Tag: Women's World Cup

Photo Courtesy of Noah Salzman

Today’s WWC Games Produced Drama and Question Marks

Today proved to be a low scoring day with just four goals and only eight shots on goal between both of the matchups. But the limited goals also meant two tight games and intense moments up until the final play.

It opened up with a game between the United States and Spain. Many people believed Spain would be outmatched and outplayed by the number one team in the world. But Spain kept up with the United States and even exploited some of the holes in the United States’ defense.

There was no surprise however, in the US scoring in the first 15 minutes which they have done in all four of their World Cup games so far. In the 8th minute of play Tobin Heath was weaving with the ball in the box when she was fouled by Mapi León of Spain. The foul was harsh enough to warrant a penalty and Megan Rapinoe stepped up to take it. The Spanish goalkeeper dove to her left but Rapinoe went to the other side for the easy goal.

Spain would not hang their heads and instead capitalized on a United States miscue just two minutes after the US scored. Alyssa Naeher, the US goalkeeper, played a ball from a free kick to Becky Sauerbrunn. The ball was deep in the United States defensive half when Sauerbrunn received it and she immediately felt pressure from Spain. The pressure proved to be too much for the veteran defender and she turned the ball over to Lucía García. With Naeher well off her line García played the ball to Jenni Hermoso who hooked the ball into the top right corner of the net. Only 10 minutes into the game and it was already 1-1.

Fans were stunned with what had transpired and figured they were in for a high scoring game. However they would have to wait until the 75th minute to see another goal. Rose Lavelle for the United States was dribbling in Spain’s defensive box. Virginia Torrecilla briefly tapped Lavelle’s leg and she fell to the ground. The referee awarded a penalty, but may felt it was the wrong call and a pretty weak penalty. Some people couldn’t even tell if Torrecilla touched Lavelle before she fell. Regardless of what fans thought the United States were given the penalty and once again Rapinoe went up to take it. She shot the ball to the same exact side and got the same exact result as the first penalty giving the US a 2-1 lead.

The result would stand and the US are through to the quarterfinals. The game was not the United States best game, but the result is all that matters even if the defense looked shaky at times and the fact they had no goals at the run of play is concerning. If they are to get to the semifinals they will have to defeat a very impressive French team. France did beat the US back in January 3-1 and the loss created plenty of speculation about the quality of the US defense. Today’s game against Spain further reiterated these concerns and produces question marks about whether the United States can go far in the World Cup. The US will face off against France on Friday at 3 pm ET on FOX.

The USA France matchup has been the talk of the tournament ever since the groups were selected back in December. When Rapinoe was asked about the upcoming game she seems to be just as excited as the fans and expects the game of the tournament to take place.

The second game of the day between Sweden and Canada saw just one goal in the 55th minute. A great ball from Kosovare Asllani was played just inside the 18-yeard box to Stina Blackstenius who made a sliding kick that knocked the ball into the goal.

The game itself did not create too many chances for either team and defense was the word of the game. The lone goal from Sweden did give Canada a sense of urgency to score. Their best opportunity came in the form of a penalty kick in the 69th minute. Christine Sinclair who has the second most goals all time in international competition would have been assumed as the player to take the penalty for Canada. But Janine Beckie stepped to the spot and sent a well hit ball into the lower left corner. It seemed like it had enough pace to earn a goal, but Sweden’s goalkeeper, Hedvig Lindahl made the diving save.

1-0 would stand as the final score sending Sweden into the quarterfinals and Canada with another underwhelming World Cup showing. Despite being one of the top ranked teams Canada has never made it past the quarterfinals.

Five out of the six teams to make it to the quarterfinals are from Europe meaning at least one all Europe game will take place. With Sweden advancing that all European game was set. Sweden will continue their World Cup journey when they face Germany on Saturday at 12:30 pm ET on FS1.

Photo Courtesy of Agência Brasil Fotografias

Day Two of the Knockout Round Proves to be More Exciting Than the First

Can there be a game recap without the mention of VAR? It seems unlikely in this year’s Women’s World Cup. The first day of the knockout round proved to be exciting, but day two may have outmatched it.

