USA captain Megan Rapinoe netted directly from a corner to hand her side the lead in their entertaining 4-3 Olympics bronze medal victory against Australia.
Rapinoe scored her first just eight minutes into the contest when she opted to go for goal rather than try and pick out a team-mate in the box from the corner.
The 36-year-old bent a delicious ball into the box and it was all too much for Teagan Micah in the Australia goal, who made a last-ditch attempt to claw the ball away.
Megan Rapinoe scoring directly from the corner is such a beauty to watch.
8’ Australia 0-1 USA#Football
pic.twitter.com/MP6E5pOB26— Ojora Babatunde (@ojbsports) August 5, 2021
But despite getting some of her hand to the ball, Micah could not prevent Rapinoe’s whipped delivery from finding the far side of the net and handing the world champions the lead.
The Matildas however brought themselves level nine minutes later after an uncharacteristic defensive error allowed Arsenal striker Caitlin Foord to slip in captain Sam Kerr.
And the Chelsea star stroked it home despite the acute angle, only for Rapinoe to restore USA’s lead with a stunning first-time volley following a mix-up between Clare Polkinghorne and Alanna Kennedy.
Rapinoe’s side then extended their lead before the break in the first minute of added time at the end of the first half, with Carli Lloyd providing an emphatic finish after Lindsey Horan’s inch-perfect pass.
