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: Netherlands vs Sweden

Wednesday's disappointing contest failed to match up to the entertainment, the quality or the intense atmosphere that was seen in Tuesday's gripping tie between England and three-time champions the USA.

That kind of sums it up!

The good news is that we did not have the annoying fans behind us. The bad news is that's because it would have been impossible -- you see, we were in the very last row -- underneath the big screen, which turned out to be kind of cool, because it was such a distinctive location that the Olsons could spot us from across the stadium! Those teeny tiny  people down there are actually soccer players!

So, maybe it was the late night on Tuesday (we should have just walked from the station, but after getting food and realizing the metro was shut down, we tried an Uber who couldn't find us and then finally stood in line for a taxi -- it was a very late night), or maybe it was the hike we took up to the Basilica which sits atop a somewhat large hill.

In any case, it could have been my low energy, but I thought it was a pretty dull game. And we might just have left during the first over time period when the Netherlands scored its first (and what turned out to be the only) goal of the match.

You see the game was 0-0 at the end of 90 minutes. Now, the USA-China Women's World Cup final was also 0-0 after 90 minutes (and still after 120), but that was an exhilarating match to watch; this one was not. I thought Sweden looked more threatening, although the statistics would show that the Netherlands had more possession, more shots, and better passing accuracy.

We almost left after the end of regulation time, but decided to stay for one of the overtimes, and we were privy to the lovely goal scored by the Netherlands. While on the tram back to the city, we watched the final minutes tick down to the final 1-0 score.

So now we're off to Regusse for some hiking and R&R, before returning to Lyon for the final on Sunday!  (No, we won't be attending the consolation match, but hope to be watching it from the comfort of our lovely AirBnb.)

And, the post wouldn't be complete without the obligatory game selfie.

Live from Valenciennes: Italy versus the Netherlands

Have I mentioned lately that we're having a heatwave?  As in record breaking temperatures in Paris and a balmy 92 degrees (32+) here in Valenciennes. And we thought the Paris quarter final was hot -- that was at 9:00 PM.  For some reason whose logic totally escapes me, today's quarterfinals are at 3:00 PM and 6:30 PM instead of the prior 5:30 and 900 PM games. It certainly  wasn't cool at those times, but it was way  better than it was in the mid-afternoon and later in the day you can harbor some fantasy that the sun will go down and you won't be sitting in direct sunlight for 3-4 hours.

Enough whining. Today's seats would have been wonderful on any  other day -- 5 rows back at about the 35; the only problem on  this particular day  is that we had absolutely not the tiniest bit of shade. On top of that, the seats in Stade du Hainaut are A) red patent leather (skin searing), B) separated by metal (skin branding), C) high (nose level). Just traps the heat in ever so much more!

The first quarter of the game saw a rather fiesty Italy looking like it really  was the Cinderella team of the tournament, who would defeat the mighty Netherlands. And even into the second quarter, Italy still looked quite strong and had the better chances. At halftime, it was a tight 0-0 match and those of us broiling in the sun, raced for the shade and breeze inside the stadium.

Unfortunately  for the Italians, the second half was much different. Perhaps it was the heat, perhaps it was exhaustion, but Italy of the second half was not the Italy of the first half. They missed passes they'd been making the first half and essentially collapsed into a defensive posture, which just invited the Dutch onslaught even more. You could see their frustration -- the four yellow cards might give you a hint of that. And then the inevitable -- in the 70^th minute, Vivianne Miedema did it -- a glancing header off a gorgeous cross. It was textbook perfect. This seemed to demoralize Italy, who continued stalwart defense against the reinvigorated attackers. And so reinvigorated were they, that in the 80^th minute, in an almost identical repeat, Stefanie van der Gragt headed in an equally well-placed ball, the result of yet another foul.

I wouldn't be lying if I said there was some relief in the stadium that we might not have to bake for an additional thirty minutes. After this game, there was no lingering in the stands for me -- it was out as quickly  as possible and into the shade!

We joined the parade of orange heading back from the stadium, with a slight detour to pick up the key for Vaas' airBnb. Following the fans turned out to be a great idea as it deposited us right in the fan zone which boasted an enormous display where they would be showing the Germany/Sweden quarterfinal. Thanks to Vaas' eagle eye, we scored ourselves a table in the shade with reasonable screen visibility. There was a large part of Swedish fans next to us, so we found ourselves cheering for Sweden.

