In group G, the Group of Death, there was a lot of talk that the Germans and US might have an gentleman's agreement to play to a draw, so both would advance.
Then it appeared likely that the game would be cancelled, as Recife was experiencing severe flooding, and it was very difficult to drive the hour out of town to get to the stadium. But everyone made it, eventually, and the game went on as scheduled.
Well, it quickly became apparent that there was no agreement, as the Germans came out firing, getting several chances in the opening minutes.
A pass across the box to Mueller in the eighth minute was one of those chances, where Mueller jumped at the ball, leg outstretched, but it was a foot or so off. A minute later, the Germans had a corner that was immediately played out, leading to another corner. That one ended up with two Germans interfering with each other, to keep either from having a very good chance.
The US played up, and there was a foul on the play. Odd that the ref stopped play immediately, instead of allowing US to continue play upfield. Regardless, the possession lasted well over a minute and was the longest that the US managed in the entire game. And they never even threatened to score.
The Germans came back fairly quickly, and in next several minutes forced Gonzalez to break up a couple plays across to Mueller.
Things went back and forth a bit less eventfully for a while after that, but the Germans did force a really good save out of Howard in the thirty-fourth.
A few minutes later, a nice through pass was put to Podolsky, but his pass across the box went to Howard.
A minute later, the US managed to get a corner, but the cross flew over everyone.
That was it for chances in the first half, but it was certainly clear that the battle lines were drawn.
In the second half, Germany was even more aggressive in going for the net. Klose, who had just come in, had a great chance in the air in the 50th, but the serve across was off by an inch or two and he was unable to put it on net.
A few minutes later, Howard made a fantastic save off a shot in close, but the rebound bounced all the way out to the edge of the box, to the right of Howard, where Mueller was waiting to pound it into the far corner of the net.
Almost ten minutes later, the US managed a bit of a threat with a long pass from Bradley to Jones, which forced Neuer to come thirty-five yards out of his net to break up the play (see foreshadowing here to the Germany game against Algeria).
The US might have had another threat on the counterattack a couple minutes later, but there was a breakdown in communication that kept the ball from moving upfield quickly enough.
In the 69th, the US got a pair of corner kicks, and were threatening on the second one until Jones and Bedoya ran into each other at speed, breaking Jones' nose and knocking Bedoya down. Both ended up continuing, but it didn't look good.
While they were being looked at, Schweinsteiger went out for Goetze. Seems like an odd substitution; wonder what the reasoning was.
In any event, the Germans continued attacking, and Gonzalez was called upon again in the 82nd, to break up a diagonal run into the box by Hoewedes.
A couple minutes later, the US threated again, until a miscommunication by Bedoya and Dempsey broke up the play.
The Germans brought the ball back down after that, and Gonzalez again broke up the play, although the offside flag went up anyway.
The US managed a final offensive push just before the end of the game, in stoppage time. The first of them was pushed outside by Neuer, where it was retrieved by the US and crossed back in before Neuer could get back into position. Dempsey was on the receiving end, but headed it over the goal from only a few feet out.
Although the score was 1-0, the US was never in danger of winning the game. And they wer definitely watching the progress in the other game. Although they were never in position to be eliminated, they were very worried when Ghana pulled even with Portugal. But Ronaldo delivered a second goal for the Portuguese to win the game, which ensured US moving on.
The US performance was very uneven, although maybe it showed some weakness at the German back end. But the US couldn't get the ball up front; I think Dempsey only had two or three touches (one of which came via him coming back well into the midfield).
Really, the only two Americans who consistently looked good were Jones, who made some great runs upfield, and Gonzalez, who was the rock in the defense. Let's hope they can improve.
Showing posts with label usa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label usa. Show all posts
20140701
20140624
Sirens on full volume
Weirdness continued, Sunday; the middle game between Algeria and South Korea was also on ABC, and was completely missed. The late game, though, despite having the US in it, went back to ESPN. Good for me, but weird, in general.
So I was able to watch it very late, which was much better than not at all.
It started out very poorly for the Americans, with a very poor defensive play by the right back giving Nani an easy goal in the fifth minute (his first goal of the year, across all competitions; I knew he'd had an off year, but didn't realize how much so).
