Repetitions in slow motion (16) – World Champion in Canada (Week 27) »abseits.at

Every Sunday we want to take a look back at the past in this new series: We play a Chinese pass in the back room, so to speak, and find ourselves sometime at great goals, games, football celebrities, events or Dedicated next to the pitch. and many more. We like to review moments, events and biographies in the style of slow motion repetition from TV. This Sunday we travel back to July 5, 2015, when the American women’s soccer team won the world championship against Japan…

a real lady thing

You have to be a footballer in America. Ball is a popular sport for women in the United States. It is the most popular college sport among women. Since 2013 – after several unsuccessful attempts – the National Women’s Football League has also been a professional league for women’s soccer players. No wonder that with this intense sponsorship, the first World Championship title also went to the USA. After the victory in 1991, a second coup took place eight years later. When Brandi Chastain converted the last penalty, she cheered in a black sports bra. The picture went around the world and Chastain got an advertising contract with Nike. Stryker later also titled his biography, alluding to the events.It’s not about the bra” (It’s not about bras). American women have never been worse than third in a World Cup final. In 2015 he traveled to Canada as one of the favorites for the tournament.

The final round for the Americans began with a group game against Australia in Winnipeg on 8 June. Although a 3–1 victory seemed worthwhile only on paper, in reality Hope Solo & Co struggled in the tournament. They could not be convinced even in the second game against Sweden: it was 0–0 after the final whistle. Substitute captain AB Wambach scored the deciding goal in their last World Cup 1-0 win against Nigeria. American girls met Colombia in the round of 16: In the second half, the goalkeeper knocked Alex Morgan off his feet just inside the penalty area. Wambach almost miserably missed the following penalty. The first goal came after a goalkeeper mistake, before Carli Lloyd corrected everything from point after another penalty foul on Rapinoe and USA made another round 2–0. In the quarterfinals, the Americans met the Chinese women, where Lloyd made a 1–0 save in a tough match. In the semi-finals, Germany had a tough one: goalkeeper Nadine Angerer was initially able to amputate herself several times with her foot. The Germans had a chance to take the lead, but missed a penalty. Carli Lloyd, around 32-year-old, did the better, scoring from the point and it was 1-0 for the Americans. Then substitute O’Hara was able to complete an amazing combination and today’s four-time world champion was in the final.

The team coached by Jill Ellis met defending world champions Japan in Vancouver in front of an audience of approximately 53,000. The game started off surprisingly furiously. The American women seemed to have saved their potential for this final: after only 14 minutes it was 3–0 for the most successful women’s national football team in the world. Lloyd hit the penalty area twice after the balls were inactive, and Holiday slammed the ball into the net at the height of the penalty spot after a defensive error. In addition to being named Player of the Game, Lloyd was named Player of the Tournament and was also the second best goalscorer. The US-Americans number 10 saw in the 16th minute that Japanese goalkeeper Kaihori stood outside his goal and moved away from the center support. The final was as good as decided after this 4–0 victory, but the Japanese did not give up at first and scored the next goal in the first half. In the end it was 5-2 for USA. AB Wambach and Christy Rampon – the two captains – lifted the trophy. Rampon was already 40 years old, but she showed the world that the best female football players come from the USA. Four years later, the national team was able to defend the title in France. The star of this tournament was Megan Rapinoe, who played herself in the foreground not only with her athletic performances, but also with political statements. American women later made headlines because they wanted to bring to court the prevailing gender pay gap. The women will see how the four-time world champion’s journey continues. Maybe further.

Mary Saturday, abeits.at