I figured we needed a thread on this, given that the first game is tomorrow. Or is it on Tuesday? So who is everyone rooting for? And who do people expect to win? At the risk of sounding biased, it's hard to imagine anyone could beat the US right now. They haven't lost a game in like 2 years. But it's soccer, so anything can happen, that's for sure. It'll be interesting to see if teams like Germany or Brazil can pull through.

First game is today (Mon). B)

Women's World Cup Schedule 2007

Sept 10 - Germany v Argentina, Group A: 1300 BST
Sept 11 - Japan v England, Group A: 1300 BST
Sept 11 - USA v North Korea, Group B: 1000 BST
Sept 11 - Nigeria v Sweden, Group B: 1300 BST
Sept 12 - Ghana v Australia, Group C: 1000 BST
Sept 12 - Norway v Canada, Group C: 1300 BST
Sept 12 - New Zealand v Brazil, Group D: 1000 BST
Sept 12 - China v Denmark, Group D: 1300 BST
Sept 14 - Argentina v Japan, Group A: 1000 BST
Sept 14 - England v Germany, Group A: 1300 BST
Sept 14 - Sweden v USA, Group B: 1000 BST
Sept 14 - North Korea v Nigeria, Group B: 1300 BST
Sept 15 - Canada v Ghana, Group C: 1000 BST
Sept 15 - Australia v Norway, Group C: 1300 BST
Sept 15 - Denmark v New Zealand, Group D: 1000 BST
Sept 15 - Brazil v China, Group D: 1300 BST
Sept 17 - Germany v Japan, Group A: 1300 BST
Sept 17 - England v Argentina, Group A: 1300 BST
Sept 18 - Nigeria v USA, Group B: 1300 BST
Sept 18 - North Korea v Sweden, Group B: 1300 BST
Sept 19 - Norway v Ghana, Group C: 1000 BST
Sept 19 - Australia v Canada, Group C: 1000 BST
Sept 19 - China v New Zealand, Group D: 1300 BST
Sept 19 - Brazil v Denmark, Group D: 1300 BST

BST = British Summer Time = GMT+1

Go USA.

I have to admit I do miss Tiffany M.

Omigod, me too! I absolutely loved her! She was so dynamic and quick, and could make a goal out of nothing. I hate that she never got as much credit as some of the other players. Which is even stranger when you look at the stats, because she is a top-five all time goal scorer for the US women, and she played on the national team for WAY less time than Mia Hamm or Kristine Lilly.

I've always thought it was because she was a dyke. Of course, I have no corroboration for whether she's actually gay, or whether that had anything to do with her not getting press, or being cut from the national team, but it does seem like she didn't quite fit in....

I'll let you in on a secret. I believe she is gay too. So does my mom and she has spot on gaydar.

I went to school with her. She was two years older then me. When she was a freshman she was on the varsity team and was already in allstate.

She is a soccer coach in Oregon now.


She actually broke records. To me she was bigger then Mia. Mia was pretty but Tiffany was a real player. She got down and really played.

I was so bummed when I saw her arrive for the Olympics and then never saw her play. I felt so gipped. she was an awsome player and should still be playing.

Well her and Shannon M.

Germany put 11 :eek past Argentina, so they'll be a force to be reckoned with but aren't they always, men or women. Our lot, England, worked a miracle to even get there :clap so anything will be a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

I'm really looking forward to watching this tornament. SBS will be showing all the Australia games. Ghana v Australia on Wed night 7pm SBS TV.


Go the Matildas :soccer



PS: I also play amateure football here in Sydney. :footieplayer

I'm three goals and 23 minutes in on this Germany-Argentina game (thank god for Tivo). Wow, the Argentinian goalkeeper is totally choking. All three of these goals could have been stopped by a strong (ok, exceptional) goalkeeper. Now it's like painful to watch. I played on a team once where we didn't have a real goalkeeper, and it's like every time the ball went to the girl playing goal we'd all just hold our breath and hope she'd hold on to the ball. I think the Argentinian players are doing the same right now.

Helki, our American commentators are picking England as the dark horse in this group, to come in second after Germany. So it might not be quite as bad as you fear....

I got up at O'Dark Hundred ( 0455 EST) to watch the US match and I was not impressed with the US team. The midfield was clearly controlled by the Koreans. It was also unfortunate that the US women couldn't capitalize on the Koreans being short in the first half. The Koreans surely made use of their advantage in the second half, by scoring twice with Abby Wambach out getting stitched up.


