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© 2012 AFPNadeshiko Japan beats France to set up final clash with U.S.
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© 2012 AFP
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serenitynow
really looking forward to a great world cup rematch!
Tamarama
Fantastic result. First class all the way home! Boys in the back!
sourpuss
Sinclair was fantastic against the Americans. She is an incredible player. Is she leading active players in all-time scoring?
Mirai Hayashi
This is getting good!
Wolfpack
Been waiting for this match since the World Championships last year. Let's get it on!
cornbread1
Their performance (also the men's) quite honestly have surpassed my expectations. really looking forward to the final with the US.
jojo_in_japan
I hope this berth at least earns them the right to fly home in Business Class!!!! Go on Japan
madammika
Should be a good final and I hope Nadeshiko win!! Would be good for women`s sport in japan! (in general!). Perhaps the ladies will be flying home business class and not the men???? LOL!
dbuurman
Terrible job that the Norwegian referee did in the game USA vs Canada. Should have been Canada 3-2, but there is always controversy with some Olympic referees. I hope Japan beats USA for gold!!! GO, JAPAN, GO!!!!
CrazyJoe
Let's keep the momentum going like a snowball falling down a hill.
supercross1985
Was a great win,now to face the USA.But first we have the small task of watching Samurai v Sombrero tomorrow!
nath
Fantabulous!
alliswellinjapan
For me, this was the most touching moment of the game...
A moment of true sportsmanship, as Japan consoles a defeated France http://photoblog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/06/13148046-a-moment-of-true-sportsmanship-as-japan-consoles-a-defeated-france?lite
Tokiyo
@alliswellinjapan: Thanks for the link, it was nice to see :)
greatpaperclip
That's not really fair-Wambach got crushed in the penalty area twice near the 50 minute mark. The play that actually had the penalty may have been sketchy, but there were several other times it could've easily been called. Kudos to the British coach for playing mind games before the match...
Aliasis
Yeaaaah Nadeshiko!
genjuro
alliswellinjapan: Thanks for that link. Shows you that Nadeshiko Japan are not just world class athletes, but truly classy and sportsmanlike competitors as well.
dmhondz
Great game girls! Nadeshiko played great defense, their goalkeeper played really really well. Looking forward to the finals against US!
The game ended 3AM, so sleepy right now but had to work >.< The mens semifinal game is also 1-3AM, hope I can stay awake for that one as well.
greatpaperclip
speaking of good sportsmanship, how about in the US/Can game where the Canadian attacker saw that the defender was down and played it out. Even after a very physical match, to have the presence of mind to do that? Amazing.
WilliB
Go Nadeshko! And on your way back, make sure you get the business class seats while the men sit in economy.
Bgood41
Congratulations to Nadeshiko of Japan. Canada team played a "very highly illegal" game, as their coach used the words to blame the Americans, and it got back fire on him.. It reminds me of Brazilian style soccer that using their hands to fence off against the opposite players. It is the destiny for the rematch of Japan Vs. U.S.A. Let's enjoy the game. Cheers.
shanabelle
Go Nadeshiko!!!! Grab the gold, and fly back in Lear jets I say!
shortsighted
COngrats! Hope the team wins the much coveted GOLD!
Kazuyuki Takano
I'm looking forward to make return match with U.S. I'm sure that Nadeshiko will win!
nath
I am super excited. I hope Japan wins again!
Kyle Sakic
Go japan! kick it at their faces. Show them what's on your minds :)
ojiiu812badboy
Great match-up in speed against size of the US team. Japan has been relentles in scrimmaging from the start, their dribbling and passing always amazes me. It would be nice to see this team get gold because there are many 27y/o and over, not many would get a chance like Sawa. Japan has a tendency to frown on age, but I think this team can be equally effective if it stayed intact four years from now. They are well coached, trained, skilled, and most of all, seem to be very relaxed between games.
Arturo Hernandez
Mexico Japan for the semi Finals....
Good luck!!...
sf2k
Nobody calls a 6 second delay on a goalie without a warning first. Ref really blew it. Oh well, thanks Canada and thanks Sinclair for all your hard work. On to the bronze game with France.
