Tournament Background
This year they added more teams to the mix to make it a 24 team lineup rather than 16 teams. That makes it the largest Women’s World Cup to date. For reference, the men have 32 teams in the Men’s World Cup, but that expansion only happened in 1998. The Women’s World Cup has only been happening since 1991. So, they’re broadening their tournament at a much quicker rate than the men’s.
Artificial turf was the big media topic going into the tournament, and it’s proven to be a real problem. The injuries sustained from it are less horrible than the heat that comes from a turf surface (instead of from, you know, real dirt and grass). One player said it was like walking on hot coals, and they measured the turf surface at the Edmonton field (one of the main locations used due to its seating capacity) to find that it was 150F. Yes, 150F!!! What the actual fuck, FIFA? Never again should this happen. It’s 100% gender discrimination that they wouldn’t lay down real grass. They did for the men’s tournament back in 1994. There’s no excuse not to do it here. Any one of the now arrested FIFA members could have coughed up a hundred million dollars to lay out solid grass for these games and not even noticed the money was gone. There’s no fucking excuse.
Quarterfinals Recap
The quarterfinals saw some boring football between overheated Australia and Japan in the Edmonton complex, resulting in a sloppy late goal by Japan and heavy legs by all the players (this was 150F turf game; the air temperature was 82F in the area just off the turf, for reference). The real competition in that game was against the heat. Later that day, an amazing game between Canada and England had all the magic you hope for in the World Cup. They had great runs, amazing chances, sexy footwork and ball handling, great crosses and corners, just everything you want. Unfortunately, Canadian defender Sesselmann slipped [on the artificial turf] at a very bad time to slip and England’s Taylor was able to grab the ball and put it in the back of the net. After the go-ahead goal, England was able to quickly get a second off a free quick rebound and Canada had their work cut out for them. They managed to score to make it 2-1 just before the half, turning the atmosphere of the Vancouver stadium around and guaranteeing a thrilling second half. Unfortunately for Canada, no goals happened at all in the second half and England advanced to the Semis.
On the flip side of the table, Germany and France battled out a technical game that went all the way to a penalty shoot-out, where Angerer for Germany came up with a big save to send Germany to the semifinals. Later the day, USA took on China in an extremely low scoring match where early in the second half the USA’s Lloyd was able to the head in a fabulously placed kick from Johnston way back on Defense. It was really a gorgeous goal.
I have to say that I typically watch men’s sports, but these quarterfinals truly rekindled that excitement I only get when watching women’s sports. There is just something so much more compelling to me about women playing. Maybe it’s because of how much sports I played as a kid (I mean, my first league was co-ed T-ball at age 5 and I was doing gymnastic competitively at age 6; I can’t even remember a time from childhood when I was not enrolled in two different sports at the same time) or how I can really relate to the type of team atmosphere that seems to only come from a women’s style of play, but I found myself 100% engaged with this tournament. Which became a problem going into the semis…
Semifinals Recap
#2 ranked USA pressed hard against #1 ranked Germany in what was shaping up to be a really hard fought, well played beautiful game. Then the penalties happened. First the penalty against the USA where the player maybe, probably should have gotten a red card, not a yellow, for her blatant foul that prevented a direct scoring chance. The shocker came of course when Germany’s Sasic missed her PK! The whole thing sat weird, but as a watcher of enough Premier League games to know when to say, “Well, maybe there’s something else happening we don’t know about and they decided not to give the red because of that”, I was able to move on with my USA pride. Until the second penalty! It was definitely a foul, and it was definitely outside of the box. Lucky, lucky, lucky for the USA getting a PK out of that. It should have been a free kick, which maybe Lloyd would have buried too, she is certainly good enough, but it was just… not the way you want to see your team go ahead in what could easily be deemed “the true final” of the tournament. Luckily the USA had another goal in them, and closed it out with what I like to call “a real goal” to defeat Germany 2-0 (and in my head it was 1-0).
The Japan-England semifinal was somewhat of a surprise as most people thought Canada would beat England, so no one really knew what to expect with these two teams. Japan plays a rather boring style of defensive football and England is such a team-team, that they can mold to whatever they need to mold to. After the two early penalties for each team (both capitalized on), the rest of the first half was somewhat slow. It felt like someone would score in the second though, with several great chances taken by both teams as the 1-1 tied game dwindled down to the final minutes of regulation and stoppage time, no clear deserving winner had emerged. It seemed like it was going to overtime.
