Who thought that the Women's World Cup would be more exciting then the Mens? The quarterfinals brought drama and excitment to the sport. Sweden won in dominate fashion over Australia, but that was the only predictable game. France ended up beating the English in a penalty kick shootout after England gave up a 1-0 lead in the 88th minute. The biggest upset of the tournament came with Japan beating the favorites and home country Germany, in overtime 1-0. These games brought a spark to the sport that the men lacked.
After these three exciting games, you couldn't believe Brazil(ranked 3rd in the world) and United States(ranked 1st in the world) were playing in a quarterfinal matchup. The stadium was electrifying, and you could see that this was going to be a thriller by the faces of the players coming out of the tunnel. USA came out strong and scored four minutes into the game, and this scoreline lasted most of the game. In the 65th minute, Brazil received a questionable penalty kick call, and the USA player received a red card. Ameircan goalkeeper Hope Solo saved the first penalty kick, but the referee made a questionable decision and called back the penalty saying Hope moved to soon. Brazil scored on the second chance, and the USA had to play with ten players the rest of the game. In overtime, Brazil's talented Marta scored her second goal two minutes in. It seemed as if the United Sates was going to lose on a terrible call. USA sub Megan Rapinoe served in a high arching ball that went over a defender and goalkeeper to meet Abby Wambachs head in the 122nd minute. The stadium errupted as if everybody turned into USA fans after they had to fight Brazil and the referees. USA went on to defeat Brazil in a penalty kick shootout which was well deserved.Even with all this drama, it still is only the quarterfinals and each team has two more games before they can hold that trophy up. France vs USA and Sweden vs. Japan can be watched on ESPN Wednesday. For more information on USA women's soccer.