And for a few minutes thereafter, the Americans looked as bad against the Portuguese as they had for most of the Ghana game.
In the fourteenth, there was some contact weirdness. First, Mereira went down in a really terrible dive, rightly ignored. But while the staff came out to look at him, Postiga had to leave the field with an injury. No contact there, so I assume it was a hamstring pull, or something similar.
But the US settled down (important for a team that had never won after surrendering the first goal), and by the 36th minute, possession was only 56-44 in favor of Portugal. Not to imply that was a big surprise, the US was only finding offense by going over the top. And their shots were mostly from distance; the only in-close ones were blocked by the defenders.
Shortly after that, we had the first ref-called water break of the tournament that stopped play for a couple of minutes.
In the forty-fifth, Howard was called on to make a pair of saves. The first he made well, tipping it off the post, but was offbalance, and had to stretch to tip the ball over the net on the second.
I had to laugh, right after that, when stoppage time was announced at two minutes, since there were at least two stoppages that were individually longer than that (Mereira's "injury" and the water break).
But nothing happened during that time, so they went into the half with the US down a goal still.
The second half started with the Portuguese giving the US a bit more room, perhaps to keep their shape at the back better, and prevent shots over the top. Thinking back on one of the other games, I wonder if stopping the long ball works better by being tighter at the back or pressuring the kicks more.
The US did get a 5-on-2 break in the 51st minute, but Bradley's pass ahead was a half-step behind the forward, and they lost the momentum. Very disappointing.
Two minutes later, Bradley again did less than well. He had an open chance two minutes later, with the goalie completely out of position, but shot it directly into the defender, Costa, who was in the goal. Not his finest moment.
Ronaldo broke free, finally, about six minutes later, but fired the shot high and wide before the defense caught up.
A couple minutes later, the US finally equalized on a shocker. There was a pretty bad corner kick, but the ball went out to Jones, ten yards outside the box, and a bit off to the left side. He took it a little bit to his right, then fired a shot around Costa (in good position again) and into the far side of the net.
Play continued pretty even for quite a while, then. The US finally found some space with a great run down the right hand side in the 81st minute. Then there were three quick, nice passes, to Bradley to Zusi to Dempsey, going across the goal one way, then back for Dempsey to finish from the near side goal line.
That got the Portuguese to push forward, at one point managing to have five men offsides in one play.
As stoppage time went on, it looked like time was going to run out for Portuguese, but Bradley misplayed a ball at midfield, and the ball got kicked up to Ronaldo, who made a run down the right field side. From well back, he crossed into the box and hit a diving Varela for the header to tie the game.
Once the celebration was done, the ref only allowed a few seconds of play, so the game ended in a flabbergasting draw. A second center-back was subbed in in the last minute or so, and he signally failed his only charge. Disappointing doesn't even begin to cover it. A win would've cemented the US into moving on, and even given them a good chance to win the group.
Now, they'll need to beat Germany to win the group, though a draw would be good enough to get them into the knockout. Knowing the riskiness of playing with desperation, I suspect the US and Germany will play a very desultory game, with both teams looking for a draw.
So I was able to watch it very late, which was much better than not at all.
It started out very poorly for the Americans, with a very poor defensive play by the right back giving Nani an easy goal in the fifth minute (his first goal of the year, across all competitions; I knew he'd had an off year, but didn't realize how much so).
And for a few minutes thereafter, the Americans looked as bad against the Portuguese as they had for most of the Ghana game.
In the fourteenth, there was some contact weirdness. First, Mereira went down in a really terrible dive, rightly ignored. But while the staff came out to look at him, Postiga had to leave the field with an injury. No contact there, so I assume it was a hamstring pull, or something similar.
But the US settled down (important for a team that had never won after surrendering the first goal), and by the 36th minute, possession was only 56-44 in favor of Portugal. Not to imply that was a big surprise, the US was only finding offense by going over the top. And their shots were mostly from distance; the only in-close ones were blocked by the defenders.
Shortly after that, we had the first ref-called water break of the tournament that stopped play for a couple of minutes.
