Great Britain | Soccerstop.com Blog

With today’s 2-0 win over New Zealand, the USA Women’s soccer team advanced to the Olympic semifinals as they have now won all four of their matches at the 2012 London games. The team only needs to win one more game to earn a medal, and need only win two matches to earn the coveted gold medal and Olympic glory that would result.

The stakes are getting very high at this stage of the tournament, and the matches will become much more difficult as the team will face serious contenders. America has had a fairly simple voyage so far, with their only legitimate competition coming in the France match that they battled back to win 4-2. Since then they have easily brushed aside the likes of Columbia, North Korea, and New Zealand.

Critics will argue that the score lines of these matches that were surprising and frustratingly slim suggest that the US may not be strong enough to handle the likes of a Brazil or Japan, but I beg to differ. Although the margins of victory haven’t been astronomical, the games have never really been in question.

Goalie Hope Solo has had little work to do so far this tournament and America has dominated the matches. Also, since the games have been close the team has yet to be able to relax and lose their drive. They have survived and won a good amount of close games and will need that extra level of intensity if they are to overcome a major team in the world.

The player of the tournament so far has to be Abby Wambach. She has continued to lead the team and has scored in every match at the tournament, placing her jointly atop of the goal-scoring table through this stage of the tournament.

The upcoming matches are the defining ones, however. All the pushovers of the tournament have long since been eliminated from the Olympics and what is left are the best teams.

Facing Canada in the semifinals they will have to defend against the other leading goal scorer of the tournament in Melissa Tancredi. Canada just defeated the Great Britain side, preventing the home nation from earning a medal. Such a feat is quite impressive, and although some Americans will be excited to not have play Great Britain on their soil, Canada is no pushover either.

Looking ahead, there is a good bet that the USA would have to face Japan in the final. A 2011 World Cup final rematch would be a great challenge. Japan is an amazing side that plays fast and defends hard, similar to America’s team. Japan won that last match on penalties so it would be quite a thrilling rematch. After watching Japan defeat Brazil handedly 2-0, the defending world champions look like the team to beat if team USA is to repeat as Olympic champions.

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LA Galaxy superstar David Beckham recently got some bad news as he was not selected by Stuart Pearce for the Great Britain Olympic squad. The manager decided to select Ryan Giggs and Craig Bellamy instead for his senior players.

Although the entire Great Britain team plays for clubs in England (most in the English Premier League), one would have thought that Beckham would be an ideal candidate for a spot. Yes at age 37, he is no longer the maestro that he was during his Real Madrid days, but he still is one of the best long range shot artists around.

For the 2012 MLS season, Beckham has netted on three occasions, each one more fantastic than the last. Two of his goals were on trademark free-kicks that swerved away from keepers’ grasps. His most recent effort was a dramatic kick that brought the Galaxy level during their hotly contested loss against the San Jose Earthquakes. San Jose’s goalie John Busch didn’t even attempt to save the ball as it came in so fast. The goal totally deflated the Earthquakes and was followed by two more quick scores that temporarily gave LA a 3-1 lead.

But apparently such a skill was not enough to merit a side in the Olympic squad that is set to feature in London later this month. It will be a hard blow for Beckham to accept this late in his career. The opportunity to represent your country on your home soil is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Stuart Pearce obviously had a bias towards the EPL in making his selections and disregarded the level of the MLS. But what surprises me is that he ignored a player who is so talented at free kicks. International soccer matches often come down to a single moment of beauty, and Beckham is one of the world’s best at directing free kicks. His accuracy is so good that I doubt any goalie could have saved any one of his three goals.

Beckham could have been used as a substitute and brought in late during a match if a free kick opportunity presented itself. Obviously using a player for such a matter is unprecedented, but we are talking about David Beckham here. The man had a movie named after his “bending” ability. He has continued to score these kinds of ridiculous goals for his entire career. I feel that Pearce has made a mistake in ignoring Beckham.

For America his snub is a positive event however. The LA Galaxy is struggling and could use Beckham’s help. Although his goal against San Jose was not enough to earn a victory or a place on Great Britain’s team, goals like that is what the Galaxy desperately needs if they want any shot at repeating as MLS champions.

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Tag Archives: Great Britain

USA Women’s Team on Verge of Olympic Medal

Beckham Wonder-Goals not enough for Great Britain