photo by John Todd/ISIphotos.com
By FRANCO PANIZO
A dream tournament ended with a dream result for the U.S. women's national team.
A year after losing to Japan in the World Cup final, the United States exacted revenge en route to claiming the gold medal in the Olympic final by defeating the Japanese, 2-1, at a sold-out Wembley Stadium on Thursday. Carli Lloyd led the way with goals on each side of halftime and goalkeeper Hope Solo made a handful of fine saves to prevent Japan from rallying in a back-and-forth tournament finale.
Lloyd netted early in each half before Yuki Ogimi buried a chance from close range to pull Japan within a goal with nearly half-an-hour of play left. But the United States put the game away, with Solo leading the charge with a key performance.
The win did not only see Pia Sundhage's team avenge their stinging penalty kick loss from last summer, but it also marked a perfect tournament for the Americans. The U.S. team finished the Olympics perfect at 6-0 with 16 goals scored and only six surrendered.
The United States got off to a flying start in the match, as Lloyd headed home the opener in the eighth minute. Alex Morgan got on the end of a pass inside the penalty area and she delivered a no-look cross to the center, where a streaking Lloyd met the ball and placed it into the back of the net.
Japan settled after that and took more control of possession in an open first half that saw both teams get denied by the posts. But the Japanese, which looked the more dangerous side when halftime rolled around, allowed Lloyd to score again nine minutes after the intermission.
After a nice sequence of passes, Lloyd received the ball and made a diagonal run to the right. She then rifled a cross-body shot that beat outstretched Japan goalkeeper Miho Fukumoto and snuck inside the far post in the 54th minute to double the Americans' advantage.
The Japanese would make things interesting, however. Ogimi put away a low cross in the 63rd minute after some poor defending by the U.S. team. But the desperate Japan side never found an equalizer thanks to the veteran Solo, who thwarted away a number of fine chances from Japan to help the United States get redemption and the gold medals.
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What do you think of the United States winning the gold medal by beating Japan? Who impressed you the most? Has this tournament given you a new-found respect for the USWNT?
Share your thoughts below.
I agree about Lloyd. She scored a great goal vs Brazil…disappeared for 4 years (especially here in Chicago on the Red Stars)…then showed up again in the Olympic tournament. I thought the defense was backing up and giving the attackers too much space. Our center backs were the weakest…I was surprised by how well converted forward O’Hara did at left back. We got lucky that Box got hurt. And we need to get Leroux on the field. As for the incident with Hope and the team…the first thing Pia did was get the team to move past that and start with a clean slate…I think the fans need to let that go also. Hope’s father had just passed away. She even put some of his ashes in the goal box. It was obviously an emotional time and she does tend to speak her mind. If she was able to let it go then the rest of us should too.
Definitely have to reply and disagree with you. Tobin Heath is a beast! The handball was a shame, but she is a workhorse and a pure midfielder. She doesn’t get the press or attention as other players, but bookmark her and in 3-5 years, easily the best USWNT player. As for the weakest link on the field, Rapinoe played horribly and was finally subbed. Strange because she’s usually a very good player. Maybe not mentally there at the final.
I agree, Adi. Congrats to this generation of players, which Abby has led tremendously, but I am unimpressed with Pia’s tactics.
Referee’s tend to keep the red card in their pocket during huge games. In other sports, a world record holder seldom gets disqualified (Ben Johnson and a Russian fencer are about the only two I can think of). Whether its fair or not, referees are not going to make a call that gives another team a huge advantage. The “Hand of God” play should be evidence enough.
BrianK
1. We base so much on athleticism. The way we play was set in place 20 years ago by Dorrance and Dicco, who in my opinion set the women’s game back A LOT
2. I will ask US soccer but I will tell you that the Development Academy for the boys will not get us to the next level
Jonny P,
Interesting observations. I agree. Do me a favor. Why don’t you contact the USSF and ask them why the US Development Academy program is exclusively for men. Seriously.
They will tell you that having a development program for men and no such thing for women is equitable! Furthermore, they will point to the WUSNT and claim we are already producing elite players.
+1 agree . . . The Gold feels a bit tainted if your a real fan of soccer. Heath’s handball was blatant.
Heath’s handball should have been called, but I don’t see why we have to be embarrassed about it. Had it been called, the game would have played out differently, sure, but it could have ended up 6-1 USA instead. You never know how those things are going to affect a game.
Hey Joseph,
Solo tortured? She is a good keeper but SHE is the one who doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut.
Now as an American I am happy with the game. As a soccer fan, not so much.
