Live now on ESPN3 (Adrian Healey and Julie Foudy ), and USSoccer's MatchTracker. Surely there's a justin.tv stream for Japan's TV coverage.
Japan (Norio Sasaki): [lineup-4-4-2] 9 Nahomi Kawasumi, 17 Yuki Nagasato , 8(c) Aya Miyama, 14 Asuna Tanaka, 6 M.Sakaguchi, 11 Shinobu Ohno , 15 Aya Sameshima, 16 Kyoko Yano, 4 Saki Kumagai, 2 Yukari Kinga , 1 Ayumi Kaihori [/lineup-4-4-2] #10 Homare Sawa has been out since before Algarve with an obscure form of vertigo. #3 Azusa Iwashimizu (RCB) and #20 Mana Iwabuchi (FW) also not available.
USA (Pia Sundhage): Back into a 4-4-2 to accomodate the poster girl [lineup-4-4-2] 20 Abby Wambach, 13 Alex Morgan , 12 L.Cheney, 10 C.Lloyd, 7 S.Boxx, 9 H.O'Reilly , 5 K.O'Hara, 19 R.Buehler, 3(c) C.Rampone, 6 A.LePeilbet , 1 Hope Solo [/lineup-4-4-2]
11' 0-0 Japan #2 Kinga(?) chips long from centerline right touch, over box top right, sends #11 Ohno into a 1-v-1 with inside shoulder position on #19 Buehler. Buehler gets enough shoulder lean and slide-hook disruption to prevent a shot, ball rolls to 6-top and Ohno hurdles Solo rather than challenge hard.
The backline seems content passing it around the back and bypassing the midfield with longballs to nobody. Unfortunately, that isn't working.
14' 0-0 USA right corner, #12 Cheney rolls it short to #9 O'Reilly at box top right. Chip cross from there finds #19 Buehler's head at 6-top right post, glancing header to center low, #1 Kaihori is right there. 15' 0-0 USA to #9 O'Reilly into the right corner, #8(c) Miyama all the way back to block the cross over. 16' 0-0 USA right corner, to 6-top center. #10 Lloyd sneaks between 2 and heads wide left.
23' 0-0 Japan left corner, #8(c) Miyama plays short to #9 Nahomi Kawasumi at box top left. She shoots chest-high just wide right. USA now defends corners with 2 field players hugging the posts ... 24' 0-0 USA catch Japan in a 3-4 break up the centerline. #12 Cheney rolls a through-ball through arc left toward #13 Morgan running through arc right, just too far and #1 Kaihori collects. Cheney might be our only player who can see that pass ... 25' 0-0 #19 Buehler escorts another nervy ground ball out of our box right.
26' 0-0 Japan free kick from 32m box right. #8 Miyama curls it to 8m right post, #9 Kawasumi goes prone facing away to flick-head it backward. Ball-to-hand off #7 Boxx's arm and down! No call, Boxx clears it -- point-blank off Kawasumi's butt Ricochets sideways and #6 Sakaguchi has a shot at 8m mid-left! She's pressured, hooks right instep wide left.
Wow. Japan is smooth aand making this look easy. We are just getting handled right now. Do you notice how easy and fuss-less their clears are, where ours are a struggle and a mess?
31' 0-0 Japan plays out of the back. #17 Nagasato gets Buehlered, foul. Japan promptly lose it over the endline. 32' 0-0 Japan ping ball away, quickly chip long from midfield to 30m, #3(c) Rampone outruns everybody.
Kinga puts Japan in front, after a nice piece of build-up. If the U.S. loses here, do they start to worry? That would make three losses (technically two and a draw, but the World Cup final is absolutely a mental loss) against the Nadeshiko in a row. Without Sawa today, no less. Too early to concede defeat yet, obviously, but the offense isn't clicking too well. Abby, once again, has been near invisible.
33' 1-0 #2 Kinga feeds #9 Kawasumi at box top right, overlaps past her behind two defenders. Kawasumi mini-lobs over them, drops to Kinga in stride, alone to 6-top right. Kinga halts and stares down #1 Solo, hooks short square pass to #8(c) Miyama at 5m 2/3 right. Miyama shoots, Solo twists and blocks, falls forward. #19 Buehler slides in, taps ball to 2m right post as 4 USA players lie on grass. #2 Yukari Kinga darts forward and blasts it in, high over traffic.