The Women's Gold Cup Comes To A Close

The Gold Cup comes to a close today. Its been a good one!


Hey everyone. Know I haven't been on here in a bit, but I'm back and ready to talk about the Gold Cup! Let's discuss today's games:


USA vs. Costa Rica- This was a must win game for either side if they wanted to keep thei World Cup qualifying hopes alive. After its devastating loss to Mexico, the game dubbed as "The Calamity in Cancun", the USA began to re-think things and seriously analyze their situation. The road to qualifying was no longer going to be simple or easy. With this loss, the USA had to regroup and focus on them qualifying, which from that point forward was uncertain. The United States came in focused, realizing that the task at hand was a do-or-die situation. If the USA lost, they would not qualify for Germany 2011. The USA won the game 3-0, with a goal from Cheney to start the action, and 2 beautiful goals from Wambach to seal the deal and ensure that the USA would still be alive and kicking for a qualifying chance. With this win, the USA keeps their hopes alive and moves on to face Italy, the 5th place team in Europe. They will play a 2 game series, one home and one away, and the team with the aggregate in their favor, will qualify for Germany 2011. This is the first time the USA has had to qualify in the more desperate "Wild Card" method. The loss shook the United States and shocked many fans, but the loss, I believe was a blessing in disguise. This can be a turning point for the United States. They no longer have the berth handed to them, and fighting for it will humble them and make them realize that you gotta play every game like its a do-or-die. You can't slack. This loss will teach them an important lesson. It lit a much needed fire under their asses, so now they will focus and turn this loss into motivation and determination to fight and get into the World Cup. As Julie Foudy said "They might look back on that a year later and say 'You know, that was what changed everything for us'" and I couldn't agree more with her. This loss could be a turning point for the USA, and a positive one. I'm hoping and praying that the USWNT makes it to the WWC, and I will be rooting for them and supporting them the whole way, as will many of my fellow fans. After all, what's a WWC without the USWNT? This is not the time for the fans to be kicking them when they're down. Now's the time when our support matters most. Its great to support them when they're winning and doing well. But it really matters when they're down and they need to get back up. The USA is on a mission to qualify for the WWC, and its gonna take a lot to stop them, and the fans will have to be a force to back them up. Here's to the USWNT, and to them being in Germany 2011!


Canada vs. Mexico- A well played game from both sides, however the Canadians dominated I think. It was a back-and-forth game, with plenty of chances for each side, and as usual the Mexican crowd was a force, more so than ever. However, Canada shut them out as they did back in the Group stage, and it paid off. In the 2nd half, a scramble in the box for Canada resulted in a PK. At some point, after the ball went loose in the 18 after much scrambling, a player for Canada kicked it, and as it was soaring in, a Mexican player blatantly blocked the ball with her hand, preventing it from going in. She was pulled aside and shown a red, and a penalty was awarded to Canada. Sinclair stood at the spot, concentrated, then slotted a perfect shot that deposited into the bottom left.


Sinclair celebrates after converting the penalty into a goal. Her goal would win the game for Canada, and they would be named Champions of the Gold Cup.


The score of 1-0 would stand, and Canada went on to win the Women's Gold Cup. The celebration was fun to watch, and since I like Canada, I was really happy for them. I think they deserved it 100%. Although, as I watched them celebrate, I found myself slightly jealous. Slightly jealous that the USA was not guaranteed a berth in Germany in 2011, that they could not breathe that sigh of relief like Canada and Mexico, and jealous that I could not see my USWNT on that podium lifting the trophy. But, Congrats to Canada! You guys deserved it!


Golden Boot- Golden Boot goes to Wambach! With 8 goals on the tournament, and fantastic goals at that, Wambach is the top goal scorer of the Women's Gold Cup. Good job Wambach, you truly deserve it (and more...like a FIFA Women's World Player of the Year Award.) Wambach scored 8 important goals for her team (notching a hat-trick in the mix), and endured a harsh head injury in the Semifinal that required her to get staples on the sideline, yet she was still raring to get back on the field. That's a World Class player right there, and a trooper. That's why you gotta love Wambach. Congrats to Abby for getting the Golden Boot!

And, that's all she wrote! The Gold Cup comes to a close, with Canada as the Champions (for the 2nd time in history), Mexico as the runner-ups, and with the USA in 3rd place, facing a do-or-die situation that requires them to not have losing as an option, in order for them to qualify for Germany 2011. Canada and Mexico qualify automatically as finalists, while the USA has an uphill battle ahead of them. Its been a fun and entertaining competition, full of some surprises as well.

See you all again soon! I'm behind on my coverage of the CONMEBOL and CAF WWCQs. I'll be sure to cover that real soon for all of you!

Until then,

Denise