Mano Gil's point of view:

Since that incredible match in the FIFA Women's World Cup in 2007 a lot of expectations surrounds every game between USA and Brazil. Last night's match in San Diego was not different. I mean, the expectations were there but the intensity of the game was not.

One could say "C'mon Mano Gil, it was a friendly match!"

It's true but a friendly match with less than a month to the Football Tournament at the 2008 Olympics should be played with more attacking freedom then. And that simply didn't happen. The poor 1-0 score for the USA gave two main impressions: 1) This new generation of USA players have quality but they lack something that I'm still trying to figure out (I don't want to be unfair to the girls). 2) The team still suffers with high expectations to deliver the same results as the Michelle Akers/Mia Hamm/Julie Foudy Generation.

Tash celebrates her goal against Brazil last night

It could also be the lack of an extremely creative attacking-midfielder that can make the right passes and the right connection with the forwards. Carly Lloyd and Lindsay Tarpley are good midfielders and play a very tactical game but I miss some creativity in midfield.

As for Brazil, of course that playing without Daniela, Cristiane and specially Marta makes all the difference. Formiga was killing herself trying to move the team forward. She played every position in midfield last night. And the defense behaved well but without the attacking force to pressure the USA it was just obvious that they would lose the match.

And now the "Abby Wambach case":

With only 32 minutes played in the game Abby rushed to try to reach a ball that was closer to the Brazilian defender. And with the obvious collision she suffered a midshaft oblique fracture on both her tibia and fibula.

In freaking good English it means: SHE BROKE HER LEG AND IS OUT OF THE OLYMPICS!!!

The goal number 100 will have to wait a little longer now

Wambach is an admirable player. She's determined, she's funny and more than that, she scores goals. Until last night she had already scored 99 for the National Team and was eager to get the number 100. I feel very sorry for her injury but it's one of those that I'm sure (because I went through the same a couple years ago), so I'm sure she is going to think "why did I go for that ball, why?"...

Abby will need a 12 week recovery. Good luck girl, come back stronger!

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Alondra's point of view:

The USA played Brazil for their Send-off game in San Diego in front of a sell-out crowd. Everyone was excited for that game, and they did have expectations. They expected Abby Wambach to score her 100th goal. They expected the USA to win and score a lot goals.

It seemed like Abby would get her 100th goal as she had a couple chances early in the first half. The fans were rooting for Abby and her teammates, but soon it all turned into fear.

Wambach, eager to score a goal, went for a 50-50 ball with a Brazilian defender, and came down hard . She instantly waved her hand for attention. They took her away, and it turns out she broke her left tibia and fibula.

Her teammates were worried. Fans were worried. She is one of the best players on the team, and she is very passionate about soccer. She is a big loss for the team.

The US played continued playing a tough first half, and second half. Then when Natasha Kai came in for Lindsay Tarpley, she got the crowd started and brought the energy back up.

In the 85th minute, Carli Lloyd took a free kick, and crossed the ball into the box. Kai got her head on it and scored from 6 yards out. The fans went wild, and she gave them hope. The US ended with a 1-0 win over Brazil.

We all know that Brazil was playing without their star forward, Marta, and without Cristiane and Daniela. It would have been a different game with them on the field. They are very good players. Who knows what the outcome of the game would have been.

As for the USA, they are not doomed. They still have a chance at defending the Gold Medal. Even though they lost Abby Wambach, they still have players that can step up. Natasha Kai prove it, and Amy Rodriguez is a great froward that can cause trouble for any defense. Carli Lloyd can get more into the attack ands hoot from outside the box. Shannon Boxx is great in the air. Defenders Lori Chalupny and Heathr Mitts are key players for the US attack.

It will be harder now for the USA without Wambach, but she doesn't make up the team.

Accidents happen all the time, and the one that she was involved in is no different. She was going for the ball and instead got her leg broken. Hopefully, she'll recover well and soon.

All the US can do now is hope for the best, and play good soccer.

