2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Team USA Watch-Foiled In Frankfurt

Team USA spent the last two weeks in Germany competing in a World Cup run that was full of highs, lows and featured one incredible comeback for the ages from the brink of World Cup extinction.

But it wasn't enough to beat a Japanese team of destiny that is winging their way back to their homeland with the trophy and their first FIFA world championship.

You can't call it any other way.   The Nadeshiko Japan enroute to the title had never beaten European competition but knocked off the two time defending champions and host Germans, and knocked out Sweden in the semifinal.    Japan had never beaten the USA in 25 matches, including two warm up matches they lost.before the World Cup started .  They finished a title run for the ages by beating the FIFA number one ranked USA women 3-1 on penalty kicks.   

"This is obviously going to hurt for a while," said Abby Wambach in an AP interview.

It definitely will.   Team USA is going to think long and hard for the next four years about the multiple shots and scoring chances that either just missed the goal, hit crossbars or were off target.

They'll ponder being up late in the game twice after scoring goals in the 70th minute and in extra time in the 104th minute only to see Japan come storming back to tie it.      

They will also think about the penalty kick shootout in which until today, Team USA had never missed putting one in the back of the net in their World Cup history.  They opened up this one by missing three straight.

As Herman Edwards once said, that's why you play the games.   Japan was playing for much more than another FIFA world championship.  They were playing for their country, destiny was on their side and they delivered big time.

Congratulations to Japan, the new FIFA Women's World Champions.

As for the Team USA women, at least they have a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games and try to win their third straight Olympic gold medal in London..

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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