US makes a statement after loss
After a stunning loss in the opener, the U.S. women’s soccer team vowed to be ruthless against New Zealand.
And they rebounded in a big way.
The Americans cruised to a 6-1 rout of New Zealand in front of First Lady Jill Biden at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
With the United States leading 2-0 at the break, Biden arrived in time to watch the team put the game away in the second half at Saitama Stadium.
The United States was blanked by Sweden 3-0 in the opener.
It was the team’s first loss since January 2019 and snapped a 44-game unbeaten streak.
The Americans had not been held scoreless since 2017.
But the Americans vowed to regain control of the tournament. Defender Kelley O’Hara said the United States needed to be “ruthless” against New Zealand.
“Sweden was a very good team and we didn’t play our best, and when you do that up against a top opponent, they’re going to punish you. So that wasn’t our best performance,” Crystal Dunn said. “I think we came into Game 2 knowing that we don’t go from being a really great team two days ago to not being a great team anymore.”
Naohisa Takato won Japan’s first gold medal at its home Olympics, beating Taiwan’s Yang Yung-wei in the men’s 60-kilogram judo final.
Distria Krasniqi of Kosovo beat Funa Tonaki in the women’s 48-kilogram Olympic judo final, winning Kosovo’s second-ever Olympic medal.
Russian weightlifting leader Maxim Agapitov beat the IOC in court to win back his right to attend the Olympics despite his own doping ban 27 years ago.
The International Surfing Association has confirmed a last-minute alternate: Carlos Munoz, who will surf for Costa Rica as the sport makes its Olympic debut. Munoz replaces Frederico Morais of Portugal, who announced Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19 would not travel to Japan while he quarantines at home.