Hey,

I'm keeping track of all of the best places to follow the Women's World Cup. I also have a brief interview with Abby Wambach. I'm sure one of the AfterEllen bloggers will say something next week about it, and post info as well.

 Here is a link to some WWC info, including the announcement of a new women's professional soccer league!! Wahoo!!!

 www.kakisports.blogspot.com

The US Women's soccer team plays North Korea in their opening match of the Women's World Cup from China. The game will be televised on ESPN2 at 5 am Eastern Time. For more information about the US team, including great videos and player profiles, visit http://www.ussoccer.com/teams/womens/index.jsp.html

Also, be sure to check out Studio 90.

Go USA! You have never seen so many amazing athletes in one place!

Germany slammed Argentina 11-0. It wasn't an exciting match. Argentina didn't really do anything to stop the Germans. For me, as a German, it was fun to watch the goals. Especially after the Argentinians asked to be taken seriously and wanting to step up to the plate (uh, wrong metaphor). Nevertheless, I think, this wasn't really a challenge. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's matches. USA vs. North Korea should be very interesting. I'm interested to see what shape the American team is in. And honestly, I hope our team won't meet the USA in the quarter final. But then, Sweden would be a tough opponent, too. Either way, I'm excited that the World Cup is finally under way. (For anyone who cares, the next German match is Friday against England.)

What did everybody else think of the match today?

Uh oh. It looks like the U.S. is in the Group of Death. It's hard to tell which teams are going to get to the quarter finals out of this lot. I just wish that I could see some of the games live instead of relying on highlights from fifa.com.

Go Canada Go!

 i am excited , im more interested in the 'spot the team-mates who are shagging' game i wanna play???

come on england!!! wooohooo

The US vs N. Korea game was really good.  I haven't watched any matches in years, but I happened upon the re-airing of this game today while home sick.  That new goalkeeper, Hope Solo I think her name is, is quite attractive.  I was quite surprised to see she was the starting goalkeeper.

Oh, and during the match it was mentioned that the North Korean starting goalkeeper was suspended due to attacking the referee during the Asian Cup.  WTF!  So, I had to look it up and found a clip on YouTube.  The "attack" wasn't anything more than a shove, but still uncalled for.  What really got me, though, was the entire North Korean team's (and fans) bad sportsmanship towards the officials.  They had to be escorted off the field.  I thought this stuff only happened with European men's leagues (I saw 'Green Street Hooligans' and all...) 

Bad call or not, that's horrible sportsmanship.

Here's the link to the clip if anyone is interested.  Any chance anyone translate some of it, perhaps?

Also, what's with the haircuts on the N. Korean team?  Do they all have to have their hair cut like that or something?  They're like the Borg or something...

_________

"If you go flying back through time, and you see somebody else flying forward into the future, it's probably best to avoid eye contact." - Jack Handey

Ah...the USA women and North Korea...Damn, I was hoping USA would pull through, but the North Koreans have trained very hard military-style for quite a while, so their skills and strength is somewhat unsurprising.

I have to agree with you about Hope. She has a very cute smile. But what's so surprising about her starting in goal? She has been starting goalie for a while.

The haircuts are easily explainable (at least to me). If I look at a group of Korean friends, they seem to have similar haircuts or clothing styles. Maybe it's a Korean thing? Or it could be simply explained by function - it's easier to deal with when playing football.

Anyway, I would gladly translate, if I knew which part in particular you wished to understand. The whole thing, perhaps? Let me know, and I'll get on it.

I totally agree with the opinion that the group B opener USA vs. North Korea was an exciting match. I was rooting for the US women, partly because I want them to win their group so our team (Germany) won't have to face them in the quarterfinals. (Then again Sweden wouldn't be an easy team to beat either. Or North Korea.) And also, it's true that the US Americans absolutely got the hardest group. It'll be interesting to watch the game against Sweden on Friday. I'll be watching. Of course, with the time difference of only 6 hours it's easier to watch over lunch time and in the afternoon than the wee hours of the morning. (I'm a freelancer working from home, so I got it good in this respect.)

I'm still not sure what the German win in the opener against Argentina signifies. I can't believe the Argentinians are the South American champions. They won against Brazil who just beat New Zealand 5-0 this minute. I'm afraid that the high win (11-0) takes away from the respectability of the whole event. There are still many people who laugh at women's soccer and regard it as an inferior version of the men's game, always comparing it to men's soccer. In my eyes it's a different sport, with the same rules, sure, but the attraction is completely different - I'm sure some people here will agree on that.

