RIO DE JANEIRO -- Sweden did it again, this time against the hosts.
The Swedes are headed to the gold-medal match at the Olympics for the first time, advancing 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw with Brazil on Tuesday.
Brazil forward Marta, one of the biggest stars of the tournament, buried the first kick of the shootout. But at 3-3, Sweden goalkeeper Hedvig Lindahl stopped Andressa's shot before Lisa Dahlkvist beat Barbara to end it, stunning the packed home crowd at the Maracana Stadium.
"The noise was for me, to get the ball in the goal. Simple answer," Dahlkvist said, laughing while describing how she tuned out the din at the nearly full stadium.
Sweden has now won two straight penalty shootouts. In the quarterfinals, the Swedes beat the United States, knocking the Americans out of medal contention for the first time.
Sweden will face Germany in the final on Friday at the Maracana, the site of the men's World Cup final in 2014. Brazil will play for the bronze against Canada in Sao Paulo.
Marta had one of Brazil's best chances, but her free kick in the 115th minute bounced before the goal and Lindahl was able to snag it.
The fans at the nearly filled 78,000-seat Maracana -- the biggest crowd ever for a women's national team match in Brazil -- roared whenever Marta touched the ball. Brazil's charismatic forward won FIFA's Women's World Player of the Year five consecutive years from 2006-10. But she has never won a major international tournament with her national team.
"This loss won't take away from all that we have done to get here," Marta said. "We have the match for the bronze medal now and we will fight until the end to get that medal. We have to pick up the pieces to try to win this medal."
Both teams had their chances in the opening 90 minutes, and the intensity rose as the defensive-minded Swedes started going on the attack more.
Sweden was riding high after knocking off the three-time defending champion United States in the quarterfinals. The loss sent the top-ranked Americans home without a medal for the first time since women's soccer joined the Olympics in 1996. The World Cup champions were vying for their fourth straight gold.
Sweden deployed a defensive strategy against the United States and advanced 4-3 in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw in Brasilia. Afterward, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo drew attention for calling Sweden "a bunch of cowards'' for its style of play.
Sweden coach Pia Sundhage used a similar tactic against Brazil, changing her approach after losing to Brazil 5-1 in group play. Marta and Beatriz scored two goals each in that first match.
Sundhage said that Sweden did not use Solo's comments as motivation against Brazil.
"What people are saying in the media, it's not a big deal. Very often you say it, and I don't even really think you mean it," Sundage said. "We talk about football."
Sundhage coached the United States to gold medals at both the Beijing and London Games. A victory in Brazil would give her a third-straight Olympic title.
The Brazilians have twice won silver medals at the Olympics. Both times, at the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Games, the United States won in the final.
Sweden's best finish was in Athens when the team fell to Germany in the bronze medal match. Brazil beat Sweden 1-0 in the semifinals at those Olympics.
"Yes, we are very excited. That we are doing something that the Swedish national team has never done before -- play for a medal -- it's a big smile," Sundhage said. "Still, were not satisfied. We want to win the next game."
Germany 2, Canada 0
Germany avenged a defeat to Canada in the group stage to advance to the gold-medal match in the second semifinal in Belo Horizonte.
The Germans opened the scoring in the 21st minute after Canada's Kadeisha Buchanan brought down Alexandra Popp, and Melanie Behringer converted the resulting penalty for her fifth goal of the tournament.
Canada nearly equalized before the break, but Germany's Tabea Kemme cleared Buchanan's header off the line.
Sara Daebritz doubled Germany's lead in the 59th minute with a low shot from the edge of the box.
Germany goalkeeper Almuth Schult then kept out Canada's attacks to ensure her team reached the final.