sports

Japan beats Germany to make Women's WCup semis

34 Comments

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© Copyright 2011 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

34 Comments
Login to comment

Wow!! Good for Japan! Wasn't expecting that!!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Great effort to beat the hosts. Would love to see them make the final now.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Awesome game. Great Result. Well done.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wow. Japan IS ranked 4th and their goal is to win it all this year, but this is still rather unexpected. Congrats.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Better atittude and performance than i have seen the men give. These women are down to earth and love the game, unlike most of their male counterparts who are obsessed with money and their appearance.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Good job ladies!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Good effort to defeat the hosts. Now let's hope for a Matildas win tonight (unless you are a Swede!) and have a Japan-Matildas Semi! Aussie Aussie Aussie!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Now if only there was a little more reporting on the team, rather than a 10 sec update on them. They deserve more air time!!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

tmarie; It is quite sexist the way the country goes mad over the pampered men who are paid vast sums in comparison to the women. why isn't there some kind of equality in football? Womens football is at a very high standard now. In tennis the men are stronger and could beat the women but they are given equal footing in the media, why not footballers?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

EEEHHH! Sugoi ja! Great job, Japan.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

An absolute nailbiter, but the ladies did Japan so proud. A perfect shot, with no hesitation and no fear. Sugoi, Nippon !!!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

No idea Steve. perhaps because we live in a very sexist world?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

tmarie, you can watch the games live on tv if you have bs satellite

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Really annoyed, recorded the match and watched up to 90 minutes. Time ran out on the recording and didn't see the winning goal. Oh well !

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I do - thanks for the info! I just wish there was more news about it all. Japan should be proud of their team and should be promoting soccer to girls here!! They could rule at it if they spent half the money and time on the men's who really don't have much of a chance!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Fantastic. Win IT!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Great win! I saw lengthy praise about them on NHK, and then turned to channel 6 and saw a couple of men say "あぱれ" ( I think that means "a good job") to them and go on and on about them too. Then I had to see several replays of the winning goal on Fuji Television news. I think "Nadeshiko Japan" did themselves good and have been doing well. Seems like the TV likes to gush over Sawa-san and the young teenager Mana. Yet, on Fuji TV, they said that Miyama is the one who has been instrumental in setting the pace of Japan's attack. Her pinpoint passing skills are really good. In any case, congrats to them. I heard on NHK that it's the first time they made it to the semis of a World Cup and that it is Sawa's fifth appearance. Wow!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I also have to add that I'm wondering what the commentators on ESPN is thinking now, that Japan won and not Germany. I remember how they were going on and on about how Germany would meet the U.S. in the finals and was already looking forward to that game.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I just wish there was more news about it all. Japan should be proud of their team and should be promoting soccer to girls here!!

tmarie: True. For some reason (and not just in Japan), women's sports seems to take a backseat to men's sports all over the world. I think only the U.S. pays equal attention to both the mens and womens games (maybe because mens soccer gets little attention there in the first place). England has been giving a little air time to their women (but nothing compared to the men). And absolutely nothing about the Matildas on Australian websites and news programs. All I see on their sports websites is rugby, rugby, and more rugby.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sad isn't it? Great role models for the girls who aren't in the kawaiii crap that gets so much air time here - and in other places!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Here's a little article which stated:

"But the biggest shock of all took place in Wolfsburg when host nation and two-time defending champion Germany was upset by Japan. The tournament is now wide open for the Americans, who will have a clear path to glory if they can get past the talented Brazilians."

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?slug=ro-rogers_brazil_usa_world_cup_070911

I take it back. Yes, the U.S. is paying attention to its women, but continues to be arrogant about its "clear path to victory" in women's sports. Americans always boast about their men being the favorites in just about every sport as it does with its women. Sheesh!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@freakashow: the U.S. women are ranked #1 in the world, making them the favorite in this tournament. I hear what you're saying about "American boasting" but in this case it's pretty well justified.

A real nail-biter, and one in which the Japanese women got away with murder a few times - I can recall at least two occasions when what looked like clear fouls in the penalty area were not called. I know that's the way the game goes sometimes and I'm not trying to denigrate Japan's performance, but if I were a fan of Germany I would be howling about the non-calls.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@freakshow, the elimination of the Germans by the Samurai Ladies gives ESPN the chance to oversell the USA chances to win in order to get a wider viewership. The Americans are a very good team as @JohnBecker mentioned. Anybody getting past Brazil, especially if Marta is on her game like usual will be quite a task.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

JohnBecker: Boasting is only justifiable AFTER you have won the trophy. I would never teach my kids to go boasting about a win before they even get it. It's just poor sportsmanship if you ask me.

