Abby Wambach, striker of the U.S. aims the ball during a practice session for the upcoming final of the women's soccer World Cup in Frankfurt
Megan Rapinoe of the U.S. balances a ball on her head during a practice session for the upcoming final of the women's soccer World Cup in Frankfurt
US fans hold sign prior to the semifinal match between France and the United States at the Women’s Soccer World Cup in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Wednesday, July 13, 2011.
Women's World Cup: USA v Japan pre-match analysis
The United States may be the top-ranked team on the planet but they have not won the World Cup since 1999. Could that be about to change?
Well, they have played Japan three times this year and won on every occasion.
World Cup facts: Japan vs. United States
A glance at fascinating facts on the U.S. and Japan teams, which meet Sunday in Frankfurt, Germany, to battle for the World Cup.
--- Japanese and American national women's teams have met 25 previous times, with the U.S. winning every time.
--- The U.S. team is making an appearance in a final for the third time. It won the past two appearances in 1999 and 1991.
--- The U.S. team is the only nation to reach the semi-finals at every FIFA women's World Cup.
USA’s Wambach was bred for this moment
“My brothers were athletes and I just grew up in an athletic family,” Wambach told Yahoo! Sports. “My mom would lock us out of the house and tell us to go and play, we couldn’t come in even if we needed to pee – we had to go in the bushes.
“I think I was bred to do what I do now,” she said. “Growing up as the youngest of seven was like being in a team environment, you learn all kinds of things. You keep your mouth shut when you need to."
“I learned how to compete, my brothers and sisters always played with me on the same level and they never let me win until I was better than them and deserved it. Being in such a big family makes you humble. You might have a certain skill or talent but there is always someone who is better at something than you."
“My eldest sister Beth is a doctor who studied at Harvard and Columbia, and played basketball for Harvard,” Wambach added. “She set the athletic and academic standard for the rest of us to follow. Being the youngest you need to speak louder sometimes and fight for what is yours, all things that have come alive for me in this tournament.”
Wambach has come too far for USA not to win Cup
The United States women’s soccer team is in Sunday’s World Cup final largely because of Abby Wambach’s aerial dominance and her penchant for the dramatic.
Wambach nodded home a game-saving goal against Brazil in the quarterfinals and the game-winner against France in the semis. But the Rochester, N.Y., native has come up huge in the biggest spots because of her heart . . . not her head.
Despite being just 31 years old, the forward says she has been bred from youth to be a competitor. She’s displayed that drive during this World Cup, playing through Achilles’ tendinitis to score in three straight games — all from the air — to set up the match against Japan with the championship at stake.
“This team has fought through a lot of adversity in that Brazil game and with a loss in the group stage,” Wambach said during a conference call from Frankfurt, Germany. “[But] that was a confidence-builder for us. We can be dealt any hand, any situation and come through on top in the end. That bodes well.”
Rampone adds a special story to U.S. women's World Cup quest
As the captain of the U.S. women's soccer team, Christie Rampone has the chance to be the player who receives the Women's World Cup trophy if the U.S. beats Japan in the final here on Sunday (2:45 p.m. ET, ESPN, ESPN3.com). Few players in the history of soccer, men or women, have had that opportunity, but then again, there's not much that's ordinary in her life.
Who is Christie Rampone? She's a 36-year-old mother of two -- the only mother on the team -- whose daughter Rylie lost her first tooth the other day. She's a lockdown central defender who has been terrific in her fourth Women's World Cup. She's a remarkably fit player who, despite being the team's oldest member, has the No. 1-rated fitness level on the 21-player squad (based on the eight tests everyone has to complete).
And, as I was stunned to discover on Saturday, she's doing all this despite having Lyme disease.
Alex Morgan's Facebook proposals prove...something
Ahh, naive media pundits. The folks at Sports Illustrated recently linked to television ratings to trumpet the success of the Women's World Cup. Deadspin and KCKRS did slightly better, glancing at the Google traffic stats for "Hope Solo boyfriend" to evidence a recent spike in interest. Yet with serious financial issues facing the domestic female league in the US, can such barometers of passing fancy be mistaken for an anchor?
No. Of course not.
There can only be one true and conclusive piece of evidence that Women's soccer has forever entered the American sporting consciousness: the number of Facebook marriage proposals to USWNT substitute striker Alex Morgan in the last 72 hours.
World Cup final homecoming for US defender Krieger
Ali Krieger might have a future as a tour guide after this.
The U.S. defender's teammates have been bombarding her with questions about what to do and what to see in Frankfurt, site of Sunday's World Cup final and Krieger's home for much of the last four years.
Rapinoe embraces unexpected role for U.S.
Megan Rapinoe's smile never disappeared, although the blond-haired United States midfielder was on the wrong end of a late decision by manager Pia Sundhage that stripped her of a starting job in the days leading up to the Women's World Cup.
