The England and U.S. Fair Game staffs have been criss-crossing China, following our respective teams. We have come together in Tianjin for the big showdown. Will it be an epic battle that shifts the balance of power in women’s soccer? I’ll let you know in about 10 hours. Regardless, it promises to be an entertaining match.

The England contingent, while satisfied at making the quarters, are hungry for more and are hoping for an upset. The U.S. crew is not taking England lightly and will confess to being a tiny bit nervous.

We are all hoping for a great match. Much of England will be watching, as the match will be played live at the favorable time of 1:00 pm. A quality match, win or lose, in front of a potentially huge television audience could go a long way towards advancing the sport.

For the U.S., a loss here would be a disaster. Not because it’s England, but because they have never left a major international tournament before the semi-finals. They are, in fact, expected to win every tournament by a significant margin, playing exceptionally beautiful soccer for a full ninety, every time they take the field. It’s a lot to live up to, but I expect our girls are up to the challenge.

Last night, I attended England’s training session with two of my English colleagues. We were hoping to get a hint of Hope Powell’s lineup. England’s press officer jokingly identified me as a “spy” (at least, I think he was joking). Powell did not tip her hand in the slightest. We were hustled off the field promptly at the 15 minute mark, after seeing the team stretch and knock the ball around a bit.

Greg Ryan has been characteristically tight lipped about his plans to contain Kelly Smith and the England squad. That leaves us all to speculate what personnel and formations we will see on the pitch come match time. Ryan has developed a nice rapport with the foreign press, responding with wit and humor to endless questions about game plans and tactics that we all know he isn’t going to answer.

I haven’t had a chance to sneak a peek at the pitch yet, but if it matches the outside of the Tianjin Olympic Center Stadium and the training fields, we are definitely in for an improvement.

As for the city … all I can say so far is that this is the first stop over where I’ve been physically aware of China’s famously poor air quality, every time I take a deep breath.

The temperature is up today which could favor the Americans. Playing in hot and smoggy conditions should be nothing new for a team that trains in Los Angeles.

Whoever is not left crying will check in after the match. I hope it’s me!

Last night was a breakout World Cup performance for Lori Chalupny. She scored a goal in the first minute and didn’t stop running until the final whistle blew. She was dangerous on several occasions and actively tracked back to help her team defend.

For Chalupny, it was just another day at the office, one in which she just happened to score the winning goal that took the U.S. out of Group B in first place.

“The goal yesterday, being my first World Cup goal, was an amazing feeling and I’m glad that I was able to help the team win,” said Chalupny.
Chalupny was the obvious choice for Player of the Match, but was overlooked in favor of Nigeria’s Perpetua Nkwocha, in what could only be a consolation prize for going home without a win.

Chalupny’s University of North Carolina and U-19 teammate, Heather O’Reilly also impressed with her speed and work rate. She ran down seemingly impossible to retrieve balls to the end line and cut them back to create nice scoring chances for her teammates, and was an active participant in team defense.

“I just think that I’m not the biggest player. I’m not the most tactically aware player, but work ethic is something that you can always bring. That’s just been part of my upbringing, and playing at University of North Carolina, its just ingrained is us that you can have the worst day technically, but as along as you leave it on the field and use your work ethic you can walk away feeling good about yourself,” O’Reilly explained when asked about her work rate and competitive fire.

Chalupny agreed.

“Not only at UNC, but also on the youth teams, the U-19 team, it’s just kind of been an attitude and a mindset that we’ve grown up with. That’s something that I look forward to in the games; running around and playing defense,” she said.

Chalupny, O’Reilly and the U.S. team escaped group play with no suspensions or major injuries. They’ve been getting better every match, but haven’t quite hit their stride yet. They take on England in a quarterfinal on Saturday, which promises to be an exciting match – especially for the Fair Game US and Fair Game UK crew who will be watching together in Tianjin. The trash talk has already begun!

Photo by Robyn McNeil

Greetings from Shanghai. We woke up this morning to very wet conditions. There has been a steady down pour for most of the day. Apparently, a typhoon is heading in our direction and is scheduled to hit at about midnight. There have been some rumors circulating that the match time would be moved to 5:00 pm, but so far those are proving to be false. It should make for interesting conditions come match time on a pitch that wasn't holding up well anyway. See you at match time. I may be watching from a row boat!

• I’ve gotten lost once, on the way from my hotel to the stadium in Chengdu. My asking for directions mostly involved me saying football louder and louder while pointing in the direction that I thought the stadium was, and the Chinese employees of the Canon store looking at me like I was nuts. After several tries, they found someone who kind of sort, of spoke English (he understood football, at least) who drew me a little map and set me straight.

