Soccer World Cup 2011 / United States

This article covers the US women's national soccer team at the 2011 Women's World Cup in Germany. Before the World Cup, the USA were number one in the FIFA world rankings and had taken part in all previous World Cups where they were the only team to have reached at least the semi-finals. The USA are the only team that has a positive record against Germany and are record world champions together with Germany. Before the World Cup, the USA won the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing .

qualification

The USA were the last to qualify for the finals. After losing to Mexico in the semi-finals of the 2010 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup , which served as qualification for the World Cup, and only finished third, the USA had to compete against Italy , fifth in the European qualification. On November 20 and 27, 2010, the USA won 1-0 each time and thus bought their last ticket for the World Cup. The most successful goalscorer for the USA was Abby Wambach with 8 goals, which was also the best mark in the CONCACAF qualification.

The way to the World Cup

The championship took place in Mexico in October and November 2010 . The USA were selected as one of the three strongest national teams for the finals and thus automatically qualified. The preliminary round was played in the league system.

Preliminary round

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	United States	18: 0	9
2	Costa Rica	4: 4	6th
3	Haiti	1: 8	3
4th	Guatemala	0:11	0

October 28, 2010
United States	-	Haiti	5: 0 (4: 0)
October 30, 2010
United States	-	Guatemala	9: 0 (6: 0)
November 1, 2010
United States	-	Costa Rica	4: 0 (1: 0)

Semifinals

5th November 2010
United States	-	Mexico	1: 2 (1: 2)

3rd place match

November 8, 2010
Costa Rica	-	United States	0: 3 (0: 2)

Relegation against fifth in UEFA qualifying

November 20, 2010	Padua	Italy	-	United States		0: 1 (0: 0)
November 27, 2010	Bridgeview	United States	-	Italy		1: 0 (1: 0)

World Cup squad

The following players were nominated for the World Cup on May 5, 2011 by coach Pia Sundhage . With 234 internationals up to then, the captain Christie Rampone was the player with the most international matches nominated for the World Cup. All players played in the US professional league . First, Lindsay Tarpley was also nominated, but suffered a cruciate ligament rupture in a friendly against Japan on May 14th and was therefore unable to participate in the World Cup. On June 2, Kelley O'Hara was nominated for her. The players had an average height of 1.69 m, with Amy Rodriguez at 1.63 m the smallest and Abby Wambach at 1.81 m the tallest player.

No.	Player	Date of birth	society	International matches	International goals	World Cup games	World Cup 2011
							Sp.	Gates
1	Hope Solo	07/30/1981	magicJack	101	000	04 (2007)	6th	0	1	0	0
18th	Nicole Barnhart	10/10/1981	Philadelphia Independence	039	000	00 (2007)	0	0	0	0	0
21st	Jillian Loyden	May 25, 1985	magicJack	001	000		0	0	0	0	0
Defense
2	Heather Mitts	06/09/1978	Atlanta beat	116	002		0	0	0	0	0
3	Christie Rampone	06/24/1975	magicJack	241	004th	11 (1999, 2003, 2007)	6th	0	0	0	0
4th	Becky Sauerbrunn	06/06/1985	magicJack	012	000		1	0	0	0	0
6th	Amy LePeilbet	03/12/1982	Boston Breakers	054	000		6th	0	1	0	0
11	Alexandra Krieger	07/28/1984	without a club	024	000		6th	0	0	0	0
14th	Stephanie Cox	03/03/1986	Boston Breakers	076	000	06 (2007)	2	0	0	0	0
19th	Rachel Buehler	08/26/1985	Boston Breakers	064	002		5	1	0	0	1
midfield
5	Kelley O'Hara	08/04/1988	Boston Breakers	006th	000		1	0	0	0	0
7th	Shannon Boxx	06/29/1977	magicJack	151	022nd	10 (2003, 2007)	5	0	1	0	0
9	Heather O'Reilly	01/02/1985	Sky Blue FC	149	030th	06 (2007)	5	1	0	0	0
10	Carli Lloyd	07/16/1982	Atlanta beat	117	028	05 (2007)	6th	1	1	0	0
15th	Megan Rapinoe	07/05/1985	Philadelphia Independence	037	011		6th	1	1	0	0
16	Lori Lindsey	March 19, 1980	Philadelphia Independence	023	000		1	0	0	0	0
17th	Tobin Heath	05/29/1988	Sky Blue FC	031	002		4th	0	0	0	0
attack
8th	Amy Rodriguez	02/17/1987	Philadelphia Independence	070	017th		5	0	0	0	0
12	Lauren Cheney	09/30/1987	Boston Breakers	048	016		6th	2	0	0	0
13	Alex Morgan	07/02/1989	Western New York Flash	024	009		5	2	0	0	0
20th	Abby Wambach	06/02/1980	magicJack	163	122	12 (2003, 2007)	6th	4th	0	0	0
Coaching staff
Head coach	Pia Sundhage	02/13/1960	United States Soccer Federation	146 079	71	10 (1991, 1995)	6th	0	0	0	0
Co-trainer	Maintain Riise	07/18/1969		188	58	22 (1991, 1995, 1999, 2003)	6th	0	0	0	0
Remarks: ↑ Numbers and positions according to the FIFA squad list [1] ↑ As of April 2, 2011 ↑ a b Status: July 10, 2011 ↑ Status before the World Cup ↑ As Stephanie Lopez ↑ 1 goal is mentioned in the squad overview of the US association, in their personal archive link ( memento of the original from October 28, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Statistics 0 goals. In the match reports, however, there is 1 goal against Haiti due to a typographical error ("Beuhler" instead of "Buehler" Archive link ( memento of the original from August 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. ) may have been overlooked.   ↑ a b c As a player for Sweden ↑ As head coach ↑ a b c As a player for Norway

