Daily Edition – Day 11: Another day, another photo finish

The GIST: Twenty-two games and 12 days later, four teams remain in medal contention in Paris, with two epic semis on deck today: No. 5 USWNT vs. No. 4 Germany followed by No. 1 Spain vs. No. 9 Brazil. Everyone’s exhausted, but the Games roll on.

• And if you think you’ve seen this film before, you’re right — both semis are group stage rematches, but all four squads are in very different places compared to where they were at the beginning of the tourney.

No. 5 USWNT vs. No. 4 Germany — 12 p.m. ET: ICYMI, the Americans topped the Germans 4–1 in their second group stage game, a dominant performance that featured goals from the USWNT’s fearsome Big Three of forwards Mallory Swanson, Sophia Smith, and Trinity Rodman.

• But the USWNT’s backline has taken some serious hits throughout the tourney, losing defenders either to injury or yellow-card accumulation through the quarter-finals (QFs).

• That said, all players participated in yesterday’s training, making it highly likely head coach Emma Hayes returns to her preferred starting lineup today.

• And even though both squads are understandably tired, expect a high-tempo game between these two powerhouses, especially after German goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger’s heroic performance in their QF win over No. 8 CanWNT.

No. 1 Spain vs. No. 9 Brazil — 3 p.m. ET: Typically high-scoring Spain handily topped Brazil 2–0 in group stage play, but the defending world champions were nearly knocked out of their debut Olympics during Saturday’s QF, forced to forge an unexpected penalty shootout comeback against No. 22 Colombia.

• Meanwhile, Brazil pulled off a stunner of their own, defeating host country No. 2 France 1–0 in the QFs despite playing without captain Marta, who remains sidelined with a two-game red card suspension.

• So while first-time Olympic fatigue may be setting in for Spain, Brazil is defying expectations after losing two of their three group stage games — and there’s nothing the squad would like more than for Marta to close out her international career in a gold medal match. Will heart be enough to overpower Spain’s offensive finesse?

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