The 2010 World Cup sets a new trend...absolutely poor refereeing mars the USWNT vs. Sweden WNT match too.

Yesterday was the first game of the USWNT's double header against Sweden. To make a long story short, it was a great game...yet the refereeing left a lot to be desired. Poor refereeing continues, even after the World Cup 2010 is over. Let's get to the highlights and breakdown of the match now, shall we?


The match was pretty good, a lot of back and forth soccer, and plenty of great plays to feast your soccer eyes on. However, it was the ugly refereeing that ruined a decent game. The USWNT were the clear aggressors early on, releasing quite a few shots on goal in the first half. There were plenty of chances, and some pretty nice looking accurate through passes. The Swedes had their attacks too however, and one of the scariest moments of the match was when a Swede was bearing down on Barnhart, right outside the 6 yard area. Barnie came up with the foot save though to keep the USWNT from going down a goal. The USWNT would go ahead just before the half time break. Wambach released a perfect through pass to the feet of A-Rod who had beaten her marker. A-Rod latched onto it and released a first-time chip shot over the charging Swedish keeper that bounced in. The half would end with the USWNT up by a goal. However, the game would begin to change from here. Very early into the 2nd half, Wambach received a ball inside the 18 and smashed it right into the net, past the Swedish keeper, but it was disallowed. The linesman called Wambach offsides, but when instant replay showed the play once more, it was clear that Wambach was onsides, as the defender to the far left was even with her, maybe even a little in front of her. A-Rod would experience a heartbreaker, as a cross would come in from the right flank. A-Rod dove to get her head to it, but instead of the ball going into the top of the net, it bounced off the crossbar and could not be recovered. It would have been a beautiful goal, if not for the Goal Keeper's best friend getting in the way. However, even though the USWNT was looking dangerous and persistent at this moment, the tide of the game would change in an instant. On the counterattack to A-Rod's missed header, the Swedes would bear down the field. A Swede released the ball to send her teammate off to the races. The USWNT defenders could not catch up as their offside trap was ineffective (the linesman did not call for offsides). The Swede ran a clear path towards Barnhart on a clear breakaway run from the right flank, and as Barnhart charged she went down a little too early, causing the Swede to chip a shot and send it home. This looked fair at first, but on instant replay, the USWNT's offside trap did work. The Swede who was sent on the breakaway was in a clear offsides position. And when I say clear, I mean clear. It wasn't even disputable. She was offsides for sure. I hate to say it, but this was the one game in pretty much forever since I started following the U.S. Women's Team, where I was actually nervous and afraid that we might lose. After the tie, the USWNT became frantic and unorganized. We did not hold onto the ball in midfield, and our plays lost precision. The USWNT became scattered and panicky, and I hated seeing that. I figured the USWNT would come out and smash their opponents, but I'm telling you, despite the bad refereeing, the Swedes were no joke. They gave us quite the scare. Since the USWNT failed to settle down, there were more scary Sweden breakaways that had practically given me a heart attack. One of the best chances for the Swedes was when, inside the 18, Landstrom, or whoever it was, I don't know who these players are (or how to pronounce their names) passed the ball over to Seger (only player I know besides Landstrom) who JUST missed the easy put away chance from about 6 yards out. I thought that was the game winner. Thankfully though, Seger missed the pass and it would never go in the net. The game would end 1-1, with each team looking quite even throughout the match.

Like I said, this match got me scared. I have never seen the USWNT get so lost. They became panicky, frantic, erratic, unorganized and scattered. They could not settle down. That goal shook them up a bit, and they weren't really able to regroup I think. That's something they're going to need to work on. They need to keep their heads high and settle down if they ever go level, or worse, go down a goal. Their mentality is extremely strong when they're up a goal, but they showed weakness I think after they went level. I am hoping that the USWNT works on that problem, and I hope that they get revenge for the win that they really should have had. Had Wambach gotten credit for that goal (which was ONSIDES), the tide of the game would have been completely different. The refereeing was poor and inexcusable. However, in the words of Sepp Blatter, these things happen, and human error is a factor of the game ( should it be? No. Do I agree with him? Absolutely not.)but, until instant replay is issued for all facets of soccer, these teams will have to deal with it. So, its important that the USWNT learns how to deal with an unfavorable situation, whether its legit or not.


We'll see how the USWNT reacts to this one on Saturday, July 17th. It'll be on FSC, starting at 7:30pm. Go USA!


Denise