Women's World Cup Ends; Japan is a Deserving Champion

There's no doubt the U.S. played the better game, but in the end it came down to the fact that while the U.S. was more dominant, Japan was more poised. When you can beat Germany, Sweden, and the United States, you are absolutely a deserving world champion. Homare Sawa put in a ridiculous goal with just a few minutes remaining in the match to show why she is one of the greatest players in the history of the women's game.

Homare Sawa, the Japanese captain, stunned the United States.

I'm not one to dog any one player or team. Both teams handled themselves with absolute class when the match was over. The U.S. was a gracious loser, and Japan was exceptional in thanking the world and acknowledging the brilliant match they had just finished with the U.S. But, I knew as did the Japanese goalkeeper, that Shannon Boxx was going to her right on the penalty kick. I kept saying, "Go left, go left!" Instead, she went to her right, and I'm sure the Japanese keeper knew that based on Boxx's two penalty shots earlier in the tournament against Brazil. Boxx set the tone for the penalties for the U.S. and they could not recover from that shock.

A few more points that I need to get out of my system: I carried that loss with me for a while, just as a casual fan, I was still thinking about the loss as I went to bed. This women's team was proud to represent the United States and you can tell they weren't doing it just for themselves. They were playing for country pride, much in the same way the U.S. men's basketball team did at the 2008 Olympics. It hurt to see them lose, I mean, it really hurt. I can't describe what it was, but the pain of knowing that these women will forever be haunted, in one way or another, by this loss made me hurt for them.

Another thing: For all those people out there saying, "it's a bunch of girls kicking a ball around," or "watching women's sports is watching a substandard version of the sport" are just plain stupid. Those people need to shut up and come with a better, more creative argument. It's not cool any more to make fun of women's sports, that was never cool actually, but you might have received a few laughs about 10 years ago. If you're a sports fan and you like watching athletic competitions with athletes that have trained their entire lives to win on their sport's biggest stage, then you couldn't have asked for a better competition than the Women's World Cup. While the men's game can be a beautiful and impressive game, the women's version was much more entertaining and well-played (for one thing, there weren't anywhere near as many flops as in the men's game). This final was absolutely epic and was a completely better played and executed game than the Spain-Netherlands final in last year's men's final. After this tournament I'm an even bigger fan.

Let's hope Abby Wambach comes back for the 2015 World Cup in Canada (if anyone wants to make plans to go to those matches, let me know, I'm game). There isn't a more dominant or imposing player in the world. She was an absolute beast down the stretch for the U.S. through this tournament. I'm hoping her body holds up. Her game isn't predicated on speed, but on sheer physical dominance, so hopefully she can stay healthy and lead the U.S. once again four years from now.

Where does women's soccer go from here? For the United States, they ironically played their most technical and dominant game of the entire tournament in the final, but just could not find ways to put the ball in the net. This team is still one of the best in the world, and they should be the favorites for the 2012 London Olympics. A gold medal in London would be huge for U.S. soccer to redeem itself from its disappointment in the World Cup final. For the rest of women's soccer, hopefully the Women's Professional Soccer league (WPS) can capitalize on this year's World Cup, where a number of the best international players play. WPS needs to be able to capture a specific market interested in women's soccer, specifically young girls. Hopefully this World Cup legitimized the women's game to men who can take their daughters and sons to these sporting events.

Women's World Cup is Set; Japan vs. United States

I've been wanting to write about other sports, but I can't get this Women's World Cup out of my head. I haven't been this into a sporting event in a while, probably not since following Michael Phelps during the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Will Megan Rapinoe start alongside Abby Wambach in Sunday's final?

Real quick assessment of what I saw: Japan is the real deal. Think about what they've done in beating Germany, the two-time defending champion, and then beating an undefeated Sweden that won group play against the United States. Japan is highly technical and skilled, and they play great defense, contesting every single ball. They're also very opportunistic. Japan looked so much better against Sweden than against Germany, which makes sense because Germany is an overall much better squad than Sweden, but the victory against Sweden solidified Japan's status as an elite soccer-playing nation. What I haven't seen from Japan is how their goalie responds to pressure. In the two games against Germany and Sweden the Japanese goalie was barely tested, so it remains to be seen how she will react to the U.S offense, especially on set pieces.