Anyway, the fact that the teams in group B are mostly on the same level makes for a better show for viewers and for a more exciting event. Also, I think that all teams in that group really have to fight for the chance of getting to the quarterfinals and they'll steel themselves and build up their self-esteem in the process. If it's too easy to move on to the next round the play might suffer. I'm not saying that the Germans are taking this lightly, because they aren't. They are always focused and view things realistically. But still, they need a real opponent soon. Let's hope England can offer something in that respect on Friday.

In an hour, the hosts will show their form against Denmark. I'm hoping for a good match. And for a full stadium for once. So far, the enthusiasm has left a lot to desired. No comparison with FIFA World Cup 2003.

GO ENGLAND!!! The Germany match yesterday was awesome, and i say the 0-0 result was just what the doctor ordered, we never expect to win but certain German players should have kept quiet about how they thought England would fare against them, i think having the trash talk just made the England lasses try harder!!!

Yep, the match against England was very disappointing from a German point of view. I was torn between weeping and yawning. I hope, they'll recuperate from whatever they were ailing from and get back to their usual form. And congrats to the English team for finding a way to shake the Germans, even if it's a secret. Ha.

One thing I've observed. Whenever the Germans make an early goal they're confident and play well. But when the early goal won't come they get all insecure and let it get the better of them.

Also, one thing I really need to complain about for all teams playing at Shanghai Hongkou Football Stadium: The pitch is beneath everything a world cup player should be faced with. I mean it looks like a cow pasture with a lot of mole hills. It's a disgrace.

I'm trying to find out if any places in LA are showing the world cup live.

I'm going to be visiting from DC on the quarter finals, and would love to see the games in a restaurant/bar.

Thanks

It's been an exciting first week. First off, the US WNT beat Sweden! Wambach put on an amazing performance and tore up the field. I'm in absolute awe. Hope also played an amazing game. Those saves were spectacular. This puts them on par with North Korea again, who beat Nigeria (funnily enough, with the same number of goals). Nigeria and Sweden both need to get back by winning their next games, or else they most probably will not advance. Somehow, I think they're done for.

Germany was quite disappointed, I'm sure. But I'm glad, in a way, that England put them in that position. They have finally come together as a team and have managed to hold off the Germans, which makes group A much more exciting.

Ghana has had an unfortunate run, like the Argentinians. They were out of their element, but I must profess my happiness at Canada winning their first game. It would have been upsetting if they didn't go up to the quarterfinals. And it was nice to see Thorlakson play, because she's had a knee injury for a while now and has been missing out a lot on playing time.

The most recent game I watched, Brazil against China, left me disappointed. The two teams toughed it out until the last five minutes of the first half. True, it was a great goal by Marta, but I thought that China would come back with ferocity. Instead, they sat back and let Christiane and Marta take more shots on net. It's not like they didn't have chances. There were plenty of indirect/direct kicks that could have been good opportunities. I don't know, by the end of the game, I was left sorely disappointed. The play started getting a bit dirty, as well. Daniela (I think) was knocked down and rolled three times down the pitch.

Now I'm just waiting to see who will progress into the next round. I predict it will be between England, Germany, North Korea, USA, Canada, Norway, and Brazil. I don't think the other teams will really get their act together in order to make it. What are everyone else's thoughts?

Wow. That really sucks about Sweden. To technically win a game and a critical one at that, but still get knocked out of the tournament in the pre-quaterfinal stage, because of a goal differential. They were in the frickin' final last go around. I do understand that they're not the same team as they were back in '03 - some key veterans have retired and key players playing injured or just barely recovered from some serious injuries.

Schelin rocks. You go, girl.

BTW, I've uploaded all of the games I've recorded into a certain video sharing community site (i.e., YouTube). If anyone is interested in seeing them, send me a PM.

USA vs England on Saturday. I haven't felt this emotionally torn over sports in a long time. Who the heck am I supposed to cheer for?

*Whispers* I am leaning towards England.

True happiness, we are told, consists in getting out of one's self, but the point is not only to get out, you must stay out; and to stay out you must have some absorbing errand. -Henry James

Germany is the first semifinalist. I'm happy about that. Personally, I think that if you can beat N. Korea 3-0 you'll be able to win against China or Norway. But then, you never know.

I'm looking forward to the next match this afternoon. USA-England. I'm hoping for an exciting game. I can't say who I want to win. But I think that despite their draw against Germany, England are still the underdogs in this pairing. Maybe they'll surprise everyone.

