RIO DE JANEIRO — Hope Solo overcame more merciless taunts from Brazilian soccer fans on Saturday, helping the USA to its second consecutive win at these Olympics despite being consistently jeered with cries of “Zika.”
Solo, 35, in her 200th career appearance for the USA, was targeted every time she touched the ball during a 1-0 victory against France at the Estadio Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, in what was expected to be the team’s toughest test in Group G of the 12-team’s tournament.
The crowd’s ire emanated from Solo’s public comments and social media messages regarding first her reluctance to travel to Brazil and then her decision to pack huge amounts of mosquito repellent due to the Zika virus.