In a replay of the 2011 Women’s World Cup Final USA faced Japan, although this time the result was reversed. The USA came out all guns blazing; Carli Lloyd scored the first goal within 3 minutes, and just two minutes later tucked away her second. On 14 minutes Holiday joined the party to hit home and get the third.
On 16 minutes Lloyd won the ball in her own half and seeing the keeper off her line hit a beautiful lob that sailed into the goal, leaving the keeper a helpless bystander.
This was clearly not the game the Japanese were expecting, and to be honest most finals are slightly disappointing cagey affairs with neither team wanting to commit themselves, make errors or give the game away. The USA and Carli Lloyd in particular though were on a mission, they had stated before the tournament began that they were the best team in the world and they would win the trophy and their tactics to blitz the Japanese were spot on.
With just a quarter of the game it was really all over, Ogimi scored for Japan on 27′ but they never really looked like getting back into it. At the beginning of the second half an own goal from Johnston gave the slightest glimmer but this was swiftly snuffed out when goal number five went in for the USA scored by Heath just two minutes later.
The USA who had not really played that well this tournament had clearly saved everything for the final and celebrated joyously at the final whistle. Not only had the USA won back the World Cup, goalie Hope Solo won the Golden Glove and Carli Lloyd the Golden Ball plus Carli Lloyd was within a whisker of winning the Golden Boot also, losing out by the smallest margin to Germany’s Celia Sasic.
I’m already looking forward to World Cup 2019 to see if anyone can wrest the trophy away from the USA.
FIFA Awards:
World Cup Winner:
1) USA
2) Japan
3) England
4) Germany
Winner of the Golden Ball
1) Carli Lloyd (USA)
2) Amandine Henry (France)
3) Aya Miyama (Japan)
Winner of Golden Glove
Hope Solo (USA)
Winner of Golden Boot
1) Celia Sasic (Germany)
2) Carli Lloyd (USA)
3) Anya Mittag (Germany)
Young Player
Kadeisha Buchanan (Canada)
Fair Play Award
France