In the forty-fifth, Howard was called on to make a pair of saves. The first he made well, tipping it off the post, but was offbalance, and had to stretch to tip the ball over the net on the second.
I had to laugh, right after that, when stoppage time was announced at two minutes, since there were at least two stoppages that were individually longer than that (Mereira's "injury" and the water break).
But nothing happened during that time, so they went into the half with the US down a goal still.
The second half started with the Portuguese giving the US a bit more room, perhaps to keep their shape at the back better, and prevent shots over the top. Thinking back on one of the other games, I wonder if stopping the long ball works better by being tighter at the back or pressuring the kicks more.
The US did get a 5-on-2 break in the 51st minute, but Bradley's pass ahead was a half-step behind the forward, and they lost the momentum. Very disappointing.
Two minutes later, Bradley again did less than well. He had an open chance two minutes later, with the goalie completely out of position, but shot it directly into the defender, Costa, who was in the goal. Not his finest moment.
Ronaldo broke free, finally, about six minutes later, but fired the shot high and wide before the defense caught up.
A couple minutes later, the US finally equalized on a shocker. There was a pretty bad corner kick, but the ball went out to Jones, ten yards outside the box, and a bit off to the left side. He took it a little bit to his right, then fired a shot around Costa (in good position again) and into the far side of the net.
Play continued pretty even for quite a while, then. The US finally found some space with a great run down the right hand side in the 81st minute. Then there were three quick, nice passes, to Bradley to Zusi to Dempsey, going across the goal one way, then back for Dempsey to finish from the near side goal line.
That got the Portuguese to push forward, at one point managing to have five men offsides in one play.
As stoppage time went on, it looked like time was going to run out for Portuguese, but Bradley misplayed a ball at midfield, and the ball got kicked up to Ronaldo, who made a run down the right field side. From well back, he crossed into the box and hit a diving Varela for the header to tie the game.
Once the celebration was done, the ref only allowed a few seconds of play, so the game ended in a flabbergasting draw. A second center-back was subbed in in the last minute or so, and he signally failed his only charge. Disappointing doesn't even begin to cover it. A win would've cemented the US into moving on, and even given them a good chance to win the group.
Now, they'll need to beat Germany to win the group, though a draw would be good enough to get them into the knockout. Knowing the riskiness of playing with desperation, I suspect the US and Germany will play a very desultory game, with both teams looking for a draw.
20140617
Group of death, head-line
The US and Ghana also played last night, and I don't have a whole lot to say about that one, either.
The US had a pretty goal in the opening minute, which had Klinsmann extremely excited. Dempsey got the ball in the box on a good feed, made a nice touch to set up his shot, and put it into the far side clinically.
And the Americans continued to at least look decent for a while (though under pressure) for another twenty minutes or so, until Jozy Altidore pulled up from making a run, grabbing his hamstring. There was no contact, so it was probably a straight pull, but he had to leave immediately, and likely won't be back for the tournament.
And the play of the US basically went to pot after that. What followed was an hour-long siege where Howard needed to make a number of good saves and defensive plays, grabbing the ball off the ground. Unsurprisingly, that strategy eventually failed, with Ayew finding the net (I think off a set piece, but I actually can't remember now).
That didn't really stop the siege, but the US did manage to get the ball down the field and win a corner, several minutes later. And fortune smiled on the US there, as Brooks was not well-covered, and cleanly headed it down and away (from the corner). That found the net, giving the US the lead again.
And despite Ghana's best efforts, they were able to hold on for the last few minutes (about four minutes of regulation, and five of stoppage), securing the vital three points.
We'll certainly take it, but by no means did the US deserve that win; they were badly outplayed for most of the game, and got very lucky.
Hopefully they can play a better game, and match the result, in the next game, against Portugal. And hopefully Germany can also pound Ghana. Those would be enough to guarantee the US passage through. We'll see, though; that's a big if and a small one.
The US had a pretty goal in the opening minute, which had Klinsmann extremely excited. Dempsey got the ball in the box on a good feed, made a nice touch to set up his shot, and put it into the far side clinically.
And the Americans continued to at least look decent for a while (though under pressure) for another twenty minutes or so, until Jozy Altidore pulled up from making a run, grabbing his hamstring. There was no contact, so it was probably a straight pull, but he had to leave immediately, and likely won't be back for the tournament.