90" + 1" The USA gets their second victory in a row against Brazil. 1-0 with Natasha Kai's goal in the 84 minute. They got the win but what we're all worried about is how serious is Abby Wambach's injury. DON'T MISS OUR POST MATCH REPORT TOMORROW MORNING!

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89" A through ball to Natasha Kai got everyone here to stand up but she was offside.

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84" GGGGGOOOOAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL..... FOR the USA!!!!!!!! Carly Lloyd took the free kick and Natasha Kai heads it inside the net!!! Late goal for the USA that might just what they need to win this one!

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83" Another good hassle by Amy Rodriguez. She gives the ball to Kai and she's fouled.

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81" A-Rod, the shortie spitfire, fights for a lost ball on the right and the USA has a corner kick. The ball is played back to Kate Markgraf but nothing came out of it.

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75" Brazil have not produced anything in the second half. Hope Solo is pretty much watching the game. But on the other hand the USA has been putting pressure on the green-yellow defense but the final touch, the goal shot is not happening.

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68" Ball in the box for Shanon Boxx but she couldn't get a good touch on it.

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67" Kate Markgraf is fouled and the USA has another chance on a set piece.

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66" Another great shot by Kate Markgraf. Andrea saves it.

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61" Natasha Kai on the right and she's on the ground. Tackled by Formiga. Free kick for the USA. And the fans on the stands show their support. The free kick is taken and the play was not well rehearsed. Nothing but a goal kick for Brazil.

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58" WOOOW!!! Amazing shot by Formiga... The ball went really close to the right top corner.

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55" And the USA came back for this second half determined to win this match. The team gets a corner and coach Pia Sundhage brings in Natasha Kai to replace Lindsay Tarpley. The team will play with 3 forwards now.

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46" The second half is on its way.

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HALF TIME: Both teams played well but nothing spectacular. It seems that there is still work to be done before any of these teams can claim that Gold Medal

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45"+ 3" After a good last chance for the USA, the referee blows thew whistle for half time

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45" Nice play by Formiga on the left wing but the low cross went straight out

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41" A good play on the right side and Lindsay Tarpley takes a good shot. Ball over the crossbar once again though

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36" Now I'm worried. Abby is still down and it might be more serious than we thought. It could be her left knee. She'll be replaced by Angela Hucles.

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32" Abby and a defender goes for a tough ball challenge and Abby is on the ground. To get Abby Wambach it sure has to be a rough play. She'll be taken out on the strecher to receive that miraculous water and I'm sure she'll be back.

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29" Another harsh tackle on Abby. This time was Renata Costa. Abby sets to take it.... OOOOOOhHHHHH ... The ball probably hit the pigeon flying way way way over the bar

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26" Abby runs throught the midlle and is fouled by Formiga. The USA gets a dangerous free kick. Kate Markgraf takes the shot and kits the wall. On the rebound Abby alomst finds space to get free inside the box. And on the counter attack Brazil scares the Yankee defense.

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20" Corner taken, ball cleared by the defense.

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19" Good wing play by Jatobá. And Brazil gets the corner on the right.

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15" Both teams working well on defense and the ball the goalkeepers are pretty much watching the action. The USA just took a long range shot but the ball went way over the bar

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9" Heather Mitts sees the first yellow card of the night for pulling Pretinha's shirt.

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8" Good shot by Maicon on the left top of the 18-box. Solo saves with no major problems.

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6" Great play by Formiga. She dribles Kate Markgraf and gets the ball to her wing. But the cross was bad.

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4" Wambach is deep pursuit of the goal n two other good chances but the play coulnd't end the way she wanted.

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3" Abby Wambach turns her defender outside on the rightand shoots in diagonal. The ball goes wide.

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1" Game on: Brazil takes the kick off and the cozy small stadium is excited to watch Abby Wambach scores her 100th goal for the USA

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Before the match: USA and Brazil already warmed up here at the Torero Stadium and it's a beautiful Wednesday evening here in San Diego.

