Defense sends USA to World Cup final

After barely managing a win against Brazil, the US women’s soccer team had yet another less than convincing victory against France.

The game ended 3-1 but this was one of those games where the score line does not tell half the story.

Out-possessed, out-shot and out-played, the US really had no business winning the game.

In the end, however, it was the defense that decided the game. The French midfield was superb. Between Necib, Abily and Bompastor, the French controlled the game from start to finish. The first opportunity US had on was in the 10th minute of play . . . and Lauren Cheney poked it home.

It was all France after that. The five-player midfield displayed brilliant prowess, passed circles around Carly Lloyd and Shannon Box (the weakest links of the US team), sent shots whizzing barely over the crossbar, and whacked the post more than a few times, but they didn’t put the ball in the net until the second half. Sonia Bompastor to the rescue!

France’s biggest weakness was their defense. This was where the US held their greatest advantage. With a keeper as unbelievably mobile as Hope Solo, the incessant shots by Abily and France's lone striker Delie were kept at bay.

US sweeper Christy Rampone (the player of the game in my book) kept her defense together and organized them to keep the French players in front of them instead of committing to their dribbling.

And the dribbling was pretty fantastic.

Camille Abily and Louisa Necib gave the US defense fits, dribbling three and four players at once with fancy moves that would’ve impressed the Brazilians.

And I have to take a moment to mention the individual prowess Necib. Louisa Necib . . . remember that name because she is going to be the world’s next best player. Perfect touch, perfect vision, and perfect composure, the US had a difficult time containing her.

But the US defense held strong and if they did not completely contain the French players, they did enough. The French defense did not.

In the last ten minutes of play, Wambach headed the ball home and Alex Morgan scored her first world cup goal. No offense to any of the strikers but to be honest, the goals were all results of defensive errors on France’s part.

Nevertheless, the US capitalized on France’s unfortunate weakness and despite being horribly out-played, the US defense insured the team a place in the final for the first time since 1999.

The US will face yet another tactically strong midfield team, Japan, in the final on Sunday. France and Sweden face off in the third/fourth place match on Saturday.

USA narrowly defeats Brazil in quarter final

The weekend's quarter final matches of the women's world cup were . . . unexpected. Who would've thought that Japan would give the two-time reigning champions a run for their money?

Sweden soundly defeated Australia in the only quarter final match that did not go to extra time, and France emerged victorious in a penalty shootout with England. But the match of the weekend was definitely USA and Brazil.

The game was practically decided on controversial calls by the referee. Honestly, as far as play, the game could've gone either way. The USA trumped Brazil in team work and chemistry, but they were no match for the individual flare of the Brazilians.

In the second minute of play, Brazilian defender Daiane scored an unfortunate own goal, putting the Americans up for the entire first half.

The second half was where all the controversy happened. USA defender Rachel Beuhler had no choice but to pull Marta down in the box or the world's best female player would definitely have tied the game. Obvious foul. Obvious penalty. But a straight red card? I'm not sure it was even a yellow.

Christiane lined up to take the penalty, but USA keeper Hope Solo saved it (I still can't believe how good she is at saving penalty kicks). The referee whistled a re-kick.

Now, initially no one knew why. It came out later in the game that there was some encroachment by an American player . . . maybe, possibly, by a mere few inches, Wambach kind of encroached a second before the shot was taken.

In any case, Marta took the second shot. She missed a vital penalty in the last world cup final against Germany . . . but she was not about to miss again. With the game tied at 1-1, the USA down to 10 players and Brazil finally feeling their thunder, it was looking pretty bleak for the USA.

And then it got even worse.

In the first few minutes of extra time, an offside call was not called and Marta scored a tricky goal off of it. Unfortunately it does happen in soccer and you just kind of deal with it . . . And it was one pretty goal.

By the second half of extra time, with Brazil up 2-1, the USA could not wait any longer. They had no choice but to gun at Brazil with everything they had. And they did. In the end, with 10 players, USA outlasted Brazil and Abby Wambach headed the ball home in the extra time of extra time. Literally at the last possible second.

On to penalty kicks.

Poor Daiane, the same person who scored the own goal, missed her penalty and the USA scored all five of theirs.

Though the USA beat the mighty Brazilians (and I'm going to miss watch Marta), they're still missing something. I just don't think they have what they need to win this world cup. Sweden out classed them and if they face Sweden again, I think they will lose again for the same reason.

USA will play France in the semifinals on Wednesday and we will see if they stand to an organized midfield, something Brazil lacked but Sweden dominated.

Japan will play Sweden on Wednesday.

Tomorrow's soccer stars look to make history

The youth of soccer has been demonstrating the future of international soccer in Mexico for the past month and the celebration ends Sunday when one rising squad of youths will be crown U-17 FIFA World Cup champions.

The final two squads are Mexico and Uruguay, who will meet Sunday at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City for the top prize of the tournament.

The Mexican team had its share of doubtfulness well it trailed a strong Germany squad in the semifinals.