And the play of the US basically went to pot after that. What followed was an hour-long siege where Howard needed to make a number of good saves and defensive plays, grabbing the ball off the ground. Unsurprisingly, that strategy eventually failed, with Ayew finding the net (I think off a set piece, but I actually can't remember now).
That didn't really stop the siege, but the US did manage to get the ball down the field and win a corner, several minutes later. And fortune smiled on the US there, as Brooks was not well-covered, and cleanly headed it down and away (from the corner). That found the net, giving the US the lead again.
And despite Ghana's best efforts, they were able to hold on for the last few minutes (about four minutes of regulation, and five of stoppage), securing the vital three points.
We'll certainly take it, but by no means did the US deserve that win; they were badly outplayed for most of the game, and got very lucky.
Hopefully they can play a better game, and match the result, in the next game, against Portugal. And hopefully Germany can also pound Ghana. Those would be enough to guarantee the US passage through. We'll see, though; that's a big if and a small one.
20140221
Consistent edge
I don't have terribly much to say about either of the games, but I did see both US/Canada hockey games, both ending in such terrible disappointment.
I thought the women outplayed Canada for almost the entirety of their game, but did fall apart a bit at the very end. One thing I found interesting was that they made a lot of use of cycling the puck for generating offense, unlike the men. It also felt like, because the speed is a bit slower than the men, that a power play is a bigger advantage for the women.
The men, I thought, gave a good account of themselves as well. Canada definitely was the better team there, although it certainly didn't seem hopeless for the Americans to win.
Quite disappointing finishes for both; now we'll have to see if the men can defeat Finland for bronze. And I am looking forward to the Canada/Sweden game, although I think it'll mostly come down to Lundqvist and Price. Hank is better, but he's facing the better offense as well.
I thought the women outplayed Canada for almost the entirety of their game, but did fall apart a bit at the very end. One thing I found interesting was that they made a lot of use of cycling the puck for generating offense, unlike the men. It also felt like, because the speed is a bit slower than the men, that a power play is a bigger advantage for the women.
The men, I thought, gave a good account of themselves as well. Canada definitely was the better team there, although it certainly didn't seem hopeless for the Americans to win.
Quite disappointing finishes for both; now we'll have to see if the men can defeat Finland for bronze. And I am looking forward to the Canada/Sweden game, although I think it'll mostly come down to Lundqvist and Price. Hank is better, but he's facing the better offense as well.
20140215
Oshie vs Kovy & Datsyuk
Watched today's USA vs Russia preliminary game from the Olympics this morning. I found my feelings a lot more mixed than I expected. I love OV, of course, and Datsyuk is pretty amazing (even if he does have the affrontery to play for Detroit), but the US is definitely my country.
My daughter surprised me by insisting that I wear my OV jersey while watching, which amused me.
I actually missed the first period, watching the Switzerland-Russia women's game then, but did finally find the men's game. It was already tied at one when I turned it on, and stayed close throughout. I thought that Russia got the benefit of a few questionable calls, although they didn't really take advantage of them. It's probably some bias from getting used to what the Caps do, but it seemed like they could have made some better decisions on handedness there.
The US did take advantage of one power play they got, with Pavelski scoring on a wicked pass cross-ice from Kane (the play looked much like a Caps power play, actually, with Pavelski in OV's position when he scored). But Datsyuk matched Pavelski's goal to tie it up again.
Then, several minutes later, Datsyuk's line appeared to score again, probably on a deflection that just barely got under the crossbar. It looked like they were reviewing it to see if it was hit above the crossbar (both attempts to deflect it were trying to push it downwards). After a couple replays, it was apparent that both players attempting the deflection missed, and that the puck was still rising as it went into the net, so it seemed sure to be a goal.
But then the review said "no goal", and I later heard that it was because the net was dislodged before the puck went in. I don't know, but it seemed an odd call. I wasn't complaining, though, as it left the game tied.
And that's the way regulation ended, too, going into 4-on-4 with the huge ice. Unbelievable how much room there was out there (I'll come back to this), but nobody managed to put it into the net, despite some really good chances.