Then the most devastating thing ever happened as Bassett for England scored an own goal in the 93′ and, guys, I actually cried. I felt so bad for that poor English girl and even though I knew she was going to sob uncontrollably, when she started to do so, I couldn’t stop myself from crying. It was just so sad. England was just such a Cinderella story for this tournament, and they play together so well and do such interesting things on the field, and they inspire, and to have it end like this was terribly sad.
Not that anyone watches the Third place game anyway, but this year especially it’s going to utterly lack heart. How do you recover from a loss like that one? You simply cannot. And so, with my rekindled energy for women’s sports in particular, I found myself so emotionally engaged with the games and the players, that I was really bummed out the next day. And England isn’t even the team I’m cheering for! Sigh. This would just never happen with men’s sports. I just could never sympathize with the male players in the same way. I wondered why, and I think it boils down to money. The male players have an opportunity to make real money because they have so many professional leagues to choose from and strive for. Which means that this type of tournament actually means more to the women. Because this is it. It’s not like a showcase of your talents for some wealthy league to take notice of and sign you on for the fall with a fat contract. That isn’t happening for women. So it just makes the whole thing amplified.
On top of this gutted feeling from England’s loss, Japan had the audacity to really celebrate their win right after (I mean, the game ended like right after that own goal). They looked like they had scored the final goal, not England! I understand they were excited to be back in the Final, but it lacked sportsmanship and I was not pleased. I didn’t like Japan before because they’re boring to watch, but now I really don’t like them as a team, as people. It’s personal now. The USA better beat them.
The Final
On this Sunday, hopefully the USA will do just that. Game starts at 7pm Eastern Time. Save your Fourth of July doodads and get on board for Team USA. The more of us who watch, the more money professional women’s sports players can make in the future. I really feel there is something special, something entirely unique about women’s sports and women athletes.
As someone who watches a shitton of football, I promise that this World Cup has been really spectacular in its level of play. I daresay more compelling to watch than the knockout stages of last year’s Men’s World Cup. So, tune in on Sunday. Expect a very technical game with really incredibly accurate passing from both sides and a lot of builds to chances that are well defended and fizzle out quickly. I am excited to see how these teams will be able to score against each other. Japan is looking to repeat in back-to-back World Cups, and I really think USA can stop them.
Team Breakdowns:
USA
Obviously Carli Lloyd is someone to watch, since she scored two the goals in the last two games for the USA, including that awesome header against China, but also keep an on these gals:
Alex Morgan, #13
Alex is a straightforward striker, but her calm attitude is what I really like about her. She is just rock steady and super determined. She’s coming off of injury, so she’s trying to not to push her limits, which I respect, but her limits must be quite large because she is playing hard and strong. Definitely a fun one to follow as she makes a nice run.
Megan Rapinoe, #15
Finally back in the Germany game after suspension due to yellow cards, Rapinoe made an obvious difference. She’s one of those midfielders who you see a lot of and are glad for it. She is tough, but very savvy when it comes to reading the play and the options ahead. She’s also a big part of why the USA has 74% passing accuracy for the tournament. You won’t be able to not watch her, really, but you definitely will be glad that you get to watch her. Also! It’s her 30th birthday on Sunday! I am so rooting for her to get the best birthday gift evar!!!!!
Hope Solo, #1
The keeper seems like an obvious pick, especially when her defense is so solid, but Solo’s stellar goal tending and overall leadership have made a real difference for this USA team. Against a team like Japan, where ugly goals are far more common than pretty ones, you need a goalie who won’t let anything in, not even the weird bouncing rebounds. Only having allowed 1 goal all tournament, Hope Solo is that player. She also has an awesome super hero name.
Japan
Shinobu Ohno, #11
Mostly fun because you want to say, “Oh no!” as she comes on attack, Ohno is great at knowing where she is on the pitch at all times in relation to play and the ball. This means she is uber dangerous upfront. So, the Oh no! cry is actually not too far-flung for her opponents.
Aya Miyama, #8
One of the top midfielders in the tournament, Miayama brings an outstanding level of leadership as captain to the Japan team. She’s pushing everyone to play harder, do better, and be more. The faith she has in her team makes you feel a little scared for what else Japan has up their sleeves. Also, girl can score.
Azusa Iwashimizu, #3
Central defender for Japan, Iwashimizu is the one who delivered the excellent ball to Ariyoshi in the semifinal against England where Ariyoshi was given a penalty. Iwashimizu sometimes goes unnoticed by the media and is sort of the quiet, unsung hero of the team, but she is tough plus she can deliver on set pieces. She is definitely someone to watch and will be the major test for the USA team to get past.
Remember, Sunday, July 5th at 7pm ET is the Final! Tune in and enjoy! GO USA!
