Category: Special Edition

Loss to Nigeria eliminates USA
Make that two kicks in the teeth for the U.S. men’s Olympic team, along with being booted out of the tournament in heroic yet heartbreaking fashion. Down a man for more than 90 minutes — counting stoppage time — courtesy of Michael Orozco’s wayward elbow shortly after kickoff, the U.S. succumbed to Nigeria, 2-1, to finish third in Group B at 1-1-1. With the U.S. trailing 2-0 in the 77th minute, Sacha Kljestan banged in a penalty kick to trim Nigeria’s lead in half, and in the final minutes Charlie Davies hit the crossbar with a header that could have propelled the U.S. into the knockout phase.

[NIGERIA-USA REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players in their 2-1 loss to Nigeria on Wednesday …

[REACTION] U.S. coach Pia Sundhage said her team has come a long way from the disastrous first 15 minutes of the opening game against Norway. After struggling to beat Japan, the 4-0 win over New Zealand boosted the Americans’ confidence heading into the knockout round.

“The USA will be a very dangerous opponent for us because they are one of the top teams at this competition and also because they will be playing for their lives.”

— Nigeria striker Victor Obinna on Wednesday’s showdown with the USA in men’s soccer. The Americans could need a tie or win to advance despite their position in first place after two games. (FIFA.com)

Trailing at halftime, Japan stormed back for five second-half goals and stunned Norway, 5-1, The result left the USA, Norway and Japan 1-2-3 in Group G and reshuffled the projected quarterfinal pairings. For all the results and goal scorers …

Group play in men’s soccer concludes Wednesday when the USA faces Nigeria. Women’s action continues Friday with four quarterfinal games: USA-Canada in Shanghai at 6 am ET, China-Japan, Germany-Sweden and Brazil-Norway. Complete soccer coverage is available on the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and online at nbcolympics.com. Check with your television provider for the availability of the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel.

Rout of Kiwis give USA Group G crown
By thrashing New Zealand, 4-0, to win Group G the U.S. women have not only avoided Brazil and Germany in the quarterfinal round and given themselves one more opportunity to sharpen their game, they’ve also ducked the possibility of playing both of their major obstacles to the gold medal.

[USA-NEW ZEALAND REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 4-0 win over New Zealand on Tuesday …

“Not too many people gave us a chance tonight against the European champions, but we were very close to beating them. We have unfinished business.”

— U.S. coach Peter Nowak after the 2-2 tie with the Netherlands.

Late goal denies U.S. historic win
Crushing disappointments are all too common in soccer, for deserving teams sometimes fail to win, and last-second catastrophes can undo what transpired the previous hour and a half. On both fronts, the U.S. men’s team took a kick in the teeth Sunday against the Netherlands, which scored on a free kick in the third minute of stoppage time to carve out a 2-2 tie that left the Americans (1-0-1, 4 points) atop Group B yet not yet assured of a spot in the quarterfinals.

[USA-NETHERLANDS REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 2-2 tie with the Netherlands on Sunday …

[REACTION] With the need to get a result against Nigeria a distinct possibility — and Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley both suspended — the U.S. players immediately turned their attention to Wednesday’s Group B finale …

Argentina, Brazil and Italy all clinched berths in the quarterfinals with their second wins of the tournament. Argentina needed a late goal from Ezequiel Lavezzi to beat Australia, 1-0. Ronaldinho scored twice for Brazil in its 5-0 win over New Zealand, while New Jersey product Giuseppe Rossi scored for the second straight game in Italy’s 3-0 victory over South Korea. For all the results and goal scorers …

Soccer action resumes on Tuesday when the U.S. women close out group play against New Zealand. Complete soccer coverage is available on the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and online at nbcolympics.com. Check with your television provider for the availability of the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel

[USA-JAPAN REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 1-0 win over Japan on Saturday …

[REACTION] U.S. coach Pia Sundhage was pleased with the response of her players after the loss to Norway, but she admitted that the final minutes of the win over Japan were nerve-wracking.

Loaded with current and former U.S. collegians, Canada held host China to a 1-1 tie on Saturday in Tianjin to maintain its share of the Group E lead with the Steel Roses.

Day 2 of the women’s soccer tournament produced another set of tight games. Five game were decided by one goal, while the China-Canada game ended in a 1-1 tie. With eight of 12 teams going through to the quarterfinals, every team was still alive. For all the results and goal scorers …

Soccer continues Sunday on USA Network with the USA-Netherlands men’s game. Complete soccer coverage will be available on the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel and online at nbcolympics.com. Check with your television provider for the availability of the NBC Olympic Soccer Channel.

Lloyd strike gets U.S. back on track
Blasting a shot from well outside the penalty area is a longshot, hit-or-miss proposition at all levels of the game, but a first-time strike at the edge of the box is a quintessential opportunity. By converting one such chance, the U.S. women beat Japan, 1-0, on Saturday to start the process of damage repair

“I am very happy about our performance today against a very technical, talented Japan team. Besides a great goal by Carli Lloyd, I am very happy about our tactics with a fast player up top, Amy Rodriguez, and the way Heather O’Reilly played on the right side. But the bottom line is that the team that won today.”

— U.S. coach Pia Sundhage after the 1-0 win over Japan.

“It felt like an eternity as the ball was rolling out to the top of the box. I just wanted to get it on frame because there were a bunch of people in front of me. I hit it left-footed and it crawled over the line. I think it’s the first goal I’ve scored that hasn’t touched the back of the net.”

— U.S. midfielder Stuart Holden on the clearance that led to the shot that squeezed under the left hand of goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa and slithered over the goal line for the winning goal in the USA’s 1-0 win over Japan.

U.S. men just good, and lucky, enough
Anyone who had bet that the U.S. women would be at the bottom of their group after one game at the 2008 Olympic Games and the U.S. men would be at the top figured to cash in, and cash in big.

[USA-JAPAN REPORT CARD] Soccer America’s Ridge Mahoney grades the U.S. players’ performance in their 1-0 win over Japan on Thursday …

[REACTION] U.S. coach Peter Nowak acknowledged that his team was far from perfect in its opening win over Japan, but he praised his players for their effort. His players said the turning point when they got a second wind to start to second half …