It’s the most patriotic weekend possible. This morning, America re-covers from Independence Day partying. We’re done celebrating America’s 239th birthday; and tonight we should likely celebrate a United States Women’s National Team or USWNT World Cup Title. Here’s the link to the game preview and prediction.
That said, here are ten major story lines to watch in tonight’s final between the USWNT and Japan.
1. USWNT have three finalists for the Golden Ball:
Three Americans made the Golden Ball shortlist (tournament MVP for a non goal-keeper). If they win tonight, then one of the three takes home the award. We ranked the three candidates by likeliness; not by worthiness.
2. Carli Lloyd-
Having scored in the past three consecutive games, she’ll win it if/when they beat Japan. Scorers get all the glory. Offense sells tickets and grabs headlines. Yadda yadda yadda.
That’s a shame because the real story this World Cup has been the defense. The U.S. has surrendered just one goal the entire tournament; and that was in the very first game. Their scoreless streak is 513 minutes and counting.
Lloyd on meeting Japan in the final: “I think we’ll take it to them.”
Certainly the breakout star of this tournament; not just for the USWNT, but for any country. Johnston is great, but she’s the least deserving of the three American candidates on this list. We don’t mean to sell her short, as she’s truly been a workhorse who’s excellent play has far exceeded expectations.
However, it’s the defense as a whole who have been spectacular; not just Johnston.
4. Megan Rapinoe-
She has two goals and one assist thus far. Some would argue that she’s actually the USWNT’s best player; and they can easily make a strong case. FOX Soccer pundit Ariane Hingst says Rapinoe is the player of the tournament:
“The way [Megan Rapinoe] outplayed Leonie Maier in the semifinal against Germany, she was just outplaying her all over the pitch. And I love the craziness she puts on the field. She’s always laughing, smiling and always the first to celebrate. I love the spirit she brings on the pitch.”
5. The USWNT unsung hero Becky Sauerbrunn
She’s running things back there on defense, but doesn’t receive the promotion that Johnston does. Even though Johnston has been a direct beneficiary of her excellence. I guess Sauerbrunn just isn’t flashy enough.
Soccer pundit Grant Wahl’s pick for the Golden Ball: Becky Sauerbrunn:
“I think if the U.S. wins this tournament, Carli Lloyd will win the MVP award, but if it were up to me, I would pick Becky Sauerbrunn. Becky Sauerbrunn has been the rock of the U.S. defense, along with Julie Johnston. Sauerbrunn is great in the positioning. She never seems to be stretched or racing back to her corner, so I would give her the award right now.”
6. Potentially Hope Solo’s final World Cup game
Solo is up for the Golden Gloves Award; which goes to the tournament’s best goalkeeper. She’s 33 right now and will be 37 when the next World Cup comes around. As a goalkeeper you can easily play well into your late 30s, but you have to wonder how much longer the USWNT will put up with her….well, you know.
There’s only so much garbage you can take from a person before you sever ties, and if Hope Solo returns for the next tournament, she will have had to have cleaned up her act significantly and have stayed on good behavior for four years. Given her track record, that’s highly unlikely.
Still, she made some amazing saves in the first game versus Australia and hasn’t been tested much since. Solo recorded a couple clean sheets that also included zero saves. Yes, Solo is facing so few shots that she’s gone untested through long stretches of this tournament.
When put on the spot though, she’s answered the bell.
Solo has been phenomenal, but the “Hope Solo is the greatest goalkeeper in the world” soundbite is debatable. She might be. She might not be. That phrase is also your drinking game for tonight. The FOX Sports pundits LOVE LOVE LOVE to repeat it.
7. The revenge factor
To quote Lenny and Carl on The Simpsons, “there’s nothing like revenge for getting back at people.”
“I don’t know, vengeance is pretty good for that too.”
The USWNT lost to Japan in the 2011 World Cup Final. Then they beat them in the 2012 Olympic Gold Medal Game. So who’s really avenging who here? The “revenge” storyline is actually kind of meat-headed when you look at it closely.
8. Will Alex Morgan live up to the hype?
The marketing and promotion of the USWNT portrays Alex Morgan as the team’s best player. That’s not true; and we’ve certainly seen that this tournament. In fact, she had never even started a World Cup game until the middle of this tournament. Yes, she was plagued early on by fitness issues, so we should cut her some slack.
However, the truth remains that Morgan is in the forefront all the time because she is America’s most marketable player; not the best player.
9. Analogies between this team and the ’99ers
Once this game is over, the talk will shift to comparing this squad against the last one to win it all- at the Rose Bowl in 1999. Actually, the talk has already started.
10. Growth of the game narrative
You can stop waiting for soccer to arrive in America; it’s already here. I laid out the evidence in an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition on the eve of the 2015 World CupTournament. Now, a month later, the TV ratings numbers further validate the thesis. The USWNT’s 2-1 win over Germany on Tuesday night attracted 8.4 million viewers which broke the record for a non-World Cup final women’s soccer match.
Tony DiCicco, the last USWNT Coach to win a World Cup, says women’s soccer is now a part of mainstream culture:
“Soccer is no longer just a foreign game. It’s mainstream in U.S. sports, a growing part of our culture, and both our men’s and women’s national teams are growing the sport in America together. No other country can claim that.”
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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