preparation

In preparation for the tournament, the team played three friendly matches .

date	place	opponent	Result	Goal scorers	particularities
May 14, 2011	Columbus	Japan	2: 0 (0: 0)	Abby Wambach , Amy Rodriguez
May 18, 2011	Cary	Japan	2: 0 (1: 0)	Amy Rodriguez , Heather O'Reilly
June 5, 2011	Harrison	Mexico	1: 0 (0: 0)	Lauren Cheney
June 20, 2011	Leogang ( Austria )	Norway	1: 3 (0: 0)	Carli Lloyd ; Emilie Bosshard Haavi , Lene Mykjåland , Cecilie Pedersen	The game took place in camera, the US women competed in training clothes. According to the Norwegian Association, it was an unofficial game [4] .

Group games

In Group C, the USA met North Korea in their first game , the second of the 2010 Asian Cup . It was the fourth game between the two teams and they all took place in a preliminary round of the World Cup. The US girls dominated the game from the start, but had problems finishing and in the second half of the first half when the North Koreans counterattacked on the left side of the defense. Amy LePeilbet in particular had problems there and was played out several times. After a change in the second half, the US girls became even more dominant and Lauren Cheney scored the 1-0 lead in the 54th minute after Abby Wambach's cross . In return, they were lucky when North Korea hit the bar in the 56th minute. From the 60th minute on, the Americans had the game completely under control and North Korea barely made it into half of the Americans. Rachel Buehler made it 2-0 in the 76th minute with her second international goal. Nothing changed in this result when North Korea pushed for the next goal in the last five minutes and still created a few chances. A third goal of the US girls was not recognized by the German referee Bibiana Steinhaus , as Megan Rapinoe had spitted the ball out of the hands of the North Korean goalkeeper. It was the third US win against North Korea, before the USA had won two games 3-0 each, one - at the 2007 World Cup - ended 2-2.

In the second game, the USA met the second of the South American Championship 2010 and World Cup newcomer Colombia for the first time in an international match.The US girls only gave the World Cup newcomer one chance to score shortly before half-time whistle, but the ball was played too late, so that Cat Castro was already offside when the game was played and the goal was not recognized. At the time it was “only” 1-0 for the USA with a goal from Heather O'Reilly , who took the ball after a stick mistake and shot into the corner of the goal in the 13th minute. The Americans missed many other chances, however, only in the second half did Megan Rapinoe score in the 50th and Carli Lloyd with a long-range shot, in which the Colombian goalkeeper Sandra Sepúlveda did not look good : 0 victory for the USA. Otherwise, the goalkeeper - in addition to goal posts and crossbar - played a key role in ensuring that the USA's victory was not higher. Abby Wambach acted unhappy, on the one hand she missed several chances and on the other hand received a yellow card shortly before the end due to a hard attack against the goalkeeper . But since Sweden also won the game against North Korea, Sweden and the USA were already in the quarter-finals before the final game. A draw was enough for the USA to be group winners as they had the better goal difference.