So into a shootout it went, without me really knowing the shootout rules they were using. It turns out that three initial players needed to be selected, and choosing who shoots first is done similarly to the NHL. In that first round, Oshie started out by scoring, while the first two Russians were stopped. But the last two Americans were also stopped, leaving it on Kovalchuk's stick to finish. And he delivered, beating Quick on a cheeky chip shot into the corner, sending it to extra rounds.
Like the NHL, whoever led at the end of any round after that would win. Unlike the NHL, they could re-use shooters, which I did not like at all. It ended up going five more rounds, with Oshie getting all the American shots, and Kovalchuk and Datsyuk sharing duties on the Russian side. Frankly, I hated reusing the same shooters, plus I was disappointed that OV and Semin never got a chance. There were several scores in there, but in the fifth additional round, Oshie finished it after Kovy was stoned.
It was good to see the US win, and better to have had it be a close game.
What I found really interesting, though, was the effect of the big ice. Part of it, I suppose, was the quality of the players on each side, but it seemed easier to break out and easier to carry into the zone (I'm saying this based on several games; men's and women's). But it seems easier to keep play to the outside, and harder to get good chances. Part of it is that, with more boards, cycling doesn't work as well. And part of it is that the defense finds it much harder to pressure all the way out. There seem to be a lot fewer chances, overall, despite all the talent on display.
It's certainly interesting to watch; I'm looking forward to other games. And one of these days, I'll get used to Oshie wearing 74 while Carlson wears 4.
U-S-A! U-S-A!
My daughter surprised me by insisting that I wear my OV jersey while watching, which amused me.
I actually missed the first period, watching the Switzerland-Russia women's game then, but did finally find the men's game. It was already tied at one when I turned it on, and stayed close throughout. I thought that Russia got the benefit of a few questionable calls, although they didn't really take advantage of them. It's probably some bias from getting used to what the Caps do, but it seemed like they could have made some better decisions on handedness there.
The US did take advantage of one power play they got, with Pavelski scoring on a wicked pass cross-ice from Kane (the play looked much like a Caps power play, actually, with Pavelski in OV's position when he scored). But Datsyuk matched Pavelski's goal to tie it up again.
Then, several minutes later, Datsyuk's line appeared to score again, probably on a deflection that just barely got under the crossbar. It looked like they were reviewing it to see if it was hit above the crossbar (both attempts to deflect it were trying to push it downwards). After a couple replays, it was apparent that both players attempting the deflection missed, and that the puck was still rising as it went into the net, so it seemed sure to be a goal.
But then the review said "no goal", and I later heard that it was because the net was dislodged before the puck went in. I don't know, but it seemed an odd call. I wasn't complaining, though, as it left the game tied.
And that's the way regulation ended, too, going into 4-on-4 with the huge ice. Unbelievable how much room there was out there (I'll come back to this), but nobody managed to put it into the net, despite some really good chances.
So into a shootout it went, without me really knowing the shootout rules they were using. It turns out that three initial players needed to be selected, and choosing who shoots first is done similarly to the NHL. In that first round, Oshie started out by scoring, while the first two Russians were stopped. But the last two Americans were also stopped, leaving it on Kovalchuk's stick to finish. And he delivered, beating Quick on a cheeky chip shot into the corner, sending it to extra rounds.
Like the NHL, whoever led at the end of any round after that would win. Unlike the NHL, they could re-use shooters, which I did not like at all. It ended up going five more rounds, with Oshie getting all the American shots, and Kovalchuk and Datsyuk sharing duties on the Russian side. Frankly, I hated reusing the same shooters, plus I was disappointed that OV and Semin never got a chance. There were several scores in there, but in the fifth additional round, Oshie finished it after Kovy was stoned.
It was good to see the US win, and better to have had it be a close game.
What I found really interesting, though, was the effect of the big ice. Part of it, I suppose, was the quality of the players on each side, but it seemed easier to break out and easier to carry into the zone (I'm saying this based on several games; men's and women's). But it seems easier to keep play to the outside, and harder to get good chances. Part of it is that, with more boards, cycling doesn't work as well. And part of it is that the defense finds it much harder to pressure all the way out. There seem to be a lot fewer chances, overall, despite all the talent on display.
