US women say they’re up for Brazil challenge

Associated Press

DRESDEN, Germany

The Americans can read a draw as well as anyone else. To win a third World Cup title, they were going to have to see Brazil at some point.

OK, so it’s happening earlier than they expected. But quarterfinals or the final, the Americans insist they’re ready for Brazil and dynamic playmaker Marta.

Excited about it, too.

“Obviously nobody wants to lose in a World Cup,” Lauren Cheney said Thursday. “We’re still smiling, we’re still enjoying this journey. Our belief in each other is unbelievable. No matter what happens, we believe we can make it and carry on. That’s what we did. From the coaching staff on down, we all still have a lot of confidence.”

The expectation all along has been that the top-ranked Americans would win their group, setting up a showdown with two-time defending champion Germany in the semifinals. Win that game, and the U.S. would play Brazil for yet another title. The U.S. beat Brazil to win the gold medal at the last two Olympic Games; Brazil was runner-up at the 2007 World Cup after knocking the Americans out in the semifinals.

But the Americans blew the gameplan with their 2-1 loss to Sweden on Wednesday night. Needing only a draw to avoid Brazil, the U.S. instead lost a group stage game for the first time at the World Cup. Rather than the “easy” road laid out for them, the Americans have to go through Brazil just to get to the semifinals.

The U.S. and Brazil play Sunday, with the winner taking on either England or France in the semifinals Wednesday.

“We go into every game wanting to win. And we didn’t,” Shannon Boxx said. “The good thing is, now we’re into the quarterfinals anyway. We have a tough opponent against Brazil and we’re excited about it. We said we’d have to face them at some point if we went all the way. Now we’re just facing them a little earlier.”

What the Americans see as confidence others might call denial. This team has lost four games since November after going unbeaten for more than two years. They lost in regional qualifying to Mexico, which had gone 0 for 25 against the Americans.