Live from Regusse: It's the Lower Verdon Gorges

As if we weren't gluttons enough for punishment yesterday. Today we set out for a more mellow hike, The Lower Verdon Gorges walk. This was only about a 20 minute drive from the house (a request from me) and went along an old canal and the lower part of the Verdon Gorge and then rapidly climbed up to the top of an impressive wall and then along the top and eventually a fairly slow descent. All told, just a bit over 2.5 hours and way less impressive statistics: 18,000 steps, 7 miles and only 63 floors

The most spectacular thing about this walk is how vividly you can see the color of the water.

At the end of the hike, we ended up high enough to see the gorge as well as the dam, just a bit off to the right, not to mention the picturesque village across the hill.

After we finished our hike (18,000 steps; 7 miles; 63 floors all in 2 hours 45 minutes), we took a double kayak up through the gorge where we had hiked. It was aimply stunning (as well as wonderfully cooling).

And then, of course, we came back to the house so we could watch the consolation match: Sweden versus England. Sweden looked the more powerful and intimidating the first half and took a 2-0 lead after 22 minutes; England then came back like gangbusters with a gorgeous goal in the 31^st minute and what looked to be a second goal only minutes later. But in a deja vu moment, the ref motioned the VAR signed, reviewed the play and determined (correctly, IMHO) that there had been a handball. This must have been devastating after what happened in the US game (goal disallowed due to an offsides by a hairbreadth margin).

The second half looked eerily like many of the recent US games, with Sweden compacting back into a 5-person defensive line and simply taking a pummeling. However, as the US has done, Sweden held fast and the 2-1 score held until the end. Tough break for England, happy day for Lindahl (keeper) who is probably playing in her last world cup.

Live from Lyon: USA versus England

It was certainly a game worthy of a semi-final!

We were in the nosebleed section: directly underneath one of the enormous screens in the corner of the stadium. It did provide a beautiful view of the field, but those players did look quite tiny!

And then there were the fans behind us -- one Engand fan and one American Fan. Mr. English had one of those loud booming voices that droned in my head for hours after the match. Now, I'm all for supporting your team, but this guy was a running commentary telling every player on the field what they should be doing -- loudly, in my ear. As if they could hear him!? My favorite moment came when the ref called for a VAR review and he started complaining about it, not realizing that it could mean England was about to get a PK. The only thing worse than a loud and annoying fan is one who doesn't actually understand what's going on.

Then there was Ms. America, who cheered as if she were best buds and teammates with every American on the team. She had cute nicknames for every US player and she too felt that they needed coaching from the uppermost portions of the stadium.

OK, enough whining -- it was the Women's World Cup Semifinal and the USA were taking on a very tough English side. Both teams were missing key players. For the USA, Rapinoe, who was the only player to have scored any goals in the last two games, was sidelined with a hamstring injury. For England, their awesome starting keeper, Karen Bardsley, was also sidelined. Tough break for both teams.

The US got off to a pretty strong start -- perhaps their best in the knockout stage. They were moving the ball well, maintaining possession, and looking threatening. And sure enough, in what has been a hallmark of this tournament, the US struck early: in the 10th minute, Christen Press (the Rapinoe sub), headed in a beautiful cross from Kelly O'Hara, set up from a gorgeous Tobin Heath pass that Rose Lavelle dummied to let it run into the corner. It was a spectacularly beautiful build up and finish.

At that moment, it looked like it was going to be the USA team of yore -- easily handling a feisty opponent, but that was a drastic underestimate of the Lionesses (who can not love a team called the Lionesses???). Only nine minutes later, their golden-boot contender, Ellen White, executed an equally beautiful goal. Somehow she sneaked into the middle of the defense to collect a well-placed cross from Mead and send it smashing into the goal. Uh oh, perhaps England had other ideas than a romp in the park for the US ...

The game quickly became an intense back and forth, full field game. And then, after a fast-paced thirty minutes, it was Alex Morgan's turn to finish with a beautiful header, served up from outside by Lindsay Horan (reappearing in the starting lineup after having been omitted for the past two games). And it was 2-1 that the USA and England closed out the half.

