3 goals not enough: Marta will watch the rest of the tournament
Not often that you score three times – twice during the game and one more in the penalty shootout – and you wind up on the losing side. But that’s exactly what happened to Brazilian star Marta on Sunday when her team lost a thrilling game to the USA.
The big winners – besides American keeper Hope Solo and her teammates – were fans and players of women’s football. This match was brilliantly played, every bit as entertaining and intense as a top flight men’s game…without a lot of the diving, whining, and gamesmanship that has come to characterize much men’s football.
Marta, still demonstrably the best female player in the game, showed her trademark unmatched speed and footwork. But the USA, playing much of the match one down to a red card, displayed superior fitness and a team commitment to winning, which got them a breathtaking goal with only seconds left in the extra time, to force the penalty shootout.
BP believes the USA will be hard to beat for any of the remaining teams. Semis go Wednesday; finals next weekend.
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