Fallen champions Japan were left stunned and humiliated
after being stripped of their World Cup crown by the United States in a tearful
5-2 defeat in Vancouver.
Chants of ‘USA, USA, USA’ resounding around the stadium were
so loud that coach Norio Sasaki could not be heard as he desperately shouted to
warn his team of the danger posed by Carli Lloyd.
Lloyd, 32, started up front and her 13-minute first-half
hattrick proved devastating for the Japanese.
The Asian champions had come into the final, which was a
rematch of the 2011 championship match in which they beat the United States on
penalties, with high hopes.
They were the only team to have won all their games in
Canada – although four were against newcomers in Cameroon, Ecuador, Switzerland
and the Netherlands.
But the cracks were beginning to show as they advanced past
England 2-1 in the semi-final thanks to an own-goal by defender Laura Bassett.
The United States had advanced out of a tough Group D –
dubbed the ‘group of death’ – which included Australia, Sweden and Nigeria.
And the Americans had analyzed their rival’s game.
“We knew that if we took it to Japan they would get nervous
on the pitch,” said Lloyd.
The Americans had worked on their set pieces and the
methodical and technical Japanese had no answer.
“This is not the end of soccer in Japan,” vowed coach Norio
Sasaki.
“I love these girls and I really want to continue working
with them.
“We lost because the United States played those set pieces
successfully, we really need to look back and analyze after losing by that many
goals.”
“We came here and we really had pride to play here.
“We could have lost by many more goals but the positive
point is that we did not give up.”
– Sasaki ’embarrassed’ –
Sasaki blamed himself
for his players’ inability to react to the threat.
“Japan were a little slow responding. Instead of me coaching
the players they need to react without my prompting. It’s my fault, we need to
work on this.”
Sasaki admitted they were outplayed by the Americans and
particularly Lloyd, who also scored both goals in a 2-1 win which gave the US
the Olympic gold at the expense of Japan.
Lloyd, 32, scored her first after just three minutes with
the second coming two minutes later, and her third on 16 minutes.
It was the first ever hattrick in the final of the women’s
tournament, and her six goals saw her take the Golden Ball award for the
tournament’s top player.
Teammates Lauren Holiday (14) and Tobin Heath (54) also
found the net.
Yuki Ogimi got one back on 27 minutes for Japan with their
second coming thanks to a 52nd-minute own-goal by US defender Julie Johnson.
“We’re really embarrassed,” Sasaki said.
Midfielder Homare Sawa, the heroine of Japan’s 2011
campaign, came on after 33 minutes in place of tearful defender Azusa
Iwashimizu — who had a desperate game — but failed to ignite the Japanese.
“I’d decided this would be my last World Cup and I’ve got no
regrets,” said the 36-year-old Sawa, who was critical of their campaign.
“We’re very disappointed. We gave away those goals early on
which obviously hurt. You can’t afford to do that against a team like America.
“But the result gives a fair reflection of where the team is
now.”
Japan captain Aya Miyama won the Bronze Ball for the
tournament’s third best player.
“This time we didn’t win, but I think we did our best,” said
the 30-year-old.
“Coming first and coming second are very different, so I am
very sorry,” she said, as tears streamed down her face.
“It was a tough game, but everyone did her best for the
team.”
For Mana Iwabuchi, at 22 the youngest member of the team,
the defeat was inexplicable.
“This is our last game together as a team, and I thought we
were a great team. We did our best and we finished in second place.”
Ogimi added: “We need to look now towards the next game.
Both as individuals and as a team, we weren’t good enough.”
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