GO USA!!!!!! :soccer

I hope not!
Kelly Smith, :clap :clap but it should have been a win! We can't afford to miss chances like we did today. 16 shots on target and only two goals. We gave the ball away far too easily but I was impressed at certain stages of the match. Germany next :eek man or woman ;) the barricades. BTW, I'm not a totally committed fan of the women's game but if England are playing even something like tiddlywinks, I'll be supporting.:xmas5
All today's games - draws. I did think the USA would have / should have beaten Korea and probably Sweden beaten Nigeria but...

I've watched the US team play a lot of games this summer, and I've never seen them play as poorly as they did this morning. I just finished watching the game, and it almost gave me a heart attack. They were lunging all over the place, Shannon Boxx couldn't control the center of the field, it was a flailing mess. If they play like that the rest of the tournament, they won't win, and they won't deserve to win.

I remember all my coaches always yelling at us to stay on our feet, and I felt like shouting that at the US players today too. Every tackle Boxx did was a slide tackle. How can you do anything after a slide tackle? You can't--all you've done is create a 50-50 ball. To keep possession you've got to be able to tackle on your feet so you can take the ball away AND make a good pass. I mean, that's just basics. I know it was wet out there, but the whole defensive line was able to stay on their feet, so I don't understand why Boxx (and most of the midfield) couldn't.

I hate to say it, but North Korea deserved to win that game. They totally dominated.

Helki, why don't you enjoy the women's game? I like it more than the men's because there's (usually) more building of plays, and less booting the ball all the way up the field. It feels more strategic and less brute force to me. That said, men's soccer in the US is pretty much crap, so I guess it makes sense I would enjoy the women's game more, since the quality level is so much higher.

We've been watching what we can - love the womens game. We were fortunate enough to have the Women's European Championship mainly held at grounds just down the road from us a couple of years ago - So got to watch a lot of games then! We also try and get to any locally played England games here as well.

So far, the Germans have looked as impressive as they did at the Europeans!

England up to their usual - plenty of chances on goal - No where near enough conversions!

USA - Have to admit, disappointed in the opening game.

Sweden are my other team to watch out for. They are one of those teams on their day can beat anyone! However they can also lose very badly as well....... It just depends how they play each game. If they can keep on top of their game through the tournament, they can be a good side.

I didn't say I don't enjoy women's games just that I wasn't committed. ;) It's probably an age thing. I grew up in the era when girls played, and still do, hockey, netball, tennis, rounders etc. By the time young women were raising their boots in anger at not being allowed to play football, I was too old anyway. :rofl In the early stages of the game over here girls were running around like headless chickens following the ball and the skill level... It is much improved. There aren't that many clubs with decent teams, although, it is improving and worst of all there is little to no coverage on TV or in newspapers. The England team received a higher profile during their progress to the WC but the only other game shown recently was the Women's Cup Final.
Having watched some of the games played so far I can see how much the skill level, fitness and tactical awareness has moved on. There are still too many long balls out of defence, thereby negating midfield. I like to see the ball on the floor, being passed from feet to feet and not bouncing from head to head or booted into no-mans-land. I will conceed there are more goals scored in the women's game. :clap
Hope this clears up my position. :rolleyes: Must away now the men's team have rather a crucial Euro qualifying game against Russia and I think they will need all the support they can get.

Watched the US vs. Sweden match this morning....yes, even earlier for me to get up, as I'm back home in the CST zone. US still looking a bit sluggish, but got the win nonetheless. :clap

Abby Wambach was great with her two goals. The PK wasn't stellar, but it gave them the lead for good. :soccer :footieplayer

I was truly impressed with the England team today, 0-0 against what is probably the best team in the tournament. Everyone played with commitment,desire and not a little skill. :clap Anita Asante :party tremendous in defence. A win against Argentina on Monday and...
Congrats to the US on your win. :xmas5

Sorry I'm late to the discussion--I've been watching the games on Tivo, and just caught up. I thought England was FANTASTIC against Germany. Great possession and defense, and a few strong attacks as well. Very exciting game. I can't wait to see them kick Argentina's ass and make it to the Quarterfinal. I thought the US wasn't great, again, but at least this time, against a weaker opponent, they pulled through. They really need to settle down if they want to win this thing.

