Profligate finishing by Team USA throughout a thrilling 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup Final at the Commerzbank Arena on July 17 came back to haunt them, as Japan edged the two-time winners 3-1 on penalties after two hours of gripping football had resulted in a 2-2 draw. A sell-out 48,817-strong crowd were treated to a superb encounter which had a little bit of everything in it, including a late sending-off as Nadeshiko, having just snatched a dramatic equaliser, came close to being beaten at the death. But they should have been on the wrong end of a hiding in a contest which, had the USA finished even half of the chances they created, would have seen them win by at least six goals. Indeed, they came desperately close to scoring just thirty seconds into the match. Megan Rapinoe played a ball down the line which Lauren Cheney chased down, catching Yukari Kinga off-guard. The fullback was outfoxed by the striker, who dashed in along the by-line before being thwarted by the legs of Nadeshiko goalkeeper Ayumi Kaihori. The Americans denied their Japanese opponents the time to employ their passing game early in the match, and as Nadeshiko sought to overcome this, they found themselves under tremendous pressure. Shannon Boxx sprayed the ball wide to Rapinoe in the eighth minute, and after beating Kinga she crossed to the near post for Cheney, who poked the ball inches wide at full stretch, just seconds before Abby Wambach's dipping twenty yarder had grazed the crossbar, Rapinoe combining with Lloyd to engineer this opening. Two minutes later, Ali Krieger and Heather O'Reilly played a one-two on the right which saw the young fullback combine with Boxx to pick out Wambach. Her header down invited Lloyd to let fly on the volley from the edge of the penalty area, but the ball skimmed the bar. It was one-way traffic throughout the first twenty-odd minutes, and a great run by Cheney down the right to the by-line in the twelfth minute was complemented by Rapinoe's terrific diagonal run from the left flank to the near post, where she arrived to meet Cheney's pull-back. The speedster sliced her shot wide of the target. Still the USA pressed, this time with Rapinoe and Cheney working a one-two on the left in the seventeenth minute. The former surged into the penalty area before rattling the near post with a  fierce drive. Japan were hanging on - you felt that if the USA scored one goal at this point that they would go on to score at least six! But Nadeshiko were beginning to make a bit of progress in getting their possession game fully operational, although they somehow survived another scare before they created their first chance. Lloyd won the ball in midfield and surged forward before feeding Cheney, who was felled from behind by Azusa Iwashimizu. German referee Bibiana Steinhaus waved play on, however, as the ball had rolled into the stride of Wambach, who smashed a drive against the crossbar in the 29th minute. Two minutes later, Japan's first chance came to pass, after Homare Sawa had timed her tackle on Lloyd to perfection, catching the midfielder in mid-turn. Sawa promptly played Shinobu Ohno in, and she linked with Nahomi Kawasumi before slipping Kozue Ando through the offside trap. The striker's effort was smothered by Hope Solo, who was later named winner of the Golden Glove award as Goalkeeper of the Tournament. USA captain Christie Rampone had a great game in defence for her team, but it was her angled 34th minute ball forward which gave Japan all sorts of problems. Cheney darted in behind the defence to meet it, and guided her head over the stranded figure of Kaihori onto the roof of the net. Attacking opportunities for Japan in the first half were rare, but the wily Aya Miyama engineered one in the 38th minute from a corner. With everyone anticipating a flighted delivery into the penalty area, she instead sent a grass-cutting pass at pace towards the edge of the area, where Kawasumi was lurking. She fired wildly over the bar from twenty yards. Six minutes later, Solo was alert to the danger posed by Ohno's clever lob over the defence for the chasing Ando to exploit, while in first half stoppage time, Ohno fired another volley wildly over the crossbar to conclude an opening half in which the USA had played the vast majority of the football and created just about all the chances witnessed. But they had a problem - a foot injury which Cheney suffered in the first minute of the game. She wanted to continue, but a fully fit Alex Morgan offered Team USA other options, and she came desperately close to breaking the deadlock just four