U.S. Feels Like One of Crowd
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — “We wanted to start out on the right foot,” Mia Hamm was saying in the bedlam of the media mixed zone beneath Giants Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Wrong. It was the left foot.
Goals by Hamm, Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly--each of them scored with the left foot--powered the United States to a 3-0 victory over Denmark in front of a sellout crowd of 78,972 to open the third FIFA Women’s World Cup.
It was a comprehensive, if not completely satisfying, performance by the U.S., which is capable of playing much better.
“It took us a while to really get our rhythm, but I was very pleased with the win,” U.S. Coach Tony DiCicco said. “Three points, that’s all we can ask for.”
The American players admitted that the crowd--the largest for a women’s sporting event of any kind, let alone soccer--inspired them but also caused them some early jitters.
“Everyone was excited in the locker room,” Hamm said. “This crowd was absolutely unbelievable. It was a very, very proud moment out there.”
Added Lilly, who used to come to Giants Stadium to watch the NFL’s Jets play football of a different kind: “It wasn’t necessarily nerves. It was just the excitement of the whole arena.”
The depth of experience on the U.S. roster was what earned it the victory. All three goals were scored by players who were 1991 world champions and 1996 Olympic gold medalists.
The first half was a desultory affair, seldom rising to the level the occasion demanded. It took a bit of magic from Hamm to awaken a crowd that was drowsing in the bright sunshine when she grabbed the match by the neck in the 17th minute.
Collecting a diagonal pass from Brandi Chastain in the penalty area to the right of the Danish net, Hamm trapped the ball with her right foot, controlled it with her chest and then hooked a rising shot into the roof of the net with her left foot from 14 yards out.
“When she made that goal, I think we were all like, ‘Yeah, yeah, we’re going to be OK,’ ” Foudy said.
It was Hamm’s fifth goal in world championship play--she scored two in the China ’91 tournament and two at Sweden ‘95--and she ran back to the halfway line, finger-pointing all the way.
“The whole time I was running I was just saying, ‘Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?’ ” Hamm said. “I don’t score goals like that.”
Wrong again. Among the world-record 110 she has scored in international play over the last dozen years are many others that belong on a highlight reel.
“Mia was awesome,” DiCicco said.
Foudy doubled the U.S. advantage in the 73rd minute, taking a square pass from Hamm and blasting a shot off the underside of the crossbar before sprinting back toward the U.S. bench, waving her arms like a windmill, then striking a pose stolen from a reel of a different kind--an Austin Powers movie.
“I didn’t see what she was doing, I was too busy high-fiving someone else,” said Lilly, who scored the third American goal in the 89th minute. Hers also came with a message.
“Right before that, a girl had just fouled me and the ref didn’t call it and then she [the Danish player] said, ‘Nice dive.’ So I got caught in the emotion and said, ‘That one was for you.’ It was just in the heat of the game,” Lilly said.
The U.S. started its first-choice lineup, with Briana Scurry in goal and a back line of Joy Fawcett, Carla Overbeck, Kate Sobrero and Chastain. Michelle Akers was in the midfield, flanked by Foudy and Lilly, while Hamm was supported up front by Tiffeny Milbrett and Cindy Parlow.
The American defense was seldom troubled and Scurry said she had no real anxious moments while earning her 50th shutout in 91 international appearances.
It did take the U.S. a while to get its offense in gear, however.
“We were a nightmare,” Lilly said. “But by the end of the first half we were relaxed and playing our game.”
The Danes, beaten 5-0 by the U.S. the last time the teams met, were philosophical in defeat.
“We were happy how we played in the first half,” California-born midfielder Mikka Hansen said. “We were a little bit disappointed in the end.
“To let in two goals in the last 20 minutes was upsetting to us.”
Said Jorgen Hvidemose, Denmark’s coach: “No team can beat the U.S. every time.”
The next team to get a chance is Nigeria, which will line up opposite the U.S. in Chicago on Thursday.
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BARBECUED: Brazil didn’t take it easy on Mexico, which was making its World Cup debut, rolling to a 7-1 decision. Page 13
20,000’s A CROWD: More than 20,000 are expected to visit Rose Bowl today despite matchups of lesser teams. Page 13
