Jav_sol wrote:

I feel that Onyewu left a void that couldn't be filled.

Agreed. I find it rather sad that the US developed an early 2-0 lead against a Mexican side that wasn't even playing with FIVE starters who were suspended for illegal performance enhancing drug use and still they blew the lead by giving up four unanswered goals.

FIFA Women's Worldcup!
The Japanese femal soccer team beat the German team and will now meet Sweden in the semi-finals! If they win they would meet either France or the US.

Ganbatte!

EstherM wrote:

FIFA Women's Worldcup! The Japanese femal soccer team beat the German team and will now meet Sweden in the semi-finals! If they win they would meet either France or the US. Ganbatte!

It's Japan vs. USA... Who to root for???

bmwracer wrote:

It's Japan vs. USA... Who to root for???

The winner of course!

EstherM wrote:

The winner of course!

Why didn't I think of that?

Japan has come from behind twice to upset favourites United States on penalties in a thrilling women's World Cup final in Frankfurt.

The two sides were locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes and then 2-2 after extra time before Japan emerged victorious 3-1 in a typically tense penalty shoot-out.

The Asian outsiders, who also knocked out hosts and heavyweights Germany in the quarter-finals, were making their first appearance in a World Cup final while the Americans were shooting for their third title.

The US dominated the best of the chances and finally took the lead in the 69th minute thanks to Alex Morgan's tremendous strike on the counter attack.

But a defensive blunder handed Japanese superstar Aya Miyami the equaliser with just nine minutes of regular time remaining.

The Americans took the lead once again 14 minutes into extra time when a header by Abby Wambach from a Morgan cross put her side 2-1 ahead.

But Japan refused to give up and captain Homare Sawa finished marvellously at the near post from a corner in the dying moments.

Wambach had a golden chance to deliver a late triumph before Japan was reduced to 10 players when Azusa Iwashimizu was shown a straight red card.

The Americans had a late chance to win from the resulting free-kick but a desperate Japan stood tall sending the game to penalties.

US missed from their opening three kicks in the shoot-out while Japan held its nerve to claim a thrilling win.

xploring wrote:

Japan has come from behind twice to upset favourites United States on penalties in a thrilling women's World Cup final in Frankfurt. The two sides were locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes and then 2-2 after extra time before Japan emerged victorious 3-1 in a typically tense penalty shoot-out. The Asian outsiders, who also knocked out hosts and heavyweights Germany in the quarter-finals, were making their first appearance in a World Cup final while the Americans were shooting for their third title. The US dominated the best of the chances and finally took the lead in the 69th minute thanks to Alex Morgan's tremendous strike on the counter attack. But a defensive blunder handed Japanese superstar Aya Miyami the equaliser with just nine minutes of regular time remaining. The Americans took the lead once again 14 minutes into extra time when a header by Abby Wambach from a Morgan cross put her side 2-1 ahead. But Japan refused to give up and captain Homare Sawa finished marvellously at the near post from a corner in the dying moments. Wambach had a golden chance to deliver a late triumph before Japan was reduced to 10 players when Azusa Iwashimizu was shown a straight red card. The Americans had a late chance to win from the resulting free-kick but a desperate Japan stood tall sending the game to penalties. US missed from their opening three kicks in the shoot-out while Japan held its nerve to claim a thrilling win.

Congrats to the Japanese.


Axis 1 Allies 0.

Omedeto gozaimasu, Japan!

bmwracer wrote:

Omedeto gozaimasu, Japan!

What a game! The US win over Brazil last week was thrilling and this match between the US and Japan was just as thrilling eventhough the US lost. I used to only watch women in the Oympics (swimming, gymnastics), golf and tennis, but I'm a huge fan of women's soccer now!!!! I'm was screaming at the top of my lungs whenever there was a goal as the drama as so exciting. Great game from Alex Morgan, Megan Repione and Abby Wambach. Abby nailed the ball with her at least twice and her goal was magnificient!!

Sawa's goal was awesome!!! How clutch was that!!!. Japan's goalie had two great stops on PKs and had a great save earlier in the match to bump the ball over the goal. Perfect PK by Saki Kumagai when the World Cup match was on the line. Congratulatons Japan!!

xploring wrote:

Japan has come from behind twice to upset favourites United States on penalties in a thrilling women's World Cup final in Frankfurt. The two sides were locked at 1-1 after 90 minutes and then 2-2 after extra time before Japan emerged victorious 3-1 in a typically tense penalty shoot-out. The Asian outsiders, who also knocked out hosts and heavyweights Germany in the quarter-finals, were making their first appearance in a World Cup final while the Americans were shooting for their third title. The US dominated the best of the chances and finally took the lead in the 69th minute thanks to Alex Morgan's tremendous strike on the counter attack. But a defensive blunder handed Japanese superstar Aya Miyami the equaliser with just nine minutes of regular time remaining. The Americans took the lead once again 14 minutes into extra time when a header by Abby Wambach from a Morgan cross put her side 2-1 ahead. But Japan refused to give up and captain Homare Sawa finished marvellously at the near post from a corner in the dying moments. Wambach had a golden chance to deliver a late triumph before Japan was reduced to 10 players when Azusa Iwashimizu was shown a straight red card. The Americans had a late chance to win from the resulting free-kick but a desperate Japan stood tall sending the game to penalties. US missed from their opening three kicks in the shoot-out while Japan held its nerve to claim a thrilling win.