U.S. vs. France: Between the 10th minute and the 70th minute of the match, France absolutely dominated. It looked like the U.S was hanging on like a boxer hoping not to be knocked out so they can find an opening to deliver a knockout punch of their own. The U.S. delivered the knockout punch with yet another Abby Wambach header. France produced a number of shots, but they didn't have a close-range game, mostly threatening from the outside with laser beam kicks that either barely missed or were swallowed up by goalkeeper Hope Solo. The lack of an inside closer cost the French the victory. And speaking of closers, it's safe to say that Wambach is the greatest aerial striker in women's soccer history. That's no exaggeration either as she's already cemented herself as the leader of the U.S. women's team and the greatest American player of her generation.

No doubt that the Americans looked completely different when Megan Rapinoe entered the game. She brought in energy to a dull American squad that still seemed hungover from the huge win against Brazil. Alex Morgan was also a key substitute, and you can tell she is skilled at finding seams to get open and take shots. Does Rapinoe start in the final? I'm not sure. My head says she should start, but my gut tells me that as talented as she is, she best serves the team off the bench.

Gotta say one more thing about the broadcasting. The best broadcaster has by far been Brandi Chastain. She's absolutely on the money with everything she's said. Mia Hamm was next to Chastain to give her reaction of the U.S.-France match, and you can see how much more comfortable and precise Chastain was in comparison to Hamm. Not to take anything from Hamm, but it seems to me like Chastain is capable of covering just about any sporting event, and I'd definitely prefer to hear her commentary when it comes to the Men's World Cup as opposed to some other guys that ESPN has thrown out there in the past (i.e. Eric Wynalda) 

Prediction: Japan has one of the greatest players in the world in Homare Sawa and has pretty much the entire world rooting behind it following the devastating tsunami the country endured just a few months ago. The United States is in the finals for the third time in the six Women's World Cup events. The United States has Abby Wambach and she will be lethal on set plays. The U.S. also has an edge at goalkeeper where Hope Solo is second to none. Experience will also play a factor. The U.S. has finished third in the past two World Cups and this time they won't settle for anything less than first. U.S over Japan 2-1.  

Women's World Cup, Germany goes Down, US Stays Alive

For anyone that hasn't been watching this stuff, they don't know what they're missing. First you see the tiny but quick Japanese team beat a much more physically dominant German squad.  You could tell that the Japanese players were giving their absolute all to just stay in the game and just as they were headed to penalty kicks, they got the break they finally needed with a goal in the second overtime period.

Abby Wambach, a former Florida Gator, heads in the game-tying goal.

And how about that U.S. win? Once again, women's soccer provides one of the greatest sports moments in American history. I jumped up and screamed as I was standing in front of my television watching Megan Rapinoe center the ball for an Abby Wambach header. I can honestly say that I haven't reacted that way for many sporting events, but beating Brazil and especially winning the way they did, made the U.S. victory one for the ages. You have to love all the hyperbole after the game, especially that of former national coach Tony DiCicco who said the game was a "celebration of the American human spirit." A bit of an exaggeration, sure. But you know what, it sounds kind of cool and made you feel happy to be on the American side.

Let's thank ABC and ESPN for promoting this sport in the States. I don't know where women's soccer was in 1995, but by 1999 it had at least gained a small foothold in the consciousness of sports fans. Now, women's soccer has gained at least as much foothold as women's gymnastics. Both sports get a ton of attention every four years when their sport's respective premier event takes place (the World Cup and the Summer Olympics), and in between there's the occasional coverage. Women's soccer has the additional advantage of being a big event in the Summer Olympics as well. I don't know how successful another women's soccer league will be, with the men's Major League Soccer struggling to capture a larger market, but as long as the powers that be continue to showcase the Women's World Cup, it's certain that the sport will continue to grow.

Today I was walking on my college campus where they're holding soccer camps for young kids. A group of 7 and 8 year old girls were engaged in a friendly competition when one group suddenly started to chant "USA! USA!" I smiled thinking about how the game was still in these girls' minds the next day.

Predictions: USA defeats France and Sweden defeats Japan in the two semifinal games, setting up a rematch from group play between the USA and Sweden.