Thursday, July 14, 2011

France 1 - 3 United States (Full Time) (Women's World Cup Semi-Final)

So this is what it looks like when Our Girls are given a fair chance. The USA scored an early goal, then settled into a defensive shell. This proved to be a mistake, as France ran all over the field, attacking and attacking until they eventually leveled the match in the 55th minute. But then Our Girls went back on offense. They quickly regained control, and re-took the lead off when Abby Wambach headed in a goal off of a corner kick in the 79th minute. When France pressed forward in response, the USA caught them on the counter-attack, chipping in the clenching goal in the 82d minute. All in all an excellent performance and a deserved win.

Then Japan went out and thrashed Sweden 3-1 in the other semi-final. So it turns out that the Euros, who appeared to be in such good position heading into the knock-out phase, couldn't put a single team in the final. Instead, the world's first and third-largest economies will settle this thing on Sunday. Japan lost to England in the group stage, but they have been lights-out since then, with huge wins over Germany and Sweden. They will be dangerous competitors in the final. But we will hope that we get fair refereeing for one more game:

Sunday's Final: Japan v. United States

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