U.S. Women Beat Germany, Clinch Title
Goalkeeper Briana Scurry earned a shutout and midfielder Devvyn Hawkins scored her first international goal Wednesday as the United States women’s national team defeated Germany, 1-0, and then clinched the Four Nations Cup title when Norway held China to a 1-1 tie in the second game in Shanghai.
The Americans, who had been beaten, 2-0, by China on Sunday, needed to win their game and to have the Chinese fail to win theirs in order to capture the tournament. It worked out exactly that way.
Hawkins, a defensive midfielder playing in only her ninth game for the national team, put the U.S. ahead in the 18th minute, scoring from close range after an intricate buildup involving Aly Wagner, Tiffeny Milbrett and Brandi Chastain.
Scurry and the defensive back line of Christie Pearce, Joy Fawcett, Chastain and Kate Sobrero, limited the Germans to eight shots, only two of them on target.
“It was our most consistent performance defensively in that we allowed very few shots on goal, we smothered every opportunity Germany had and we limited our unforced errors at the back,” U.S. Coach April Heinrichs said.
In the second game of the afternoon at Hongkou Stadium -- which will host six matches, including a semifinal, at the fourth Women’s World Cup this fall -- Teng Wei gave China the lead in the first half, but Unni Lehn tied it for Norway early in the second half and the Norwegians frustrated the Chinese the rest of the way.
Heinrichs called the Four Nations Cup “immensely successful on many levels” for the U.S., which finished fourth in last year’s tournament, and midfielder Tiffany Roberts said it boded well for the Sept. 23-Oct. 11 world championship.
“Coming into these big stadiums with the huge crowds, I would get chills and have flashbacks to 1999,” Roberts said, referring to that year’s Women’s World Cup in the United States. “We can tell that this is going to be a great World Cup.”
U.S. Challenge
The U.S. under-20 national team was drawn to play Paraguay, Germany and South Korea in the first round of the FIFA World Youth Championship in the United Arab Emirates March 27-April 16.
The Americans will play each of their first-round matches at Al-Nahyam Stadium in Abu Dhabi, one of four cities hosting the 24-nation event.
The U.S. plays Paraguay on March 27, Germany on March 30 and South Korea on April 2. The top two teams in each of the six four-team groups and the four best third-place teams will advance to the round of 16.
“Any time you go to a world championship, any opponents you draw are going to be challenging in their own ways,” U.S. Coach Thomas Rongen said.
“We’re in with one of the European powerhouses, a very interesting South American team and, if the last World Cup is any indication, an up-and-coming team in Korea. This group poses some great challenges, but at the end of the day we’re quite pleased with the draw.”
Wednesday’s draw in Abu Dhabi:
Group A: UAE, Slovakia, Panama and Burkina Faso.
Group B: Argentina, Spain, Uzbekistan and Mali.
Group C: Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic and Australia.
Group D: Colombia, Egypt, Japan and England.
Group E: Saudi Arabia, Ireland, Mexico and Ivory Coast.
Group F: Paraguay, USA, South Korea and Germany.
Ekelund Signs
The San Jose Earthquakes reached agreement with Denmark’s Ronnie Ekelund, signing the 30-year-old midfielder to a multiyear contract. Terms were not disclosed.
Milos Milutinovic Dies
Milos Milutinovic, the older brother of five-time World Cup coach Bora Milutinovic, has died in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, at the age of 70 after a lengthy illness.
He played 33 times for Yugoslavia, scoring 16 goals, and coached the national team at the 1984 European Championship in France.
During his playing career, he starred for Partizan Belgrade, which he coached to the Yugoslav league title in 1983, as well as for Bayern Munich, Racing Paris and OFK Belgrade.
