2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Somebody's Storybook Run Is Going To End

When the FIFA Women's World Cup Tournament kicked off on June 26 in Berlin, the host Germans were heavy favorites to take their third consecutive women's world title.    After getting a favorable group in the World Cup draw, Marta-led Brazil was the other team frequently mentioned by analysts in the world championship favorites role.  .

The FIFA world number one ranked American squad had more questions than answers after being the last team to qualify in addition to some eyebrow raising losses in some friendlies in the run up to the tournament.

The FIFA number four ranked Nadeshiko Japan were coming into this tournament still feeling the effects of the March 11 earthquake and tsumami that impacted their homeland and disrupted their preparations.   But that number four ranking still had them being considered as a team that had the talent to get to the final and tremendous motivation for doing so.

The Germans not only didn't make it, but because this was the European qualifier for the 2012 Olympic Games tournament they are staring at the reality they won't be playing next summer either.  The Brazilians will at least get the chance in London to atone for another loss at the hands of the USA.

When the USA and Japan square off in Frankfurt am Main's Commerzbank Stadium at 1 PM CDT tomorrow afternoon my time you'll have a clash of two teams and two differing football styles on tremendous storybook runs.

Both teams finished second in their respective groups after losing their final group games.  Both pulled off huge wins in the quarterfinal round and both won their semifinal matches by identical 3-1 scores.

Both teams are on a mission to come out on top for different reasons.   The Nadeshiko Japan want to not only win their first title, they want to do so to bring smiles to a country that has gone through much suffering and drama this year.  Team USA wants to not only win their third title, but cap a remarkable never say die Hollywood quality story that has already accomplished their goal of helping them create a legacy that separates them from the 1999 world championship team.

But unfortunately only one team will emerge victorious and be holding up the FIFA World Cup Trophy aloft  at the conclusion of the game.

Who knows, we may even see one or both these teams stories turned into future movies. 

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-You Got The Rest Of America's Sporting Attention

In this summer of my sporting discontent, my Astros are on a pace to lose 100 games, the NBA and NFL are dealing with lockouts, and its another summer without a Houston WNBA team.

But the bright spot of my 2011 sporting summer so far has been this FIFA world number one ranked scrappy team of women's footballers who proudly wear the USA label.   They have a penchant for doing things the hard way mind you, but they never say die and get it done.

Nowhere was that more evident in Sunday's titanic quarterfinal match with Brazil.  Against all odds, playing with 10 women against the FIFA world number three ranked team that breezed through their group and jacked up officiating, they scrapped and clawed their way to a goal that tied the match and sent it to penalty kicks which they eventually won.

Now they are through to the semifinals against France, two tantalizing games from being crowned queens of the FIFA women's football world, and they have the casual American sporting fans attention now.

They have been saying for a while they wanted to make their own history and escape the shadow of the 1999 team, but that's been hard to do up to this point.   Even their big comeback for the ages against Brazil occurred on the 12th anniversary of the day the 1999 team won the title.
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But they are just two games away from holding up the trophy and accomplishing what they set out to do when they arrived in Germany for the start of this tournament.

2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch- Wow...Just Wow

Told y'all this team has a penchant for handling their World Cup business the hard way.   Abby Wambach even said as much in the aftermath of the group play loss to Sweden.

But wow.  This was a game for the ages.  It's too bad today's match between the USA and Brazil was a quarterfinal one and not a semifinal or the final.

This one had so much drama, intrigue, twists and turns packed in it that I don't think even a Hollywood scriptwriter could have come up with a better plot..

Team USA has never finished lower than third place in FIFA Women's World Cup play but was coming off their first loss ever in group play to Sweden while Brazil went unbeaten in theirs.   They've also never lost a game while wearing their black uniforms and wanted to get off to a fast start in this quarterfinal match in Dresden.  

An own goal from Brazil's Daiane a mere two minutes into the match got the fast start party started and allowed Team USA to take a 1-0 lead into the half.  