Mexico struck first in the beginning minutes with a header by Julio Gomez as the Mexicans celebrated the early success.

The smiles would not last long as Germany responded with a goal of its own seven minutes later. The two teams remained tied ending the first half.

By the 60th minute, Germany took the lead while Mexico began to wonder if its campaign to another U-17 World Cup title will be ending in the hands of the Germans,

Without hesitation Mexico continued to strike on goal and 18 minutes later Mexico got its answer off a corner kick and tied the match.

Soon later Gomez found himself injured and the Mexicans were left to force extra time in a 2-2 draw or score another goal with 10 minutes to go in the match.

The rising hero with a bandage wrapped around his head, Gomez, returned into the game as Mexico had a final chance to win the match with another corner kick.

As the ball with up and toward the goal, it was deflected and without thinking, Gomez scored the winning goal for Mexico to send them off to the finals.

The heroic performance by Gomez has created a avalanche of momentum for Mexico as it looks to win its second U-17 World Cup. The country won its last one in 2005, that was led by Carlos Vela.

The team will not have a easy run to the trophy because they will have Uruguay in the way, the team who shutout Brazil in a 3-0 win.

Uruguay jumped on top of Brazil with a penalty in the first half.

In the second half Uruguay poured two more goals in to send a messaged to everyone that it is not settling for a trip to the finals but to win the trophy too.

The two performances by Mexico and Uruguay in the semifinals sets up a awesome match. The two teams have been outstanding throughout the tournament as both won difficult games against outstanding opponents.

The two teams have came out from the pack and Sunday will be their chance to claim the world's prize and mark history in their young lives.

Without a doubt Mexico will have the home field advantage and will be favorites in the match but Uruguay has other plans too.

It will be a exciting match and Mexico will emerge as the clear winners.

United States to face Brazil in quarter finals

With the round of 16 concluded, there are only eight teams left in the women's world cup. The quarter finals schedule is all set and ready to go for this weekend and some of the match-ups promise to be good games.

Germany, the defending champions, collected all nine points in their group after defeating a very impressive looking French side 4-2. German's star player Birgit Prinz has yet to find her form, which may be a small comfort to Japan, who they will face in the quarter finals.

Japan's impressive 4-0 win over Mexico shouted to the German's that they would not go down without a fight.

Though England made it through top in their group, their one-point victories have been less than convincing. Captain Kelly Smith has been trying to do everything herself but the team will have to tighten up in the middle to defeat the French in the quarters.

The upset of the tournament so far, the United States fell to Sweden 2-1 in a game that two Swedish goals were inaccurately called offside (they weren't even close to being offside, to be honest). Sweden showed more organization in the midfield, more patience in handling the ball, and a more creative offense, looking more like the team that reached the final in 2003.

A penalty from Lisa Dahlkvist put Sweden ahead and a second goal by Swedish captain Nilla Fischer, though it took a nasty deflection on its way, secured Sweden's group C victory and a match against Australia.

USA star striker Abby Wambach (though I personally would go with Lauren Cheney as the more impressive forward) finally ended her dry spell and scored a less then orthodox goal with her shoulder (no it was not a handball). But it wasn't enough for them to avoid a second place standing in the group.

Which wouldn't be a big deal except that their next opponent is Brazil.

Brazil is home to the best female player in the world, Marta. Named best player for the last five consecutive years (and she's only 24), Marta has already proven in this world cup that she means to lead her team to victory.

Erika's fancy goal against Equitorial Guinea (and awesome back flip celebration) opened Brazil's scoring and Christiane, an excellent striker often overshadowed by Marta, solidified the victory with two goals of her own.

The United States defense, who showed a lack of organization in the game verses Sweden, is going to need a game plan to stunt the powerful Brazilian offense.

Brazil's own lackluster defense will have to stand firm as well against Lauren Cheney's outside shots and Abby Wambach's opportunistic presence.

Catch Germany vs. Japan and England vs. France on Saturday July 9. USA vs. Brazil and Sweden vs. Australia are scheduled for Sunday the 10.

Sports Lockdown - July 5

Four Away From Three

New York Yankees short stop Derek Jeter went to bed tonight most likely not thinking about his stagnant season, or his dwindling career or even which supermodel he should have taken to the hotel, but about four simple little hits.

Four hits that place him into a category no other Yankee has ever been in. Four hits away from the 3,000 hit club. I won't lie. I was shocked when I found out that no other Yankee has accomplished this feat. especially with how historic that franchise is with players like Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, but I'm ecstatic that I'm around to see the first.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not a Yankees fan, (Go Dodgers) but as a baseball fan it's always great to see someone accomplish something this grand. For a Hall of Fame player like Jeter, this will be just another notch on his belt to add to the myriad of accomplishments he already has.

Adding to the fact that he's the all-time hits leader for the Yankees, Jeter has 12 all-star appearences (2011 included), five Gold Golve Awards, four Silver Slugger Awards, two Hank Aaron Awards, AL ROY, all-star game MVP, World Series MVP and the list goes on and on. Oh did I forget to mention he has five rings.