England Women 6-1 Argentina Women

England reached the Women's World Cup quarter-finals after comfortably beating Argentina in Chengdu. England led 2-0 after 10 minutes thanks to Eva Gonzalez's headed own goal and Jill Scott's speculative shot. Catalina Perez was sent off early in the second half, giving away a penalty that was converted by Fara Williams. Argentina pulled a goal back through Gonzalez's free-kick, but Kelly Smith struck twice more and Vicky Exley made it 6-1 with a confident penalty.

The win meant England finished second in Group A behind Germany and they will discover their quarter-final opponents on Tuesday when the Group B matches are completed. The United States are favourites to progress along with either Sweden or North Korea. Hope Powell's England team will meet the winners of Group B on Saturday, though Williams will miss the match after receiving her second yellow card in the tournament. England were able to enjoy their progression into the brave new world of knock-out football - but they'll need to click in a way they've not yet managed if they're to undo USA.

Argentina had had a horrendous start to the tournament, losing 11-0 to champions Germany in the competition's opening game. And the South American side got off to the worst possible start as Gonzalez, in attempting to clear Casey Stoney's cross from the right, embarrassingly headed past Romina Ferro. A minute later Argentina conceded a second goal when Ferro allowed the ball to slip under her body in trying to deal with Scott's shot. The England players knew that a two-goal victory would confirm their progress to the last eight, but they did not sit on their lead. Smith was impressive in the England attack and Eniola Aluko was equally dangerous, almost adding a third when she turned sharply before thumping a shot against the crossbar.

In the second half Rachel Yankey, playing on the left, caused Argentina all sorts of problems and was unfortunate not to score. That she was unable to had much to do with Ferro's improved performance, with the Argentina goalkeeper producing a couple of good saves to frustrate Yankey. England's qualification task was made easier when Perez was sent off early in the second half. Perez had been yellow carded in the closing stages of the first half and was given a red after tugging Smith's shirt in the penalty area. Williams sent Ferro the wrong way with her penalty to put England 3-0 up.

Argentina had struggled to test England goalkeeper Rachel Brown, but on the hour Gonzalez pulled a goal back for Argentina when she curled the ball over the England wall and into the roof of the net. But England quickly regained their three-goal cushion when Smith cleverly turned home Yankey's cross. On 77 minutes Ferro spilled a Yankey shot and Smith was quick to pounce on the rebound to put England 5-1 up. England continued to press forward and were rewarded with a sixth goal after Gonzalez was penalised for a dangerous challenge on Exley, who confidently scored the resulting penalty.

:clap :xmas5 :hat

Thank goodness some are doing their bit to keep the flag flying. :soccer Did you see any of the match Stiry or were you busy shopping and collecting? :cat1 I saw most of the game, putting off going shopping until we were safely five up. :party I thought the team gave a controlled, assured performance and thoroughly deserve to be in the next stage. :clap Could be the US, abzug ( ass duly kicked :D ) if you're reading your thoughts on the encounter.

edited in 20.20: I forgot to ask how the holiday went this year?

Wow, great game, England vs Argentina! I was a bit worried at first for England, because although they were playing beautifully, and were up 3-1, none of their goals had really been scored in the run of play. But 2 of the last three were gorgeous (the two Kelly Smith goals) so that was heartening, in terms of their ability to put the ball in the back of the net. They do need to work on their corner kicks though, don't they? Totally wasted, other than one time when one of the substitute forwards (Exley?) got her head on it (which was then stopped by the goalkeeper).

It's looking like it might be an England-US match in the quarterfinal. <sigh> I wish it wasn't so, because I'm rooting for both these teams. And Brazil, who played absolutely gorgeous soccer against China.

Let's hope Team GB can follow suit in the DC tie against Croatia at the weekend (*offers a silent prayer to 'Im up There*...).

Nope! :err To be honest, I wasn't aware it was being shown live: I made several fruitless attempts to pick up a copy of the ST on my way home on Sunday night, starting with the main WHS in T2 at LHR, but they were pulling down the shutters just as I got there (it had taken absolutely ages to get through passport control, or I might just have been in time. :angry2 When I asked the official who checked mine why it was so bad, she said it was because it was Sunday evening & all the students were coming back! :rolleyes: ), so I'm without a weekly TV guide. Had a quick shufty at The Times TV page while I was out doing a bit of shopping (after picking up the :cat1 ), but only to check on yesterday evening's progs!

Much better than last, thanks, in spite of the best bumbling efforts of the last-minute German stand-in for the Spaniard who should have led it (nice enough bloke personally, but his English was poor & his Spanish, which was allegedly his second language, wasn't much better. Needless to say, there was a severe communication/information problem, though I think the others were better at interpreting his instructions than I was!): good group (inc. 4 Kiwis, an Aussie & 2 Canucks from the west coast), interesting itinerary & glorious weather (hot & sunny from the day we arrived in Bilbao, once the early-morning mist had been burnt off).

