aboveaveragea:

Japan’s World Cup Women’s team celebrating after defeating the US in a shoot out 3-1 to decide the championship. A well deserved win for a country who has faced much Hardship back home. Taken by Patrik Stollarz

i will never understand how homare sawa can be so adorable while also being such a complete and utter bamf.  conundrums ftw.

amid:

via @DeathStarPR

rapinoe-megan:

USA 2(1)- JAPAN 2(3)

You can talk all you want about Alex Morgan’s cool, predatory strike following Megan Rapinoe’s defense-shredding pass, Aya Miyama’s fortuitous but well taken equalizer, Morgan’s laser cross to the most lethal forehead in sports, Abby Wambach, Homare Sawa’s seeing-eye 117th minute Lazarus job executed with the kind of sublime skill normally reserved for YouTube videos. You can argue about substitution patterns, penalty taking decisions, Solo’s left knee and the vagaries of fortune. But none of that matters.

What we should remember today is how uplifting a great athletic event can be. X

anditallfallsdownsometimes:

“Don’t burn your sports bra just yet, America. The legacy of 1999 lives on. The goal of matching that team’s achievement continues to make the USWNT jersey feel like chain mail. If there is a silver lining, it may be found in the journey the U.S. team experienced before our eyes. Back from the brink with such character against Brazil. Thrilling an entire nation, and causing the president himself to tweet color commentary for the final.

While the game did not end in victory, it was an epic showcase for the women’s game. Skill matched suspense to show up last year’s South African final for the sordid affair it truly was. The team should return to the United States with pink-headband-festooned heads held high.” -Roger Bennett, ESPN

i’m honestly curious to see if this ref is ever going to get another international match.  because she was le uber suck, it’s true.

hankmoody13:

Bukowski.

drowning my world cup sorrows in a vat of scotch.

fuckyeahwomensfootball:

USA’s players watch during the penalty shootout of the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup (via World Soccer - Photo Gallery - Yahoo! Sports)

welp, no one can say that japan didn’t earn this.  and if we had to lose, i suppose i’m okay with losing to japan in this context.

but even so.  we lost on penalties.  i think i’m more in shock than anything. 

given the year japan has had, i feel kind of bad thinking things like this.

but then i get over it, because this is the world cup, bitches.

henriksaves:

vivalosblancos:

FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT.

Wow. I still can’t stand him but he just won a TON of personal respect from me on this one. Glad someone said this and someone who’s considered a great player (although I don’t see it, personally) at that.

shortshortstallsocks:

Flying Squirrel meets Baby Horse.

i love how the expression on camille abily’s face is very much of an “oh noes!” as rapinoe holds her own alone against the three of them…

fuckyeahmpinoe:

I love every version of this picture.

brewinggeographer:

Soccer is one of my passions, although I don’t often write about it here. I wasn’t planning to either, but I ran across the freeze-frame above of Alex Morgan setting up what would be the third goal in the USA’s 3-1 victory over France in the World Cup semifinal. Besides the fact that Morgan hails from my hometown of Diamond Bar, California, and is also a Cal Golden Bear, I love this shot because it captures in an instant what makes this sport so beautifully challenging.

So let’s play soccer coach for a moment. You’re the striker, what do you do?

A: cut to your right to get a better angle on goal, but this takes you into the path of the trailing defenders and the best you can probably hope for is an awkward challenge and a penalty;

B: shoot early and try to swerve one to the far post before the keeper cuts down the angle any further, but that requires an awful lot of body control to get your hips turned enough while running at pace and then a skilled touch to get enough bend on the ball; or

C: take another touch or two and continue running toward the end line, but with each step the keeper gets closer and the angle gets narrower.

This illustrates just how difficult this sport is. Even on an almost-breakaway, the kind of scoring opportunity forwards dream about, there is no easy option. Morgan, without the benefit of freeze-frame, chose “C” instinctually and then recognized that the keeper had stood her ground so there wouldn’t be space to get around her and still shoot on goal. She could have then tried to shoot a low hard shot at the near post, but that almost certainly would have been saved or gone into the side nettting—the outcome of probably 90% of such chances. Instead, Morgan had both the skill and composure to deftly chip over the top after the keeper had already committed to getting low.

This was a true forward’s goal. There have been some great strikes in this tournament, particularly from distance, but I’m not sure there’s been a higher-quality finish. Well done, Alex! And well done, USA!!!

Click here for complete highlights of the match; footage of the Morgan goal begins at 1:45.