The lineups are already confirmed:

USA: 

1- Hope Solo, 2- Heather Mitts, 3- Christie Rampone, 15- Kate Markgraf, 17- Lori Chalupny; 9- Heather O'Reilly, 7- Shannon Boxx, 11- Carly Lloyd, 5- Lindsay Tarpley; 8- Amy Rodriguez, 12- Abby Wambach

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BRAZIL:

1- Barbara, 2- Jatobá, 4- Tania, 5- Andreia Rosa, 6- Rosana; 19- Renata Costa, 7- Formiga, 9- Maicon, 14- Ester; 11- Pretinha, 18- Fabiana

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USA and Brazil will face each other tonight in San Diego, CA as part of both teams preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

Last Sunday, on the opening match of the two-game series, the young forward Amy Rodriguez gave the USA the winning goal at the 70 minute.

The game tonight will also give striker Abby Wambach another chance to score her 100th goal for the US WNT.

Me and Alondra are going to be in the Torero Stadium following all the action and posting videos and pictures at half time and after the match.

Stay tuned!

The US Women played Brazil for the first of 2 games of the Olympic Send-Off Tour. The match was  played at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado in front of a crowd of 15,071.

Once again, forward Amy Rodriguez, coming in at halftime for Natasha Kai, scored the game winning goal for the USA, just like she did the last time these two teams met at the Peace Queen Cup.

The goal came in the 70th minute when Abby Wambach received a short pass from Tobin Heath on the left side, and crossed the box to the far post. Brazilian defender, Tania couldn't get a foot on the ball and deflected it. Rodriguez shot the perfectly-placed ball from a tough angle into the top of the goal.

Abby Wambach had a good chance of scoring her 100th goal in the 35th minute when Carli Lloyd took a shot from distance and Kai chipped the rebound in front of the goal for Wambach, but Tania cleared it out for a corner kick.

The USA came off with a win in the first leg of the Tour. They will play Brazil once gain for the Second and last game of the Send-Off Tour at Torero Stadium in San Diego, California. They game will be broadcast live on Fox Soccer Channel at 7:00 PM PT. 

The US WNT traveled to Europe for a two game tour in Norway and Sweden. These two games are part of the preparation for the 2008 Olympics.

First, they played their long time rival Norway. This is only the third time the USA has played in Norway, and the first time they defeated them on their own turf. 

Lindsay Tarpley scored the first goal in the 4th minute. Abby Wambach received a throw-in, turned inside the box and played the ball to Tarpley, who scored into the lower left corner from 10 yards out.

The second goal came 7 minutes into the second half. Tarpley passed the ball to Natasha Kai, who then passed it to Carli Lloyd who took a left-footed shot from 12 yards out.

Angela Hucles scored the 3rd goal. Hope Solo drop-kicked the ball to the top of the box which forced the Norwegian goalkeeper to come off her line and kick the ball out.The ball bounced to Hucles who noticed the goalie was way off her line and took a shot from 40 yards out.

"You pretty much don’t think about. It was one of those split-second decisions you make on the field. You hope your skill comes in a little bit and a little bit of luck. It was probably one of the most technical goals I’ve ever scored.”

Abby Wambach added to the lead, and her total,  in the 78th minute. Amy Rodriguez, having just come into the game, played a through ball to the top of the box. Wambach slotted the ball into the lower right corner.  This was the 99th career goal for Abby Wambach.

The US played Sweden next. It was the first time they played them in Sweden. It was also the first time head coach Pia Sundhage coached the US against her own country.

The US came out on top with a goal from Carli Lloyd. She played a corner kick short to Tarpley, who passed it back to Lloyd, who dribbled into the box through 3 defenders, and took a shot from 15 yards out which was deflected by a defender into the left corner.

 

The USA will re-group in Commerce City, Colorado for the first of 2 send-off games against Brazil. They play on July 13 at  Dick's Sporting Goods Park at 2 pm MT. They will then head for San Diego, California, and play on July 16 at Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego at 7 pm PT.

