Japan Wins Women’s World Cup Over US in Penalty Shoot-Out

Japan gave the United States a taste of their own medicine on Sunday, winning the FIFA Women’s World Cup 3–1 on penalties after dramatically tying the game 2–2 in the 117th minute of play. Despite being dominated in scoring opportunities by the bigger Americans, the Japanese showed some fighting spirit of their own to come back from a goal down twice and win their first Women’s World Cup.

The United States didn’t make the most of its early chances to score and eventually Japan got a foothold in the match. The thrilling contest saw Japan add the top-ranked team and two-time World Cup winners to their impressive list of upsets that includes Germany and Sweden.

What let the U.S. down against Japan was their penalty kicks and poor defensive play, when it mattered most. Against Brazil in the quarterfinal, all five penalties were scored whereas against Japan, only one of four found the back of the net.

But a lot of credit is due to Japan for withstanding the early American onslaught and not giving up when Abby Wambach put the U.S. up 2–1 in the 104th minute of play.

"Playing in the final at the highest level, you have to take your chances, and we weren’t sharp enough with the two goals conceded and that is why we didn’t win the game," said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage on FIFA.com.

David vs. Goliath

The United States had to be very confident entering the final, having won it twice and holding an impressive record against Japan of 22 wins, 3 draws, and 0 losses. Not that size is a huge difference maker in soccer, but the U.S. on average, was taller then their opponents by nearly three inches. The encounter also featured an interesting contrast of styles: The U.S. is known for a more direct approach that focuses on the size and strength of Wambach as a striker, whereas the Japanese are known for their possession and passing game.

Despite seeming overawed by the occasion at times, Japan got through the first half without conceding a goal as the U.S. squandered chance after chance. Wambach hit the crossbar in the 28th minute after Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Cheney had opportunities from close range. Japan’s best chance came when Kozue Ando ran on to a through-ball but was pulled too far wide to get a meaningful shot at Hope Solo in the U.S. goal.

The Frankfurt crowd of 48,817, that included German Chancellor Angel Merkel celebrating her birthday, saw the first goal of the game in the 69th minute. After breaking up a Japanese attack at the top of their 18-yard box, Rapinoe sent a long pass up to substitute Alex Morgan. Morgan controlled the ball with her right foot and then sent a left-footer in at the far side of the net.

But a little over 10 minutes later, the U.S. coughed up the ball in their own end. Unable to clear the ball out of their six-yard box, the U.S. defense was left scrambling and Aya Miyama poked the loose ball past Solo for an improbable goal.

Both teams were fully engaged at this point and had chances to win it, but instead the match went to extra time.

Alex Morgan, who had replaced Cheney at halftime, was the sparkplug for the U.S. The 22-year-old combined well with Rapinoe, who had an excellent game, to set up Wambach for her fourth goal of the tournament—a header that gave the U.S. a seemingly safe 2–1 lead.

In the second period of extra time, Japan’s attacks started to show the cracks in the U.S. defense. On more than one occasion, defenders would get in each other’s way and poor communication among them got worse with the added pressure. And, ironically, it was Japan who scored on a set piece, not the bigger and stronger Americans.

The 5-foot-4-inch Sawa made a near-post run and redirected a corner kick home with a clever flick. Despite her height, Sawa is somebody who needs to be marked carefully as she clearly knows how to score goals. Sawa was awarded the Golden Boot as the tournament’s leading scorer for scoring her fifth goal.

Team of Destiny

In the penalty shoot-out, the U.S. missed their first three penalties as Aiyumi Kaihori saved shots from Shannon Boxx and Tobin Heath while Carli Lloyd fired well over the bar. Solo saved a penalty from Yuki Nagasoto but when Saki Kumagai went top corner on Japan’s fourth penalty, the World Cup was all theirs.

"I received excellent support from the other players and I want to emphasize this is a team effort. In the penalty shootout I just had to believe in myself and I was very confident," said Kaihori.

"The players were patient, they wanted to win this game and I think it’s because of that the Americans scored only two goals. Yes we had luck in the penalty shootout and I definitely got some help from my football god," said Japanese head coach Norio Sasaki.

After the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that led to the partial destruction of a nuclear power plant and the loss of thousands of lives, Japan has had its share of people cheering for their recovery. They were the sentimental favorites given what their nation had been through. One could compare it to the damage Katrina inflicted on New Orleans and the feel-good story of the New Orleans Saints winning the Super Bowl in 2010, only on a larger scale.

The fantastic match was a fitting end to a terrific tournament that showed the progress women’s soccer has made globally. Games were competitive—the worst margin of victory was four goals—and parity seems to be the talk of the day as untouchable Germany was also upset by Japan.

The women’s games lacked some of the negative aspects of men’s soccer such as excessive complaining to the referee, feigning injuries, but also, adopting a “playing not to lose” mentality. Instead, the Women’s World Cup was played with a refreshingly good spirit and the teams delivered a final that lived up to the expectations of a World Cup final.

Sixteen teams began the tournament in Germany and 32 matches later, Japan won its first title and first title won by an Asian nation. In four years time, this terrific tournament will be hosted by Canada and will include 24 teams.

Follow Rahul on Twitter @RV_ETSports