Dragon in the lion's den
Posted: Friday July 09, 1999 10:45 PM
By Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated
LOS ANGELES -- We got the final we wanted: The world's two best teams --
uninjured and fully rested -- in a packed Rose Bowl. Happily, both teams love to
attack, so let's start this final preview with the front
line.
Forwards
China's Sun Wen is tied for the tournament scoring lead with seven
goals, but the U.S. is a hair more dangerous as a whole up front. Mia Hamm
has gone three games without a goal, though she did make some productive
runs in the second half of the semifinal against Brazil. Yet it's no mystery to
whom Michelle Akers was referring this week when she said, "Some
people need to start putting some balls in the back of the net."
Tiffeny Milbrett is the Americans' leading scorer (three goals) and an
opportunistic wonder, while Cindy Parlow has definite speed limitations
but is coming off her best game of the
WWC.
Edge: U.S.
Midfield
One of the great questions of this tournament is how the U.S. has made the final
despite underachieving offensive midfielders Julie Foudy and
Kristine Lilly . A lot of the answer lies in Michelle Akers , the
defensive midfielder who has defied chronic fatigue syndrome to play magnificent
two-way soccer. Who knew Akers would be (so far, at least) the U.S. player of
the
tournament?
That said, China's midfield has been much better, thanks mainly to midfield
quarterback Liu Ailing . The Chinese have great movement away from the
ball and are pinpoint passers, which explains why they could have had
double-digit goals in their 5-0 semi win against defending champion
Norway.
Edge:
China
Defense
For the U.S., Joy Fawcett and Kate Sobrero have been steady.
Carla Overbeck and Brandi Chastain have not. Still, the
live-dangerously Americans have only allowed three goals compared to China's
two. As for Chin's side, Fan Yunjie and Wen Lirong are
tough.
Edge: China
Goalkeeper
People call China's Gao Hong the best in the world, but you're watching
the mantle being passed before your eyes to Briana Scurry , whose range
and shot-stopping have been unparalleled in this tournament. Gao is great, but
give Scurry her due. She's the hotter
keeper.
Edge: U.S.
Key matchup for the U.S.
Michelle Akers vs. Sun Wen
Akers marked Brazil's top scorer, Sissi , out of the semis. If she can
do the same against Sun, she'll cut off the head of the
dragon.
Key matchup for China
Chinese defense vs. Tiffeny Milbrett
If history is any clue, the Chinese will try like mad to make Hamm a non-factor.
That should leave Milbrett open for scoring chances. If China can contain both
Hamm and Milbrett, the U.S. will be in
trouble.
X-factors
Experience and fan support. In four women's world championships (three WWC's and
one Olympics), the Americans have made the final three times, and the U.S. still has seven players from its 1991 World Cup team in its current starting lineup. China reached the gold medal game of the 1996 Olympics, losing to the Americans 2-1. Don't underestimate the U.S. advantage in big-game experience. As for the
crowd, no mystery there. If the Americans can survive their typical nerves for
the first 10 minutes, the Rose Bowl faithful will become a huge
edge.
Prediction
Play this game at a neutral site, with no crowd, and China would win seven out
of 10 times. Play a one-off game at a full Rose Bowl for the world championship,
and the U.S. wins
3-2.
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