We do not play good soccer. We have good players, AMAZING athletes but in all honesty, Japan is better coached and has a much better idea of how to play the game. With the resources and sheer numbers of players that we have we should be destroying teams like Japan and Canada.
Please only the real soccer people respond because you know that I am right
Game for the ages. A truly inspiring group of players. And yet we can sustain a pro league…
Game for the ages. A truly inspiring group of players. And yet we can sustain a pro league…
Oh, yes. She should have passed both times. She had poor angles to shoot. I remember seeing in the latter example she should have seen and heard the call for a pass.
If she didn’t see the option the first time, she needs to look up more. I like Morgan a lot, but she made those errors.
Has FIFA ruled yet?
Agree. Hate to say it but the US backline is comically bad.
The US had greatness up top in 2 strikers. 1 outstanding flank player and the best goalkeeper. Other than that, average at best. Probably get ripped for not including Lloyd but I just don’t think she’s a great player. I know she scored twice today and has scored big goals in the past, I still don’t fancy her.
Some company from Oregon made them wear those tacky shirts. Corporate values, very American.
I think watching a game on TV is very different from actually being in it and having to make an instantaneous decision.
Just because you could see who was open does not mean Alex could.
Furthermore Alex makes her living by making something out of nothing so if she takes a few impossible chances that is just part of the deal. I’ve seen greater players than her do exactly the same thing in that situation.
It it not a big deal.
Remember the 2010 WC lost..they played a much more technical and possession oriented game. It’s about winning. Alex M pure speed was a good case where speed and athleticism can influence a game.
Scurry is 40 and has not played a competitive game since 2010. I know she was great and all but to put her that game after all this time would have been insane.
I did notice that Brandi waited as long as humanly possible to complement Solo (and did it as quietly as possible)after Rampone got stripped in the 82nd minute.
Had that happened to Bocanegra, this board would have exploded with outrage and sought Los’ head on a platter.
Had Japan scored on that, and they should have, I’m thinking they go on to win.
It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a talented team seem to be completely incapable of making a defensive clearance. They had to have been completely gassed.
This is a seriously flawed team that just seems to be able to find a way to get it done.
Good for them.
To all haters were the Ref’s from the USA ??
You should not put those 3 together since Kelley Ohara and Alex Morgan are too beautifulnext to Carli Loyd
I’m wondering why FIFA didn’t step in and suspend Tancredi for that head stomp? They looked at the video and suspended Andrade for 2 games, surely Tancredi deserved no less…
+10
I prefer Heath on the field to look at.
Your username tells me you’ll see my point.
I hope the 2007 Bitch Brigade (Wambach, Rampone, Boxx, O’Reilly) realizes that if Brianna Scurry were in the net, Japan would have won the gold medal.
Solo not only shut down the Japanese. She shut up the people who tormented her five years ago.
BTW, Rampone, nice giveaway in your own end that almost resulted in Iwabuchi scoring. Can you retire from the WNT, now, pleeeeeeeeeeeze????
In the second half, Alex led a breakaway but Amy was wide open and should have been fed the ball; if Amy had scored it would have been 3-0.
Did others think Alex should have passed the ball?
I thought the US was the better side in the World Cup, and perhaps Japan was the better side here. Each has a trophy… that’s the right result.
This is my favorite current rivalry in sports. Two teams at the top of the game that play hard, but clean, provide good entertainment and genuinely have a good camaraderie. Reminds me of Bird/Magic.
For me, part of the drama of soccer is that the officiating is never quite right. Refs are oh so human. Arguing about calls is part of being a fan.
After the first 15 minutes I thought Japan looked faster. I think that was in part a carry over from that massive game against Canada. Some of the turn overs were sending slow passes and underestimating the Japanese speed.
They were still paying for Canada when they beat Japan. So what if it was not like FC Barcelona? Today when it mattered most, they were the best women’s team on earth! Enjoy your gold USWNT!
Heath for vision and touch, HAO for determination and speed.
But it was Heath’s pass that set up Morgan’s cross and the first goal.
For sure, no disrespect. Boxx put in her time over the years, but I think it’s time for her to hang up the boots. I prefer Cheney to her any day, and I’d also like to see Rapinoe in the center midfield.
I know, I know, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but Rapinoe is the best (complete) women’s player I’ve seen since Marta.
Take your off too my friend from Canada ( I have a sneeking feeling that is where you are from).
Melissa Tancredi stopmed Carly Lloyd on the head in minute 54 and should have had a staright red…but got away with it…nuff said…
Suggest you do the same…take your homer blinders off too….
