Skip to main content

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."



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

ooma,Free home Phone service information

Ooma :- Type     Private Industry     Communications services Founded     Palo Alto, California, U.S. in 2004 Founder(s)     Andrew Frame Headquarters     Palo Alto, California Key people     Eric Stang, CEO Jamie Buckley, Vice President of Customer Service Dennis Peng, Vice President of Product Management Toby Farrand, Vice President of Engineering Operations Jim Gustke, Vice President of Corporate Marketing Tim Sullivan, Vice President of Sales Products     Voice over IP Owner(s)     Privately Held Ooma charges a monthly fee for federal and state taxes and fees as well as a 911 service fee. This adds up to $3.47 per month. Reports are trickling into to our tipline that Ooma, a popular VOIP service, is currently experiencing major network issues. Currently, Ooma’s phone service seems offline nationwide, and their website and support forums are working sporadi...

Film Star Rami Reddy passes away

Film actor Rami Reddy, known for playing the role of a villain in Telugu and Hindi films, passed away in Hyderabad on Thursday. Rami Reddy became popular with his role in Ankusam. He acted in as many as 250 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Bhojpuri. The final rites would be carried out at Punjagutta crematorium in Hyderabad Thursday evening. Reddy, who was undergoing treatment for the past couple of weeks, died at a private hospital in Secunderabad at around 11 a.m. on Thursday morning. He is survived by two daughters and a son. The final rites would be conducted at Punjagutta crematorium here this evening. Hailing from Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, Reddy started his career as a journalist before entering the film industry. Rami Reddy became popular with his role in Ankusam. He acted in as many as 250 films in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam and Bhojpuri. The final rites would be conducted at Punjagutta crematorium here this evening...

mSpace Mobile

Bringing you physical, temporal, virtual worlds to the palm of your hand Click on image to see video of mSpace mobile running on a PDA. Alternately, you can also choose a 5 min (23meg) overview video demonstrating mspace mobile, and describing its features. Don't try this at home What Japenese restaurants are near a cinema showing a film i want to see? A regular search engine - even one with maps - will mean you have to manage several separate queries with several separate maps and pages: find cinema listsings; see what's showing at each; try to remember where they are. Then look for restaurants featuring your chosen cuisine; see where they are located; try to bring the maps together to see if they're near each other. Then go look for recommendations or menus about the restaurant. mSpace mobile lets you explore information in more natural ways - exploring context, association, and relations mSpace mobile makes it easy - and keeps everything in view. mSpace...