Norway forced the United States to trade in its world title for third-place medals.
It took Norway coach Even Pellerud to point out the bitter truth:
The United States wasn’t as good as four years ago, when it beat the Norwegians in the first Women’s World Cup final.
“I was a bit disappointed by the American team,” Pellerud said. “I see them today, and they were a stronger team before [in 1991] — especially in their attack.”
Harsh as it may seem, Pellerud was on the money. Norway ousted the U.S. with a 1-0 semifinal victory June 15. With Norway beating Germany 2-0 in the final, the Americans had to settle for third place, beating China, 2-0.
The unraveling of a champion began early in the tournament, Michelle Akers going down with a concussion and knee injury seven minutes into the U.S. opener against China.
She returned in the semifinal, limping around for 90 minutes against Norway.
Carin Gabarra suffered with a bad back throughout the tournament, leaving just one healthy member — Mia Hamm — of the frontline trio that dazzled the world in China four years ago.
Norway pressured the U.S. defenders and forced them to send speculative long balls up front — balls that the battered frontline could not track down.
And the tall Norwegians won the aerial duels.
At center forward, Akers tried to cope with her painful knee injury.
“It’s going to hurt like hell no matter what I did,” Akers said, “so [I had to] just suck it up.”
Playing with a knee brace, Akers often doubled over in pain after shooting the ball with her right foot.
Still, she was more effective than Carin Gabarra, who suffered from back spasms. Gabarra was not able to run onto any balls and couldn’t control the ball when she did receive it.
Yet U.S. coach Tony DiCicco kept both players in the game for 90 minutes. He used just one of three permitted substitutions, bringing Tiffeny Milbrett in for Tiffany Roberts in the 53rd minute.
DiCicco had options up front in Milbrett — whose entrance for Roberts pushed Hamm into the midfield — and Debbie Keller, who warmed up but didn’t get in.
“We decided it was time to go with our No. 1 frontline, the frontline that got us there,” said DiCicco. “But you can look at it in every other way. If we don’t win with our reserves, you say we didn’t go with our best.”
The whole U.S. team’s inability to keep possession of the ball was a major cause for its downfall. The U.S. lost most of the 50-50 balls — on the ground and in the air — in the first half. When they did win one, the U.S. players were unable to find the forwards or Kristine Lilly, who was often alone on the left flank.
But when Lilly was pushed up, Norway often won the ball and sent it down Lilly’s side to Hege Riise, who allowed Lilly to run free. Lilly had to chase back to keep Riise from going straight to goal, but Norway won several corner kicks in the process.
That’s what happened on Norway’s goal in 11th minute. Lilly was pushed up, Norway won the ball and sent it down her side to Riise. Lilly got back in time to head the ball over the line for a Norway corner kick.
Gro Espeseth took the kick and found Ann Kristin Aaroenes, who headed the ball past an onrushing Briana Scurry. The U.S. goalkeeper managed to get around Anne Nymark Andersen and Riise, who were boxing in the keeper, but she couldn’t get around Aaroenes in time to punch the ball away.
“That one ball just had eyes, had eyes for her head,” said Scurry. “It went straight to her head. Right over my man, right in front of me and right to her. That was a great ball, great serve.”
Scurry keeps U.S. in game
After the goal, the U.S. defense held together — barely. Scurry was forced to make some amazing saves, drawing praise from Norway forward Linda Medalen.
“The last one I was a little bit slow. I should have shot earlier,” said Medalen. “She did a great job. She was very concentrated, and she was a great goalkeeper.”
The U.S. came out more determined in the second half. The Americans were winning balls more often and doing a better job of keeping Riise occupied. They received the biggest boost when Heidi Stoere, one of the top midfielders in the world, was ejected for her second yellow-card offense after taking out Hamm’s legs in 77th minute. Stoere got the first yellow in the first half for handling a ball in the U.S. box.
With Stoere gone, the U.S. controlled the game. Joy Fawcett hit the crossbar twice. Goalkeeper Bente Nordby made some incredible saves, including one on a Milbrett shot that she knocked over the bar after falling to the ground.
“Obviously, they dominated the first 35 minutes of the game in classic Norway style,” said DiCicco. “We couldn’t get a grasp of the game, and during that time the game was won. After that we clawed our way back in. I was extremely proud of the way our players fought in the second half.”
After the loss, the U.S. players committed on the field to winning at the 1996 Olympics and to never losing again.
“You don’t forget things like that, how it feels,” said an emotional Foudy. “Like someone snatched away your dream. All the sweat and the tears you put into all this. Just half an inch off that crossbar.”
DiCicco joked afterward that he was tempted to measure the goal to confirm it was actually eight feet high.
Two days later, the U.S. met China in the third place playoff and ran out a comfortable 2-0 winner. The two teams had met in the first round, tying 3-3.
The game featured a more intense U.S. squad — determined not to suffer its second shutout in World Cup history. And it avoided the defensive breakdowns of the first encounter with China.
The first goal was a nice one, though it should have been saved by goalkeeper Gao Hong. Hamm served a corner from the right side, the ball grazed the fingertips of Gao, and Tisha Venturini nodded in the ball just before getting kicked in the shoulder by a Chinese player.
The second goal was one of beauty. Hamm ran on to a through ball 15 yards into the Chinese half. As three defenders converged on her, Hamm touched the ball to ahead twice before firing a shot past Gao and into the left corner of the goal.
“I kept thinking to myself, ‘I can’t get a lot of touches in the box because they’re so quick and fast at getting back,’ and I started to feel the girls behind me,” said Hamm. “I just first-timed it, and I was lucky it went in.”
Akers didn’t play at all in the game.
“I’ve said it before, this was a World Cup of adversities for the U.S.,” said Akers. “It was one thing after another, and we lost the semifinal for a reason. Maybe it was to remind us that we aren’t going to win because we are the United States and stepping out on the field, that we have to work hard and we have to, I think, enjoy the moments of our success even more.”
by Soccer America Associate Editor Dean Caparaz