The best doesn't always win

One of the frustrations of football is also its beauty: that just like in life, it is not necessarily the best who wins. That is simply because football is such a varied sports that there are many ways of winning. An excellent example is Portugal's recent victory in the Euro 2016; hardly the best team, rather boring, but one cannot deny their achievement in reaching the title against teams that were better.
Every footballer knows this although it still frustrates them.
In the Olympic football tournament (for women) the defending world champions of USA were eliminated by Sweden in the quarterfinals after a 1-1 score in ordinary time, and then 4-3 on penalty kicks. This is a major setback for the USA, who had never not reached a semifinal. Sweden's victory was not pretty: they know that USA, with its amazing players, is a better side player for player (if anyone knows it should be the Swedish manager, Pia Sundhage, who four years ago coached the USA to Olympic gold). And to win against such a side they need to be defensive, disciplined, and for all that it is worth, cynical.
That is normally the way to win against better teams, as has been shown again and again. And it was that which the veteran US goalkeeper Hope Solo was sore about when she called the Swedish ladies "cowards".
Not very nice or fair-played said by Hope Solo, who was probably frustrated after the defeat.
I do think that Sweden will have it difficult in reaching the final, although of course they should not be underestimated. In the meantime it is sad to see the excellent USAmericans eliminated, but there is no doubt they will rise again from this setback.

Golden USA ladies

Since women's football entered the Olympics in 1996, the USA ladies have been in every final. Today they were set to win their fourth Olympic gold medal in this sport in a repeat of the 2011 World Cup final USA-Japan, which Japan surprisingly won..
Japan is a patient team. They bite and fight themselves into the match, but that seemed to go against them today. USA started like lightning, and Carli Lloyd brought them ahead 1-0 after only seven minutes. Only then did the World Champions wake up, and hit the post, forced some good saves by the USA goalie Hope Solo, and should even have had a penalty. At the same time, the USA were still dangerous on their counterattacks. In the second half Carli Lloyd in fact brought USA ahead 2-0 on one such counterattack. Japan continued pressing, and got one goal, but in the end it was not enough. But a final worthy of the best. Any football fan should love both the US and Japanese ladies, who play with style, passion, happiness and some of the dignity that you hardly see in men's football any more.
You do not see any ladies cry at every tackle. Be ready to, in the men's final, to see a bunch of men cry like... well... I was going to say girls. But clearly men's football could learn from the women!
Gold for the USA, silver for Japan, and bronze for Canada, who beat France in the match for bronze.