The U.S., led by top scorer Abby Wambach, twice held one-goal leads but allowed Japan to claw its way back into the game each time. Regulation ended with the score knotted at 1-1 and both teams traded goals in the 30 minutes of extra time before Japan knocked out the Americans on penalty kicks.
“It’s obviously heartbreaking,” Wambach said. “Japan played well. They never gave up.”
After a scoreless first half, Alex Morgan put the U.S. on the board first in the 69th minute, taking a long pass from Megan Rampinoe and beating the last Japan defender for the goal.
The lead would hold for just ten minutes, however, as Japan’s Aya Miyama took advantage of a poor clear attempt by Rachel Buehler and sloppy defensive play by the U.S. in their own end, gaining possession in the U.S. goal box and blasting a shot past U.S. goalie Hope Solo.
The U.S. had several opportunities to net the go-ahead goal in the final ten minutes of regulation, as they dominated possession but were continuously unable to get quality shots off. The U.S. shot total nearly doubled that of Japan (27-14), but only five of the United States’ 27 shots were on goal.
Wambach put the U.S. up again 14 minutes into extra time, scoring on one of her patented headers from six yards out. Again the lead was not safe, though, as Homare Sawa — the tournament’s leading scorer with five goals — netted the equalizer in the 117th minute, forcing a penalty kick shootout to decide the champion.
The U.S. women emerged victorious in the only previous World Cup final that required PKs (their iconic win over China in 1999), but they could not muster the same magic on Sunday.
They missed their first three kicks, with Carli Lloyd sending her try over the net and Japan goalie Ayumi Kaihori saving both Shannon Boxx and Tobin Heath‘s attempts.
Solo came up with a save on Yuki Nagasato and Wambach finally converted for the U.S. on the team’s fourth attempt, but it proved to be too little, too late. Saki Kumagai sent her next shot past a sprawling Solo to clinch the championship for Japan.
Japan’s victory in the Cup final is the first for an Asian country, and also marks Japan’s first win over the United States in 26 attempts.