It was the 30th meeting of the two teams, the USA had won 18 times, seven games ended in a draw, Sweden won one on penalties and the Swedes won four games. The USA had previously won three World Cups against Sweden. The last time they met was in January at the four-nation tournament , where Sweden won 2-1. Since the games in Group D had already ended an hour before, it was clear that the loser would meet runner-up Brazil in the quarter-finals and the winner would play against the Australians who surprisingly had eliminated ex-world champions Norway. Both teams played to win from the start, with the US girls having the first chances. But when the Swedish striker Lotta Schelin penetrated the US penalty area in the 14th minute, she was put down by Amy LePeilbet , who had already shown weaknesses in the previous games. Lisa Dahlkvist converted the penalty kick to 1-0. In the following period, both teams had many chances to score, one of which was used by the Swedish substitute captain Nilla Fischer - she replaced the yellow-banned captain Caroline Seger - in the 35th minute when she shot a free kick from 25 m directly on goal and the ball became untenable for Hope Solo was deflected into the goal. After the change, the USA pushed for the connection, but were mostly too imprecise or repeatedly got caught in the Swedish defense. Only in the 67th minute Abby Wambach succeeded with her 119th international goal when she heaved a corner sharply into the penalty area with her head and shoulder. The US girls pushed even harder to equalize and as the Scandinavians' strength waned, there were more scoring opportunities. In the 73rd minute, Kelley O'Hara came on as the last player to be nominated for the squad. But she could not turn the game around, because with luck and skill the Swedes survived this last phase of attack. Towards the end, even the Swedes had better chances of scoring on the counterattack and the US girls were lucky that Schelin's goal was not recognized because the assistant referee saw them offside. It remained therefore at 1: 2 and the first defeat against Sweden at a World Cup. For the USA it was also the first defeat in the 18th World Cup preliminary round.

rank	country	Gates	Points
1	Sweden	4: 1	9
2	United States	6: 2	6th
3	North Korea	0: 3	1
4th	Colombia	0: 4	1

Tuesday, June 28, 2011, 6:15 p.m. in Dresden
United States	-	North Korea	2: 0 (0: 0)
Saturday, July 2nd, 2011, 6:00 p.m. in Sinsheim
United States	-	Colombia	3: 0 (1: 0)
Wednesday, July 6, 2011, 8:45 p.m. in Wolfsburg
Sweden	-	United States	2: 1 (2: 0)

Knockout round

Quarter-finals: Sunday, July 10, 2011, 5:30 p.m. in Dresden
Brazil	-	United States	2: 2 n.v. (1: 1, 0: 1), 3: 5 i. E.
Semi-finals: Wednesday, July 13, 2011, 6:00 p.m. in Mönchengladbach
France	-	United States	1: 3 (0: 1)
Final: Sunday, July 17, 2011, 8:45 p.m. in Frankfurt am Main
Japan	-	United States	2: 2 n.v. (1: 1, 0: 1), 3: 1 i. E.

As runners-up, the USA met Brazil in the quarter-finals in Dresden on July 10th, group winners of Group D. There had been 27 games against Brazil, the USA won 23, Brazil won two, two games ended in a draw, one of which was on penalties won. The last time they met in the final of the Olympic Games in Beijing, the USA won 1-0 after extra time.

Both teams started nervously and so the Brazilian Libera Daiane steered the first sharp cross into their own goal in the second minute. Shortly after the renewed kick-off, the nervousness on the part of the Americans became apparent, but Hope Solo was able to clarify. After that, the game calmed down a bit and high-profile scoring chances remained in short supply. Solo took a Marta corner kick in the 22nd minute , but Aline Pellegrino headed to the side netting. The game got tougher and the referee from Australia distributed yellow cards - a total of seven during the game. The USA saved the lead in the half-time break. After the break there were few chances to score, too often the ball was hit far forward by both teams where it could not be picked up. Only in the 63rd minute did Carli Lloyd hit the crossbar after a free kick with a header. Three minutes later it got dramatic. Rachel Buehler put Marta in the penalty area and saw the red card as the first outfield player of the tournament . The due penalty kicked by Cristiane was saved by Solo, but since a player from the US team ran into the penalty area too early, the penalty was repeated and Marta converted safely. After that, nothing happened for a long time, because the South Americans could not take advantage of their majority and the third extension of this quarter-final followed. Already in the 2nd minute of extra time, Marta took the lead for Brazil when she took a flank hit by Maurine from a slightly offside position with her back to the goal and shot at the inside post, from which the ball jumped into the net, out of reach for Solo. Now the US girls had to run after a jump back, which they usually did without great precision. Abby Wambach was only able to head a wide cross from Megan Rapinoe into the goal in the 122nd minute . Shortly afterwards the whistle was blown and there was the second penalty shootout at this World Cup. This also started with a repeated penalty, because when Andréia Suntaque saved Shannon Boxx's first penalty , she was too far from the goal line. Boxx was more successful on the second attempt. After that, Christiane, Lloyd, Marta and Wambach transformed safely before Daiane forgave, who already made the own goal in the second minute. Since then all other shooters scored, the USA won the penalty shoot-out 5-3 - the last Brazilian didn't have to compete.