But Brazil has a player no one else on the planet has in Marta, the five time reigning FIFA Women's Player of the Year.  She showed why she's earned that award for five straight years in the second half.

In the 68th minute Marta splits a double team by flicking the ball to herself over both defenders heads and broke toward the US goal.   She was challenged by Rachel Buehler but as both player fell in the penalty area was ruled to have been pulled down from behind.

That unfortunately earned Buehler a red card, a seat in the locker room for the rest of the match and Brazil a penalty shot to attempt to tie the game.

Christiane takes the initial penalty kick that Hope Solo correctly guesses the direction of and stops cold..   Referee Jacqui Melksham rules Solo left her line too soon and orders another one.  The Dresden stadium crown and the USA squad is incensed, Hope Solo draws a yellow card for her vociferous protest otherwise and this time the Brazilians entrust Marta with the penalty shot she successfully makes to tie the score.

In addition to the score now being 1-1, Team USA must now play with 10 women the rest of the way.   It's hard enough playing Brazil with 11 players, but playing them shorthanded for many squads is FIFA Football Mission Impossible.

But Team USA isn't just any squad.  They're the FIFA world number one ranked team and back to back 2004 and 2008 Olympic champs and showed why they occupy the top spot of the women's FIFA rankings if anyone had any doubts about that.

They buckled down defensively and somehow managed to keep the powerful FIFA number three ranked Brazilians off the board for the next 22 minutes and force 30 minutes of overtime while nearly getting a golden goal in regulation time themselves.       

But early in the first overtime period thanks to another blown call (the refs miss a Brazilian player being offside) and get another highlight reel goal from Marta in the 92nd minute that she deftly flicks off the right post and into the back of the net to put them ahead 2-1.   Despite determined attacks at the Brazilian goal Team USA looks all but dead and headed back home until the header from Abby Wambach in the 122nd minute during the second 15 minute overtime period ties the score and forces a penalty kick shootout.

We got a little karmic payback when the first PK attempt by Shannon Boxx was blocked by Andreia but she was ruled to have left her line early.   Boxx buried the rekick to get us started to a 5-3 penalty kick shootout win that was clinched when Solo blocked Daiane's PK attempt and Wambach and Krieger buried theirs to send the USA to the semifinals and avenge the 2007 semifinal loss to Brazil as well..   

Oh yeah, did I mention that all of this happens on the 12th anniversary of the 1999 Women's World Cup final in the Rose Bowl that the USA women won on penalty kicks against China?

Breathe people.  Time to get ready for Wednesday's semifinal against France in Monchengladbach.  Winner gets a trip to Frankfurt to play in the title match versus the Japan-Sweden winner on Sunday.  Losers plays in the third place game in Sinsheim on Saturday.

This 2011 team has said repeatedly they wanted to forge their own legacy separate from the 1999 World championship squad.   They may have taken a giant step toward doing that today.

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Germans Whacked In Wolfsburg

We also don't get the Germans until the final assuming they don't get upset between now and July 17.

Can I call it or what?  I watched the England vs France and Japan vs Germany FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinal matchups today    I feel for the Brits losing in a shootout, but definitely feel the German supporters pain right now.   

The Germans are the host nation, the back to back FIFA world champs and were prohibitively favored to take a third straight title.   The last time the Germans lost a match in Women's World Cup play was a 3-2 quarterfinal loss to the USA 12 years ago and Japan had never beaten them. 

Until today.   This loss also hurt for the Germans because this tournament was serving for the European teams as a qualifier for the 2012 Olympic women's football tournament.   Hope Powell's Three Lionesses are already in because England is the host nation.


Japan going into this match was 0-8-1 against European squads but is also the FIFA number 4 ranked women's team in the world.   They aren't any football slouches and the law of averages was going to break their way sooner or later just like it did a few days ago with Sweden against the USA.    

