World Cup Final Impressions

Here are some random thoughts after viewing the final game of the Women's World Cup between the U.S.A. and Japan in Frankfurt, Germany:

The U.S.A. outplayed Japan throughout regulation time, extra time, and overtime. Japan never led in the actual match, which ends officially as a 2-2 tie, won by Japan on penalty kicks. It seemed to me that the U.S. squad relaxed just a little bit after scoring its goals. Perhaps, on some subliminal level, the U.S. women, having beaten Japan twice earlier this year, expected the ladies from the Land of the Rising Sun to give in. This may have let Japan back into the match.

Certainly, the U.S. can look to its own missed scoring opportunities from the first half. Convert a couple of those and the match would have been over in regulation time. There seemed to be quite a bit of anxiousness in the American attack. The aggression our women showed in keeping play in the Japanese end no doubt led to their twice taking the lead, but a bit more controlled aggression might have put the game out of reach.

Holding a 1-0 lead with time running down in the second half, the U.S.A defense let down in an inexcusable fashion. Know where your goalkeep is and let her do her job. The ball was struck in panic by the first defender just as Hope Solo was about to grab the ball. The second defender, not expecting the ball to come her way, only managed to get a foot on it, keeping the ball in play for Japan. The rest was history.

Both U.S. goals and the second goal by Japan were things of beauty. Women's World Cup competition has become every bit the equal of the men's sport, in terms of overall play. The U.S. was the aggressor and possibly deserved to win in regulation, but Japan must be commended for not showing any sign of panic, twice scoring when desperation might have undermined the effort of a lesser team. In particular, Japan's second goal was drawn up beautifully and played to perfection. Solo had no chance. It was not so much a poor defense by the Americans as it was a great play by the Nipponese. To execute a set play so accurately, with the game literally on the line, is a credit to the Japan squad.

Finally, our women just seemed depleted during the penalty kick phase. After having dug so deep to pull out wins repeatedly in the tournament, there just wasn't enough left in the tank. The U.S.A. took the first shot, which is a great advantage if you can make it. Missing it, the air just seemed to go out of the Americans' balloon. Both sides deserved to win this World Cup, but Japan was more prepared mentally, at the very end, to succeed in the penalty phase's pressure cooker.

Still, it was a great run by an American team which was the last to qualify for World Cup play and which scored the latest goal in World Cup history to save a game against Brazil. Congrats to our women for the grit and the fight and the moxie they showed throughout the tournament. And further kudos to Japan's women for never giving up and showing the kind of resolve it takes to bring home a world championship.