US head coach Pia Sundhage has named the 18 players that will compete in this year's Olympics, plus four alternates. She chose the final roster after the USA defeated Canada at the Peace Queen Cup.

The four alternates named were goalkeeper Briana Scurry, defender Ali Krieger, midfielder Kacey White, and forward Lauren Cheney.

Nine of the players on the roster were part of the team that won the gold in Athens, Greece four years ago. Two of them are playing in their third Olympics, team captains Christie Rampone and Kate Markgraf. The other seven players who played n Athens are Heather Mitts, Shannon Boxx, Angela Hucles, Aly Wagner, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, and Abby Wambach.

Six players are playing in their second world championshi with the first being the 2007 World Cup in China. They are Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Carli Lloyd, and Natasha Kai, who is also the first Hawaiian to make an Olympic women's soccer team.

The last three players on the roster are the younger players who are still in college, and are playing in their first-ever world championship. They are defender Rachel Buehler, midfielder Tobin Heath, and forward Amy Rodriguez.

Two players made late runs to earn their spot on the roster. Aly Wagner came back after recovering from a in double-hernia surgery January. She has only played in four games, all at the Peace Queen Cup. Stephanie Cox was released at the end of the team's training camp in June, but after Cat Whitehill tore her ACL in South Korea, she was called up again to join the team, and played well at the Peace Queen Cup.

Heather Mitts also came back from a torn ACL. She was injured in May 2007 in a game against Canada. She came back in late April for the three-game domestic tour.

All 22 players will travel to Europe for two games, against Norway on July 2, and Sweden on July 5. Only the 18 players on the roster will play in the two Olympic send-off matches against Brazil, July 13 at Dick's Sporting Goods Stadium in Commerce City, CO and July 16 at Torero Stadium in San Diego, CA, before heading over to China.

US Women's Olympic Soccer Team:

Goalkeepers (2): Nicole Barnhart, Hope Solo

Defenders (6): Rachel Buehler, Lori Chalupny, Stephanie Cox, Kate Markgraf, Heather Mitts, Christie Rampone

Midfielders (7): Shannon Boxx, Tobin Heath, Angela Hucles, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Aly Wagner

Forwards (3): Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach

The US played Brazil on June 17 for the second game of group play. They played a very physical game in which Carli Lloyd got a broken nose in the first half, Abby Wambach got hurt and came down on a bad collision-which is very rare for her, and a few more players got bad bruises. The US still played tough and came out on top on their revenge match with a score of 1-0.

The goal came in the 42nd minute. Wagner took a free kick that the Brazilian defense couldn't get to and collided, leaving the ball bouncing around near the goal. Amy Rodriguez shot the ball, and the Brazilian keeper got a hand to it, but deflected the ball into the top left corner.

On June 19, the USA played against Italy, and Abby Wambach came up big. She scored both goals for the USA, giving them the 2-0 win and the spot in the final. The first goal was scored on a great dribbling run. She ran down the left flank and shot the ball from a tough angle, into the lower left corner. The second goal was a header (big surprise). Carli Lloyd took a corner kick and Wambach got her head on it from 5 yards out.

The Peace Queen Cup final was played between the USA and Canada, just like the one in 2006. The score was also 1-0. The goal came in at the end of the match. It seemed the champion would be decided by going over time, but midfielder Angela Hucles got the game-winning goal on a free kick. She played the ball into the box for Lauren Cheney. The ball went too far, but Cheney made a run for it, missed the ball, but distracted the Canadian keeper, and the ball went just under her arms into the net.

The US had another chance to score when Heather Mitts kicked the ball to the top left corner, but hit the crossbar.

Hope Solo was playing one of the best games of her career. She made an incredible save right at the beginning of the match. She made a lot of great saves throughout the match and kept the USA in the game. At the end of the match she made two game-preserving saves. One was a dive to her left to grab the ball in the air going towards Randee Hermus for a header. Then she pushed away the ball over the crossbar on a great kick from Sinclair.

Angela Hucles took the gold ball for MVP, and Abby Wambach took the bronze boot and ball.

