal in their sixth appearance in the women’s Olympic soccer final.

The United States will play Brazil, which beat Spain 4-2 in a late game, in the tournament final on Saturday in Paris. Germany will play Spain for the bronze medal on Friday in Lyon.

Smith, who plays for the Portland Thorns in the National Women’s Soccer League, broke a scoreless tie five minutes into extra time, beating defender Felicitas Rauch and German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. After scoring her third goal of the tournament, Smith fell to the ground to celebrate and joined teammate Mallory Swanson in a hug.

“I saw a little gap in the net and I was like, ‘I’ve got to put it there. Just put it there,’” Smith said. “It felt good. I know I had a couple other chances in the game that I should have taken. But sometimes all it takes is one.”

After the final whistle, U.S. players ran down the field to embrace goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, who made a key save in the final minutes of the second overtime, jumping and kicking the ball wide of the goal with her left foot.

“The goal is closer, but the work is not done yet,” Swanson said. “I think we are obviously in a great position. You take this win and now we are on a high, but it is important to just stay consistent in everything we do. Just stay consistent.”

The Americans defeated Germany 4-1 in the group stage earlier in the tournament.

The United States has failed to reach the finals at the last two Olympic tournaments, was eliminated in the quarterfinals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and fell to the bronze medal match at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.

Germany was without veteran captain Alexandra Popp due to illness. Popp was the only German player present, who was also on the 2016 gold-medal team.

Lea Schuller, who scored twice against Zambia in the group final to secure Germany’s place in the quarter-finals, also missed the pitch because of inflammation in her right knee.

The U.S. has returned defender Tierna Davidson to the matchday lineup after she missed the last two games with a leg contusion. Defender Emily Sams, activated in Davidson’s absence, has returned to the reserve list.

Midfielder Sam Coffey, who failed to advance to the quarter-finals due to yellow cards, returned to the pitch against Germany.

There were few chances for either side in the first half. Klara Buehl forced Naeher into a diving save in the 29th minute but she was offside. Germany stuck to the defensive for most of the match in the absence of Popp and Schuller.

Rose Lavelle had a chance for the USA early in the match, but her shot went straight into the hands of Berger.

Swanson broke through in the 62nd minute and was in a good position to shoot but hit the side netting.

The game seemed to open up in the final 20 minutes of regulation time. Janina Minge had a shot in the 73rd minute that Naeher easily saved. About five minutes later, Lindsey Horan’s header was caught by Berger.

Swanson appeared to have broken the streak in the 85th minute, but the referee blew for offside.

“All I kept thinking as the game got tougher was, ‘Kick harder. Suffer a little more,’” Hayes said. “Listen, this is the highest level, you only get one chance. You can’t play the same team twice and have the same game. So I’m really proud of our ability to persevere, even though it was tough.”

The United States reached the semifinals with a hard-fought 1-0 overtime victory over Japan, in which Trinity Rodman scored her third goal of the tournament.

Germany advanced on penalties after a scoreless draw with Canada in the quarterfinals. Berger stopped two Canadian penalty kicks and then converted her own penalty to win.

The U.S. has won 27 of 38 matches against Germany. The teams last met in the Olympic semifinals in 2004, when the Americans won 2-1 to claim the gold medal.