Alright, just finished watching the US-Nigeria game, and can I just say, BLECH! Every game the US seems to be doing the minimum they need to do. They score that one early goal, and then just rested on it. I've found them to be one of the least appealing teams in this tournament, which is depressing because I've been rooting for this team for over a decade. Offensively they rely on two players only (Wambach and Lilly), their midfield has been atrocious at controlling and distributing the ball, and they seem to lack any energy or spark. I thought pretty much all of the England attackers were more dynamic and exciting than any of the offense on the US team.

I mean, I want them to win, but I also want them to play soccer that I like watching! Right now I'd rather watch Brazil, Germany or England than the US. They need some exciting forwards other than Wambach, and they need their midfield to pick it up like 100 notches.

That said, congrats US on making the quarterfinals! Should be an interesting match up against England!

And a snippet of info for those of us on the UK side of the Pond: it seems the level of potential interest in the match is apparently so high that the live transmission on Saturday is being switched to BBC1! :xmas5

I thought the US looked as bad as they have all tournament to be honest, and apart from the early goal just didn't look like getting anywhere! Mind you the weather looked absolutely appalling!
Although of course, if this form does continue it does bode well for England. In January this year we drew 1-1 in a tournament against USA as well, so we've got a real chance.

Hadn't heard about the BBC1 move! That's fantastic news.

The Korean v Sweden game was a good one. An excellent Korean goal! Absolute screamer into the top left corner of the net!
As for Sweden - Apart from the USA they are the biggest disappointment for me in this tournament. Considering they topped their group in the 2005 Euro championship and only lost the semi's there AET I would have hoped to see them at least get somewhere close! They have been way off the pace. Nowhere near as good as some of the games we saw them play a couple of years ago.

Its a shame Typhoon Wipha is causing all kinds of problems at the moment!

It's true--they did have to play two of their three games in pouring rain on that shitty field the commentators keep complaining about.

But still, I don't feel like that's an excuse. But it has made me wonder: the US plays very unenjoyable soccer, from a viewer perspective. And yet, they haven't lost a game in like 2 years. So it makes me wonder--is it the outcome that matters (the fact that they do manage to put the goals in the net which they need to win/tie the game), or is it the style of play that matters?

I'm torn about this, because as a fan there is a unique pleasure in your team winning. But there is also pleasure in watching a team do something beautifully. I've actually been feeling depressed today about the US team, which says to me that their ugly soccer has had more of an emotional impact on me than their winning ways. I guess in the end that may be why the 1999 team is remembered so fondly (and was so popular at the time): they really managed to do both.

Of the teams this year that seem to have that potential: Brazil and Germany. Although the Brazil game against the US back during the summer was ugly as hell, so I guess Brazil can go either way.... I just can't bring myself to root for Germany, I really really can't.

Damn! I'm going to be out all Saturday, so shall miss this and the tennis. :cry2 Got to go to Harrogate, nice enough place but... ;) Perhaps Wipha will have its wicked way and games will be postponed and assigned in a later slot.
I have to say I was also disappointed at the lack of umph from the US team in the game with Nigeria. They could easily have come a cropper. Of course, they could be saving their best performance for Saturday. :eek It's usually the case if any of our teams are involved. I hope it's a good advertisement for the women's game, whoever wins - so long as it's us. :rofl

Abzug, I know what you mean about how the game looks and is played. One of the complaints levelled against Chelsea over here in the UK recently is their style of play, and yet they can grind out a result when some other teams can't.
Having said that, at the moment they are struggling because it does seem to only get you so far - and so I've always felt the best teams are the ones who can mix and match - to play the fast fluid attacking football that is also enjoyable to watch, but dig in and grind it out when needed.

What does worry me when you see a team like the USA at the moment - like the Nigeria game, if you're only scoring a goal it only takes one magically hit that you simply can't defend against (like the Korean goal against Sweden) to really put a team under unnecessary pressure. Right now the USA seem to have lost some of their balance in the team, and while they haven't lost in 2 years, I suspect it could be their undoing in this cup against a team like Germany who right now are looking very strong indeed.

Come On England!! :footieplayer Cant wait to see the match saturday.

True, definitely. But what's weird about the US is I'm certain if Nigeria HAD scored that random goal, the US would have come back and made it 2-1. I mean, they managed it against North Korea, even though they played like crap.