Athletes regularly lose starting roles, but this decision came on the eve of the Women's World Cup, possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the 26- year-old Californian.
Rapinoe debuted for the United States in 2006, but spent the majority of the next two years recovering from two anterior cruciate ligament injuries. With those injuries behind her, 2011 was finally her big chance.
Then, the decision was made. Sundhage replaced Rapinoe with Lauren Cheney in the lineup. Oddly, it's worked out well for Rapinoe. But, perhaps that's the norm for someone who said her ACL injuries were "one of the best things that ever happened to me."
Megan Rapinoe scores for team USA and sings Born in the USA [VIDEO]
The Megan Rapinoe Song [MUSIC VIDEO]
Hope Solo: Everything You Need to Know About All World Team USA Goalie
Hope Solo has quickly become a celebrity among celebrities. Athletes and celebrities have constantly been tweeting about her since the United States came back against Brazil and she has seemed to capture the eye of every male and female in America.
Solo has proven herself to be the top goalkeeper in the world, but things weren't always that way.
When Solo first started playing soccer she was a striker. She scored over 100 goals in high school in Richland, Washington. She switched her position once she arrived on campus at the University of Washington and that began her incredible path to the World Cup.
INCREDIBLE SUPPORT - U.S. players appreciate groundswell
It seems everyone has jumped on the U.S. Women’s National Team bandwagon. ESPN, which is airing the ongoing Women’s World Cup, has been virtually non-stop in showing highlights, interviews and talking heads yakking it up about the tournament. The network even made a quick change at its recent ESPY awards, giving the play of the year to Abby Wambach’s game-tying header against Brazil last Saturday.
Network news operations from CBS to NBC and the even the Travel Channel have jumped on board, as has almost every major newspaper in the country.
The players, though half-a-world away, are definitely getting a sense of the excitement.
“Personally, my Facebook page has been very popular with all my friends and supporters, so that’s been really cool to see that outpouring of support,” said defender Rachel Buehler.
Men want in on US women bandwagon
The US women's soccer team, which plays Japan in Sunday's World Cup final in Frankfurt, Germany, has riveted fans of both sexes this year with nail-biting wins over Brazil and France, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.
But the excitement has some men particularly worked up as they fret over one of the finer points of fandom: What in the world is a beer-drinking, chest-hair-sporting Abby Wambach fan supposed to wear?
Tom Bush, a 29-year-old advertising copywriter and avid soccer fan from Rochester, N.Y., framed the dilemma earlier this week on Twitter, writing, "Is it weird that a woman can buy a men's US soccer jersey, but they don't make a male version of women's jersey?"
Despite the women's team's transcendent appeal, Nike Inc., US Soccer's official jersey and apparel licensee, doesn't sell a stitch of team-specific clothing to suit the team's male fans.
Magnus cheers U.S. women in World Cup final
NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus, a Belleville native and soccer enthusiast, made a video from space to cheer on the U.S. women's soccer team in the Women's World Cup final today.
The U.S. team will play against Japan, who also got a shoutout from the International Space Station by Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furu- kawa.
Magnus was a top defender on the women's soccer team for the Missouri University of Science and Technology, then known as the University of Missouri-Rolla, and was inducted into the school's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003.
"Since age 11 when I started playing soccer, I've been a big soccer fan, and here high above the Earth, we're able to follow the progress of the FIFA Women's World Cup thanks to Mission Control updating scores to us as they happen," Magnus said in the video.
Iran: Authorities confirm arrest of actress, blogger
Ahangarani, the daughter of Iranian filmmakers Manijeh Hekmat and Jamsheed Ahangarani, was supposed to cover the Women's World Cup of Soccer championship in Germany on a blog set up by Deutsche Welle's Persian service.
The very best and worst of the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup [VIDEOS]
All-action Japan compared to Barcelona
Japan's all-action style has caught the eye at the FIFA Women's World Cup and, as they prepare for Sunday's final against USA, they have drawn comparisons with European giants Barcelona.
Despite their flower-inspired nickname Nadeshiko, the Japanese are the giant-killers at Germany 2011 having shocked the hosts 1-0 in the quarter-finals and then dominated Sweden 3-1 in the semi-final.
Sweden's coach picks U.S. to win
Sweden is the only team in the World Cup to have played the U.S. and Japan, and those experiences sway Dennerby's vote for the Americans.
U.S. soccer players keep faith in each other
FRANKFURT, Germany -- The bumpy, windy road got the Americans right where they wanted to go all along.
Eight months after having to win a playoff just to get to Germany, the Americans face Japan in the Women's World Cup final on Sunday. A win would be the ultimate finish to their improbable journey, making the U.S. the first three-time champion and delighting a country of newfound fans.
"I believe all the way we'll find a way," Carli Lloyd said Saturday after the team's last training session. "It's going to be a tough match like every other match has been, but I believe that we will find a way and it's our destiny to get it done."
