Japan Defeats England, 2-1, To Advance To World Cup Final
EDMONTON (CBSLA.com)— Japan beat England 2-1 in the World Cup Semifinal and advances to play the U.S. in World Cup Final on Sunday.
The two countries met in the 2011 World Cup Final in Frankfurt, Germany. The match would go into a penalty shootout after the teams tied 2-2 after regulation.
Japan won the penalty shootout in 2011, 3-1, as only U.S. forward Abby Wambach was the only American to score in the shootout. The three other players who missed penalties, Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd, and Tobin Heath are all on the team again this year.
Aya Miyami got the scoring started for Japan with a penalty kick in the 32nd minute, but England's Fara Williams tied it up with a penalty of her own in the 40th minute.
In stoppage time, Japan scored on an own goal by England when defender Laura Bassett accidentally put the ball into her own net. Bassett was attempting to clear the ball out of play but could not elevate the ball enough, and it bounced off the crossbar and went into the English goal late in stoppage time.
Bassett's unfortunate own goal was not only the latest in World Cup history, but the first ever in stoppage time.
England out shot Japan 11 shots to just four, although they committed 17 fouls. Japan dominated the possession 62 percent to 38 percent.
Japan's victory sets up a rematch versus the United States in the World Cup Final on Sunday.
The U.S. will look to get revenge on the defending champion Japanese team at 2 p.m. Sunday.