It's certainly interesting to watch; I'm looking forward to other games. And one of these days, I'll get used to Oshie wearing 74 while Carlson wears 4.
U-S-A! U-S-A!
20110718
Ousted on PKs
A disappointing end to the Women's World Cup for the US. I wasn't able to see the game, and it seems to have been quite a game. But the result didn't go the US' way, even though it sounds like they dominated play. Certainly, both of their goals were pretty, and one of Japan's was almost an own-goal (giving the ball away five yards from the goal is just never a good plan).
But the result is what it is. I only saw the replay on three of the US' penalty kicks, but even without seeing the fourth, I've got to say that that's the weakest performance I've ever seen out of that team in penalty kicks. Not that I'm trying to insult their play, or anything, I'm just really surprised.
In any event, though, congratulations to Japan on a stellar tournament, and showing very impressive resolve and determination. They could have folded many times, but they kept coming back, and refusing to be kept down. They were certainly worthy victors, and I hope nothing I wrote above is taken as denigrating of them.
The game as a whole was quite a finish to the tournament, and I hope that it goes a way towards generating interest for the women's game.
But the result is what it is. I only saw the replay on three of the US' penalty kicks, but even without seeing the fourth, I've got to say that that's the weakest performance I've ever seen out of that team in penalty kicks. Not that I'm trying to insult their play, or anything, I'm just really surprised.
In any event, though, congratulations to Japan on a stellar tournament, and showing very impressive resolve and determination. They could have folded many times, but they kept coming back, and refusing to be kept down. They were certainly worthy victors, and I hope nothing I wrote above is taken as denigrating of them.
The game as a whole was quite a finish to the tournament, and I hope that it goes a way towards generating interest for the women's game.
20110710
In the Nick of Time...
I have to thank the newspaper this morning. I hadn't watched a minute of the Women's World Cup since the opening day, and didn't realize the US/Brazil game was going to be today. But I saw it while eating breakfast, and that was enough to put me in front of the TV about fifteen minutes before coverage started.
When I got to it, Sports Center was on, and going on and on about the 1999 Cup-winning game for the US. It seemed a bit overblown to be going on and on about that one before a quarterfinal game; I hadn't realized it was exactly twelve years after that game.
But this game definitely matched that one in drama and fortitude; really, exceeded it in every way except that it was only a quarterfinal game, not a Final.
It started out great for the US; they took the opening and worked it around the field, not allowing Brazil a touch until the 74th second. And that touch went into the Brazilian goal. Oy.
From there, the US played great defense, and were tactically very sound. Their execution on offense was not so great, though, with a lot of unforced turnovers. Mostly, they were outplayed by Brazil, but not by a huge amount.
Things really seemed to go south around the 65th minute. Marta got her feet on the ball in the box, and did a little chip over two defenders. Buehler, the defender who tracked the ball, ran to it, and was called for a foul in preventing the shot (by maintiaining her positioning). It was, at best, a very iffy call. No matter what happened, it was putting the US in a horrible position, thanks to the red card that went with that foul. My wife, who had walked into the house as this was unfolding, was very upset at my yell when Solo stopped the penalty kick. I was unapologetic, and livid when the (web designer?!?) referee called for a re-kick, throwing in a yellow card on Solo. She seemed to be saying that Solo had come off the line early, but the replay showed that she never left the line at all. <
Given a second chance, Cristiana (I think) put it into the back of the net. It was, quite possibly, the worst officiating sequence I had ever seen.
But instead of being pushed back onto their heels, the US actually became more effective. I think the strategy didn't change, but they were able to put quite a few more passes together offensively. This led to them threatening a number of times, mostly on set pieces, but they weren't able to convert.
After twenty-five minutes or so, regulation play ended with no further scoring.
A few minutes into extra time, while I was helping my daughter go to the bathroom, Marta managed to put one into the net. Again, the officiating looked bad, because it appeared that the player who passed it to her (Erika?) was offsides. One had to wonder what was going on..