A real nail-biter, and one in which the Japanese women got away with murder a few times - I can recall at least two occasions when what looked like clear fouls in the penalty area were not called

I agree, there were non-calls on both sides for both the Japanese and Germans, and both sides could make cases for being mad, but that happens in just about every game that is played. Two calls were not made for the Germans which seemed to be borderline at best, and also two of the yellow cards given to the Japanese players were very borderline and lame. The Germans also got away with a bit of cheap tactics in using their size to push over a few of the players, but I agree that that's part of the game.

The first half of the game was pretty stale, and even though Germany had more shots taken, the Japanese did have an advantage in ball possession (about 55% to 45%). Overall, it could have gone either way and I was thinking at one point that it may go to a penalty shootout like the France-England game. In the end, it was a great effort on the part of both sides and congrats to Japan for making it through.

The Americans are a very good team as @JohnBecker mentioned. Anybody getting past Brazil, especially if Marta is on her game like usual will be quite a task.

chap2: Yes, IF the U.S. gets past Brazil, then it would be nice to talk about its next opponent. But why even start thinking about the next opponent without thinking about Brazil first? The U.S. should first learn to concentrate on the opponent at hand and take it one game at a time, or they run the risk of not even getting to the next opponent.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

the U.S. women are ranked #1 in the world, making them the favorite in this tournament.

I think Germany were the favorites since they are (I mean were) the two-time defending World Cup champions, have not been defeated in World Cup play in 12 years, and were playing on their own soil. But I guess the U.S. and Brazil were the second favorites.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I watched the entire game from beginning to end and would have to disagree that the Japanese "got away with murder"... in fact the Mexican referee was I think quite harsh to the Japanese girls who had to defend themselves against all manner of shoving, elbowing, and --in one case -- even a kick to the groin by the physically bigger and stronger Germans. Behringer in particular was an absolute thug (and a constant whiner to boot..). Despite that, the referee handed out four yellow cards to the Japanese, one to the Germans. The Germans had one legitimate shout tor a penalty when Inka Grings went down in the box after she was shouldered and lost the ball... the referee was about 3 meters away at the time and judged that there was not enough contact to warrant a penalty. There will always be contact in the box and players will always go down, that is just part of the game. The referee did not make the difference in the match --- Germany were just not good enough on the night.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

For those who are claiming Japanese players got away with fouls, you must have watched only the last 15 minutes. During the entire time, the referee was favoring the German team soooooooooo much, which is not surprising since they are the hosting country.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

"Living in a sexist world" or whatever doesn't really have anything to do with the lack of (real) interest in the women's game. I know we are enjoying a boom period with the World Cup now, but I doubt any of you will be following the domestic women's game next year. Unlike tennis, athletics and golf to an extent, people have only been exposed to the women's version for a very short period of time. The women's and men's games are very different styles - however to the vast majority of us, the women's game just seems like a much lower standard of the men's game. The men may be over-paid publicity whores, but that's the "football" we have all grown up with and enjoy. As much as I want to become a fan and support women's football, it just doesn't interest me like the men's game does. Not sexist - just a preference.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I thought the game could have gone either way easily, in fact Germany looked the better side to me. They just seemed to lack any decent attack.

Maruyama's goal was superb. :clap: Well done Nadeshiko.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

USA-Brazil game of the tournament so far.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It was a nailbiter of a game. Didn't think the German women would resort to diving tactics toward the end. I guess desperation had set in, and flopping is not only limited to the European men's soccer.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Highlights and whole games on CBC, a canadian Network: www.cbc.ca

Hello Paulina, and others who are interested to see the match Japan 1 X 0 Germany, I've been following all the coverage on the above site, and they have broadcasted all the matches On live. Japan made history Saturday, July 9, eliminating 2 time World Cup Champions, and the favourites in this World Cup. I hope they keep up with hard work and energy they have showed so far. My home-country Brazil was eliminated by USA yesterday, and now there's just Japan for cheer for. Semi-Final against Sweden will be another tough one.

Cheers from Montreal to all of the Japan Today readers.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

great win, rout the krauts in front of the home crowd!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

USA won beautifully against Brazil. One of the best soccer matches ever. That last-minute goal was a painting, wonderful. Congrats USA!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites