Sunday was actually a rematch for the U.S. after taking home a defeat from Japan in 2011. Sunday night was redemption for the Americans. Carli Lloyd led the team to victory with three first-half goals, totally focused on the match.
The television audience watching the rematch was the “highest metered market rating ever for a soccer game in the U.S. on a single network,” says Foxsports.com. Some 17 million viewers turned on the game at 7 p.m., but that figure grew by leaps and bounds, reaching 22.86 million at 8:30 p.m. ET.
And viewers got quite a show. Lloyd was writing her own history, and the U.S. women, buoyed by her wild attacks, trounced the Japanese team. Lloyd was able to score three goals in just 16 minutes, stunning the crowd and opposing team. It was Lloyd’s final goal that clinched the team’s victory.
Goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori was off her line, and Lloyd took advantage, something she is known to do to unwary opponents. Lloyd launched the ball from just inside the Japanese half of the field, and Kaihori, dropping back to get the ball, was only able to touch it with her right hand, deflecting it into the left post and into the net.
Norio Sasaki, Japan’s coach, said after the game, “She always does this to us. We are a bit embarrassed. She is an excellent player. I really respect and admire her.” Sasaki had seen this kind of playing before, in the 2012 Olympics in London. Lloyd scored both American goals to take the U.S. to a 2-1 victory over Japan, winning the gold medal.
The U.S. team’s captain Abby Wambach, who plans to retire before the next tournament, had nothing but praise for Lloyd. She said, “I’ve seen it first-hand how hard she works. She won us this World Cup.”
Japan didn’t go down in defeat because of height differences. Instead, it was more a matter of poor defense of the low corners, according to the Guardian. The team’s coach, Jill Ellis said there was more than just a little smoke in the air from the burning wildfires.
Ellis described it as a “feeling.” She said, “I just [knew] that the players could deliver. I told them in the semi-final game that these players are born for big moments; this is what they relish. It doesn’t surprise me that as the games got harder, this team gets better.”