Play continued to go back and forth through the end of the first half of overtime. Five minutes into the second half, when the US threatened again, just after the ball got cleared, one of the Brazilian defenders (Erika) went down, and stayed down for several minutes (literally). They took her off on a stretcher, but how badly hurt was she (ignoring that there was nobody near her when she went down)? Well, they took her a quarter of the way around the field, then she jumped off the stretcher and ran to the bench (where she could be allowed back onto the field).
She was allowed back on almost immediately, though she received a yellow card for her troubles.
But the good thing about it from the US perspective was that there was three minutes of stoppage in a fifteen minute period. So play continued to see-saw back and forth, with Brazil trying to rag off time in the corners. But coming out of one of those possessions, Rampone got the ball and played it well up to Rampinoe (who had subbed in fairly late in regulation, and got a full game's worth of touches while she was on the pitch). She ran it up the sideline a bit, and then put a very long cross to the far post in the air. The goalie misplayed it by a couple of inches, and the ball found Wambach's head before it found the back of the net. My wife did not yell at me for my scream when that got home, mostly because she was yelling almost as loudly.
That was in the second minute of stoppage time, and man, did that bring on some excitement.
The rest of the game (all minute or so of it) was almost anticlimactic. Brazil did manage to threaten, but the whistle was blown after the ball went out past the touch line off a US defender. I was amazed they didn't give Brazil the kick and a few seconds to try to finish it.
So that left things going into penalty kicks. Given that the US had been down a player for close to an hour of playing time, it was amazing that they were still standing. They had certainly been running much harder than the Luso's for all of that time.
In the penalty kicks, there was a bit of excitement when Boxx's opening salvo was blocked, but she was given a re-kick given that the goalie had come (far) off her line before the kick. No yellow card, though. But I think that threw off both goalies, as they weren't getting moving as quickly as usual.
But the rest of it was very businesslike, with the US burying all five chances, and Solo getting one block (on the third, I think) to send the US on to the semifinals.
In all, it was a magnificent performance by the US to overcome some truly wretched officiating (and some very good play by Brazil, to be fair). I think the US should have won 1-0 (which would have been the fifth consecutive time the US would have won that matchup by that score), but the officiating turned what would have been a very boring game into something to be remembered for a long time.
Strategically, the US had an excellent plan. They wanted to play it into the deep, flank spaces that Brazil's defensive alignment allows. They switched up positioning a little bit to have a bit more speed on defense (and that saved them several times). The defense was excellent, keeping multiple people on the ball until the end of the game (where, I think, they were just too tired to continue that).
But the midfield passing was not good. Part of that was too much playing of long-balls. Too many of those passes went into the middle instead of to the flank, and those were eaten up.
But just as an outright gut-check, it was an amazing performance. Really, I was about ready to write them off (and turn the game off) several times. I am amazed they managed to get the equalizer while down a player.
Of course, all that drama only got them into the semifinals. They still need to defeat France and the winner of the Sweden-Japan match to take home the Cup. But nobody can question their determination and heart; not after that game.
I just hope they don't show any complacency. As long as they don't, they should be fine, even missing Wambach (IIRC, she's going to miss the semifinal for accumulated red cards) and, I assume, Buehler (I assume her red card will cause a similar effect for her).
When I got to it, Sports Center was on, and going on and on about the 1999 Cup-winning game for the US. It seemed a bit overblown to be going on and on about that one before a quarterfinal game; I hadn't realized it was exactly twelve years after that game.
But this game definitely matched that one in drama and fortitude; really, exceeded it in every way except that it was only a quarterfinal game, not a Final.
It started out great for the US; they took the opening and worked it around the field, not allowing Brazil a touch until the 74th second. And that touch went into the Brazilian goal. Oy.
From there, the US played great defense, and were tactically very sound. Their execution on offense was not so great, though, with a lot of unforced turnovers. Mostly, they were outplayed by Brazil, but not by a huge amount.
