Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

It’s all just conspiracy shit beamed down from the mothership.

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

Find someone who loves you the way trump and maga love traitors.

People are weird.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

And now I have baud making fun of me. this day can’t get worse.

The Supreme Court cannot be allowed to become the ultimate, unaccountable arbiter of everything.

Second rate reporter says what?

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

When we show up, we win.

Every decision we make has lots of baggage with it, known or unknown.

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

“woke” is the new caravan.

The revolution will be supervised.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

T R E 4 5 O N

Not so fun when the rabbit gets the gun, is it?

If you can’t control your emotions, someone else will.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

The willow is too close to the house.

Not all heroes wear capes.

Decision time: keep arguing about the last election, or try to win the next one?

You are here: Home / Sports / Women’s World Cup Semi-Final – Germany v USA Open Thread

Reader Interactions

126Comments

  7. 7.

    MobiusKlein

    Why The f am I still at work? It’s 4pm, and I still have to get stuff done.

    On the bright side, I get ice cream.

  8. 8.

    MattR

    @raven: Yes. All cards clear after the quarterfinals (so a player can’t miss the finals due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Only if they get a red card in the semi finals)

  13. 13.

    Tree With Water

    Ike’s message to D-Day troops (abridged):

    “Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. [She] will fight savagely.

    ..I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in [soccer]. We will accept nothing less than full victory.

    ..Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking”.

  14. 14.

    HumboldtBlue

    @MobiusKlein: I’m not at work and that means I get beer.

    The USA has a great chance to shut up the naysayers and display just how much better they are and so far they have. Come on, ladies, get a goal and force these Krauts to expose that back line that’s about as tough as a feather!

  19. 19.

    raven

    @Amir Khalid: I reposted the first sentence on my Facebook a minute ago and a bunch of people disagree, or think that it is all in good fun anyway. WWII metaphors always emerge when them Germans are playing.

  20. 20.

    ThresherK

    I haven’t seen a less readable set of numbers on a jersey than Germany’s in a long, long time. In anything smaller than a closeup it’s almost illegible. Have they worn them before in this WWC?

  23. 23.

    Amir Khalid

    @raven:
    And when England play Argentina, there are always references to the Falklands war. It feels to me like either war is being trivialised, or sports is being raised to the pitch of all-out hostile conflict.

  31. 31.

    burnspbesq

    Popp should be on her way to the locker room. That was a bad foul, and she already has one booking.

  32. 32.

    ThresherK

    How many of those little hand-warning signs does that player get (German, can’t read the #s) from the ref before one of them adds up a card?

  38. 38.

    shell

    Original versus musical version on TCM tonight:

    ‘Auntie Mame’ followed by ‘Mame.’

    Then ‘Philadelphia Story’ followed by ‘High Society.’

  39. 39.

    Tree With Water

    @Amir Khalid: Tell that to the NFL. Or better yet, give a listen to George Carlin comparing football and baseball. Then grab some sunshine and lighten the fuck up..

  54. 54.

    ThresherK

    Neener neener. I’m not so sold on that yellow card after the uncalled “slow dance” in the German defensive box near the end of the first half.

  56. 56.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @ThresherK:

    That blue on red in the same tone value is just stupid graphic design. Can’t imagine how that got approved.

  76. 76.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    That line is about the lowest-hanging fruit I have seen around here in quite a while.

    But I shall resist! I am strong!

  78. 78.

    Richard Mayhew

    15 left, Germany needs to press.

    Us needs to sub with thoughts to playing 120

  79. 79.

    Richard Mayhew

    Us D sitting to avoid a 1v1 breakdown
    Good offside 82 German forwards not getting back

  81. 81.

    Randinho

    In all honesty, neither penalty should have been called; one for not being a penalty and the other for a foul taking place outside the area.

    That being said, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Take full advantage of it instead. Lloyd, Sasic didn’t.

  82. 82.

    ? Martin

    Wife’s: wow, the US team is really pretty.
    Me: There’s no money for women to actually play the sport in the US. If you’re aren’t pretty enough to get endorsements, you’re probably going to give up after college.

  85. 85.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @raven:

    No, believe it or not, I am becoming a little bit of a sports fan in my dotage. Didn’t think it would ever happen USA USA USA USA sorry where was I?

  87. 87.

    ? Martin

    Woo! That takes all of the other controversies out of play. Can’t say that wasn’t earned!

  94. 94.

    Richard Mayhew

    @? Martin: speaking as a misogynistic pig referee, most d1 women players are good looking to smoking if fit, athletic, symmetrical, nice butt, small chest look is your thing

  100. 100.

    David Koch

    Kelley is only 5’4″ but when she would walk around campus she had this towering command presences. What a stud.

  101. 101.

    raven

    I have to say that either team we play for the title will bring out more war talk!

  104. 104.

    ? Martin

    WOO!