Go Japan! You can do it!
herefornow
Can't say I agree, but I would not be disappointed if that were the outcome. Both sides are equally deserving and the Japanese could use the morale boost this would provide. Let's hope for a well-played game and let the better team win.
Ninoh
Go girls, show the world what your are made of...
smithinjapan
All good games. Women's soccer is shaping up to be more exciting than the men's! Good on both the US and Japan for the wins, and I hope for an exciting finish. I DO feel the Canucks were robbed with that penalty -- a kick bounces off someone's arm and they call penalty??
Onniyama
Great job Japan!! Too bad Canada got robbed of their victory.
SuperLib
Man, that Canadian coach set the new standard for classlessness. No congratulations offered at all, saying the US cheats before the match and then claiming the refs stole the game from them. Someone needs to pull him aside and tell him to act more professional on the world stage. He's an embarrassment to all of Canada.
JDB829
Yoshi! Kore de ikeruze! What more could we all hope for? A rematch! Ganbarre Nadeshiko!
smithinjapan
SuperLib: "No congratulations offered at all, saying the US cheats before the match and then claiming the refs stole the game from them. "
If he really said that then he is classlessness indeed. The ref DID steal the game from them, though, there is no doubt about that. It was a bad call, and resulted in Canada losing. Apparently they need to lose refs in soccer as well and start using video to make calls -- or at least to confirm them.
Serrano
I predict Nadeshiko will lose to the USA in the final. It should be a good match.
Hide Suzuki
Agreed, Canada should have won that match, I played soccer growing up and didn't even know that there was such a thing as 6 second rule for a goal keeper , WTH ?
A questionable free kick followed by questionable penalty kick, it ruined a great game.
smithinjapan
Hide: "A questionable free kick followed by questionable penalty kick, it ruined a great game."
For a change we are in agreement. The victory by the US cannot really be called a victory given the circumstances. Bad refereeing occurs all the time, but when it was so close, and the stakes so high, and the end result what it was it is a bitter pill to swallow. Reminds me of the bad refereeing in 2002 when SK beat Spain to make it to the quarter finals in WC.
Such is life, I guess. It'll be nice when soccer finally gets its head out of its butt and allows for technology to confirm things instead of relying on giggling refs with bad eye-sight and worse judgement.
SuperLib
I've never been a big fan of the point of view of refs "stealing" a game unless something happens on the last play or the results are changed after the fact. Or perhaps boxing or UFC where a decision is made at the end.
The fact is that the goalie could have kicked the ball and the US team could have stolen it and cored 3 goals for all we know. One set of random possibilities was swapped for another. The outcome wasn't determined with 10 minutes still remaining. I was pretty happy to see Canada in the final 4 with the US and Japan but the coach really makes me want to root against Canada in future games when he is coaching.
Bgood41
It is going to be an unfavorable and wild guess prediction: U.S. (gold), Japan (silver), France (bronze).
missray
Two great semifinal games. Feel really sleepy watching all of them, especially since the U.S.-Canada match felt like it would never end. France played really well and had more shots on goal than Japan. In the end, Japan just made more of their chances and got the win. Their defense was just spectacular. While the Japan-France game was pretty cleanly played overall, the U.S.-Canada match was literally a dogfight. It was really physical. Yes, there were calls and non-calls on both sides, but in the end, the better team won. I agree that the delay-of-game call was weird, but there were so many times I saw Wambach get knocked down once she neared the penalty box, but get no foul on the Canadian player that knocked her down. Anyway, it was classless of the Canadian coach to make an excuse that the referee "took the game away from them". He should just be proud of the fact that his team played tough and were able to hang with the #1 team in the world and was close to the upset.
smithinjapan
SuperLib: The coach is rightfully upset. How he expresses it is questionable, for sure, but it's become quite clear that the Norwegian ref made several bad calls during the game, including ignoring obvious fouls. She had no place being there, and she should never be in any ref status in the future. I've read that people are looking into her credentials and thinking of taking them away, and she will never be an Olympic ref in the future.