YES! US won, 3-0 vs.England. and on they go... vs. the winner of Brazil vs. Austria. I'm with Brazil in this pairing. I want a US vs. Germany final, because that is bound to be a really awesome game.

I don't have cable, so I had to drag my ass out of bed at 7am to catch it at a relatives house at 7:55am. The first half was sort of tiring to watch. But they (the US) picked up the pace, as the should have, and came back. England had a decent first half.

I can't wait.

What a disappointing week. Canada went down after a tie with Australia (who knew they were so good?). I think Even Pellerud must be regretting the suspension of Charmaine Hooper, because he certainly could have used her. There was too much pressure on Sinclair the entire Cup. What happened to football being a team sport? I do realise that there are always the top-scoring players in a team that put the team on the map, like Sinclair and Wambach and Marta. However, too much dependence on one person makes the team lopsided and in the end, gives the opponent the advantage. Look at what happened with USA vs. North Korea - Wambach went out for ten minutes, and the US couldn't compensate for the loss of one player. It's not as if there's a shortage of good players on the Canadian side (hello, Wilkinson and Lang, anybody?). So why did they sit back and relax after getting in their goals? Maybe in the '11 WWC, we'll see a more put-together Canadian side.

On a more positive note, USA vs England ended in a 3-0 win, as Cailleach has written above me. I'm glad they didn't let their lacklustre performance against Nigeria affect their game against England. What a great game, ending with goals by Wambach, Boxxy, and Lilly. Especially for Lily, as she's made assists but no goals until now.

Germany beating North Korea 3-0 as well may indicate a stronger German than US side. Or perhaps it was just the North Koreans letting their loss to Sweden get to them. Whatever it is, Germany is a team to watch out for. Whether it be Norway or China that ends up in one of the semifinal slots, I feel that Germany will easily defeat them.

And on to the "Matildas". Seriously, who knew? I guess they took their inspiration from their men's team and their surprising performance in the men's Cup. However, whatever has been pushing them through their group will not work against Brazil, in my opinion. I believe there has been a great load of luck and underestimation that resulted in Australia's high rank, but Brazil's pushy forwards will end up dominating and possessing the game.

So far, Argentina, Ghana, Nigeria, Japan, Sweden, Denmark, North Korea, England, New Zealand, and Canada have been sent home. I predict next will be Australia and China (who have also been a disappointment these last few games. They sat back and let Brazil score on them again and again. What was going on there?). Then, between the match-up of Germany and Norway, Germany seems to be the stronger team. Between the US and Brazil, I hope the US will pull through and make it to the finals. USA vs Germany would be an exciting final to watch.

Any thoughts?

I must admit i am surprised about our luck, but we have been underestimated for too long - dont know if id say they drew inspiration from the mens team wins, i reckon theyve finaly got their break after years of trying :)

The Brazil match will def be interesting tho - if they can score first or hold them off for the first half they may be in with a chance lol!

I'm rooting for them against Brazil tonight (less than four hours to go!). I know it's unlikely to happen, because, uhm, it's Brazil. However! It hasn't all been luck, Australia's run. If you looked at the stats after the match, not only did we have most of the possession (I know possession stats are slightly dodgy, but, you know, it looked like we had most of the possession too. Uhm. Kinda)  but we also had a lot more shots on goal. Also, we have Lisa De Vanna. And Salisbury and Barbieri and Garriock and McCallum. And De Vanna.

 McCallum's free kick against Canada was great, and De Vanna's footwork to set up the equaliser (also against Canada) was amazing, too. You can't say that Garriock's header against Ghana was all luck, either, that header was absolutely awesome. One of the best headers I can remember. We just need to work a little more on passing/keeping posession and finishing. Well. Quite a bit more on both. If we do that then we've got a decent chance against anyone! :P

 As for them taking inspiration from the men's team...nah, I just reckon that this year they've got a better team. The depth in the team is a hell of a lot better now than it was; they've got more than one really good player now, and they don't even have to pose naked in calanders for publicity anymore. They got in the newspapers just by playing soccer! Astonishing :P

 So, it is with considerable pride that I'm going to watch this match tonight, no matter what happens, because they've done excellently so far, actually managed to promote women's soccer AND get it televised on network tv (thankyou SBS, thankyou thankyou thankyou), which is a lot more than even many men's cricket competitions can say. (Also, nine's coverage of the cricket world cup is a load of codswallop, the commentators make me gag [they called Hayden an Amazon, do they even realise what gender Amazons are!?], but that's kind of off topic :P). Actually, I don't think we've been getting any matches but Australia's...uhm, that may just be me not looking hard enough. Go Matildas, go!