  After finding my way, I had already walked a good distance with my heavy camera bag on my back, so I elected to hire a tri-cycle (what would be called a pedicab in NY) to take me to the stadium. My driver took off towards the stadium and as we were crossing a busy street we were pulled over by a police officer. There was a lot of talking in Chinese. Some of it sounded angry. I was tempted to just slip out of my seat and walk the remaining distance, but I wasn’t exactly sure what was going on and didn’t want to wind up as the lead story on CNN. I remained in my seat and after several minutes of this, some money changed hands and we started off in the opposite direction of the stadium. I gave it a few blocks as I thought we might have been rerouted, but then I tapped my driver on the shoulder and tried to indicate that we were going in the wrong direction and that I would get out and walk. She beckoned me to stay, but after a couple more blocks of getting further away from the stadium I pulled out five yuan, gave it to her and got off.

• I have a vague recollection of being warned about this before I came, but after a week, I still haven’t gotten used to the spitting. At least several times a day, I’ve been treated with the image, complete with sound effects, of a Chinese gentlemen hocking up a big one and spitting it out in the vicinity of my personal space. If my son is reading this, this habit is not okay!
• There are no fat people in China. At least, I haven’t seen any.
• Road rules and traffic signals are taken as more of a suggestion than as hard and fast rules.

For about the first 10 minutes of last nights match against Sweden, I felt like I had stepped right back on the roller coaster ride I had barely survived a few nights before. The Swedes came out firing and the U.S. was forced to defend almost exclusively in the opening minutes. Sweden earned four corners in the first four minutes of the match and five in the first 10.

“We did well (to hold off Sweden during the first few minutes). We held our ground when they came at us and we defended a lot more than we wanted to, but I think that the team stayed together and stayed strong,” said defender Christie Rampone who turned in another first rate performance.

Any doubt I had about Ryan’s choice to start Leslie Osborne as defensive mid over Shannon Boxx evaporated early in the match – about the time she boomed that header halfway up the field. That’s also about the time the match started to settle down for the U.S.

Not too long after, Kate Markgraf played what, according to her, was an uncharacteristically long ball over the Swedish defenders. It bounced over the keeper and into the path of Lori Chalupny who had timed her run perfectly. She was taken down near the goal line and earned a penalty kick, which was made by Abby Wambach.

“I saw (Lori Chalupny) holding a run so I just hit it and I kind of surprised myself with how well I hit it. I hit it how far Cat (Whitehill) hits it, and that’s kind of unusual. I think she inspired me to kick the crap out if it.” said Markgraf.

Boxx subbed in for Carli Lloyd at half time and erased any memory of the less than Boxx-like performance she turned in against North Korea. She took command, cleaning up messes all over the field.

Kristine Lilly and Wambach combined for an insurance goal in the 58th minute. Lilly sent in a beautiful ball to Wambach's chest which she settled and half-volleyed past the dumbstruck ‘keeper. It was a world-class strike

Wambach is having a great tournament Not only has she scored three goals, but she has also thoroughly entertained with fancy footwork, not often seen in a player of her size. She’s not the player she was in 2003. She is much, much more.

The U.S. survived Sweden’s attempt to get back into the match as time started to run down. It was another exciting match, but this one was a little bit easier on my blood pressure.

The U.S. goes into Tuesdays match against Nigeria dead even with North Korea. Both have four points and a two goals for goal differential.

What an awesome match last night! If I was less emotionally invested in the outcome, I'm sure I would have really enjoyed it. As it was, I was a nervous wreck! It was an emotional roller coaster.

After the first half, I was faced with the reality the U.S. could lose. I hadn't previously given that serious consideration and I was concerned that my plane fare to Tianjin was non-refundable. The North Koreans were bringing it and the U.S. didn't look like the best team on the field for the first 45.

I hurriedly shot off an email to my esteemed colleague Jen, who was in Shanghai awaiting the start of the England/Japan match. I included this passage:

Hope looks good especially as I am not sure she has ever been challenged like this. The ball is slippery though. I am nervous!

To which she responded today:

Enjoyed your portentous comment about Hope looking good and being tested and how wet it was.......!!!!!! Whoops!

I'm not English, so I don't exactly know what portentous means, but I'm assuming something like prophetic.

The second half started and while the pace was still frantic, it seemed more even and I was feeling better, especially after the goal. I was still on pins and needles, just hoping that they could hold on.

And then Wambach went down and left the field with blood streaming from her head. I was concerned when they didn't immediately replace her. They were having a difficult time containing North Korea with 11 on the field. How could they do it a man down? They couldn't and after the second goal, I was cursing Greg Ryan and our over-dependence on Wambach. In Ryan's defense, he thought the doctors would be able to get her on the field quicker. And, Wambach certainly contributed in the equalization and remaining minutes, so what do I know?

The last 20 minutes are a blur of ups and downs, big saves and near misses. I think my heart rate returned to normal at about noon today. I have mixed feelings about the result - disappointed at the loss, but grateful for a point in a match that could have easily been lost and thrilled to have been present at such an amazing match.

So, I haven't re-booked my flight from Tianjin to Wuhan. Especially after Sweden's result against Nigeria, everything is even and I'm betting on the U.S. to rebound in a big way and take the group.

Image is from Brad J. Smith (ISIPHOTOS.COM)

For someone whose love for soccer is inversely proportional to their hatred of pizzazz and over-elaborately, choreographed nonsense (I’m one of those people that comes out in a sweat and cringes with horror at the idea of ‘taking in a show’) I was not particularly looking forward to the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup opening ceremony.