minutes after her introduction. Wambach played O'Reilly in to the by-line by the corner flag on the right, from where the speed merchant fired in a wicked low cross to the near post. Morgan arrived on cue to steer it past Kaihori but against the upright, the ball rebounding back and off Kaihori into the goalmouth. Sawa stepped in to clear, but could only watch as Lloyd set off on a driving forty yard run int0 the penalty area three minutes later. The side-netting came to Japan's rescue on this occasion, while Wambach sent a twenty yarder sailing over the bar in the 53rd minute, upon being released by Rapinoe's early through ball. It was the first half all over again - Japan hanging on for dear life as the USA pounded away for an opening goal. This time, however, Nadeshiko offered a little bit more of themselves attack-wise, and only a timely tackle by Rampone prevented Ando from turning and shooting on a pass from the enterprising Ohno soon after. Then, in the 56th minute, Miyama sent a corner zooming across the face of goal - it only needed a touch, but none was forthcoming. And in the 61st minute, Sawa's sumptuous ball over the defence found Kinga racing in. But the fullback applied a fullback's finish - the sphere soared over the bar. The USA rode their luck in the 63rd minute when Ohno was wrongly adjudged offside as Sawa played her through, but it was Japan who were on the back foot seconds later, as O'Reilly clipped in a cross. Saki Kumagai did her level best throughout proceedings to contain the threat posed by Wambach, and in this 64th minute incident, she beat the striker to the cross. But Kumagai's header arced towards her own goal, and would have gone in had the back-pedalling Kaihori not pulled off a superb fingertip save to turn the ball over the bar. Five minutes later, the USA finally got the breakthrough they had been pressing for. It came on the counter-attack, after freshly introduced substitute Yuki Nagasato had run at the defence, only to be thwarted just outside the area by sheer weight of numbers. One of them was Rapinoe, who sent an early ball forward for Morgan to chase after. She duly did, muscling past her opponent before, in remarkably similar fashion to the way in which Sweden's Josefine Oqvist scored against Nadeshiko in the semi-final, scything into the area before rifling a shot across the diving Kaihori and into the opposite corner of the net.

It was no more than the USA deserved, but within twelve minutes, they had to try to win the game again. Japan kept on coming in response to the equaliser, and after Solo had grabbed a twenty-five yarder from Sawa, the Asian team conjured up an equaliser thanks to some awful American defending. Rampone's 81st minute clearance was picked up by Kawasumi, who threaded the ball through to Nagasato. Her low cross, intended for Karina Maruyama, was picked off by Rachel Buehler, but the defender went into panic mode, and cleared the ball across the face of her own goal. It struck Krieger, who was also back covering the initial cross. But before the fullback could react to the ricochet, Miyama swooped on the loose ball and battered it past the helpless figure of Solo from six yards. 1-1, then, and all to play for once more. The USA sought a late winner, with O'Reilly's cross zooming inches across the bows of the incoming Rapinoe seconds before Wambach was twice denied in quick succession by the ever-vigilant Kumagai. A minute from time, Japan came desperately close to winning the final. Boxx was caught in possession by Mizuho Sakaguchi, who surged forward before steering the ball into the stride of Kawasumi. She was on too acute an angle to go for goal herself, but Kinga was arriving in support, and was duly invited to shoot, which she did, across the face of goal. The final whistle loomed, but before it was blown Lloyd set off on an enterprising run at the heart of Japan's defence. Her jinking run took her to the edge of the penalty area, where she linked with Wambach and O'Reilly, whose cross was desperately headed clear by Kumagai. Seconds later, the final whistle meant thirty further minutes of this epic encounter was in store for the watching world to enjoy, and within a minute of the resumption of play, a Boxx bullet and an eighteen yard header from Wambach had both been kept out by Japan's defence. Four minutes later, an early ball forward by Wambach found Morgan in between defenders, but the youngster sliced her shot across the face of goal after cutting inside to create space for the shot. When next Morgan featured in the attack, the USA regained the lead. The substitute's initial cross was headed out by Kumagai to Lloyd. Sawa blocked her shot, but the rebound fell to Rapinoe, whose cross was blocked by Maruyama. This time, the rebound benefited Morgan, who surged past Kinga to the by-line from where she whipped a perfectly flighted cross into the heart of Japan's goalmouth. Lurking there, unmarked for the only time in the game, was Wambach, and from six yards, she headed the USA in front once more - 2-1 after 104 minutes. Japan had the second half of extra time in which to save themselves again. And after Maruyama had thrashed a shot wide following Kawasumi's driving run at the defence, they came desperately close to levelling matters in the 112th minute. Miyama's teasing cross deceived Solo, but before the incoming Sawa could react Lloyd appeared on the scene to tidy things up. As she did so, Rapinoe had a rush of blood to the head and came charging in to clear the ball against her team-mate. Fortunately for the USA, the ricochet went in the right direction, but five minutes from time, Japan pressed once more. Sawa floated a ball over the top which Kinga, charging forward yet again, clipped over the advancing figure of Solo. Only a desperate goal-line clearance from Rampone, as the ball bounced towards the net beyond, kept the USA's noses in front. Following the incident, Solo required treatment to her knee, having landed awkwardly after attempting to deal with Miyama's cross. The stoppage allowed both teams to regroup ahead of what were certain to be a desperate final few minutes, and Japan clearly made better use of the time. From the corner resulting from Rampone's clearance, they equalised. Miyama's delivery to the near post was flicked goalwards by Sawa, the ball ricocheting into the top far corner of the net off Wambach - 2-2, and a penalty shoot-out now surely on the cards. Not if Team USA could help it. O'Reilly's cross from the right to the near post saw Wambach miss a proverbial sitter in stoppage time, while on their next attack, Morgan was brought down just outside the penalty area by Iwashimizu, the last defender. Well-performed German referee Bibiana Steinhaus - the crowd showed their appreciation of her efforts by warmly applauding the official and her colleagues as they received their medals post-match - signalled the free-kick just outside the box, and whipped out the red card to curtail Iwashimizu's final moments earlier than the defender had hoped for. It presented the USA with one last chance to settle the match. Lloyd let fly from the free-kick, and both O'Reilly and Wambach attempted to turn her shot home before late substitute Tobin Heath saw her shot blocked to safety. The sound of the final whistle confirmed the 2-2 stalemate would need to be decided via a penalty shoot-out. And what drama this was to produce! Boxx took the first penalty, only for Kaihori to save it with her legs as she dived to her left. Miyama sent Solo the wrong way with her attempt, the only one of the first five kicks taken to find the net. For Lloyd sent her spot-kick into orbit. Then both Solo and Kaihori saved low to their right to deny Nagasato and Heath respectively. Sakaguchi made it 2-0 on penalties to Japan, although fortune favoured her - Solo got her hand to the shot, but couldn't keep it out. Wambach had to score, and did - top corner, no messing. It came down to Kumagai - score, and she would not only win the FIFA Women's World Cup for Japan, but provide her earthquake-impacted nation with a massive boost. Miss, and it came down to the USA's final penalty. The roof of the net bulged. The FIFA Women's World Cup was heading east. Cue raucous celebrations as the conquerors of the Football Ferns, Mexico, hosts Germany and, in the semi-final, Sweden, added the USA's scalp to Japan's list of victims en route to the biggest prize in the women's game. Those celebrations were further bolstered post-match by the awarding of the Fair Play award to Japan, and both the Golden Boot and Golden Ball - the tournament's best player award - to captain Homare Sawa, who was then presented with the prize she wanted most of all, the trophy which symbolises supremacy in the world of women's football, and which was won following the conclusion of one of the great finals, gender regardless. Japan:          Kaihori; Kinga, Iwashimizu (sent off, 120), Kumagai, Sameshima; Ohno (Maruyama, 65) (Iwabuchi, 119), Sawa, Sakaguchi, Miyama (booked, 97); Ando (Nagasato, 65), Kawasumi USA:          Solo; Krieger, Buehler, Rampone, Le Peilbet; O'Reilly, Lloyd, Boxx, Rapinoe (Heath, 113); Cheney (Morgan, 46), Wambach Referee:     Bibiana Steinhaus (Germany)