The USA won the fourth tournament this year, and now they are headed back home before playing Sweden and Norway, then Brazil twice, and then heading over to China for the Olympics.

The US Women left the States on June 8 and arrived in Seoul, North Korea on June 9 after a 12-hour flight, giving defender Heather Mitts her shortest birthday ever- 3 hours long. The team got to training the next morning to get over the jet lag.

On June 10, during training, defender Cat Whitehill tore the anterior cruciate ligament on her left knee. She flew back to the US, and Stephanie Cox flew to North Korea to take her spot. Cat Whitehill will miss the Olympics, along with Leslie Osborne, who also tore her ACL.

The US got their first win against Australia, who always fights a full 90-minutes and gives the US a good challenge. Kai scored the first goal in the 35th minute. Heather O'Reilly ran down the flank, creating space to pass the ball into the box. Kai slipped and poked the ball into the lower corner of the goal, giving the USA the lead.

Australia tied the game in the 57th minute when Amy Chapman chipped in a cross from the right wing into a group of US defenders, but Heather Garriock got a foot on it, giving the ball a weird spin, past Hope Solo, into the lower right corner.

The US got back on the board in the 77th minute when halftime substitute Aly Wagner took a corner kick from the left side. Abby Wambach jumped higher than the two Australians defending her with her back to the goal, and scored with the back of her head. This was Wambach's 96th goal.

The US will have one day of rest, which really won't be a day of rest. The few players that didn't play will hit the field for about an our, while those who did play will have a pool workout.

The US plays Brazil, who beat Italy 2-1, in the second group match on June 17 at 1 am ET, before facing Italy on the final group match.

Kai's goal.

Wambach's goal

The WNT ended their 2-week training camp on Monday, June 2. Head coach Pia Sundhage has chosen a 22-player roster that will travel to Seoul, South Korea next weekend. This was the final chance for some players to make an impact on the coaching staff, and have a chance to play at the Olympics, as 18 players will be chosen from the Peace Queen Cup roster.

Group A is made up of South Korea, New Zealand, Canada, and Argentina. Group B includes USA, Italy, Brazil, and Australia.

The US will play Australia on June 15, Brazil on June 17, and Italy on June 19.

The championship game will be played on June 21 between the first-place teams of each group.

Pia Sundhage chose a roster made up of 3 goalkeepers, defenders, 8 midfielder, and 4 forwards.

Goalkeepers: Hope Solo, Nicole Barnhart, Briana Scurry

Defenders: Christie Rampone, Kate Markgraf, Cat Whitehill, Heather Mitts, Lori Chalupny, Rachel Buehler

Midfielders: Aly Wagner, Angela Hucles, Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, Heather O'Reilly, Lindsay Tarpley, Tobin Heath, Kacey White

Forwards: Abby Wambach, Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, Lauren Cheney

This is the second edition of the tournament, in which the US defeated Canada, 1-0, in the first-ever Peace Queen Cup.

 

The US Women are back to training camp to prepare for the Peace Queen Cup in South Korea. This is the last tournament they will participate in before heading to China for the 2008 Olympics.

The Women's Olympic Football Tournament Draw was held on April 20. The twelve teams that will compete in the Olympics were placed in their groups: Group E consists of China (host), Sweden, Argentina, and Canada; Group F is made up of Korea DPR, Nigeria, two-time world champion Germany, and Brazil who placed second at the 2007 Women's World Cup; and the finally Group G which includes Norway, USA, Japan, and New Zealand.

The USA will face Norway first on group play, on August 6. Then they will play against Japan on August 9, and finally New Zealand on August 12.

The team that finishes first on their group will then move on to the quarter finals, along with the two best third-place teams.

In order for the US WNT to win a medal, they will have to advance to the final four.

The US has won two Olympic Gold Medals since the first Women's Soccer Olympic tournament in 1996. They defeated Norway in sudden death overtime at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA. They also won at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece, defeating Brazil. The US also won the silver medal at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney Australia after losing to Norway on the championship game in overtime with a score of 2-3 .