The USA and the Germans have had a wonderful run in World Cup and other international women's football competition but sooner or later the teams you beat on a regular basis because they got a late start will catch up to you talent wise.  If you're not on your 'A' game and they have enough talent, a solid game plan and execute it flawlessly you're going down.   .


Japan's not the FIFA number 4 ranked team for nothing and they proved it today.   And as much as I'd like to see the USA continue its dominance of women's international football, at the same time more competitive balance and making us work for those titles is good for the game   

Shoot with that being said, hope Team USA handles their business with Brazil tomorrow.

FIFA Criticizes Nigeria Coach Uche's Homophobic Comments

Nigeria is headed home after being eliminated in the group round of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, but not before FIFA had their say about Super Phobes (oops Super Falcons) head coach Eucharia Uche's problematic anti-gay statements.

After the June 26 post match press conference admission that she'd forced lesbians off the team and the New York Times interview done before the start of the tournament that quoted her as stating that homosexuality was 'dirty' and 'spiritually' and 'morally very wrong', FIFA's head of women's competitions Tatjana Haenni said to the German television channel ARD in an interview that, "FIFA is against all forms of discrimination."   

She also met with Uche on June 29 and reminded her of FIFA anti-discrimination policies. "We are here at a FIFA event and will point out that it would be best to express oneself neutrally," said Haenni.   

Neither Uche or the Nigerian Football Federation has commented on the Haenni meeting, but FIFA relased the following statement:.

FIFA would like to reiterate its position regarding any discriminating statements or action, and remind that FIFA, through its various committees, is actively committed to fighting against all kinds of discrimination within football and within society as a whole.

In addition to hosting events such as the FIFA Conference on Racism in Football and holding an Anti-Discrimination Day every year, FIFA has stressed on a number of occasions its commitment to fight any kind of discrimination in football.

In 2010, the FIFA Anti-Discrimination Day was held on 2 and 3 July, coinciding with the four 2010 FIFA World Cup quarter-final matches, so as to make a clear statement to the billions around the world about FIFA's united stand against racism and all forms of discrimination. For more information please click on the link to the right.

The FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 Anti-Discrimination Day will take place on 13 July 2011, when the semi-final matches are played.

In the long term, FIFA will continue the fight against all forms of discrimination through every possible means at its disposal.

Let us not forget that a strong, active and vocal grassroots support of these principles is essential to this process and we need every fan of the beautiful game to do their part - and in this respect, the world's media plays a key role too.

Uche has been the Super Falcons head coach since 2009 and according to Barrister Chris Green, the chair of the Nigeria Football Federation, her job is safe for now despite the controversial exit from this year's tournament 

"We can't be talking of a new coach now when we still have a London 2012 Women Soccer qualifer against Equatorial Guinea ahead,'' Green revealed in a recent interview in Frankfurt.

''Rather, we expect the coach to improve on her experience here and make it reflect in her duties as she works with the team towards the London 2012 Olympics.'' 

Umm hmm.   Just wanted to point out to you Super Phobes supporters that two time FIFA world champion Germany has open bisexual and world class goalkeeper Nadine Angerer on their squad and a backup goalkeeper in Ursula Holl who is married to her partner.  

And oh yeah, didn't Germany and Nadine Angerer beat y'all 1-0 in group play?

This situation with Uche admitting that she forced lesbians off the squad cries out for sanctions, but the likelihood of that happening is about the same as a certain appletini chugging gay rights orgs in the States hiring a transperson to run it.  



FIFA's mission statement says it wants to use the sport in 'overcoming social and cultural obstacles for women with the ultimate aim of improving women's standing in society'.

Women in the context of this mission statement also includes lesbian, bi and transwomen as well, a point which FIFA needs to forcefully make clear to coach Uche, the Nigerian Football Federation and 'errbody ' else in the FIFA universe as well who may have a problem with that expansive definition of woman.