After all this I ask, why is everyone writing him off? Saying his career is over, that he should leave the game already, and that he's overpaid? Yes Jeter is in the midst of his worst season batting .257 with two home runs and 22 RBIs, but two words compensate for any struggles he has in the regular season. MR. NOVEMBER.

Jeter's ability to come up big in clutch situations seperates him from about 99% of the league and anyone that can get the big hits doesn't deserve the criticism Jeter is facing. If LeBron James was clutch, he'd have a ring by now, maybe he can buy one of Jeters, he does have four to spare. Do you think LeBron would hear all the ridicule he hears now if he could make a shot when he needs to.

Derek Jeter brings that to the organization. Sure, lately he's been going 0-4 or 1-5 in games this season, but he's got other all-star talent around him to get the team some wins. When it comes time for post-season baseball, who's the guy you want at the plate? I wan't the experienced veteran who's done this before.

Let me give you an example, I'm an LA guy and I love the Lakers. One of the Lakers is in the same position as Jeter. Aging, slower, average has declined. If you watch sports, you should know I'm talking about another Derek, Derek Fisher. Fisher is in the same situation as Jeter, and the media continues to bad-mouth them.

What the media doesn't count in are the intangibles that these two players bring to their respective organizations. They are leaders in the locker rooms, they play with class, and the are mentors to the new faces in the league.

Think about what goes through the mind of a rookie in the Yankees clubhouse. They look at Jeter and most likely see someone they grew up idolizing. Who doesn't want to be the best player on the country's most popular team? And then they see all the harsh things being said about them, by the media, the fans and worst of all, by the organization.

Why would someone want to play in a league like that, where you can become everyone's hero then in a heartbeat become yesterdays garbage. That is just like this country to cherish something then throw it to the side as soon as it begins to decline. It happens to our cars, to the elderly and even hall of fame players aren't safe.

Now I know that the Yankee organization is looking out for the interest of the team. Yes the name on the front of the jerseys is more important then the name on the back. Or in this case, the pin stripes are more important than whoever is wearing them. But would the organization have been the same if Jeter had never worn the pin stripes?

Jeter was an integral part of all five championships the Yankees won with him, especially the first four. I can stand here and say that without him they wouldn't have won the first four, that's how important he is to the team. Yes, the franchise would still be legendary without those four championships but they wouldn't really be the Yankees, because the Yankees are one of those fanchises that are supposed to win, not just some of the time, but all of the time.

So what should happen with Jeter then? I personally believe he needs a bit of a spark lit under him. We see it all the time, players get older and decline a bit, but something happens and their careers blossum once again. We're seeing it with Yankees pitcher Bartolo Colon. No one wanted to give him a chance, the Yankees picked him up and he's having a great season for them this year. We saw it last year in the NFL with Donovan McNabb. He got benched in the Fourth quarter, that lit a fuse and he had some of his best moments after that.

I say move him down the order a bit. Let him hit behind Cano, someone who swings for the fences and averages a good amount of XBH's. That way you have someone with a better average batting leadoff and Jeter won't commit so many double plays this year, something he's done a lot.

I'm just saying give the guy a break. For everything he's done for baseball and that organization, he can afford to have a slow year or two. He's Derek Jeter for Christ's sake, he'll figure it out. For now lets just look at what's ahead, 3,000 hits, which he should get in New York this weekend against the Rays.

So as Jeter wakes up this morning, he should get out of bed, eat some breakfast, walk past the morning paper, head to the stadium and just do what he does best, be Derek freaken Jeter.

United States aims for another World Cup

With two impressive wins over North Korea and Colombia, the United States women's national team is peaking at the right moment as it sets itself up for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinals.

The two wins have secured the team a spot in the next round but the United States has one more match against Sweden on July 6.

The team was questionable heading into the World Cup because it did not qualify for the world's soccer tournament until the last minute with a victory over Italy.

The United States fell to Mexico in its first chance to qualify.

Abby Wambach, who has dealt with injuries in the past and is the team's best striker, did not score in the United States two World Cup matches and only has one goal in the past year.

The worries dangling over the United States have been cleared away as other players like Heather O'Reilly, Megan Rapinoe, Carli Lloyd, Lauren Cheney and Rachel Buehler has been scoring and winning matches for the team.

Following the team's 2-0 win over North Korea, the United States continued to shut out its opponents with a 3-0 win over Colombia.

The team has been impressive in the two matches as the offense has been a team effort and the defense has been a collective effort by the U.S. defenders and the team's goalkeeper Hope Solo.

Solo is coming off a shoulder injury and many believed she was going to be unable to block and dive for shots but she has made it clear multiple times that she is fully healthy and ready to play.

The United States women's soccer team is nearly on all cylinders and on the right path to reaching the finals, where they hope to win its third World Cup in Germany.

The challenge remains for the United States because Germany is the country who has won the past two World Cups and beating a champion on its home field can have its problems.