The USA women’s defeat of Canada under rainy skies, and in a game that included a rare prolonged weather break, showed a team that is steadily improving. Their possession (and confidence) seem stronger, especially the further they progress from their opening upset loss to Norway. An opening goal by Angela Hucles (most goals for the team with 2), was matched by the overtime game winner, a stunning header by Natasha Kai.
The semi-final match-up with Japan on Monday should prove as competitive as most games in the tournament thus far. The Japanese defeated a young Chinese team (featuring 8 players under age 22), 2-0. The talented veteran Hamare Sawa of Japan’s textbook header for goal number one proves she intends to give it her all before her post-Olympic retirement.
It was no cake-walk for Brazil, who fortunately created a padding for themselves with a 2-0 lead over Norway by late in the game (another one coming from Marta). Young keeper Barbara created a PK by taking down a Norwegian player in the box, and at 2-1, the Scandinavians kept attacking until the final whistle. What impresses about the Brazilians is how much they smile. Commentator Lori Walker mentioned the Brazilian expression, "Play Joyfully." I love that. It should be a motto for everyone. And the Brazilians clearly live by it.
In another overtime nail-biter, it took the German team until the 103rd minute to break a 0-0 deadlock against great play by Sweden. When the corner was set up, as my fellow viewer is my witness, I predicted: This is it; on a header by Kerstin Garefrekas. (I had to throw in I called this one, which I based on her phenomenal success on heading in crosses in big tournaments). After a second goal by Simone Laudehr on a very tough angle, the nail-biting let up.
Germany, which has not conceded a goal in not only this tournament, but in all of World Cup 2007, faces Brazil on Monday in a rematch of the 2007 Women’s World Cup final.
Nothing seems predictable. No player in the tournament has scored more than three goals. All games have had some fantastic play, with abundant talent in evidence. The contrast in styles (a broadcast that switches straight from the physical Canadians to the technical Japanese) has made these soccer games incredibly entertaining. The US has done well to incorporate a bit of everything into their game, and couldn’t ask for a better opportunity to reach the final.
SBS Blogger
In case you haven’t seen the US vs. Norway game, I wanted to point out that in the second half of the game, the US lineup had FOUR girls from New Jersey on the field (Christie Rampone, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly and Tobin Heath). It was especially great to see Tobin, who is one of the youngsters and who played for Sky Blue in our inaugural season last year.
We shouldn’t take it for granted to see four NJ girls in the lineup. I think this is evidence of the long and hard work of our youth program in NJ. With roughly 180,000 registered youth soccer players in NJ, we have one of the biggest youth player pools in the country. Over the past 10 years, the development of youth players in clubs across the state improved drastically and the dedicated ODP program goes hand-in-hand with the clubs. I want to send a big THANK YOU to all the coaches in the NJ youth development program to the ODP program and to all the dedicated parents and managers that make it happen every week.
Our new professional league will be another important stepping stone in the development of soccer in the US. The Norway team showed what impact a league can have on a country’s national team. All of the Norwegian players play in European leagues where they are exposed to different styles, different coaches and different philosophies. Furthermore, they are playing meaningful, competitive matches in their leagues on a weekly basis. I think this is evidence for how important the new WPS league is for the future of United States women's soccer.
When Brandi Chastain inadvertantly blurted out an "Oh My God" on Norway's first goal a little over a minute into the game, that pretty much summed up the United States' start to the Olympic women's soccer tournament. Two goals against in a shocking first five minutes and the US never recovered.losing 2-0.
However, the two early goals weren't the most concerning part. The US still had 85 minutes to score a goal and they couldn't. This team was supposed to be more imaginative and creative than last year's team that struggled at the World Cup but I only saw glimpses. Too many shots from distance and long balls without a purpose. I know that all Norway had to do was sit back the rest of the way but no goals against a team that the US had beaten 4-1 in the World Cup, 4-0 at the Algarve Cup, and 4-0 in a friendly - that's pretty surprising too.
The US has until Saturday to recover when it takes on Japan, which tied New Zealand 2-2 on a late goal by former WUSA player Homare Sawa.
Other scores:
Canada 2:1 Argentina
Brazil 0:0 Germany
North Korea 1:0 Nigeria
China 2:1 Sweden
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