USA falls to Japan in 2011 Women's World Cup final.
With defeat comes sadness and finger pointing. I know what the ladies have done in this tournament is a great accomplishment. But no matter what the game or level, whenever there is a failure, the praises fall short. Especially when the your team gave up the lead twice.
For me there is only one person that deserves the blame, and that would be coach Pia Sundhag. Not because she sat Amy Rodriguez or started Megan Rapinoe but because she started Rachel Buehler. Pia should of have kept Becky Sauerbrunn in the starting lineup, she had a great game against France.
It was evident during the Sweden and Brazil game that Buehler would be trouble. It proved to be true again, she had a big part in both goals that Japan scored. I know I shouldn't be bitching about Pia or Buehler, but it was pretty clear that the back line would be the achilles heel of this team.But Pia went with loyalty rather than tactics.
I don't want to completely blame everything on Pia and Buehler. The team had so many opportunities to put the game away, but they failed to capitalize on their opportunities.
Overall, I am sad about the fact the ladies fell short of their dream. But I can't say Japan didn't deserve to win the game.
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