FIFA Women's World Cup Final ;U.S. Loses to Japan on Penalty Kicks ...‎

Japan's Homare Sawa leads the celebration after scoring the tying goal late in extra time against the U.S. Japan won the penalty kick, 3-1, to capture the title.FIFA Women's World Cup Final ;U.S. Loses to Japan on Penalty Kicks

Japan won the Women's World Cup for the first time on Sunday, stunning the United States in a penalty kick shootout after the team played a pulsating 2-2 tie in Frankfort, Germany.

Japan won its first Women's World Cup title Sunday in a triumph built on hope and renewal, lifting a stricken country and somehow finding a way to win a match that the United States dominated for long stretches but could not control.

"This is obviously going to hurt for a while," said U.S. forward Abby Wambach, whose only hole in her glittering career is the World Cup title.

The United States, the top-ranked team in the world, played its best game of the tournament but struggled to convert its many chances into a tangible advantage. The Americans did not take a lead until Alex Morgan scored on a breakaway in the 69th minute. But a defensive mistake allowed Japan's Aya Miyama to pounce on a loose ball and tie the score with less than 10 minutes left in regulation.

The Americans' top scorer, Abby Wambach, appeared to score the winning goal just before the end of the first extra period, nodding in a cross from Morgan from point-blank range -- her fourth goal in four games. But Japan's captain, Homare Sawa, flicked in a shot off a corner kick in the 117th minute. The goal seemed to symbolize the never-say-die attitute of the Japanese team, which had gained strength from its countrymen -- and vice versa -- in representing a country still recovering from a devastating earthquake earlier this year.

The shootout went badly for the United States from the start. Shannon Boxx's attempt was saved, Carli Lloyd's sailed over the bar, and Tobin Heath had hers saved as well.

Sawa, playing in her fifth World Cup, won the Golden Ball as the tournament's top player and the Golden Boot as its top scorer.

Japan, meanwhile, coolly connected on three of its first four. When the 20-year-old defender Saki Kumagai fired hers over the diving American goalkeeper Hope Solo, she and her nation rejoiced as one.

"We couldn't put away our chances," U.S. Coach Pia Sundhage said. "It's a final -- there's a small difference between winning and losing."

Said Wambach: "Evidently it wasn't meant to be."