Olympic Soccer 2021: Canada vs. Sweden Live Stream, Odds and Prediction
Aug 5, 2021
Sweden's Fridolina Rolfo (18), center, is congratulated by teammates after scoring her side's first goal during a women's semifinal soccer match against Australia at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Yokohama, Japan. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
The Olympic gold medal will be claimed Friday in Tokyo as dominant Sweden battles underdog Canada in the final of the women's soccer competition.
For Sweden, a victory would erase the disappointment of recent second-place finishes in international tournaments and put an exclamation point on a competition in which it was clearly the best team.
For Canada, a win would complete a Cinderella story that has included the team's first victory over the United States in 20 years. Regardless of the result, its Olympics will not end in a third consecutive bronze.
Who do the odds favor entering the game, who will leave Japan with gold around their necks and how can you watch all of the action?
How To Watch
TV: USA Network
Kick-off:8 a.m. ET
Streaming: FuboTV, Sling and other live TV streaming services
Odds
Sweden (-105, bet $105 to win $100), Draw (+210, bet $100 to win $210), Canada (+390)
From the moment Sweden embarrassed Team USA in their opening game of these Olympics, it felt like a team destined to win the gold.
This wasn't the same squad that captured silver five years earlier against Germany. Perhaps driven by the disappointment of the 2016 Olympics, Sweden has gone on a tear in recent international play, not losing once since October of 2020.
It has beaten, decisively, its opponents and only drew twice in that span (the United States and Australia). It has been utterly dominant in these games, too, scoring 13 goals to only three allowed. On paper, the team looks like it should run over Canada in the finals and capture gold, putting an exclamation point on its dominance.
Canada is a good team with an improving defense that was key to its upset victory over the United States, knocking the favored bunch out ahead of the gold medal game and ensuring its own squad will not leave Tokyo with bronze for the third Olympics.
It has been gutsy, resilient and has overcome disappointing play early on to make it to a stage arguably few saw them at. In one game, with 90 minutes standing between them and immortality, it has the opportunity to wrap things up and etch the players' names in the history books.
CANADA WILL CHANGE THE COLOUR OF THE MEDAL 🇨🇦
Canada beats the USA 1-0 in their Olympic semifinal
In its first-ever Olympic finals, there will be a sense of excitement on the part of the team and nation.
Unfortunately, it feels a bit too unlikely that it will knock off the seemingly insurmountable Swedish team.
Look for Canada's defense to crack under the overwhelming onslaught of Sweden's offensive front. Canada may keep it close early, but the opposition will score, then Sweden will play defense and earn the gold medal.