The second half got even more exciting. In I believe the following order:

• England appeared to tie up the game in the 70^th minute with another Ellen White goal But the Americans were saved by the VAR, when White was ruled offsides. The vast majority of the 53,000 in attendance gave a collective sigh of relief.
• The next VAR decision in the 82^nd minute, was not so good for the US -- after some commotion in the US box that left Naeher (goalie) sprawled on the goal line, the VAR alerted the ref to a potential foul ... and sure enough, further review turned into a PK for England! And this is where Naeher earned her entire paycheck for the year -- she went to her right and managed to collect Steph Houghton's PK! It was still 2-1.
• I think this was more than England could handle. The game took at a turn for the more aggressive (and terrifying as England pummeled the US goal and its 5-man back line that magically happened after the offside goal-- or in the words of the NYT, " That scare [the offside no-goal] was the Bat Signal for a five-player back line.") Finally, in the 86^th minute, a frustrated Millie Bright went in cleats up on Alex Morgan, earning her second yellow card, which means a red, which means an ejection (p17), and England was down to ten players.

And of course, today's selfie with longtime WWC partner, Becks Ruck.

Reporting from beautiful Vancouver, it's the Consolation Match: England versus Germany

England enters the match having never defeated Germany in 20 meetings. Germany enters the match having lost to the USA in the semifinal. And they're off!

The opeining 10-15 minutes saw Germany looking confident and dominating. They had opportunities in the box within minutes of the opening whistle. In contrast, England did not look so good. They were able to keep Germany off the scoreboard, but they just weren't smooth or organized -- they didn't look like the team who had deserved to win over Japan. Until, that is, they settled down. About fifteen minutes into the match, England settled down and we were in for a good tight game. Something about the English play made it seem like they wanted it more.

Germany was more precise and better at putting together the passes and combinations, but England were putting themselves out there in a way Germany wasn't. Nevertheless, the game was end to end and relatively evenly matched, with the Germans looking perhaps a bit stronger. They went into half time 0-0.

The came out of half time with renewed energy and Germany looked particularly dangerous. They threatened the English goal, regularly, but without success; England had fewer opportunities. In the 75th minute we saw perhaps the best opportunity of the game with Jill Scott pulling Nadine Angerer out of the box, but somehow the ball went backwards instead of into the goal. It had looked so promising.

The battle continued and the final whistle blew on a game still tied at 0-0! Into overtime.

The frenzied battle continued throughout the first 15-minute period with neither team successfully creating a threatening attack. Then we went into the second overtime. I did not want to see this game end in PK's. Both teams deserved better.

And then...it happened: Leanne Sanderson (former Boston Breaker) in the box; Tabbe Kemme appeared to have her around around Sanderson as she went down; was it? could it be? Holding in the box? Well, the referee did call it, awarding a PK to the English. The replay we could see on television was interesting. While still standing, it was pretty clear that Sanderson had grabbed Kemme. It was equally clear that Kemme did hold Sanderson, but it was almost as if Sanderson made it happen. I think without the replay, the call was completely valid; with the replay, it was much tougher to decide. I wouldn't say it was the wrong call, but I can't exactly say it was the right call either. I wonder if soccer will ever use instant reply to rule on these things?

Anyway, Fara Williams stepped up to the line and nailed it.

The rest is history. Germany lost a stunning two in a row; England had their best finish ever; this fan was exhausted!

Back in Edmonton: Japan versus England

It was a beautiful day in Edmonton as Japan and England met in the second semifinal match. Many of the Canadian fans had purchased tickets to this game, hoping it would be a Canadian match on Canada Day (the Canadian Fourth of July Equivalent, celebrated on the first of July). But, England squelched that plan, so it was an interesting crowd - a lot of Canadian jerseys, a lot of American jerseys, and many, many fewer English and Japanese jerseys (I wore my Boston Breakers Sameshima jersey). As the people behind me were overhead to say, "No one really cares who wins; they're just here to watch soccer." I was cheering for Japan, because I would like to see another USA / Japan final, with a different outcome than we saw in 2011.

The crowd was a bit larger than I expected (31,000). We only got 19,000 for the USA round of 16 game in Edmonton.

And our seats were quite nice.

Japan got off to a bit of a rough start -- they weren't connecting cleanly on their passes as we've come to expect from them. England, on the other hand, got a decent chance on their opening possession -- a rocket launched just left of the goal. Japan collected themselves somewhat, but I was shocked to see how different the 2015 Japan team was from 2011. In 2011, Japan connected passes like a pinball machine; amassing some ridiculously high pass completion rate. Today, they were missing passes, sending balls into wastelands of space, and simply not looking like Japan. And England was loving it! England seemed to have the speed advantage on both offense and defense. But they too struggled to put together a significant attack.

Then the game started feeling eerily familiar -- in the 31st minute Japan's Ariyoshi was fouled -- the referee called it in the box, awarding Japan a PK. And like last night's foul on the Americans, instant replay showed that the foul was just outside the box. Oops. Japan's captain, Miyama, struck net. Japan 1-0.

And again, eerily similar to the Germany USA match, less than ten minutes later, England's Houghton also drew a foul; Fara Williams nailed it, and we were back to a tie game (which seemed more apppropriate given the tenor of the game). The teams went into halftime at 1-1.

Only somewhat reminiscent of the previous evening's match, second half play continued with Japan dominating the possession game, but England dominating the attacking game. And still, this was not the Japan of yesteryear. The final ten minutes saw subs coming in, play becoming frantic, and when the clock reached 90, and the 4th official showed three minutes of extra time, most of us were anticipating another thirty minutes of soccer.

But then -- heartbreak for England. Japan raced towards goal and sent a low cross into the box; while trying to clear the ball, England's Laura Bassett knocked the ball into her own goal. Some of the crowd went wild, but most of us groaned, "No!" This was not how this game should have ended. England's losing the game seemed not quite right, but losing in that particular fashion was simply devastating. If ever I wanted a "do-over" this was it.

Live from Ottawa -- It's the Quarter Finals

Posted from the train from Ottawa to Montreal!

Rounding out my World Cup Pentathelon, I hit the fifth of six cities hosting World Cup games late Friday morning, arriving in Ottawa. Becks arrived an hour later and we made it to our hotel, which boasted both a nice workout facility and a fantastic pool. I took to the pool for the exercises that I had not done in a very very long time.

France versus Germany

The USA game was at 7:30, but France was playing Germany at 4:00, so we wandered stadium-wards and found a restaurant/bar with decent food and a good TV and most importantly, a table right in front of the TV. My initial reaction to the game was, "I feel less bad about how the US is playing watching these two." I had been expecting excellence from both sides, but they both started out pretty weak. After the first ten minutes or so, France started putting together a nice controlled game, and, in my opinion, dominated the remaining 80 minutes. They controlled the pace of the game and had the better opportunities. And true to form, in minute 64, Necib found the back of the net -- France 1-0! For the next 20-ish minutes, I was convinced France had it, and then ... a French handball in the box, a penalty kick, and in minute 83 it was a tie game!

Sure enough, that tie persisted until the final whistle, leading to two 15 minute overtimes. The tides started turning a bit in overtime -- both teams were noticeably tired (who wouldn't be), and Germany started keeping better possession. One fifteen minute period... still 1-1. A second fifteen minute perios ... still 1-1. Oh no ... the worst way to end matches ever: a penalty kick shootout. What a terrible, terrible way to determine the outcome of a match.

Each team gets 5 kicks, alternating.
After first kicks, 1-1.
After second kicks, 2-2.
After third kick, 3-3.
(Are you seeing a pattern here?)
After the fourth kick, 4-4.
And after the fifth kick ... 5-4 ...
Germany!
I was sad; I thought Les Blues deserved to win.

USA v China

We hopped on a bus full of USA fans and headed to the stadium, where we had terrific seats about ten yards off of midfield. The crowd was largely American with several large Chinese contingents, including one behind us.

I don't think I've mentioned this before, but since the women are playing on turf (an entirely separate conversation; FIFA has been so sexist it's not even funny). Anyway, to cool the turf down, they have had these zamboni-like machines water the turf before the game and at half time. Well, it appears that Ottawa didn't warrant one of the zamboni-like machines, so before the game (and at half time), they had two lines of volunteers wielding enormous hoses with which they watered the field. It was adorable.

As you may recall, Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe were out for the quarterfinal thanks to their second yellow cards against Colombia. So, the question on everyone's minds was, "Who plays where?" Coach Elis put Morgan Brian in at holding midfield (freeing Carli Lloyd to wander more), Kelly O'Hara at wing half (moving Tobin Heath to the left), and Amy Rodriguez up top, replacing Abby and giving us some real bursts of speed. From the opening whistle, it was a team quite different from the one we have seen so far in this tournament. The Chinese came out playing a controlled passing game; the USA came out running -- putting pressure on the ball, moving it up the field, connecting passes between the midfield and the forward line. O'Hara and Rodriguez seemed particularly in sync and Brian played significantly better than in her last game. It was exhilarating. Within the first couple of minutes, Rodriguez had a terrific opportunity that she took with the outside of her foot, sending it wide of the goal. After ten or fifteen minutes, the USA seemed to take the pressure off just a touch, but they continued to play well -- connecting all three lines of play and creating dangerous opportunities.

Although both teams were possessing well, the styles of the two teams couldn't be more different. The Chinese move the ball with passes -- usually short quick passes up the field. The USA moves the ball with individual dribbling effort. Both teams could improve by incorporating more of their opponent's tactics. The Chinese could use some dribblers and the Americans would do well to sometimes have their forwards play with their backs to the goal, passing back to the midfield who can then join in the attack. Our midfielders do this well with the back line, but the forwards do not seem to use the midfielders in the same way and I think they would be a bit more dangerous if they incorporated this into their play.

Although the USA seemed to have the game under their control, the scoreboard remained unpleasantly vacant -- 0-0 at halftime.

It seems that Abby Wambach gave the team strict instructions to score within the first ten minutes of the second half, and when Abby says, "Do," the team does. So two minutes into the second half, Julie Johnston set up a perfect play for Carli Lloyd who sent the ball into the back of the net with authority. The crowd went wild!

I was sure that there were more goals to follow, but there were not. Perhaps Abby should have been more clear, "Score a lot of goals; the first within the first ten minutes." There were subs -- Christen Press came in about 2/3 of the way through the match, replacing Kelly O'hara, in the 81st minute, Heather O'Reily came in (yeay! I'd been wearing her pink breaker's shirt to every game), pushing Press up top and replacing Alex Morgan, and in the 86th minute, Abby came in for Rodriguez, who I thought played a great game. It was a bit disheartening that all the cheers were for Abby coming in rather than the good game Rodriguez had.

And that was how we ended the game: 1-0 USA! Not a huge win in terms of number of goals, but a huge win, in terms of A) importance and B) quaity of play. Assuming our defense can continue to deliver, our midfielders remember how to play with the forwards, and our forwards place the ball in the net, I think we can beat Germany. They were not at their best against France, and they had a longer, tougher game. It should be a wonderful match in Montreal!

Japan versus Australia

Sunday, we headed out to a nearby sports bar to watch the next Quarterfinal match on a big screen. It took a solid five minutes for Japan to settle into its rhythm. But settle they did and while Japan played their hallmark short-passing controlled game, Australia did not seem to settle down into any sort of rhythm at all. While Japan created many opportunities, Australia had relatively few -- but those were more likely to be on frame. While Japan attacked with numbers, dribbling and passes, Australia attacked with long flanking runs. It was looking like another match was going to go into overtime until the 87th minute, a mad scramble in front of the goal, including a save that the goalie didn't hold onto, left Iwabuchi, the sub for Japan's striker Ohno, free to send a short ball into the net. It was Japan 1-0, with only a few minutes left. Australia wasn't any more successful in the final minutes than they'd been in the first 86, so the game concluded at 1-0 Japan. In my opinion, the right team won.

Canada versus England

This was England's first time in the Quarter finals and Canada's second, but first time since 2003. For the first ten minutes, I thought Canada had the upper hand -- they were moving the ball well, and Sinclair looked alive, creating opportunities. Tancredi had a beautiful opportunity in those opening minutes, but she sent it over the cross bar. This missed opportunity was going to come back and haunt them -- repeatedly! In the 11th minute, a defensive error by Sesselman, left Australia wide open in front of the goal, and McLeod didn't have a chance to stop the perfectly placed shot by Taylor.

This combination of a mistake and an opposing goal clearly flustered the Canadians. Only three minutes later, Bronze sent a parabolic ball into the net. McLeod immediately gathered her team together, and who knows what she said, but Canada settled down. Down two goals, they had a tough hill to climb.

Shortly after, Tancredi had another great opportunity off a Schmidt free kick, but once again, she put it over the cross bar. As the first half wound down, it looked like it was going to be a 2-0 halftime score, but a cross by Lawrence somehow escaped from the goalie's hands, and Sinclair pounced on the opportunity, sliding it past the keeper and into the net! Huge, huge, huge, huge goal to take the teams into halftime at 2-1 rather than 2-0.

Taylor continued to make McLeod earn her keep, and Tancredi continued to have reasonable opportunities in front of goal that she continued to shoot out of frame. It was frustrating. Canada could have tied it or even won the match, but it simply wasn't meant to be. While there were opportunities and several great opportunities, at the final whistle, it was still 2-1.

It is sad to see Canada leave the tournament -- this is, in many ways, their World Cup, and the crowds were looking forward to more games for them. I predict a pretty light and quiet crowd in Edmonton for the Japan/England semifinal. USA/Germany in Montreal will be quite different!