The first game of the day had England going against Cameroon, many people believed Cameroon did not stand much of a chance since England is a favorite to make the semifinals. The game got chippy early when Yvonne Leuko of Cameroon was given a yellow card in just the 4th minute of play due to a harsh foul. Scoring also started early for England. They were able to capitalize on a Cameroon miscue that had a defender tap the ball back to the goalkeeper inside the box. All the goalkeeper had to was clear the ball out with her foot, but instead she picked the ball up forcing the referee to award France an indirect free kick just outside the 6-yard box. England easily converted with Stephanie Houghton burying the ball into the far right side of the goal.

England was able to get their second goal of the game right before half time. Originally it was ruled offside, but thanks to VAR the call was overturned and England went up 2-0. The decision did not go over well with the Cameroon side who felt the goal was unjust. They began arguing with the referee and eventually had a team huddle mid-match, a very unusual sight for a soccer game. Cameroon eventually went back to playing the game and went into halftime down 2-0.

Cameroon, looking to start the second half on a better foot seemed to get a goal in the 48th minute. However, the goal was disallowed after, you guessed it, VAR ruled Cameroon was offside. The call was too much for Cameroon who were irate and felt cheated by the call. It seemed like nothing was going Cameroon’s way.

Cameroon would end the game without a goal and England would add another goal to win 3-0. The scoreline ended up not being the biggest story from the game rather it was how Cameroon handled themselves throughout the match. There were mixed opinions on whether Cameroon crossed the line with their arguing and even arrant fouls during the match. Others felt their reactions were warranted and unfair opinions were given to Cameroon.

No one was more vocal against Cameroon than England’s head coach, Phil Neville. He could not believe what he had watched and thought the game was a disgrace to women’s soccer.

On the other side there was the Cameroon coach, Alain Djeumfa, who claimed there were injustices in the game. He thought the referee got calls wrong saying, “There was a miscarriage of justice… the referee makes mistakes and ultimately the referee made a lot of mistakes tonight.”

Despite all of the controversy in the game England was able to come out victorious and will face Norway in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 3 pm ET on FOX.

As fans tried to collect themselves after the first game France and Brazil created their own drama for the second game of the day. And within the first 25 minutes of the game VAR played a large role in a controversial goal opportunity.

In the 23rd minute of play France was on the attack and sent a dangerous ball into the box. There was a handful of players going up for the ball including Brazilian goalkeeper, Bárbara, who collided with Valérie Gauvin of France. Despite the collision Gauvin got a piece of the ball and was able to score for France. As the two players received treatment for possible injuries the referee went to VAR to see if the goal would stand. After looking at the play the referee deemed Bárbara had possession of the ball until Gauvin knocked it loose meaning the goal was null and void. The call was very hard to accept and seemed like France had been given the wrong call.

Luckily for France, they were able to get the go ahead goal and this time without any VAR needed. They would have to wait until the 52nd minute, but in true just fashion Gauvin was able to right the wrong and score the goal off a sliding shot in the box.

Brazil would earn a goal of their own that at first had been signaled no good due to offside. This time VAR seemed to get the call right since the player in question was not a part of the play and in soccer offside can only be called if the player is directly involved.

The 1-1 tie would carry over from the regulation 90 minutes and give the knockout round it’s second game of extra time. The momentum from Brazil’s goal seemed to carry over and almost give Brazil the go ahead goal in the 104th minute. But France could breathe a sigh of relief after Mbock Bathy made a sliding kick to keep the ball out of the net.

That was Brazil’s only real chance at a goal in extra time. The home crowd for France seemed to propel the team and give them that extra edge over their opponent. Brazil could feel France was taking over the game so they tried to break up the flow of the play with fouls all throughout extra time. Most of the fouls were in neutral areas but one proved to be costly.

France was awarded a free kick on the right side just outside their offensive box. Amel Majri crossed the ball from the free kick position right to Amandine Henry who one touched the ball into the goal as she fell to the ground. The goal would stand and so would the 2-1 score giving France the victory.

The exit for Brazil could mean the last time Brazilian players Formiga, Cristiane and most notably Marta, the six-time FIFA World Player of the Year, could play at a World Cup. The trio has never won a major tournament. An emotional post match Marta pleaded with young Brazilian females to work hard so they can “Cry in the beginning so you can smile in the end.” A nod to the discrimination that females in Brazil still face when playing soccer.

The host nation, France, moves on and joins the likes of Norway, Germany and England in the quarterfinals. Half of the field is set for the final eight and all of them are European showing the dominance of soccer in the continent.

