Live from Paris: It's USA versus Chile

The Americans have invaded Paris!  At least that's what it looked like all over the streets of Paris. There were red, white and blue attired children and adults; there were red USA jerseys, white USA jerseys, black 2015 Women's World Cup jersey's. And there were deely-boppers and glitter and headbands, and scarves, and face paint. Yes, the Americans had most definitely invaded Paris for their game 2 of the Women's World Cup.

I don't know how many noticed it, but even the boats floating around the pond in Luxembourg garden were adorned with the flags of the world cup teams. And yes, the Americans had invaded the gardens as well.

There is something wonderful about the women's world cup (that is different from how I remember the men's world cup). If you're wearing something that identifies you as team USA, random people will stop and talk to you. You'll exchange locales, how long you're in the country, how many games you'll catch, what you thought of the last game, etc. It's a joyful celebration. And there are kids -- LOTS of them -- not just the young girls adorned in the shirts of their heroines, but young boys, who haven't been jaded to think that only men's soccer "counts," as well.




My  seats for this game were quite different, providing an entirely different perspective on the game.

I wouldn't say they were worse, they were just different: great view of the field, out of the blistering sun for the first half and the last quarter. Had it been the Thailand game, they would have been the perfect seats to see the 10 second-half goals.

The USA started with a lineup that differed almost entirely from game 1. The only returning players to the starting lineup were: Alyssa Naeher (goalie), Julie Ertz, Lindsay Horan, and Abby Dahlkemper. By the end of the game, Ellis (coach) had ensured that every field player on the roster had gotten field time.

Even with a different lineup, the first half felt a lot like the Thailand game. First goal, right after the 10 minute mark: beautiful Carli Lloyd volley. Second goal, after about 20 minutes. And around 30 minutes in, Lloyd scored her second of the day. On the other hand, Chile looked to be playing a bit more aggressively than had Thailand. They were sliding to knock balls away from their fleet-footed opponents and they were able to put together better pass sequences, although the USA backline continued to do an outstanding job simply shutting down every attack.

The second half, however, looked nothing like the Thailand game. There were some spectacular plays and outstanding shots on goal, but Chile's keeper, Christiane Endler, was unbeatable. In fact, think about this: The USA beat Chile, 3-0, and Endler was named player of the match -- it was that spectacular. And this was the end where we were sitting, so there was some fabulous action. I forgot to take my traditional game selfie with Nandita Vijaykumar, who accompanied me to the game, so here's a selfie at Luxembourg garden instead!

And, in other games:

• Italy 5, Jamaica 0
• England 1, Argentina 0
• Japan 2, Scotland 1

Saturday

• Netherland 2, Cameroon 1
• Canada 2, New Zealand 0

Sunday

• Sweden 5, Thailand 1