I watched it in slow motion three times. No way that should have been called. If her foot is raised but on the line, not enough reason. It has to be pretty egregious in practice to call it.
They use video review for offside and goals. The final penalty kick in the USA-Sweden game was good by inches, if that. Why should some rules have wiggle room when others don’t?
Part of this is just the nature of the sport. Upsets in single-game soccer knockouts aren’t very rare. The US went out on penalties against the #3 ranked team, in a game where they were clearly the better side. Back in the Olympics, they lost the semifinal to Canada in another game where they were clearly the better side. It happens.
And in the other 4, they finished second or third. The next closest contender in top 3 finishes is Germany with two firsts and one second. Unstoppable, no, but juggernaut yes.
Well done to Spain, deserved winners who were the better team. It was a terrific game, although I’m not sure how much I enjoyed it. Too busy having several heart attacks. I’m excited to see what England can do when their key injured players are back. Mary Earp is my idol. Perhaps Nike might NOW consider selling her shirt?
While this may be true, there’s also the factor that football/soccer just wasn’t really played by girls at school until recently - even now it’s very patchy. In the UK, girls play (field) hockey and netball at school, traditionally, while the boys are playing football and rugby.
Earps is excellent isn’t she. It took utter perfection in terms of shot placement to beat her.
She certainly deserved her Golden Glove
In soccer news:
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After the match was finished, winning goal scorer Olga learned her father had died. My condolences, what a bittersweet day.
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Nike wouldn’t manufacture an Earps jersey. Since many claim her as an inspiration, fans have taken up the matter themselves.
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Spain soccer executive apologizes for kissing star player after initial nonchalance.
I have a feeling that, at least in the Americas (outside of Canada), part of it was a mentality that:
(a) if you were a woman and played, you were a lesbian;
(b) if you were a man and had (choose any of: a wife, a girlfriend, a sister, a daughter) who played, then “hand in your man card immediately.”
I am reminded of an article in Sports Illustrated about a woman who had to struggle to find a restaurant that was showing the women’s World Cup final - which Germany won - and even when she did, when the match ended, the mentality inside the rest of the bar was, “Okay, now switch over to real soccer.” Yes, you have this in the USA as well, but it’s drowned out by the supporters.
As for universities, nothing stops players on other national teams from attending college in the USA; quite a few runners and swimmers do this. Nothing new about this; when I was in college in the early 1980s, I attended with someone who competed in the 1980 Moscow Olympics, which the USA boycotted (and President Carter made it quite clear that no USA athletes would be allowed to compete for other countries without pretty much abandoning their citizenship first).
This has been the case for women sports stars in most sports. Maybe not swimming. And it isn’t without some foundation - lesbians in professional sports do appear in greater numbers than in normal life. 30% of the England women’s squad at the World Cup is lesbian.
A discussion for another thread, which I’d be be happy to wade in on, being a card carrying lesbian myself.
You get cards? Neat.
And a toaster
I can’t find a reason in any of the articles I’ve read. Is it something so obvious that it doesn’t need to be said, or that people who follow the sport already know? Why wouldn’t they make a jersey? It seems like there is enough demand to justify it from a business perspective.
I think it’s precisely perceived demand that stopped them from making it. I think it was actually a decision they made about ALL the goalkeeper shirts for the Women’s World Cup. It’s just that Earps has been making a stink about it (rightly so).
*I think they only manufacture for France, USA and England, but the point stands. It doesn’t look like Adidas have been making women’s goalie shirts available either
GK jerseys generally don’t sell well. One of the reasons are they aren’t usually the ‘team colors’. GKs have to stand out so they normally wear a different color pattern.
Luis Rubias is refusing to step down after “the kiss” and other incidents. Shameful and steals the glory that these athletes rightfully earned.
81 women, including the entire winning team, say they’re not coming back under current leadership.
“After everything that happened during the Women’s World Cup medal ceremony, we want to state that all the players who sign this letter will not return to a call for the national team if the current leaders continue.”
Hell yeah.
The Spanish government declares that they are going to suspend (which is not the same as sacking, but a step on the way to that) Mr. Rubiales. Won’t take a week.
Link in Spanish, DeepL helps if you don’t know Spanish.
In plain Spanish: Que se vaya a tomar por saco. This MeToo moment in Spanish football is not his first scandal.
When this is over, will someone go after Gianni Mafiantino too? I might come back and watch football again (not that I matter, but still, would be a nice gesture).