COMMENTARY: PRESSURE IS ON U.S. TEAM.Byline: Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer It looks like FIFA Women's World Cup The FIFA Women's World Cup is recognized as the most important International competition in women's football and is played amongst women's national football teams of the member states of FIFA, the sport's global governing body. officials will get their wish for a packed house when the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. takes on Norway on Saturday in the tournament opener at Giants Stadium. U.S. press officer Aaron Heifetz announced that 71,000 tickets have been sold for the opener, just 6,000 short of capacity. The doubleheader, featuring Mexico against Brazil in the second game, likely will be sold out by Friday. ``I, for one, knew if this team was marketed properly, there would be plenty of support,'' said U.S. goalkeeper For the close-in weapon system, see . In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, netminder, goalie, or keeper in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the Briana Scurry Briana Scurry (born September 7, 1971 in Minneapolis, Minnesota) was the starting goalkeeper for the United States women's national soccer team at the 1995 World Cup (3rd place), 1996 Olympics (gold medal), 1999 World Cup (champions), 2003 World Cup (3rd place) and 2004 Olympics during a conference call from the team's training center in New Jersey. ``We saw all of the support for women's soccer during the Olympics Olympics Sports medicine An international competition among (traditionally) nonprofessional athletes trained in a particular summer or winter sport, which is held every 4 yrs in a selected city. See Paralympics, Special Olympics, World Medical Games. in Atlanta. What you're seeing now is another sign that all of that support is out there. Not just for women's soccer but for women's sports in general.'' U.S. coach Tony DiCicco Tony DiCicco (born August 5, 1948, Wethersfield, Connecticut) is an American soccer player, coach, and commentator. He is best known as the coach of the United States women's national soccer team from 1994-1999, during which time the team won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and the is frequently asked how his team handles the pressure of being the overwhelming tournament favorite. ``Any time you go into a world-class event, there are expectations,'' he said. ``Sometimes those expectations are redefined as pressure. Hey, every team has pressure. For some teams, it might be to win a game or reach the second round, but I like our (pressure) better. ``We have the expectations to win it all. There are plenty of outstanding teams in this tournament, but this is our opportunity to show the world this team and how serious we are.'' Midfielder
In association football, a midfielder is a player whose position of play is midway between the attacking strikers and the defenders (highlighted in blue on the diagram). Kristine Lilly Kristine Marie Lilly (born July 22, 1971 in New York City) is an American soccer player, who has been a fixture on the U.S. women's national team since 1987 and is currently the captain of the team. She now plays the striker position after playing midfield for most of her career. isn't concerned about the pressure. ``What I've learned is that if we play our best and we stay focused, then everything else gets taken care of,'' Lilly said. ``With this World Cup, there's a lot of pressure from the outside because we want to start a pro league. But we can't worry about that now. Our goal is to win this tournament and if that happens, positive things are going to happen.'' Many of the reporters on Tuesday's conference call wondered what DiCicco thought of Nigeria's 4-3 victory over China in a friendly at West L.A. College last weekend. China has had recent success against the U.S., beating the Americans twice in the last year. The Nigerians face North Korea Sunday Sunday: see Sabbath; week. at the Rose Bowl, then meet the Americans on June 24 in Chicago. ``First of all, we're not preparing for Nigeria, we're preparing for Denmark,'' said DiCicco. ``Denmark is a load and we have to be totally focused on them, but having said that, I'm not surprised about the Nigerian result at all. ``I think a lot of reporters were surprised, but I knew Nigeria is very athletic, very strong and has players comfortable with the ball. The term I've been using is they're a dangerous team.'' Heifetz, who attended the China-Nigerian friendly, informed DiCicco that China used its regular starters. ``If China played them 10 times, I'm not sure how many games Nigeria could win,'' DiCicco said. ``But on any given day, they showed they can beat anyone. I will send both of my assistants out to scout the Nigerian team. By the time we play them, we will be very informed.'' Many of the Nigerian players are looking forward to the U.S. game and they're not shy about making predictions. Nigeria's Mercy Akide Mercy Akide Udoh (born August 26, 1975) in Port Harcourt, Nigeria) is a Nigerian football player. She was the first African Women's Footballer of the year (2002) and was a 1999 and 2004 FIFA World All-Star. is predicting an upset. ``Can we beat them? Of course we can,'' she said recently. ``There is no fear in our team. And why should we fear the United States? All the pressure is on them.'' ``They are totally new to us,'' said Lilly. ``From what I hear, they're very skilled on the ball. As far as their victory over China, I didn't even know they were playing.'' |
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