Ha haaaaa! I was so wrong! It was fantastic. One of my colleagues (who shall remain nameless though she may or may not have recently co-written a book about the England team’s qualification for this event ; ) ) said repeatedly, “This is worth the air fare alone!” She was in fact referring to the second section of the performance – a cartoon interpretation of football - that involved lots of little girls dressed as either cute comedy footballs or funny little footie boots. It sounds ridiculous and it was but therein lay the genius. The music was gigglesome too. This was followed by China’s huge pop star Wei Wei singing a specially written song for the show. I was loving that too. Interspersed with some fireworks that lit the warm, night sky, we were having a great time and the organisers deserve all the plaudits. Admittedly we could have done without the women prancing about pretending to play rock violin and synth stuff but it was forgotten when Chinese favourite (and Shanghai’s own) Sun Wen was elevated on a rising platform to place the silver ball atop the large replica women’s world cup trophy!
How could the football top that?!

Sadly, it couldn’t. Ok. That sounds harsh. Germany smashed 11 goals past a hapless and more than likely jet-lagged Argentina (they had less than a week to acclimatise and get their body-clocks right and it clearly wasn’t enough) to make a new finals record. It surpassed the 8-0 wins of Sweden over Japan in ’91 and Norway over Nigeria in ’95. Birgit Prinz (who hit a hat trick) is now joint top all time scorer with Michelle Akers on 12 goals and will more than likely overtake the American legend in the next week or so.

You can read the match reports and I can'’t tell you much different other than Argentina can’'t play much worse and although Germany followed their game plan as well as they could against erratic and naïve opposition, they can also play better. Prinz rightly received praise but Melanie Behringer on the left really caught the eye. She scored a cracking individual goal and put umpteen more chances on a nice and inviting, shiny plate for Prinz, Smisek and co.

It's game day, finally! The US team has been training in China for two weeks and they are ready to finally get this party started. I hope you've all set your alarms and will be watching the match live or at the very least set your Tivo.

I arrived in Chengdu around lunch time to overcast skies and drizzle. It's been raining all day which will make for interesting conditions come game time.

Yesterday I enjoyed the opening ceremonies in Shanghai with the UK crew. Jen, my eloquent colleague, will fill you in on the details. I'll just say the ceremonies were great; the match not so much. Oh, and I love my job!

I'm working on about an hours sleep, so I will save some brain cells for the match and check in later.

*Please note that while this blog post says it's from Gayle Bryan, it's really from the always eloquent, Jen O'Neill. We're not smart enough to figure out how to change the name in the author field, but we'll get the web guys right on it when they wake up this morning.

So, we all made it to China in one piece. Ok, we maybe each arrived in rather large sleepy pieces but we are all safe and sound and looking forward to the soccer – so we’ll stop whining!

Our hotel is just across from the Hongkou Soccer Stadium where this evening’s opening ceremony and first game, between reigning champs Germany and Argentina, will take place in just a few hours. Speaking of the opening ceremony’ it looks like it will be a fun one, as from the media centre where I’m sitting typing this, I can see various groups of performers skipping, running or marching past. They include posses of young men in white sailor-type suits and also gaggles of girls in funny little costumes that makes them look like the tournament’s mascot (the one with the soccer balls growing out of her head).

It’s all getting rather busy (security, press, officials, you name it) and the growing buzz is helping add to the swelling excitement. Argentina will be under-strength, as one of their flair players has had to be replaced at the last minute (FIFA allowed the squad change) Mariela Coronel has been forced out by injury and in comes Emilia Mendieta. They will also be without Cataline Perez who is still suspended following a red card received in the hot-tempered final of the South American qualifying tournament, against Brazil. (Brazils’ Elaine was also ejected from that game and so misses their opener.)

What with Germany already being one of the potential winners of the World Cup and Argentina really here for the ‘experience’ it could be a one-sided game. The importance of the ‘occasion’ can have an effect in such games (even for the ‘robot-like’ Germans…and we mean that not in a derogatory sense), however, and so it could be a tight one but it would seem highly unlikely we witness a shock upset on the first day.

We have also spotted Chinese women’s soccer legend Sun Wen being mobbed outside the stadium at the FIFA Women’s World Cup Stamp ceremony (they have launched a special stamp) and then later driving back into the stadium in her big black four wheel drive. She looks well enough. Shame she can’t still be doing her stuff out on the field for the Steel Roses (age and injury often come hand in hand – something we useless FG hacks know all about, ha ha).

Right….time is ticking on…maybe we need another coffee….

It's time to start the official countdown to the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup. The opening match featuring 2003 Champions, Germany versus Argentina will get the party started in Shanghai on September 10th. Fair Game will be there and will hustle to the airport to make sure we're in Chengdu in time for the USA's opener against the ever-mysterious N. Korea on the 11th. Be sure to check the website often as we will update frequently. We'll have all the latest from Group A and Group B as well as any misadventures that our team encounters and with this group, there are bound to be plenty.