Just want to congratulate Japan's women football team for winning! ���߂łƂ��I

Today's a public holiday too, so I bet the entire country must be celebrating!
_________________

junny wrote:

Today's a public holiday too

What a coincidence...

Women's World Cup final breaks Twitter record

LONDON (AP) �\ The Women's World Cup final between Japan and the United States set the record for tweets per second, eclipsing the wedding of Prince William and Kate and the death of Osama bin Laden.

Japan rallied twice to tie the United States 2-2 after extra time before winning a penalty shootout on Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany. The U.S. was aiming for its third World Cup victory, while Japan lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time after going 0-25 against the Americans over the years.

The exciting climax drew 7,196 tweets per second, according to Twitter. Paraguay's penalty shootout win over Brazil in a Copa America quarterfinal later the same day came close to beating it with 7,166.

The previous record of 6,939 was set just after midnight in Japan on New Year's Day. Other spikes include bin Laden's death (5,106 per second) and the Super Bowl in February (4,064).

Spain's World Cup win over the Netherlands in July 2010 managed a high of 3,051, although the record for the tournament (3,283) was set when Japan beat Denmark in the group stage �\ another statistic pointing to Twitter's popularity in Japan.

The record-breaking numbers Sunday reflect a sharp rise in Twitter usage. Its users send 200 million tweets per day, compared to 10 million two years ago, according to Twitter.

^ Sugoi! Well done!

maybe we will see in future a Drama about this Team and the Win!

torsten wrote:

maybe we will see in future a Drama about this Team and the Win!

No doubt that would make a great drama...starting two years ago with the players building a relationship to the tragedy of the disasters to the epic win by the Japanese Women. Think of all the young japanese actresses you could have. I'll go with Aya Ueto as Sawa!

Who would be the goalie and Saki Kumagai? This would be great show!
Who should be in this drama?


I bet it will be a movie or a drama.

Uruguay won the Copa América, defeating Paraguay 3-0.

Naoki Matsuda Dead: Former Japan Soccer Defender Dies At 34

TOKYO -- Former Japan national defender Naoki Matsuda has died two days after suffering a cardiac arrest during training, his club said.

The 34-year-old Matsuda had been in critical condition after collapsing Tuesday during practice with his club Matsumoto Yamaga.

"He passed away today at 1:06 p.m.," Yamaga president Hiroshi Otsuki said Thursday. "Since Tuesday there has been an outpouring of support from Matsuda fans all over Japan."

Matsuda played 40 times for Japan, including the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. He also played 385 J-League games for the Yokohama F Marinos from 1995-2010, helping the team to three J-League titles.

Matsuda collapsed after a 15-minute run. After an initial diagnosis of heat stroke, it was determined he suffered a cardiac arrest. He was unconscious on his arrival at a hospital and showed no response to heart massage.

Belgian soccer match halted after Fukushima taunts

Sports Aug. 21, 2011 - 02:55PM JST ( 199 )
Belgian soccer match halted after Fukushima taunts Eiji Kawashima AFP

BRUSSELS �\

The Belgian top-flight encounter between Germinal Beerschot and Lierse on Saturday was halted by the referee after Lierse goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima was taunted with chants about the Fukushima disaster.

Lierse had gone a goal up when visiting Beerschot fans threw a projectile in the direction of Japanese international �ekeeper Kawashima before insulting him with chants of �gKawashima-Fukushima! Kawashima-Fukushima!�h the Belga agency reported.

Following protests by Kawashima, the referee decided to bring play to a halt for several minutes until order was restored.

The match ended in a 1-1 draw, but Kawashima, 28, left the pitch at full-time in tears, and spoke of his anger at the chants.

�gI am prepared to forget about a lot of things, but not that. It is not remotely funny,�h he said.

Kawashima has visited parts of the region which was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami on March 11.

The natural disaster also caused major damage at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima.

^ I know! There's also a youtube video circulating. What beautiful, open-minded, smart soccer fans we have here in Europe!

A few years back, David Beckham was told by some mob that they'd hope for his kids to die of cancer. Some African players are regularly greeted with monkey sounds when playing against certain clubs.