U.S. beats Italy, 1-0, to qualify for women’s World Cup but has a ‘wake-up’ call
Now that the United States has overcome the discomfiting situation of needing to win a playoff series to qualify for the 2011 women’s World Cup, the question is whether getting into such a predicament was a one-time fluke or part of an emerging pattern.
The U.S. earned the final spot in the 16-team World Cup field with two 1-0 victories in the aggregate-goals playoff with Italy, adding Saturday’s victory at Toyota Park to the one Nov. 20 in Padua, Italy.
For the country that had dominated women’s soccer since winning the inaugural World Cup in 1991, just being in danger of not making the sixth World Cup next summer in Germany may be the jolt needed to keep the U.S. program among the world leaders.
“We’re already at a tipping point, for sure,” said Julie Foudy, who played on two World Cup champions and two Olympic champions. “This little hiccup could light a fire under U.S. soccer.”
The hiccup occurred when Mexico stunned the U.S., 2-1, in the semifinals of the regional qualifying tournament Nov. 5. The two finalists earned World Cup spots, and the U.S. needed to win a third-place game just to make the playoff.
Although they had the run of play in both games with Italy, the U.S. women had to scrape for each win against a team that finished fifth in European qualifying.
Saturday’s victory, in front of 9,508, came on an Amy Rodriguez tap-in of a loose ball in the 40th minute.
“I want to apologize for the first 20 minutes,” Coach Pia Sundhage said of her team’s play. “It was crap. … I’m very happy with the way we played eventually.”
In the first game, it took until the 94th minute for Alex Morgan to score the winner.
“If we don’t qualify, it will have dramatic implications,” Foudy had said an hour before doing color commentary on the game Saturday. “The good news is it’s a second chance and a wake-up call for the soccer community and the [U.S soccer] federation to ask, ‘What do we do about development?’ ”
The recent performances of two younger national teams also raised those issues. U.S. women lost in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Under-20 World Cup after winning the title in 2008 and failed to qualify for the 2010 Under-17 World Cup after finishing second in 2008.
“The best thing about not qualifying is we get to really examine things you can improve on,” said Abby Wambach, the senior team’s veteran star. “Winning, you can overlook so many things. Pia calls this a wake-up call for our team.”
For the first time, the senior team struggled to make the World Cup field, although the loss to Mexico was its only defeat in 26 games (22-1-3) over the last two years.
“Do we need to refocus perhaps? Sure,” said Sunil Gulati, president of U.S. Soccer. “Do we need to turn the program upside down because we lost one game in two years? I don’t think so.
“But we need to understand the [rest of the world] is investing more resources and continue to get better.”
Sundhage thinks her team still is good enough to win the 2011 World Cup, when she sees six or seven teams as title contenders. In the future, though, she thinks the U.S. needs players with increased levels of technical skills, especially in ball control, and of tactical sophistication.
“Since 2008, we have talked about being more tactical instead of relying on the American attitude,” Sundhage said.
That attitude, a combination of raw athleticism and relentless desire to win, played a crucial role in helping the team rally from the loss to Mexico.
“I always think that struggle can bring out the best in people — or the worst,” Wambach said. “With this team, you find time and time again the best happens when we feel it is do or die.”
Wambach attributed some of the team’s mediocre recent play to fatigue after 11 months of action for both the national team and Women’s Professional Soccer league teams.
“I think when we get a little bit or rest, we can perform like we know we are capable of,” she said. “We know this isn’t the way we normally play. We can get better … but at the end of the day, it’s about who wants to win more.”