No question. There's just no way they can beat Germany if they play like this. Or Brazil, I'd think. And I saw them beat Brazil just a few months ago! I just can't figure it out--it's like they're just choking or something. Ugh.

OK, I'm going to stop being depressed about this. I'll just enjoy the beauty of the other countries' soccer, and still be happy if/when my country wins.

From this morning’s Metro:

England strength a worry for USA

UNITED STATES coach, Greg Ryan, admits the impressive performances from England at the 2007 World Cup will ensure a tough game for his side in Saturday’s quarter-final. The Americans finished top of Group B after beating Nigeria 1-0 on Tuesday, meaning they will meet England after Hope Powell’s side finished second in Group A.

England, like the United States, are unbeaten in the tournament so far after securing draws with Japan and defending champions, Germany, before easing past Argentina 6-1 to secure their place in the knockout stages. The two sides last met in January in the Four Nations tournament in China, with the game finishing 1-1. The United States went on to win the event by beating China in the final 2-0.

And Ryan admits Saturday’s meeting with England, and their in-form striker, Kelly Smith, will be difficult as the US looks to secure the victory that would move them closer to a third World Cup title. ‘We know England are a very strong team,’ he said. ‘We played them in January and it was a very good game. They have come a long way. Against Germany they showed how strong they are.’

:xmas5

Yeah, I'd be worried if I were them too. You know, I have to say, if it's not going to be the US, I'd be pleased if it were England. I mean, imagine if England made it to the World Cup final?!?! Don't you think that would really benefit women's soccer in England?

Whohooo! The Matildas made it through the quarter finals last night, with a 2 - 2 draw with Canada. Now I'm gonna go on fifa.com and try and find out who the Aussies play next. :D

It really would benefit - it already went through a massive boost when we held the European Championships here in 2005. We used to go to England Women's games long before that, and already we've noticed a marked increase in crowd numbers, plus steadily better coverage by the BBC in particular of the women's game over here!
This world cup, if we can even progress beyond the Quarters has generated another level of interest which is great news!

I know Aston Villa have begun to formulate a better structure for our Women's team (but then again, the General's wife did play Soccer and was actually involved with the setting up of your own US league) and there was recent controversy when one of the most successful women's teams in more recent years here was effectively disbanded when the team was relegated a division! Charlton Athletic said they couldn't afford to pay for it. Considering the women get bugger all as it is, its a very poor argument on their part! They eventually and after considerable struggle got some sponsorship in to keep going.

Our women's game is getting there........ I really hope this world cup shows it has more to offer.

I'm both happy about the US win (and the fact that they finally played halfway decent soccer) and sad that England couldn't advance. I thought England played really well, particularly in the first half (much more beautiful soccer than the US), but I guess the reason the US has been so successful is they just ram the goals into the back of the net. I was particularly glad Shannon Boxx played much better than she did in the first round.

Our commentators were saying that the loss of the England midfielder (whose name is escaping me, but she's the one who got two yellow cards and had to sit out) was a primary deciding factor for England, because it meant they had to use Kelly Smith in the midfield, rather than up top. Do you guys think so too?

I think part of our problem was first Kelly Smith was well marked. She has, in the past, been just as good from the midfield and made goals happen if even she hasn't scored from there.

I actually think our biggest problem was Brown our goalkeeper had a poor game at times, and two goals really came about from her errors. She looked very unsure with the high ball. Goalkeeping in general is where I do think the women's game is still lagging behind, but Brown is usually one of the best out there, but she just had a poor day!

Norway have just come through past China with a 1-0 win, to meet Germany in the semi.

Personally, now England are out - I am rooting for Germany for the win for personal reasons. :)

Did you think so? I mean, that third goal was definitely off her error, but the others seemed to be earned goals. Although, wait, perhaps I'm remembering this wrong--did Abby Wambach's header goal come off a corner which was due to a lame deflection on Brown's part (one she should have punched out, rather than deflected over the end line)?

Yep - that's the one.

I was surprised to see Brazil being given such a tough time by Australia in the last of the quarters! It was a good game - setting up what could be a really good semi between them and the US.

On from the situation about how the game has become more noticed over here, I spotted an article on the BBC website which did show some real need to get the message out on how and where you can take part.

