Third-place match serves as perfect tonic for Germany, England
VANCOUVER
It's not just a bronze-medal match that Germany and England play Saturday at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton (live, FOX, FOX Sports Go, 4 p.m. ET): It's a meeting of the 2015 Women's World Cup's "Broken-Hearts Club."
Silvia Neid and Mark Sampson can compare notes before the No. 1-ranked Germans and the upstart sixth-ranked Three Lionesses square off in a game no team truly enjoys playing. Both sides reasonably can lay claim to carrying the heaviest hearts into this third-place showdown: England for its own-goal agony and Germany for having to face France and the U.S. before they even could think of playing in a final they rightfully could have been part of.
Let's start with why England's here. The answer is Laura Bassett — but not just because she booted in an own-goal in stoppage time that cost England in its semifinal match against Japan on Wednesday. Prior to that moment, Bassett, along with fellow defenders Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton, led England on an improbable run through this World Cup, inciting a true wave of enthusiasm back home. The Three Lionesses became just the third English team to reach a World Cup semifinal, after the men advanced in 1966 and 1990 (with England winning in 1966), and they seem to have crafted something of a lasting legacy. While the women's tournament drew large crowds at the London Olympic games, this was the first time that an English team had succeeded at such a lofty level, and the reaction in the nation has been nothing short of ecstatic.
For Germany, the No. 1-ranked team in the world, the trouble started last year. FIFA's much-criticized placement of the women's teams during the draw was designed not to reward teams based on their rankings but to ensure ticket sales. That put Germany on a collision course with France in the quarterfinals, where the two European powers battled for 120 minutes in before Germany finally won (5-4) on penalty kicks.
Worn out a bit by the France battle, Germany was then overwhelmed by a resurgent U.S. team in the semifinals. After trying to match the U.S. intensity for a good stretch at the opening of the match, Germany was overwhelmed. The U.S. finally got the upper hand when Germany's star striker, Celia Sasic, missed a penalty kick in the second half that could have changed the momentum if not the outcome. U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd then nailed her PK and the U.S. surged to a 2-0 win.
Germany also is enjoying its final World Cup with Neid as coach and former FIFA Player of the Year winner Nadine Angerer as its goalkeeper. The two are a class act and were dedicated to winning this World Cup after being ousted in the quarterfinals during the 2011 tournament they hosted.
Despite the heartache of losing in the semifinals, the players and coaches for both Germany and England have been noble about their fate. Neid refused to complain about a call against U.S. center back Julie Johnston, who was yellow carded for taking down Alexandra Popp on a breakaway, and refused to belabor the missed PK from Sasic.
Germany's motivation in this bronze medal match will be to demonstrate why they have carried the No. 1 FIFA World Ranking into this tournament. Germany has defeated England in their past seven meetings, including the most recent 3-0 win at Wembley. In their official press conference in Edmonton on Friday, German players were upbeat and ready for another chance to play.
"We were obviously disappointed after the game. But now, I think we feel very good and we're looking forward to the game on Saturday. We want to play a better game and are focused on the game against England,'' Angerer said, adding: "I think we're going to play a good game. We don't want to go home having lost two games."
This could mark the return of the German side that breezed through the group play and posted a 4-1 win over Sweden before struggling to get by France. Angerer said she will be on guard for England's "very quick forwards" and their compact form from experienced players.
But while Germany has confidence to regroup, the question remains how England come back after playing defending Japan to a draw before losing on that unfortunate play. "Of course I felt bad for them; it was very hard and they were very disappointed," Angerer said. "Unfortunately, that's how sport is sometimes."
England's defense against Japan had kept them in a 1-1 game, effectively cutting into Japan's precision triangle passing until Japan's Nahomi Kawusumi made that cross in stoppage time that Bassett so horrifically booted back onto England's crossbar, where the ball bounced past a stunned goalkeeper Karen Bardsley.
"The English girls have shown during the tournament that they are a good team," Germany center back Annike Krahn said, adding: "They were unlucky to lose in injury time to the defending champions, but despite the defeat they'll be confident.''
Naturally, the narrative for this match will be Sasic and Bassett's responses to a new chance in the spotlight. Each has imperative reason to demonstrate their skills and class, given the semifinal results. Sasic is a leading candidate for MVP of the World Cup, as she had a tournament-high six goals going into the semifinal against the U.S. Bassett is a revered player whose infamous moment has generated an outpouring of support, especially back home.
"Every other nation has a style of play, and what we have is a way of winning. We need to give one more big performance against the Germans. It will need to be a class performance," England midfielder Fara Williams said.