Get over it you lost and Canada and her fans are looking bad as they continue to whine and whine…
+1, and also Rachel Buehler on each corner/free kick literally wrapping her strong arms tightly around a Japanese player and the ref allowing her to get away with it time and time again. Tobin Heath’s handball was an embarrassment for a USWNT fan, even worse than Rapinhoe’s against Canada. (The ref was not so afraind to call a Carli Lloyd handball—outside the penalty box). I got the feeling the US women against Canada and Japan had consciously decided they were going to do anything needed to win, even if it meant—-, how shall we say, doing the wrong thing. I was sorry to see this.
Off topic: Terrence Boyd today got a penalty kick call in stoppage time for a winning PK and then a few minutes later scored a goal himself to put Rapid Vienna into the next round of the Europa Leauge. It was a wild physical match with Boyd mixing it up (and getting a yellow card) with a huge opposing player, who was totally pi$$ed and 90 seconds later got red-carded for a potentially led-breaking tackle.
The Torsten Frings point is interesting. It’s a similar situation: an upstart side playing over its head with a real chance to win (US v. Germany) whose outcome seemed to turn on an unfair play. But I honestly don’t know anyone who still talks about a game from 2002.
Second — can I assume you are Canadian? I understand your pain, but the US players didn’t make the call that gave the team a chance to TIE. The Canadian team played with incredible heart (and a fair amount of dirtiness). But your reaction is not rational. You choose to ignore the red-card head stomp of Cari Lloyd by Melissa Tancredi; so, too, did the referee, and therefore, there’s nothing to be said about it. Calls go either way, but to spew invective against the US players is somehow to suggest that the referee didn’t simply make a weird (or terrible, sure!) decision, but that the referee was in fact cheating. And that — while tempting in the moment — makes you look juvenile.
Both teams were leaking goals. Ref wasn’t the primary issue for either teams’ win or loss.
Oy.
I’m with you on the handball, not so much on the “football tackle.”
Sometimes you get lucky.
Great game, but why continue to play Tobin Heath!? Isn’t Heather O’Reilly so much better? I thought Heath was the weakest player on the field for the US consistently, but she continued to play. Any thoughts?
Great game, both teams played really well. Sold out Wembley! That is amazing stuff. And Hope Solo was a rock star today. And that Alex “baby-horse” Morgan sure is fast, and very skillful. Is there a player of the tournament award? I’m torn between Rapinoe getting it or Wambach.
This was a very interesting, hard-fought and close game. But Japan had some very good chances to tie or even win this final Olympic game. So, the wearing of the “ugly” Nike T-shirts after the game doesn’t reflect well on this game or the US women soccer team in general. I personally don’t believe that the US women’s “Greatness has been found”! For example, this team still needs to improve itself in ball handling skills and applying better team strategies.
Let it go? Tell that to the plethora of USA fans who still complain about a Torsten Frings handball 10 years ago…I suggest you take your homer blinders off and admit that I am right
Glad for the result, but I think it’s colored by 2 clear PKs denied to Japan (Heath handball, football tackle in box on Japanese attacker).
I like winning, but I don’t like doing so amidst controversy.
It’s another game as proof that possession does not win games, creating and finishing chances does. Possession might do it but might not; the better team does not necessarily equal the team with more possession skills
And great goal keeping 🙂
Wow, Id, that’s a lot of bitterness you’re holding there. I have two suggestions: One, yoga. Just let it go. Two, wait till adolescence is over.
Agree. This has been mentioned already but there is no doubt her injury was serendipity for the team, no disrespect to Boxx. Lloyd’s performance was undeniable. What a player, cemented in history now 🙂
The MVP for the USA has to be the referee of their final 2 games
carli lloyd kelley ohara and the best of all alex morgan <3<3<3
Carli played like a rockstar. I was saying “pass” as she unleashed the fury into the side netting. Almost swallowed my tongue when Rapinoe came out. Sure enough, not a lot of good happened afterwards.
Lip read Buehler saying, “I can’t think” as she came out. Pretty sure she had a concussion as a result of the Hope Solo with Japan on the side sandwich.
Great game USWNT. So many players stepped up it was awesome!
What a great, pulsating game. The better team won today, in my view, but Japan were worthy opponents.
Lloyd’s second goal was great stuff.
God, was that a great game. Two amazing teams, and you could easily argue that Japan was better, at least for much of the game. And Dinho, I think you’re right about Boxx — we had hardly any midfield play in the first half.
Great game. Very proud of this team.
Wobach is amazing as is every lady on that team. They were super athletes playing against simple soccer players….
I said this early on…. the Boxx injury was a blessing in disguise for the women.
Carli Lloyd is an absolute stud.