 PS- Walsh, for crying out loud, will you take just ONE of the chances you've been given (mostly by De Vanna)? Please?

E.T.A: Stupid. Mixed up the cricket times and the soccer times, sorry! Nearly only one hour 'till the cricket, but about four 'till the soccer :P

I caught the Australia vs Brazil game this morning and I'm disappointed in the Australia loss. Australia didn't look great overall, but they had those two really amazing goals. They were robbed of a penalty kick in the 85th minute or so - Really, I don't see how the ref missed that call. Brazil always seems to play dirty - I never really enjoyed watching them play the U.S. because of it. I'll have to TiVo the game Thursday morning and make an exception and watch them this time.

_________

"If you go flying back through time, and you see somebody else flying forward into the future, it's probably best to avoid eye contact." - Jack Handey

i watched england vs. usa yesterday - oh, my was it boring the first half, though the end of the second half usa was great. missed australia vs brasil, bah!

is it me or is it certain akwardness to women playing football, like i watched derby - arsenal game and there is so much more speed and energy, when men play. hmm...maybe it just not much history there yet, and that will probably change with time...

They played a hell of a game. The game did have some questionable calls giving goal kicks where corners should have been awarded, and Australia got robbed not getting the call for the blatant take down in the box late in the second half.  That said, I was really impressed with Australia's spirit that they didn't give up, and they played a really impressive possession game. De Vanna has a bright future, I think.  Also, Brazil is a very good team, and today they happened to win this one. In the end, that is what counts in tournament play.  I think we will be seeing good things from the Australian team in the future.

Now, as to the US v. Brazil, I am hoping that the Brazilian keeper, having given up the first two goals of the tournament in this last game may be a little nervous for Thursday's match. It should be a good game.

Whatever you say about the Brazilians, they are a joy to watch and scored a couple of crackers in this game, albeit I was rooting for the Ozzies especially after England's loss.

Still, I'll be in Shanghai this weekend watching the games on Sunday and really don't mind who eventually wins so long as we get the kind of football we have enjoyed for the last few games.

Up early tomorrow for USA-Brasil.

I'm really shocked that the US team is putting Scurry in at goal...Solo was doing well. Anyone have an opinion on that?

I think Ryan's off his rocker. I admit, Solo's performance against North Korea left a lot to be desired, but as a former goalie and defender, I believe that the defence could have prevented the goals from happening. After all, in the games against Sweden, Nigeria, and England, Solo has been pretty damn solid. Switching to Scurry is a confidence-destroyer. Ryan is crazy if he thinks that Solo will come back to play in the finals for him. I hope that Scurry does well, but the fact of the matter is that she is 36 to Solo's 25, and Solo can kick while Scurry cannot. There is a huge debate over it going on in the BigSoccer forums, if you're interested.

What really pisses me off (as well as a lot of other members on BigSoccer) is the fact that Ryan seems unconcerned about Solo's confidence. "That's not our concern."???!!! What is that man on? I have found Ryan to be a decent coach, but his current actions are honestly making me reconsider. If you second-guess your keeper 24 hours before a semi-final match, there are going to be problems. My main concern is how the rest of the team (especially the defence) will react to a different keeper with a different playing style. Solo had chemistry with her back line that I don't believe Scurry has anymore.

Ryan apparently doesn't listen to his (much wiser) players. Like Chalupny said, "Preparing for [Brazil] is different from other teams as far as keeping the focus on defending and individual defending because they are so good on the ball. But that's the challenge - not to get too wrapped up on them and to focus on what we do best." Ryan's over-thinking it and not trusting his players. Not a good move.

Ok, rant over. This move was just shocking and annoying, and it reminds me of the crap coaches I've had to deal with in the past that were indecisive, to say the least.

BigSoccer Forum

I can't believe what's going on in this match. The first half is over. Alright, USA haven't been the most creative so far. But sending Boxx off on nothing is downright wrong. Normally, Petignat is a very good ref. I don't get what she thinks she saw there. Brazil a brilliant players but they don't play fair. And what's with all that great drama when one of them is fouled? While I want to admire their playing I can't get over the side effects that go with it.

