The U.S. women's national team played their final game before the opening match of the 2007 Women's World Cup tonight at the Home Depot soccerplex. Against a noncompetitor in the WWC, Finland.
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One-sided would be a kind way to describe it. The final score was 4-0 with only chance and the Finnish keeper standing between another half dozen or so goals. The WNT flies to China Monday looking in excellent form.
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Just a couple of notes:
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1. Kristine Lilly is a genuinely great player. She still has great quickness, both on and off the ball even if her straight-line speed has faded. She finishes deftly but more critically sees the field incisively, passing into space and to players that another midfielder would hoof and hope towards.
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So the question that sneaks into my head is; why isn't she as well known as Mia Hamm? My suspicious curmudgeonly side thinks this is because Mia is "cute" and Kristine is, well, not plain - she "cleans up" nicely - but looks very un-foofy on the field. She lacks the rounded, feminine softness that Hamm had and has, even when she was young and match-slim. On the field, Mia Hamm looked serious but fetching, like an actress playing a soccer striker. Kristine Lilly just looks angular and businesslike, like, well, what she is, a professional soccer midfielder.
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I think it's an insult to Lilly, and to sport, that she's not taken more seriously as "the new Mia".
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2. The U.S. defense looked exceptionally solid. Christie Rampone, in particular, had several lovely one-on-one stops.
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3. The only troubling news from this game was the departure of Abby Wambach late in the first half. The report is that she "jammed her toe", which could mean anything from a hellacious bruise to a hairline fracture. Whatever the injury, a striker is a "beast of the foot" like a falcon, a horse or a hound in medieval venery: if you destroy the foot, you destroy the animal. As I wrote previously, while I appreciate Wambach's skill I am troubled by her place in the WNT's offensive scheme. So, while I hope that she is not seriously hurt, it wouldn't crush my hopes for U.S. X-chromosomal footy glory if she had to ride the pine for a game or three. The team looked terrific without her, wide open, aggressive and stylish.
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到中国! To China! As Peter Fonda says in his brilliantly poignant speech near the climax of "Thomas and the Magic Railroad:
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"The lights are all green for you now, Lady. Green for glory..."
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