With food, beverage, and shade available, it was a lovely afternoon in Valenciennes (which I have to confess is my least favorite city this trip). The game was also another hard fought quarterfinal battle. Germany are the seasoned Women's World Cup veterans -- the only team to have won back to back World Cups. Sweden are the USA nemesis who knocked them out in the Olympics quarterfinal three years  ago. You  might also remember Sweden from the the USA"s last group play game, which some claim Sweden sandbagged to get into the easier side of the bracket.

And so the game began, with Germany exerting their presence and dominating play. It looked like it was going to be a long day for Sweden. It only took until the 16^th minute for Germany to go up 1-0 for a picture perfect pass to the feet of Lina Magull, who volleyed it in. This did not deter Sweden who continued to put increasing pressure on the German defense until only six minutes later, when a German misjudged header gave Sofia Jakobssen a clear shot that she neatly placed inside the far post.  Suddenly it was 1-1, and Germany had conceded their first goal of the tournament, and it was game on.

This was a new experience for Germany  -- being scored upon! Suddenly,  it seemed that Sweden forgot that Germany was the Women's World Cup powerhouse; they became relentless and looked repeatedly threatening, but the score remained 1-1 until halftime. After halftime, Sweden looked increasingly  like a team destined for the semi-finals, and it didn't take long: in the 48th minute, German keeper Almuth Schult scored a stunning save off of a Fridolino Rolofo header, but the ball dropped to the feet of Stina Blackstenius we slammed it into the goal.  2-1 Sweden!

Sweden continued to dominate most of the rest of the half and in the final few minutes held off a full court press and several dangerous German shots, but alas, Sweden emerged with is 2-1 victory a ticket to the semi-finals!

As the game wrapped up,  the fan zone came alive with a pyrotechnic display  including fireworks (in broad daylight ...), music, and a fire display.

The Italian fans seem to not have let a loss get in the way of their good time, and since the stadium had been too brutal for the required selfie, we took it outside in the fan zone.

Live from Le Havre: USA - Sweden

This time, the Americans invaded Gare Saint Lazarre. I got there fairly early, due to my arrival from Lausanne (to Gare de Lyon), and it looked like a pretty standard french train station around 12:30. However, by 2:00 PM (there were trains at 2:50 and 3:05), the place was crawling with team USA jerseys, red white and blue, and American tourists.

Getting on the train was equally fun (it didn't help that I mentally flipped seat 12 with seat 21...), but people were just much ruder, in much more of a hurry, and in general just a lot less pleasant than most of the folks on other trains. C'est la vie. Fortunately, it's only a two hour trip to Le Havre.
The Americans were running rampant all ver Le Havre with the occasional, much more dignified, Swedish fan. At least until I started wandering towards the train station and ran into about 300 Swedish supporters marching, parading, singing, chanting, etc. It was great fun.

By the time I got to the train station (which is still about 2.25 miles away from the stadium, there was a huge gathering of American fans in the bar across the street where they were showing Canada versus Netherlands. Canada and the Netherlands were also tied at 2-0, so this game determined who won the group (and will face Japan) and who finishes second and faces the loser of the USA Sweden game! The good news is that Christine Sinclair scored (just after I arrived at the bar); the bad news is that Canada lost 2-1. I have tickets now to see Japan play Netherlands; should be a good game, but not what I was planning.

Anyway, there were shuttles that took players from the train station to the game, so I stayed until the bitter end of the Canada game and then jumped on a shuttle, so I could get to the stadium by about 8:15 (for a 9:00 game). It was a relatively long walk around the space-ship looking stadium and we were subject to the usual bag searching and patting down, but I got eo my seats in plenty of time to see the USA warm up. And who was right in front of me?

The first minute or two of the game looked kind of awful to me. Neither team was able to assemble any kind of rhythm, and the ball get going back and forth between the two teams. And then there was a Megan Rapinoe corner, a ball whizzing across the mouth of the goal, and a Lindsay Horan pushing it into the goal. Just like that, it was 1-0.

This settled everyone down and the US started to look like the US, with Rose Lavalle putting on a particularly awe-inspiring performance in the center of the field. Her ability to dribble out of trouble change direction leap in the air to intercept headers, and basically own the field was breathtaking. I used to love watching Rose play for the breakers and she's so much more of a complete player now. I could have watched nothing but her the entire evening and been quite happy.

