After a nervous first half, the U.S. Women got untracked and lived up to their No. 1 world ranking in their Women’s World Cup opener, beating eighth-ranked North Korea 2-0 last Tuesday. With everyone now having played one game of the group stage, there’ve been no surprises yet – except perhaps how close all the games have been: six one-goal victories and a draw, apart from the U.S. win. The Americans play Colombia, Saturday, July 2, 10:30am, and fifth-ranked Sweden, Wednesday, July 6, 1:30pm, before the knockout stage starts next weekend. Every match, up through the final on July 17, is live in HD on ESPN or ESPN2. The full schedule is posted with this column online.
Meanwhile, in the U-17 World Cup in Mexico, a win, loss, and draw in group play were enough to send the U.S. through to knockout stages; they play Germany today (Thursday) in the round of 16, with quarterfinals July 3-4, semis July 7, and the final on July 10.
The U.S. Men were pretty well dominated by Mexico, 4-2, in the Gold Cup final Saturday night, and coach Bob Bradley is again on the hot seat. Fox Soccer’s broadcast drew 954,000 viewers – more than double their previous record audience – and outdrew ABC, CBS, and NBC among males in the 18-to-34 age range.
The Austin Chapter of the American Outlaws and the Free Beer Movement present a fundraising screening of Rise and Shine: The Jay DeMerit Story, Wednesday, July 6, 8pm, at Draft Pick American Grill, 1620 E. Riverside. A $10 donation helps fund completion and distribution of the film.
Santos have won the Copa Libertadores trophy for the first time since the early Sixties, defeating Uruguay’s Penarol in the final.
Women’s World Cup
All 32 Women’s World Cup matches in Germany will be aired live and in high definition on ESPN (23 games) and ESPN2 (nine), as well as on ESPN3.com and ESPN Mobile TV.
SCHEDULE:
Thursday, June 30
10:45am ESPN Canada vs. France (A)
1:30pm ESPN2 Germany vs. Nigeria (A)
Friday, July 1
7:45am ESPN Japan vs. Mexico (B)
11am ESPN New Zealand vs. England (B)
Saturday, July 2
6:45am ESPN2 Korea DPR vs. Sweden (C)
10:30am ESPN USA vs. Colombia (C)
Sunday, July 3
6:45am ESPN2 Australia vs. Equa. Guinea (D)
11am ESPN Brazil vs. Norway (D)
Tuesday, July 5
11am ESPN England vs. Japan (B)
11am ESPN2 New Zealand vs. Mexico (B)
1:30pm ESPN France vs. Germany (A)
1:30pm ESPN2 Canada vs. Nigeria (A)
Wednesday, July 6
10:45am ESPN Equa. Guinea vs. Brazil (D)
10:45am ESPN2 Australia vs. Norway (D)
1:30pm ESPN Sweden vs. USA (C)
1:30pm ESPN2 Korea DPR vs. Colombia (C)
Quarterfinals
Saturday, July 9
10:30am ESPN 1B vs. 2A (No. 26)
1:15pm ESPN 1A vs. 2B (No. 25)
Sunday, July 10
5:30am ESPN 1C vs. 2D (No. 27)
10am ESPN 1D vs. 2C (No. 28)
Semifinals
Wednesday, July 13
10:30am ESPN Winners: Match 26 vs. 28
1:15pm ESPN Winners: Match 25 vs. 27
Third-Place Match
Saturday, July 16
10am ESPN2
Championship
Sunday, July 17
1pm ESPN
Groups & World Rankings
Group A
Germany 2
Canada 6
France 7
Nigeria 27
Group B
Japan 4
England 10
Mexico 22
New Zealand 24
Group C
USA 1
Sweden 5
Korea DPR 8
Colombia 31
Group D
Brazil 3
Norway 9
Australia 11
Equatorial Guinea 61
This article appears in July 1 • 2011.