The United States has taken World Cup Germany by storm. With their last win over France, they’ve made it to the finals of the 2011 Women’s World Cup. The road to the finals has been a challenging one, but throughout the tournament, the U.S. has risen to the challenge.
Here’s a short recap of what’s happened so far.

Group Stage
Since the beginning of the group stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the U.S. has had a strong showing. In their first game, they dispatched Korea DPR with ease, winning 2 to 0. Their second game was also one sided, with the U.S. beating Colombia 3 to 0. It wasn’t until the third and final match of the group stage that the U.S. team hit a hitch. Although they were expected to win their group, the U.S. was suddenly upset by Sweden, which edged them out 2 to 1. With this upset, it seemed the road to winning the 2011 World Cup just got that much harder.

Second Stage
The U.S.’s loss to Sweden set up a very tough quarterfinal match against World Player of the Year Marta and Brazil. This clash of the two title favorites wasn’t expected until the finals but was brought about by the loss in the final game of the group stage. For the first 120 minutes of the game, it looked like Brazil was in control. Although the U.S. was able to take an early lead, Brazil came out gunning with many near-goals. Finally, after a controversial penalty kick re-take, Brazil tied it up. The tie lasted until overtime when Marta scored again to put Brazil in the lead. This lead lasted until the 122nd minute, when Wambach (U.S.) scored the equalizer, bringing the game to a penalty shootout. U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo saved 1 while the U.S. scored 5 clean goals to beat Brazil and enter the semi-finals.

The semi finals pitted the U.S. against a solid French team. Despite facing a relentless offensive assault by France (25 shots), the U.S. defense proved too strong, only allowing 1 goal. For the majority of the game, the two teams were stuck at a stalemate at 1-1. Late in the game, however, the U.S. showed that they just had more stamina. In the 79th minute, with the substitution of Rapinoe, the U.S. scored the go-ahead goal. 3 minutes later, the U.S. scored again, sealing their victory.

In the finals, the U.S. will be facing Japan. Both teams have been strong throughout the World Cup. While the U.S. beat Brazil and France to reach the finals, Japan beat two-time defending champions Germany and the team that upset the U.S. in the group stages, Sweden, to do the same. With this match up, the final match to crown the Queens of FIFA Women’s World Cup Germany 2011 is definitely a match you don’t want to miss.