The remaining spots could go to all European countries but the United States and Canada will hope to advance after their games tomorrow facing Spain and Sweden respectively. The United States and Spain will play at 12:00 pm ET followed by Canada vs Sweden at 3:00 pm ET both on FS1.

Photo Courtesy of Sven Mandel

First Day of the Knockout Round Does Not Disappoint

The group games proved to be exciting and create some surprise endings. But narrowing the field of teams down to 16 has only increased the level of competition.

Germany and Nigeria were the first to play in the Knockout Round this year. Nigeria was the last team to move on and they were given the task of trying to beat the 2nd ranked team in the world. Both teams looked dangerous early with chances on goal. But it was Germany’s pressure that had them take the lead. Germany was awarded a corner, their 5th corner at that time in the match. They had been doing short corners, but this time they decided to utilize Alexandra Popp’s height. They crossed the ball right to her head and she knocked it in giving Germany the 1-0 lead in the 20th minute.

Germany would double their lead just seven minutes later after they were awarded a penalty kick following a VAR review. Sara Daebritz shot the ball into the lower right corner just out of reach of the Nigerian goalkeeper. The game would settle down and Nigeria would get a few chances of their own, but nothing solidified for them. Germany looked like the superior side most of the game. They added an insurance goal to their lead in 82nd minute. Some poor passing by the Nigerian defenders caused a turnover just outside their 18-yard box. Lea Schüller collected the ball and sent a one time shot into the back of the net.

The 3-0 scoreline would be the final. Despite losing this game the head coach for Nigeria, Thomas Dennerby, described their play at the World as, “Showed that Nigeria as a team has improved a lot. We are of course not satisfied with going out… We still improved the team and to play games like this is extremely important for the future.” He kept emphasizing the need for them to keep playing games in the FIFA window and push for them to improve outside the World Cup. Hopefully Nigeria’s federation can see the same need as the coach and push to have funding and support.

Germany will play the winner of Sweden vs Canada which takes place on Monday at 3 pm ET.

The second game of the day had a much closer scoreline and drama throughout. Australia nearly scored in the first 30 seconds of the game, but Sam Kerr shot the ball just wide of the net. There were various chances for both teams, but Norway finally got the first goal of the game in the 31st minute. A through ball just out of reach of the Australian defender fell perfectly to Isabell Herlovsen who shot the ball after one touch into the right side of the goal.

Australia felt like they were going to get their equalizer either from the run of play or a penalty kick. Initially the referee awarded a penalty late in the first half but the referee overturned it. There were Australian players on the ground multiple times inside their offensive box where they felt a penalty should be awarded, but the referee did not issue one.

The Matildas would find their goal in the 83rd minute from Elie Kellond-Knight. She took a corner kick right into goal with a nice curving ball.

The evenly matched game rightfully went into extra time where the drama and suspense would continue. In the 104th minute of play Lisa-Marie Utland of Norway was heading to goal with just Alanna Kennedy of Australia to beat. Kennedy bodied Utland and took her down. The referee saw the foul as a goal stopping foul and gave Kennedy a red card. Kennedy pleaded her case, but after VAR reviewed the play, it was confirmed she had to be sent off. With the entire second half of extra time to still be played Australia knew getting to a penalty shootout down a player was going to be a challenge.

Australia held their own, anchored by their goalkeeper, Lydia Williams, who made save after save to keep her team alive. They held on just long enough to get the game to a penalty shootout. Norway elected to go first and Caroline Graham Hansen easily scored her penalty. Kerr came up to take the first one for Australia, their captain and best offensive player. She soared the ball over the goal. Momentum immediately swung towards Norway who would not miss a single penalty meanwhile Australia only converted one of their three. Norway would win 1-1 with a 4-1 penalty advantage.

The ending felt similar to the 2016 Rio Olympics when Australia lost to Brazil in the quarter finals in a penalty kick shootout. Kennedy who was sent off with a red in today’s game was the player who missed the final penalty in 2016.

The heartbreak of Australia was met with jubilation from Norway.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

After the game Kerr expressed her frustrations describing the game as “Obviously disappointing we’re out. We’d hoped to come much further, but we’ll learn from it and we’ll come back.” The early exit topped off a surprising second place finish in their group. The Matildas will look to regroup and focus on qualifying for the 2020 Olympics.

Norway advances and will play the winner of England vs Cameroon that is played tomorrow at 11:30 am ET. Norway may face another game that ends in penalties and they will look to their composure and confidence they had in this game should the time come again.