Contrary to what some reported, I thought Sweden looked threatening. Their strikers were incredibly speedy, and if they got the ball, things suddenly started looking worrisome for the US. I thought Crystal Dunn did an incredible job shutting them down, but it was scary at times.

The 1-0 lead held for the remaining 41 minutes of the half. The second half started off looking much like the first, albeit with Carli Lloyd in for a maybe-injured Alex Morgan. And then, almost mirroring the first half, in rougly the 50th minute, commotion in front of the Swedish goal, put the ball at the feet of Tobin Heath (always a bad idea). From a ridiculous angle, she took a shot that got deflected off of Lindahl and went into the goal. Initially credited to Heath, it was later changed to an own goal. Nonetheless, it was sharp play by Heath, who was later named player of the match.

The remaining half went much the way of the first. The US maintained possession, but Sweden capitalized on every mistake or sloppy pass. The US sometimes seemed it's own worst enemy passing the ball around the backfield, just a tad too close to their own goal. A couple of these turned into threats from Sweden that Naeher ably handled.

While Heath was great and played the whole game, Lavalle was the star of the first half. And to be honest, sometimes I think the defenders don't get the credit they deserve -- both Crystal Dunn and Kelly O'Hara did outstanding jobs, grabbing balls away from Sweden, flicking tricky headers to their teammates, and in Dunn's case, making precisely the right slide tackle to push the ball away from speedy forwards. This back line (Sauerbraun, Dahlkemper, O'Hara, and Dunn) has not yet been tested through an entire world cup, but they appear to be coming together like the 2015 back line, and it's that kind of defense that is going to be required to win this cup.

Go USA!

I was alone at the game and forgot to take a selfie, so here's a picture of the statue of Le geant et l'enfant, situated just past the Cap de la Heve.



Oh heck, and I might as well show you what the area looks like ...

And in other games:

Monday

• China 0, Spain 0
• Germany 4, South Africa 0
• France 1, Nigeria 0
• Norway 2, South Korea 1

Tuesday

• Brazil 1, Italy 0
• Australia 4, Jamaica 1

Wednesday

• England 2, Japan 0
• Scotland 3, Argentina 3

Thursday

• Cameroon 2, New Zealand 1
• Canada 1, Netherlands 2
• Chile 2, Thailand 0

Live from Winnipeg .. Again

The moral today is that playing better soccer doesn't guarantee a better result.

Nigeria versus Australia

Nigeria was coming off a surprising tie against Sweden while Australia was coming off a disappointing 3-1 loss to the USA. Both teams seemed to have upped their game for match two. I was particularly impressed by Nigeria. As they had done against Sweden, they were aggressively attacking the ball and putting a lot of pressure on the other team from the opening whistle. At the same time, they appeared to be playing with more control and a better tactical game. Their style is more fluid than many teams -- passes are almost always to space, not directly to players. When this worked, it was a thing of beauty, reminding me a bit of Brazil; when it didn't work, it led to a lot of turnovers, and this was the ultimate undoing of team Nigeria. In contrast, I didn't see a lot of consistency in Australia's play and was rather surprised at the game's end to see the possession statistics at 51% for Australia and 49% for Nigeria.

It was an end to end game that felt pretty closely matched in my eyes. Australia ended up scoring two goals, both on defensive errors from the Nigerian squad. In contrast, it felt like Nigeria had more and better scoring opportunities, but they could not convert on them, leading to the 2-0 final score. I was disappointed -- I thought Nigeria deserved to win.

The exciting part about this match is that this is such a dramatically different Nigerian team from years past. In past cups, the Nigerian team has been aggressive to the point of dangerous and not nearly so organized and precise. This team was full of finesse, constructive aggression and creative play. I predict Nigeria to be a force to be reckoned with on Tuesday.

USA versus Sweden

We all knew this was going to be a good match, which was a repeat from the last game of group play in 2011. [I watched that game sitting behind a group of drunk Swedish fans, which was no fun at all. This time we were in a pro-USA section at the corner of the field at the top of the stadium.]

Both teams opened with play that was vastly superior to what we saw on Monday. Both teams possessed the ball well, made good passes and had dangerous forays into the box. As a result, it was more like an exciting game of chess than a high-scoring game of football. In fact, both teams were very hungry for goals, and both teams were ultimately starved. This high-quality chess match produced a 0-0 outcome. The USA threw every forward it had at the Swedes, but could not put the ball in the net. The starting forward line was Leroux and Press -- youthful and speedy. Next up it was Leroux and Rodriguez, with Press at wing-half. Next up, Wambach and Rodriguez (strike partners from 2011), with Leroux moving to wing-half. Finally, Alex Morgan and Wambach, with Rodriguez moving to wing-mid. None of those duo's were successful, although all had opportunities.

