Hope Solo is one of the star players on the U.S. team. As their goal keeper, she had clean sheets against North Korea and Colombia, gave up two goals in a loss to Sweden, and then two goals (one shouldn’t have happened) against Brazil. Solo has been spectacular in the net, stopping a penalty kick in the shootout against Brazil to help the U.S. advance to the semifinals of the World Cup. She even managed to hold France down in the semis giving up one goal, and that was with a minor injury.
Right before the match started against France, it was reported that Solo had tweaked her hamstring in warmups. It was reported as a minor injury, but it still can be a problem. You always want to be at full-strength especially for knockout games. Not being at your best can be the difference between advancing and going home, so this could be critical in the finals regardless of the opponent. The good news is the squad will have three days off before the finals.
UPDATE: Solo also had the quote of the year after the match. Asked where the team gets its confidence from, she said “confidence comes from our preparation and because we know we’re damn good.”
With an attitude like that, any surprise the team has been this successful?