Yeah, wow, what a game! I just finished watching it, and 25 minutes in, I was ready to turn it off, because it seemed Brazil had it in the bag. And then what great goals from Australia! Totally opportunistic, in the best sense of the word. It actually felt like they might have gotten a third one in the last few minutes there, but alas it was not to be. But I'm sure they feel happy about how they played, particularly given that they lost their captain 20 minutes in.

Great article about girls/womens soccer in the UK. I think as a kid I didn't appreciate the amazing system the US has for developing girls soccer at the grassroots. Every town in my area had a girls league starting from age 7 (I think now it starts at 5!), which pretty much all the girls played on, even the ones who weren't athletic--it was just what parents signed their daughters up for. And then towns start developing the more elite players by age 8 with town travel teams. Which then fed into the regional area and state teams, so by age 14 or so there were feeders for the national program. Plus the college and university teams which recruit heavily from high school teams.

So no shortage of players or playing opportunities at any level. And I think in the US, for girls, soccer is the main game. For boys there's a lot of distraction: basketball, baseball, even football (the American kind). But for girls, if they want to play sports as kids, soccer is really the major team sport. It's not until high school when there are other sports widely available for girls (field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, volleyball etc). So that means a lot of the athletic talent goes straight to soccer, when for boys it gets dispersed into a lot of different sports.

Abzug - Totally agree about the difference in Soccer for the boys and girls in the US in terms of team sports.

The problem used to always be over here as I grew up that is was so male dominated! Sure, some girls could play with the boys team, but as soon as you reached a certain age (I think it was about 10 or 11) - the rules meant you couldn't continue any further in that team! So it often left girls who were talented and played on a regular basis out in the cold with no other team they could play with.

While women's football over here has been around for some time - its really only in the last decade we've seen major changes to the game. Better publicity with cup competitions for example - albeit still well below the level of the mens game - and even in more recent years a magazine being published *called The Fair Game* which I believe has just reached the US shelves as well! A great achievement in its own right.

I'm getting ready now to settle down and watch the Germany v Norway game - a repeat of the European Championships final in Blackburn - and if its a repeat of that game, Norway won't get a look in. It was a convincing 3-1 win for Germany then.

WOW! I had no idea such a thing existed! We used to have Women's Sports Illustrated, which covered soccer a fair amount, but then it folded due to lack of interest, and now there is not a single American magazine which focuses on women's sports at all, let alone women's soccer. I'm totally going to subscribe to it. Even though it focuses on teams I will never get to see play. :-)

Haven't watched the Germany-Norway game yet, and have managed to stay unspoiled. But I don't think I'll wind up watching it before the US-Brazil match (which I am waking up early to watch tomorrow) so I'll find out the result before I watch. It seems unlikely Norway could pull out an upset, so I don't think I'm missing much there....

ETA: Whoops, in placing my subscription for Fair Play, I found out the Germany-Norway result! Nothing surprising there....

Having only seen the first half of the Brazil-USA game (I had to come to work at a semi-reasonable time, after all), I am just APPALLED. I mean, yeah, the US hasn't been playing great the whole tournament. But this game is just awash in horrible judgments.
1. Replacing the starting goalkeeper with the backup goalkeeper. Why? Hope Solo has only allowed 2 goals all tournament, and those were when the US was playing a man down.
2. Leslie Osborne heading a knee-level ball into her own goal on a Brazil corner kick. Again, what the fuck? Scurry was right behind her to pick up the ball, why would she head it towards her own goal? Why? Why?
3. The referee giving a second yellow card to Shannon Boxx. When Boxx didn't even commit a foul!!!! I mean, talk about an outrageous call! And it's one thing to make a mistake and call a foul. It's even ok to make a mistake and give a yellow card. But to make a mistake and give a red card is just shameful. A referee should err in judgment in the other direction--to avoid making game-defining calls whenever possible, particularly when there is any ambiguity at all.

I'm rather disgusted by the whole thing. The only thing keeping me from being really furious and depressed is that it's not like the US has played great this tournament, so it's hard for me to truly feel like they deserve to be in the final. They played one good game (vs England) and the rest mediocre games. I just wish they were allowed to play it out fair and square against Brazil, rather than the game being a result of a million ridiculous decisions.

Hopefully this will also be a wakeup call to the US, so they do some rebuilding. I haven't been impressed with the young players at all, and the veterans aren't really doing what they're supposed to be doing--instead it seems like the team relies on the veterans who then don't truly produce at the highest level. I think they need to start developing their younger generation. If Heather O'Reilly is the best forward of the younger group, then I'm really concerned, because she hasn't done much with her reputed speed or ball-handling skills this whole tournament.