In the midfield, Holiday seemed a more critical force in the game, but once again, I sensed an absence of Carli Lloyd's presence at midfield. We need her. She had a few brilliant plays and a nasty head collision in the box that could have been a game winner, but she wasn't the active presence we need in the midfield.

I am, however, optimistic, that the USA forwards will be able to penetrate the Nigerian back line, but it won't be an easy game. I hate to make predictions, because I am somewhat superstitious, but I say that USA tops Nigeria, and Sweden tops Australia.

In other news ...

We spent Thursday evening in the hotel bar watching Canada play to a frustrating 0-0 tie with New Zealand. In some ways, this game was reminiscent of the USA/Sweden game, but in others it was vastly different. Neither Canada nor New Zealand were as controlled and successful at possessing the ball as the USA and Sweden were, but at the same time, Canada, in particular, had a number of opportunities that could have made it a Canada win. So, Canada goes into its last game of group play (on Monday in Montreal, where Teagan and I will be in attendance) with 4 points to China's 3, Netherlands 3, and New Zealand's 1.

I dread the last games of group play in group B. This is the group I named the Group of Injustice: Veterans Germany and Norway against newcomers Thailand and Cote D'Ivoire. If you recall Germany thrashed Cote D'Ivoire 10-0, while Norway schooled Thailand 4-0. Then Germany and Norway played to a tie. Thus, Norway and Germany enter the last game each with four points. It is safe to assume that both will win their final games, which will leave them tied for points after three games. Then it comes down to goal differential. This is downright cruel -- what it means is that both Norway and Germany need to run up the score as much as possible against the World Cup newbies. I predict these games will be painful to watch. I do wish there were some way to have avoided such inequality in the play -- while I understand that the two strong teams have to do what they have to do, it's going to be most uncomfortable.

And now, we're off to Montreal for Brazil v Spain, and Costa Rica v Korea.

Live from Winnipeg ...

[Posting includes the 2 Group D games from Winnipeg on June 8 as well as my recap from the two Group B matches from Sunday, June 7. It also contains a bunch of travelogue.]

Reporting to you live from Winnipeg (or more accurately the air between Winnipeg and Vancouver). It was a win for Team USA; it wasn't a pretty win, but a win is 3 points, pretty or not! But, I digress. The story starts much earlier.

Travelogue

Monday, June 8, started my summer Women's World Cup travel extravaganza, and what a start it was! I had a Boston to Toronto flight scheduled with a tight-but-doable one hour and eleven minute layover before my flight to Winnipeg. Becks, my soccer and travel buddy, was meeting me in Toronto. It all sounded so good ... until my flight out of Boston was delayed. I didn't stress when they posted the 9:50 departure for the 9:25 flight. But when I woke up after falling asleep before takeoff and discovered we were still about #5 for takeoff, I started to worry.

We hit the ground in Toronto at 11:52; boarding for Winnipeg started at 11:55. That's when I really started to panic. I explained to the guy next to me that I was going to be that jerky customer who needed to dash forward as quickly as posible because my connecting flight was boarding. He was gracious and the moment we stopped, I had leapt out and was about 5 rows ahead of where I was. Of course, I didn't mention where I was sitting -- row 33 -- the very last row on the plane. So 5 rows was good, but it was at least another ten minutes before I was off the plane.

Next up: clear customs. Once again, I was that passenger saying, "Excuse me, I hate to ask, but my flight is boarding, do you mind if I go ahead?" Practically everyone was incredibly generous and kind. One grumpy business man insisted that I was in the wrong place, because he'd seen "connecting flights" on the way to customs. I was pretty sure that those were only for International connections (for which you don't have to clear customs). I get through customs and then make my way through the 3 dimensional maze that is the Toronto airport. I kid you not: down from customs; through the baggage claim and immigrations exit (where they didn't even take the travel card I had had to fill out and get stamped); up an elevator to security; through security and down an escalator to the gates. Now, picture me with my large carry-on backpack (enough for 2 weeks of travel including a black tie event and a keynote plus some large number of soccer games), my tiny travel backpack, and my gimpy right hip racing through the airport. At security, I once again threw myself on the mercy of my fellow passengers who were, once again, totally awesome. The security person was not so awesome -- I missed the signs that said I had to take my laptop out (after all, my boarding pass said TSA-pre), so in what can only be described as slow motion animation, she had to swipe the laptop, put the bag through again, and make me stand in people's way while she did it. She was the only truly unhelpful person I encountered. And of course, while going through security, I heard them call my name at the gate.

