If you missed today’s Women’s World Cup quarterfinal between the US and Brazil, you missed one of the most dramatic games in US Soccer history — men’s or women’s. A match on par with the US-Algeria from World Cup 2010, US-Colombia from World Cup 1994 and the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final — it was that good (the game will be re-aired on ESPN2 at midnight, if you want watch it in its entirety).
After playing most of the second half with 10 players (even Julie Foudy and Ally Wambach kept saying 10-men), and overcoming some questionable calls, US striker Abby Wambach scored a late equalizer in the 122nd minute — the latest goal in Women’s World Cup history — to tie the game at 2-2 and take the game to penalty kicks. In the spot kick session, the US cooly slotted home all five shots and Hope Solo came up with one key save to finish off an improbably comeback. Bravo ladies, one for the ages.
After the men’s disappointing performance in the Gold Cup Final, the women’s success (so far) is a much needed boost to keep soccer’s summer momentum going. The US will play France in the semifinals this Wednesday.
Post-game thought on the controversial refereeing.
The controversial calls against the US on Rachel Buehler’s red card and the encroachment call on Hope Solo’s penalty kick save were certainly harsh, and could have gone the other way, but from a neutral perspective they were hardly gaffes. Buehler perhaps only deserved a yellow, rather than a red, for her foul on Marta, but the US can only blame themselves for encroaching into the box on the ensuing PK.
While the calls were certainly controversial, the ESPN broadcast team lost their heads a bit with rage. Expecting former national team players, like Brandi Chastain andJulie Foudy, and former coach Tony DiCicco, to be neutral is impossible, as broadcasters, though, they owe the audience their best effort. Instead, they made little effort to help the audience see the game from a more informed perspective and acted as cheerleaders. Ian Darke tried his best to stay neutral, but even he seemed to get infected by the American fever.
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