Things really seemed to go south around the 65th minute. Marta got her feet on the ball in the box, and did a little chip over two defenders. Buehler, the defender who tracked the ball, ran to it, and was called for a foul in preventing the shot (by maintiaining her positioning). It was, at best, a very iffy call. No matter what happened, it was putting the US in a horrible position, thanks to the red card that went with that foul. My wife, who had walked into the house as this was unfolding, was very upset at my yell when Solo stopped the penalty kick. I was unapologetic, and livid when the (web designer?!?) referee called for a re-kick, throwing in a yellow card on Solo. She seemed to be saying that Solo had come off the line early, but the replay showed that she never left the line at all. <
Given a second chance, Cristiana (I think) put it into the back of the net. It was, quite possibly, the worst officiating sequence I had ever seen.
But instead of being pushed back onto their heels, the US actually became more effective. I think the strategy didn't change, but they were able to put quite a few more passes together offensively. This led to them threatening a number of times, mostly on set pieces, but they weren't able to convert.
After twenty-five minutes or so, regulation play ended with no further scoring.
A few minutes into extra time, while I was helping my daughter go to the bathroom, Marta managed to put one into the net. Again, the officiating looked bad, because it appeared that the player who passed it to her (Erika?) was offsides. One had to wonder what was going on..
Play continued to go back and forth through the end of the first half of overtime. Five minutes into the second half, when the US threatened again, just after the ball got cleared, one of the Brazilian defenders (Erika) went down, and stayed down for several minutes (literally). They took her off on a stretcher, but how badly hurt was she (ignoring that there was nobody near her when she went down)? Well, they took her a quarter of the way around the field, then she jumped off the stretcher and ran to the bench (where she could be allowed back onto the field).
She was allowed back on almost immediately, though she received a yellow card for her troubles.
But the good thing about it from the US perspective was that there was three minutes of stoppage in a fifteen minute period. So play continued to see-saw back and forth, with Brazil trying to rag off time in the corners. But coming out of one of those possessions, Rampone got the ball and played it well up to Rampinoe (who had subbed in fairly late in regulation, and got a full game's worth of touches while she was on the pitch). She ran it up the sideline a bit, and then put a very long cross to the far post in the air. The goalie misplayed it by a couple of inches, and the ball found Wambach's head before it found the back of the net. My wife did not yell at me for my scream when that got home, mostly because she was yelling almost as loudly.
That was in the second minute of stoppage time, and man, did that bring on some excitement.
The rest of the game (all minute or so of it) was almost anticlimactic. Brazil did manage to threaten, but the whistle was blown after the ball went out past the touch line off a US defender. I was amazed they didn't give Brazil the kick and a few seconds to try to finish it.
So that left things going into penalty kicks. Given that the US had been down a player for close to an hour of playing time, it was amazing that they were still standing. They had certainly been running much harder than the Luso's for all of that time.
In the penalty kicks, there was a bit of excitement when Boxx's opening salvo was blocked, but she was given a re-kick given that the goalie had come (far) off her line before the kick. No yellow card, though. But I think that threw off both goalies, as they weren't getting moving as quickly as usual.
But the rest of it was very businesslike, with the US burying all five chances, and Solo getting one block (on the third, I think) to send the US on to the semifinals.
In all, it was a magnificent performance by the US to overcome some truly wretched officiating (and some very good play by Brazil, to be fair). I think the US should have won 1-0 (which would have been the fifth consecutive time the US would have won that matchup by that score), but the officiating turned what would have been a very boring game into something to be remembered for a long time.
Strategically, the US had an excellent plan. They wanted to play it into the deep, flank spaces that Brazil's defensive alignment allows. They switched up positioning a little bit to have a bit more speed on defense (and that saved them several times). The defense was excellent, keeping multiple people on the ball until the end of the game (where, I think, they were just too tired to continue that).
But the midfield passing was not good. Part of that was too much playing of long-balls. Too many of those passes went into the middle instead of to the flank, and those were eaten up.
But just as an outright gut-check, it was an amazing performance. Really, I was about ready to write them off (and turn the game off) several times. I am amazed they managed to get the equalizer while down a player.
Of course, all that drama only got them into the semifinals. They still need to defeat France and the winner of the Sweden-Japan match to take home the Cup. But nobody can question their determination and heart; not after that game.
I just hope they don't show any complacency. As long as they don't, they should be fine, even missing Wambach (IIRC, she's going to miss the semifinal for accumulated red cards) and, I assume, Buehler (I assume her red card will cause a similar effect for her).
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