Down the escalator and I found a friendly Air Canada agent (the Air Canada folks were all truly, truly helpful) and I asked if she could phone the gate to tell them I was on my way. Instead, she directed me to one of those little cars and I got a ride to my gate (which was, of course, at the far end of the concourse). As I approach the gate, I see the gate agent, and wonder of wonder, Becks -- who hadn't boarded the plane, because she was doing her best to make sure they waited for me. I can't imagine a more sincere expression of friendship than not getting on that plane. I feel very lucky!

Now, here is the greatest irony of all -- it turns out that I was about to board the exact same airplane on which I had flown to Toronto. Yup, while I had navigated the Toronto airport, customs, and security at breakneck speed, my plane had leisurely wandered from my international arrival gate to my domestic departure one. It seems that while I was racing through the airport, the gate agent was also tracking me, "She's not through security yet ... Oh wait! There she is!." Additionally Becks could see me come down the escalator, but then I disappeared (to get my car).

It's rather difficult to describe my physical state when I finally got on that plane, found space for my bag, and collapsed in my seat (next to the hung over fellow who dashed to the bathroom during takeoff, because I think he was, um, taking care of the effects of the night before). I had been propelled through the airport on pure adrenaline; I was hot, exhausted, and spent. I turned the air on full blast and promptly fell asleep to let my body get back to normal. By the time we landed in Winnipeg, I had pretty much recovered.

Well, it's not like we suddenly became leisurely tourists though. It was about 2:15 and the first game started at 3:00. Fotunately Winnipeg airport is quite small and our hotel was close to the airport. We grabbed a cab, stopped at the hotel, dumped our bags, got back in the taxi and high-tailed it to the game. We arrived at about 5 minutes in and were in our seats just as ... oh wait, now we're on to:

Sweden versus Nigeria

The US placed into what has been nicknamed, The Group of Death, which seems to happen with alarming regularity. The US is ranked #2 (behind Germany), Sweden is ranked #5, Nigeria is ranked #33, and Austrailia is ranked #10. Sweden were pretty heavy favorites going into the opening match.

The two teams have reasonably different styles: Nigeria is lightning fast and physical; Sweden is organized and fluid. Just as we arrived, Sweden scored their first goal. Nigeria responded with repeated attacks into Swedens' box, but they weren't able to finish any of them. The crowd was pretty pro-Nigeria -- most of the USA fans bitterly remembered the final US game of the group stage of the 2011 Women's World Cup, where Sweden took down the US to finish first in the group. In an effort to avoid a replay, I think we all wanted Nigeria to win. Sweden scored again in the first half and the two teams went off at half time with a score of 2-0.

Early in the second half, Becks went out to forage for food (neither of us had had much in the way of meals given the travel schedule we'd had) and in a span of about 10 minutes, Nigeria scored two spectacular goals. It was a brand new game!! The rest of the half was some of the most thrilling soccer I've seen -- end to end play, Nigeria pushing hard, some lapses in defense on both side, and a highly energized crowd (assisted by the Nigerian band who played the entire game). Sweden scored one more and it looked like it was going to be a 3-2 game, much to the American fan's disappointment. And then ... in the 87th minute, Nigeria tied it up at 3-3, which would be how the game would end.

Wow! A terrific match to watch and perhaps the best outcome for which the US could have hoped. All they needed to do was beat Australia to take control of the group ...

USA versus Australia

I repeat, pretty or ugly, a win is a win, and a win was what the US needed.

Both teams opened up playing a lot of "kick and run" -- long balls that didn't quite reach their intended receiver and neither team exhibiting much in the way of control or rhythm on the field. It was worrisome. Then the Aussies started attacking. And they attacked well. Hope Solo had a couple of spectacular saves early that were awesome in their athleticism, but worrisome in their boding of the future. The American fans breathed a huge sign of relief in the twelfth minute when speedy and crafty Megan Rapinoe nailed one from distance and got a perfect re-direction off an Australian player. Goal! USA 1- Australia 0. That didn't last nearly long enough though -- later in the half, Australia retaliated with a blast from De Vanna (formerly of the Boston Breakers) at about 8 yards out. Goal! It was 1-1 game.