The USA met France in the semi-finals . Up until then there had been 13 games between the two teams, the USA won 11, France once (1990) and once both separated goalless.

In the USA Becky Sauerbrunn played for the red-banned Rachel Buehler for the first time , otherwise the team was not changed. The motto of the game was “Effectiveness beats creativity”, because although the French women were playfully overweight and had a large number of scoring chances, the Americans were able to prevail 3-1 because they used their few scoring chances more consistently. Lauren Cheney was able to steer an Amy Rodriguez cross into the net in the ninth minute after Hope Solo , who made her 100th international match , steered a shot from Louisa Nécib over the bar a minute earlier . On the other hand, it took the French side until the 55th minute before a cross from Sonia Bompastor hit the goal, as Hope Solo speculated that Gaëtane Thiney would come to the header. This did not reach the ball and so he jumped to the post and from there into the goal. On the other hand, it was a header from Abby Wambach from a corner that put the USA on the road to victory in the 79th minute, because just three minutes later Alex Morgan ran away from four French women when she received the ball on the left and lifted it over the inside of the penalty area French goalkeeper into goal. Although they still had their fingertips on the ball, they could not prevent the 1: 3, which ultimately remained.

This was the third time that the USA had reached the World Cup final and met the Japanese on July 17th , who had reached the final for the first time. Against Japan there were 22 wins in 25 games in 3 draws, before the World Cup twice 2-0 in May 2011. The USA started again with Buehler in central defense, who was eligible to play again after being suspended, and Rapinoe in midfield for attacker Rodriguez . They immediately took the initiative and put pressure on Japan. In the 8th minute, Lauren Cheney had the first good chance to score, but shot just wide of the target. More attacks followed and in the 29th minute Wambach hit the crossbar. The first opportunity for Japan arose only a minute before the break. Alex Morgan came on for Cheney in the second half and had the first good goal opportunity in the 49th minute. The USA were lucky in the 64th minute when assistant referee Shinobu Ōno saw offside after a pass from Homare Sawa . When the Japanese tried harder to design the game and gave up their counter-tactics, they were countered classically themselves. Morgan was served by Rapinoe in the 69th minute with a pass from their own half, ran away three Japanese women and scored the 1-0 opening goal. When the USA wanted to take the lead over time, the 1-1 equalizer fell in the 80th minute. Aya Miyama took advantage of a confusion in the US defense when Buehler and Krieger shot each other. A minute before the end of regular time, Mizuho Sakaguchi still had a chance to score the winner, but shot wide. In the 104th minute Abby Wambach succeeded with her fourth tournament goal the renewed lead for the USA. In the 115th minute, the USA were lucky when Rapinoe cleared a shot from Kinga before the line. Sawa was able to extend the subsequent corner at the six-yard corner to 2-2 into the goal. In the 120th minute, Morgan was again alone in front of goal, but was brought down by Azusa Iwashimizu , who was the first player to receive the red card in a World Cup final. The US girls could not use the subsequent free kick from the edge of the penalty area, so there was a second penalty shootout in a World Cup final. With the exception of Wambach, three US shooters failed here, while three out of four of the Japanese scored. This made the USA runner-up in the world championship for the first time and Japan brought their first World Cup title to Asia.

Awards

Abby Wambach was awarded the silver ball as the second best player in the tournament and Hope Solo as the third best player with the bronze ball. She also received the golden glove for best goalkeeper. Wambach received the bronze shoe as the third best goalscorer. In addition to these, Shannon Boxx and Lauren Cheney were also elected to the All-Star Team. Wambach's goals against Brazil and Heather O'Reilly against Colombia were nominated for the best goal of the tournament.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Sundhage Names 2011 US Women's World Cup Team ( Memento of the original from May 15, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ FIFA.com: Tarpley tears cruciate ligament
3. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from July 5, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
4. ↑ Midfielder Kelley O'Hara Added to US Women's World Cup Roster ( Memento of the original from June 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ 2011 Schedule & Results ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Norwegians win World Cup test against USA Archive link ( Memento of the original from May 12, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ The FFF counts another victory for France against the U-20 team of the USA [2] [3]
8. ↑ FIFA.com: Double Honor for Sawa, July 18, 2011, accessed May 20, 2017
9. ↑ FIFA.com: Goal of the Tournament