Alright I have to watch the second half now. I really hope that team USA will turn this around. And Scurry wasn't the best choice, imho.

wow, i can't believe how this match went. i think the beginning of the end was the own goal. major confidence crusher for the usa. i can totally understand the fury AND the frustration american fans must be feeling.

coach greg's decision to give the goal to scurry wasn't the best idea. not that she isn't good but it wasn't fair to solo, in my opinion.

that yellow and red card just before the break did it. you can't beat brazil, when they're in this kind of form with just ten players. i'm sure this will be talked about a lot. as will the very crummy reaction by cristiane.

you can't let the brazilians get to that stage where they pull the tricks out of their hats so freely (marta, wow). i really hope that germany have something to counter this with on sunday. it's going to be a really hard match. but i think they can do it. i have to think that, though, i want them to win again. thing is, they'll have to play in a very focused fashion. (brazil will miss two of their defensive players on sunday.) i'll keep my fingers crossed!

Just finished watching the game also.  What a wonderfully depressing way to start my day.  There's a part of me that wants Germany to win on sunday (I guess it's a revenge thing)  but the other part kinda wants Brazil to win, that way, I can believe that at least we lost to the best team in the tournament.  As for the reaction by the Brazilian player after that red card, I can't even find words to describe how disgusting that was on her part.  I understand being happy when you gain an advantage on your opponent but given the fact that SHE actually committed that foul and knew it, I can't understand that gleeful display at unfairly putting someone out of the game...and the ref, what an idiotic call to make.

Ok, enough ranting for now.  I should start figuring out how I'm gonna wake up at 3 or 4 am to watch the 3rd place match.

Congratulations to Brazil :) , that Marta sure kicks some serious ***.
Great fun match to watch!

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I wasn't speechless so much as screaming at the TV. Having calmed down though and watched the recaps, I tend to agree that Brazil just outplayed the US. The own-goal was just stupid. But it's a shame to see the theatrics and histrionics creeping into the women's game. That's one part I'll happily leave to the men. Boxx's sending-off was a disgrace, as was Brazil's reaction. She was clearly brought down from behind. And what about the Brazil handball in the second half? I spotted that even without the replay. 

I don't know who I want to lose more - boring Germany or unsporting Brazil. Think I'll be watching the rugby instead...

Not Only But Also

They are awesome!

Feel very sorry for the US but even before the disgraceful (on the ref's part, not Boxx's) red card incident, Brazil had this sewn up. Going forward they looked dangerous every time they had the ball and defensively they were superb, unlike the Ozzie game where they were quite naive at times.

The US didn't look like the No.1 team in the world at all, I am sad to say and I can only hope Brazil play this way against Germany on Sunday, (albeit with a lot less diving!) 'cos it will be a great match if they do, and one worthy of a final at any level.

Can't wait for the game personally and as a non-American I am hoping that Marta et al will provide a fantastic display and take home the silverware at 10pm (our time) on sunday night..........

Bring it on!!

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Thanks a lot guys for posting the game results in the subject lines and ruining it for those of us who recorded and haven't watched it yet.  You know, subject lines are listed to the right side of the main AfterEllen page.

_________

"If you go flying back through time, and you see somebody else flying forward into the future, it's probably best to avoid eye contact." - Jack Handey

Well, I just got really surprised reading all the opinions about the BRA-USA game. It's interesting how the opinions can vary... I watched the game today here with my mom, and we were just talking about how we thought the U.S. team was violent.

About 30' in the game an American player hit Marta on the neck for nothing, Oh, c'mon... they did a lot of violent things like that...

I have to agree that the judge (i don't know if that's how you really say it in English) made some bad decisions... but that was for both teams.

 I also would like to let you all know the situation that women's soccer faces here in Brazil. We don't have a league here, not even an official championship for the girls. The ones who play in Brazil, usually do it for amateur teams and have other jobs to support themselves.

 I think we should all give these Brazilian girls a big kudos, because they play from their hearts... against all odds, they are making their dreams come true. And doing so withou the help of any government or big organization...

 These girls kick some serious ass!

Independent of any referee errors or not, even without the Boxx's red card, Brasil played better and won. The most important point is, USA is not anymore the lone supremacy team on this sport too, and played way below the level shown by brazilians, who did a show to the audience, and deserve the place where they are, both for their effort (coming from bellow poverty classes which the spoon fed american athletes never dream existent, and having gone through fases where their payment was a help fund for meals and bus fares) and for their techinique. No matter what, Brasil is the country of soccer.

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