Is this what you’ve all been waiting for?
On Sunday July 5, the United States women’s national team squares off against Japan in the 2015 Women’s World Cup final; a rematch from 2011. Of course, it was the Japanese who rose to victory that year after winning a penalty shootout 3–1. Think about that for a moment. 3–1. On penalties. They got their revenge in London a year later, winning 2–1 in the gold-medal match of the Olympics, and are now aiming to win this rubber match.
The United States ladies made just one attempt in that shootout four years ago, but if the trend of the semifinal round pours over into the final, they’re going to have to be plenty better than that. In the two semifinal matches this week, four penalties were awarded. Of those four, three were very soft. Of those three, two were given despite the fact that initial contact occurred outside of the box. Now if the contact was a hold that continued into the penalty area, the decision to award one would have been correct. As it turns out, in the cases of both Japan and the United States, neither infraction displayed said element.
Hopefully after Sunday’s finale we’ll be talking more about the match itself rather than the officiating. That said, don’t be surprised if a questionable call changes the complexion of the match. That said, let’s look at how each nation punched their ticket to Sunday’s final.
Despite creating numerous chances throughout, the USA consistently failed to capitalize against Germany Tuesday night. Then suddenly, due to a silly foul by Julie Johnston, Germany had the chance to open the scoring at the hour mark. However, the tournament’s top scorer Célia Šašić failed to bury her attempt from the spot. I believe had she converted they would have sailed smoothly into the final. Alas, she left the door open for the No. 2 nation in the world, and they took full advantage.
It started just shy of 70 minutes, when Alex Morgan was fouled and awarded a penalty despite the foul occurring outside the area. Carli Lloyd made no mistake on her attempt, and Kelley O’Hara ended all hope at a comeback by finishing off a beautiful sequence in the 84th minute. The Americans edged out the favorites of the tournament by a final of 2–0 and in the process increased their streak of not conceding a goal to a staggering 513 minutes. And while their attack has looked much sharper in their last two matches, they will want to be more efficient with their chances in front of goal in order to make it easier on themselves.
As for Japan, it took a little more luck than skill to get past England Wednesday afternoon, but luckily for them it doesn’t matter how they won, just that they did. The contest was a painfully dull affair as we entered stoppage time at one apiece due to—you guessed it—questionable officiating. Japan won a penalty in the first half for contact initiated outside the box (sound familiar?) and just moments later England got rewarded for diving. At least in this particular case, the calls evened out.
Then stoppage time came, and the match ultimately concluded in arguably the worst possible way (for England). The game appeared destined for extra time with just one of three stoppage time minutes remaining when Japan launched one last attack. Nahomi Kawasumi sent a pass in behind English bodies towards an onrushing Yuki ÅŒgimi That’s when defender Laura Bassett stuck her leg out in an attempt to clear the potential danger. What resulted was the stuff of an athlete’s nightmare.
While anyone supporting the beneficiary of this freak goal would certainly take it, it’s hard to not cringe while watching this. Personally speaking, it’s impossible to not feel awful for Bassett and her teammates. I’d rather lose 7–1 Brazilian style than have my dreams crushed this way. Sports are sometimes quite cruel, and there is arguably nothing more brutal than losing a match in this fashion.
But if you’re Japan, you take it and run with it. You don’t dwell on what could have been, but what is. You think about Sunday and all it entails. You look to become the second nation to secure back-to-back championships (after Germany in 2003 and 2007), and in the process prevent the United States from winning their third World Cup.
The USA and Japan topped their respective groups scoring (four) and conceding (one) the same number of goals. The former’s attack hasn’t been what many expected going in but their defending has more than made up for it. As for the latter, you should never count out a defending champion. It’s irrelevant how they happened upon the final; they’re going to give the USA all it can handle.
It doesn’t matter if this is what the USWNT wanted or not; it’s simply what they’ve got. In the end they want what every team wants: to be the best. On Sunday they’ll get a second chance against the nation that broke their hearts four years ago. Do not assume Japan will go quietly into the night.
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