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U.S. women's soccer team loses to Canada, ending chances at gold

02 August 2021
 Dan Ackermann

The U.S. women's soccer team lost 1-0 to eighth-ranked Canada in the Olympics semifinals on Monday, ending its chances at winning a gold medal in Tokyo.

Why it matters: The loss marks the second straight Olympics the U.S. team will not play in the gold medal match. The team was knocked out by Sweden in the quarterfinals during the Rio Games in 2016.

  • Monday's loss also ends the team's quest for a historic back-to-back double — winning the Olympics after emerging victorious at the Women's World Cup.
  • Both teams struggled to generate much offense in Monday's semifinals, but Canada's Jessie Fleming converted a penalty kick in the 75th minute to take a late lead.

The big picture: Entering the tournament in Tokyo with an experienced team — 17 played on the 2019 World Cup squad — the team struggled to gain its footing early in the Games.

  • The U.S. players suffered a stunning 3-0 defeat to Sweden in their 2021 Olympic debut, before dominating New Zealand 6-1.
  • They tied Australia, 0-0, which was just enough to earn them a spot in the quarterfinals.
  • The U.S. then beat the Netherlands in a nail-biting penalty kick shootout on Friday.
  • The team has earned four gold medals and one silver medal from six Olympic appearances.

What's next: The U.S. will vie for the bronze medal on Thursday at 4 a.m. ET against the team that loses the Australia vs. Sweden semifinal match.

  • Canada will play the winner of the semifinal game in the gold medal match on Thursday at 10:00 p.m. ET.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.