    USA! USA! USA!

    This was a MUCH better team than in previous games. Boy did they step up. I would not mind seeing a US/Japan rematch.

  109. 109.

    ? Martin

    @phantomist: My wife let the bad east german joke go, but I could tell she was thinking it.

    Angerer is perhaps not the first choice for a fashion model, but she’s a hell of an accomplished athlete.

    I don’t know why the women’s world cup doesn’t get as much play as the mens, because that was every bit as exciting of a game as anything we saw last year.

  111. 111.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Corner Stone: I am wholly corrupt and biased but the Krauts were wildly overrated coming into this tournament regardless of their No. 1 ranking. They defend with the same effectiveness that Bristol Palin avoids getting pregnant and a first game romp against an overmatched squad only heightened that overrated-ness.

  112. 112.

    Roger Moore

    @Randinho:

    Have the Germans made a single shot from inside the penalty box other than the pk attempt?

    They did, according to the map they have on ESPNFC. OTOH, they’re claiming that Germany didn’t have a single shot on target, which seems amazing to me.

  113. 113.

    HumboldtBlue

    @Randinho: We won both so it doesn’t matter. Neither team has the overall skill and strength of the Americans and I would rather face the Brits, they are a far weaker squad than Japan who have the footwork, passing, composure and experience to best the Yanks.

  115. 115.

    Randinho

    And to keep the war metaphors going, Argentina is destroying Paraguay in the Copa America semi-final 6-1, or as I prefer to call it, the War of the Triple Alliance Redux.

  117. 117.

    Randinho

    @Roger Moore: Noted. Those stats by the way, truly tell the tale of the game:

    Germany 16 shots, none on target. 10 shots from outside the area, 6 from within including the pk attempt.

    USA 11 shots, 5 on target. 9 shots from within the area including the pk, 2 from outside the area.

    I don’t know how the German coach expected to beat Hope Solo with shots from distance.

  118. 118.

    burnspbesq

    Honestly did not think this US team was capable of that performance.

    As an American of Irish ancestry, i should be rooting for Japan tomorrow, but a World Cup final appearance would be massive for the development of the women’s game in England.

  119. 119.

    HumboldtBlue

    @burnspbesq: The US is by far the deepest and most skilled team in the world and this constant hand-wringing about how they are so poor at this and so lousy at that has been one of the great laugh generators to come from this tournament.

    The US are far more technically skilled than every other team in the world except one, Japan. They have individual excellence across the pitch, they play defense far batter than any other team and they are a constant danger when on the attack even if they a terrible at finishing. They just routed the No. 1 ranked team in the world and outside of 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half it was a one-sided contest.

  122. 122.

    Corner Stone

    @HumboldtBlue: I’m not the futbol nut a lot of people here are, but I’ve spent a lot of my life playing/participating/watching athletes and sports. And I’m not sure what others have seen but this was not close. GER looked slow and sloppy.

  123. 123.

    HumboldtBlue

    @burnspbesq: One of the great truths about a tournament like the World Cup is that winners get the chance to improve, cohere, mix lineups and find a spark, a connection, a formula.

    Japan is the only team that can out-pass the Yanks, they are technically skilled have brilliant footwork and can maintain possession through a quick sprint or a series of sharp, short passes.

    We have raised the bar so high for the U.S. women that Neymar is concerned about their mental makeup, but you can’t honestly believe that a team that is as skilled across the lineup card — pacey wingers, bold and decisive center backs, creative mids and over-excited forwards backed by an outstanding keeper — isn’t a team that has earned it way to the final and stands a good chance of being one of the most complete champions the competition has ever seen.

  124. 124.

    pseudonymous in nc

    The reality distortion field here is… interesting, but there’s always been a slightly cultish mentality surrounding the USA women, and the Fox commentary team perpetuates it. That said, the German team also believed the hype enough to blast away from outside the box throughout the match apart from the run that drew the penalty.

    I’ll gladly say that Alex Morgan is one of the purest strikers in the game today. male or female: there’s a classic quality to the way she plays. Wambach is a headless chicken when she comes on, the midfield is soft and inconsistent, and there has been no real inventiveness or brilliance throughout the US campaign. “Creative mids”, my arse.

    @Randinho:

    Those stats by the way, truly tell the tale of the game:

    Yeah but no. Soft shots straight to the keeper get placed in the “on target” column as if they’re better than shanks that go wide of the goal, when really, they’re no different. This isn’t ice hockey.

  125. 125.

    smintheus

    @pseudonymous in nc: Lloyd, Rapinoe, Klingenberg, Johnston, and Heath have been consistently excellent this tournament, and collectively they’ve dished a lot of beautiful passes into dangerous areas. Certainly they’ve played better than Morgan who, for all her great dribbling skills and attacking elan, has been struggling without her normal ability to finish.

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