The U.S. launched their Olympic qualifying campaign tonight with a 6-0 victory over Jamaica with goals from Carli Lloyd, Abby
Wambach (2), Lauren Cheney, Heather O'Reilly, and Tobin Heath. The loss means that Jamaica is out after losing to Mexico 8-1 on Tuesday. The U.S. and Mexico will go through to the semi-finals but the U.S. needs a victory to finish top of the group and avoid an early meeting with Canada (assuming Canada finishes top of their group) before the final. Both finalists will represent CONCACAF in the Beijing Olympics.

In a few hours, I will be heading to Lisbon to catch a plane home. It has been an incredible week of soccer here in the Algarve and while I am anxious to get home to my family, I am sad to see it end.

It isn't often that you get the opportunity to see a team transform before your eyes and while they still have some work to do, I feel like the team I saw take on Denmark today was a better and different team than I saw against China just last week. They faced tougher opponents as the tournament wore on and while their new, more possession oriented style of play wasn't automatic when the pressure was turned on, they stuck with it and it looked better and more natural with each game.

During the opening minutes against China through the waning minutes of the final, I was struck by the chatter I heard out on the field. The team was communicating at a volume I haven't observed since Julie Foudy left the pitch. Sometimes it was captain Christie Rampone exhorting the troops. Other times it was Kate Markgraf shouting out instruction. Heather O'Reilly was frequently heard calling for the ball. At first I wondered if it was my imagination or if the chatter was more noticeable due to the lack of fan noise on the field, but Rampone confirmed my observation.

"The communication is just really good, better than I think it’s ever been," said Rampone. "It’s definitely something we’ve been working on in training because everyone is responsible out there. We’ve been working on being on the same page and having the same voice instead of making so many different commands and I think everyone is feeling more and more comfortable."

As to Pia Sundhage, other than a quick interview at the College Cup, this was my first real exposure to her. She has an enthusiasm that is contagious and while she is a very savvy coach, in some ways she is just a big kid that loves soccer. She talks a lot about belief, courage and confidence. Her team seems to have bought in and will leave the Algarve with more confidence in what they are doing as they have seen it work.

The team will get a week off when they get home although they have a running program to keep them on track, then they are back together to get ready for Olympic Qualifying.

As for me, they are still pictures to post, videos to edit and thoughts to share (as well as Issue 12 to pull together), but they will have to wait until I get back to Georgia and get a few hours sleep. Thanks for sticking with us during the 2008 Algarve Cup. Look for an update on Friday.

There is good news and bad news from today’s match against Norway. The bad news is that U.S. had a really rough first half. They had difficulty solving Norway’s pressure and had a tough time playing the ball through the midfield.

The good news is that the U.S. had a really rough first half, but stuck to the game plan, found a way to solve the pressure, and came back and spanked Norway 4-0 in the second half.

Yes, they had a little help from Norway’s ‘keeper, Ingrid Hjelmseth, but both goals that were in part the result of ‘keeper error wouldn’t have happened with out some pretty spectacular individual effort. Natasha Kai did well to read Hjelmseth’s casual ball placement and put herself in great position to take advantage.

“The big lift in the second half was Tasha Kai’s goal to start off our scoring streak,” said Heather O’Reilly. “Her energy and read on that play was just phenomenal.”

Amy Rodriguez’s shot was weak and should have easily been handled by Hjelmseth, but a nice ball from Wambach and some equally nice moves from Rodriguez put her in position to take the shot in the first place.

Wambach and O’Reilly’s goals were first class.

Pia Sundhage once again used all six subs (Tarpley, Whitehill, Heath, Rodriguez, Lopez and Osborne) and was pleased with the effort she got off the bench.

“The players coming off the bench, they did a great job and that’s a strength,” said Sundhage. “We will play the bench and that’s a message I want to send.”

This match was a better opportunity for Sundhage and the coaching staff to assess Nicole Barnhart and she looked good. Her performance here should keep her in the mix for the trip to Beijing.

Christie Rampone earned the Sierra Mist Player of the Match for the second game in a row. Rampone had an outstanding World Cup and just seems to be getting better and better.

I think it is pretty safe to assume that Natasha Kai, Amy Rodriguez, and Lauren Cheney are competing for two spots on the Olympic roster. They’ve each gotten a start in this tournament and so far, I can’t say that any one has distinguished herself one way or the other over the other two. We’ll see what happens on Wednesday when the U.S. takes on Denmark.

Today's 2-0 win over Italy wasn't as "pretty" as the 4-0 trouncing of China earlier in the week, but it was more exciting.

It was nice to see the team knocking the ball around so well and it's good for the ego to score a bunch of goals, but when a team rolls over like China did, there's no drama.

Italy didn't roll over, not for a moment. They pressured the U.S. from the opening kickoff to the final whistle and though it wasn't always "pretty", it made for an lively match.

“It was really a battle. The Italian team was definitely inspired and motivated for this game for the whole 90 minutes," said Heather O'Reilly whose second half goal was a beauty. "It’s not like they lost their desire at any point. It was a very intense game, so it was really a battle for us to calm it down, ping it around, and keep possession, and I don’t think we did that quite as much as we would have liked, but we won 2-0, it’s a great win and we’re moving on towards Norway.”

The midfield shined against China, but it was the back line, led by Christie Rampone, that stood out against Italy. They were tested by the Italians, especially number eight, Melania Gabbiadini, who was consistently dangerous. They came out unscathed, but had some help from the Italians who were frequently caught offsides.

“It was a great match for us because it challenges us. We seemed a little stressed at times…but we just have to stay composed," said Rampone. "We’re a good team. We’re good on the ball and we just have to believe that and I think these games test us, which is good going into qualifying because at times like that we have to compose ourselves and settle down.”

It is imperative to the development of this team to be put in uncomfortable situations before they get to the Olympics. It's easy to possess the ball when there is no pressure, but this was an opportunity to test themselves against some consistent pressure. It wasn't perfect, but it was an important step towards being able to handle the heat the next time they face down a Brazil or North Korea.

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