World Cup: Arrggggh!!!

All the cliches of coaching came true in yesterday's World Cup final:

"That's why they roll the ball out there."

"Let a lesser team hang around long enough they believe they can beat you."

"You've got to put the ball in the back of the net to win."

The United States let Japan hang around too long in yesterday's World Cup final and it cost them the title they had dreamed of and had been favored to win. Japan may not have been the better side, but they clearly deserved to win.

In the early going it looked as though Team USA was merely adjusting its sights as it pressured a disorganized Japanese defense. Lauren Cheyney, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe all had near misses in the early going. As the half wore on, time and again fans were asking, "How did that not go in?"

After more chances in the early part of the second half, the first goal finally came in the 69th run on a perfectly executed pass by Megan Rapinoe, who had set up Abby Wambach's miraculous game-tying goal against Brazil, to Alex Morgan, who beat the defender, touched it with her right and fired into the goal with her left. At last USA were on the board and more goals would surely be coming momentarily. Not.

With the cup just nine minutes away, Rachel Buehler could not clear the ball and it went off Ali Krieger who likewise could not get it out of harms way before Ayi Miyami jammed it into the net to tie the game.

It looked like the U.S. would win when Abby Wambach scored on a header shortly before the end of the first OT to make it 2-1. But again Japan, to their credit, refused to let down. Homare Sawa, the leading scorer of the tournament, won a corner kick and deflected a ball off Wambach for the tying goal just three minutes from time.

You knew it wasn't going to be the American's day when keeper Ayumi Kaihori made an unbelievable kick save on Shannon Boxx's opening PK. Carli Lloyd shot high and Tobin Heath's kick was saved by Kaihori. Japan converted two of its first three, so Wambach's tally to start the fourth round was too little too late. (Had Wambach missed the game would have been over.) When Saki Kumagai scored on the next ball, Japan had the cup.

In my view, the U.S. did not play a bad game. They just couldn't score and Japan did not give up. Nothing for the Americans to be ashamed of for sure.