Again, the coach will regret his comments to an extent, but the ref has to live with the replays for the rest of her life and either deny she was wrong or admit she stole the game from Canada.
studiokdc
@HideSuzuki...my man!! i agree with you on this one...
anyway, congrats to both teams for a fantastic game. i can't blame the canadian coach for his comments...although i don't feel the exact same way he does, he was emotional and sticking up for his team...but the Canadian ladies played their hearts out, and they have made all Canadians proud. take home that bronze and make history!!!
jforce
Too bad for Canada. The fix was in, and the ref called a very terrible game. Awful way to see them go out, but hopefully Japan will spank those cheats from the US. Honor will prevail.
Tokiyo
Hear, hear, how does a bad referee amount to the U.S team being cheats? That is a terrible presumption to make. As much as I would like to see Japan take the gold, demeaning the US team like that goes against good sportsmanship.
Plus, it would be more fun to see the teams play at there best and leave the spanking nonsense for the bedroom.
Thunderbird2
Go Nadeshiko!
bass4funk
Canada got robbed??? ROFLMAO
Personally, I want the US team to win, hands down, I am praying for it. But have to give it to Japan, they played well, they deserved it and I do wish them the best, if they win, kudos to them. But Tokiyo is right, demeaning the the US team, claiming that they cheated. Why would you make a slanderous accusation like that? Where is your proof of that. Why don't you leave your hate out of the Olympics and let us enjoy them. But Because I live in Japan, do I have to root for the Japanese team? I understand sportsmanship and I do feel, may the best man win or in this case women/team.
smithinjapan
Tokiyo: "Hear, hear, how does a bad referee amount to the U.S team being cheats? That is a terrible presumption to make."
Good point, and I'm sure in the bottom of their hearts a number of the US players know it was a steal, but you can't blame them any more than you can blame anyone else in events that have suffered bad refereeing. This message goes to SuperLib as well -- why would you cheer against the Canadian athletes based on the words of the coach?
Anyway, it was a robbery, bottom line. It should have been Canada vs. Japan in the final for the gold, but thanks to the Norwegian ref., whom I hope is never again to ref any events, it is not.
lostrune2
Exactly how did the USA women cheat?
serenitynow
you should all be ashamed of yourselves. calling those girls cheaters for a call a ref made. this isnt a doping allegation or trying not to win to avoid travelling. both teams played their hearts out. and 'kick it at their faces'? what kind of person says that?
MeanRingo
From the looks of the +/- I guess there are a lot of Americans in J-land. Well done, you stole that game fair and square. Just one question, how much are you paying the ref? Go Japan!!!!
Oz_Monster
Well done to Nadeshiko Japan for holding on to win. You have to give credit to France as well, they really played well, had so much possession of the ball and never gave up. That penalty miss was a stroke of luck for Japan, really had the match gone on any longer France would have scored. The last 15min Japan's defense was full of holes and very sloppy. I would really like to see them win the final, but they are really going to have to produce something special to beat the USA. In the World Cup, Nadeshiko were fighting for all Japan and were a very driven team. This time round the USA has unsettled business and I think they will be hell bent on trying to win gold. My prediction is.....Nadeshiko GOLD. Samurai Blue GOLD.
ka_chan
The French played better. Japanese women are better than the men. Prediction: Nadeskhiko Silver and Samurai Blue nothing.
lostrune2
Less than the JFA paid the IOC not to throw the team out of the Olympics for admittedly mailing the game against lowly South Africa.
greatpaperclip
Missed calls go both ways...
http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m8d36jeueO1qkp54eo1_500.gif
LostinNagoya
From what one reads over the web, it seems that Canada is thinking of invading USA for this game. I like this headline best, it explain the whole game: "Emotional Canadians Forgive, Not Forget Olympic Loss To U.S."
LostinNagoya
I am browsing the interned and can't stop laughing at the Canadian tragedy (I am not Canadian, so I can laugh). The Vancouver Sun called the game "a crime scene" LOL.