The 1-1 score stood into halftime. Australia looked good -- they were pounding the American back line, who were letting De Vanna and others in the box just a few times too often. They were shutting down US forwards Wambach and Leroux pretty effectively. The US seemed to be playing from nerves -- there was no rhythm and very little control. Lloyd in the midfield seemed to bring some calm and stability to the field, but she wasn't enough. She and Rapinoe seemed to be the only two US players consistently playing their own game rather than responding to the Aussies. It wasn't looking pretty.

The second half started without any subs, and the stop and start, long-ball game seemed to have returned. And then things changed: the US put together a beautiful 1-2-3: Rapinoe sending Leroux up the left side. Leroux taking on her player and placing the ball at the feet of Christen Press right in front of the goal, and Press finishing decisively. It was a textbook play, executed brilliantly. USA 2-1!

Only then, after their second goal, did we see the real US team emerge. Suddenly they were holding the ball, batting it around the midfield, playing with a calm that had been entirely lacking in the first half. As the Aussies became more frantic, needing to first win the ball so they could take shots on goal, the US took advantage of errors. And Rapinoe came through in a big way again -- nailing team USA's third goal in the 78th minute from about 15 yards out. It was gorgeous! The second half also saw some substitutions: shortly after the go-ahead goal, Morgan for Leroux. Then Tobin Heath for Christen Press. And finally, with about five minutes left, Morgan Brian for a Megan Rapinoe who was, along with Hope Solo, the star of the game. The US held the 3-1 lead until the game's end.

Had the US lost, I probably would have done a great deal of whining about the officiating. Although they won, I have to voice my complaints anyway. There were some calls that appeared to be really terrible, and it seemed that a lot of them went against the US. In a tournament where yellow cards accumulate for the first 5 games (until the semi-finals), and where two yellow cards result in a 1-game suspension, giving yellow cards is a big deal. The US got two of them, neither of which seemed warranted from this fan's perspective. Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe each left the match with a card -- a most uncomfortable position for team USA moving forward.

Sunday Group B Competition

If Group D is the Group of Death, then Group B should be The Group of Injustice, pitting #1 Germany and #11 Norway against #29 Thailand and #67 Cote D'Ivoire, the latter two making their debut appearances in the world cup. Anyone who follows the game would predict that Germany and Norway will go 2-0 against their other opponents and the Germany-Norway game will determine the winner and runner up in the group. Furthermore, when these two powerhouses meet these two debutantes, it's a great opportunity to generate some goal differential and contenders for the Golden Boot award (most number of goals scored in the tournament by a single player). All of this appeared to play out on Sunday.

First up: Norway versus Thailand

I have to confess to having been distracted by laundry during parts of this game, but the game was reasonably predictable: Norway attacking and Thailand defending. But defend valiantly, they did! They also counter attacked a few times, and when they did, you could see the potential there. This may be their first big tournament, but they will be back and they will be better. They (tried to) play a precise, technical passing game. When they succeeded, they appeared threatening, but they weren't consistent enough to make a difference. Final score: Norway 4-0.

Second up: Germany versus Cote D'Ivoire

You knew it was going to be a lopsided game before it started, but you didn't realize how lopsided until the third minute when Germany scored a picture perfect goal and made it very clear that there were going to be a lot of those to follow. It was going to be a long day for Cote D'Ivoire. That said, Cote D'Ivoire did show some beautiful play -- they were speedy and connected on several nice sets of passes, but nothing that could slice through the organized German defense. And somehow, when they got to midfield, it always seemed that Germany outnumbered them about 4:1, although I'm fairly confident each team had only 11 players on the field. Watching Germany play, particularly in the box, is a thing of beauty. You can just see the build up to the goal and KNOW that it's going in. this happened over and over again to the tune of 5-0 at halftime and 10-0 for a final score.

I awarded the Cote D'Ivoire goalie the "Best Goalie Uniform" of the tournament for her hot pink attire, but if you're going to wear hot pink, you better be red-hot in goal, and I think she feel short there. Her timing seemed to be a bit off, and there were just a few too many balls that were bobbled instead of caught.

Welcome to the World Cup!