A New Women's World Cup Champion Will Be Crowned

For the first time since the German women defeated the Swedish women in the 2003 FIFA Women's World Cup, a new champion will be crowned at the end of the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup. Japan defeated Germany 1-0, in extra time from an incredible goal by Karina Maruyama. Germany was seemingly lifeless the entire match, filled with very questionable substitutes, especially the case of the legendary Birgit Prinz, who was never substituted into the match, despite being the all-time best goal scorer in German women's football.

After Maruyama's goal in the 108th minute, Germany (and the German crowd) came alive, desperately trying everything they could to score just 1 goal to force the game in penalty kicks. But despite the sudden burst of energy, the final 14 minutes could have gone by any faster for the Germans as they failed to score a goal, mostly due to the incredible goalkeeping by Ayumi Kaihori.

Japan moves on to the semifinal where they await the winner of Australia vs Sweden, which at this point, Japan is favored to win no matter who they face.

Germany has won the last 2 World Cups and has not lost a game since they were beaten by the U.S. in the 1999 World Cup. That incredible streak has now been broken, and questions will have to be asked on what Germany could have done to at least take the game to penalty kicks. I'm sure the coach's decision to not bring in Birgit Prinz will be heavily scrutinized, especially after she was benched in Germany's first game.

Japan has played spectacularly this World Cup and a win in the final match would do much to help life spirits in Japan where the northeast area of the island of Honshu is still suffering incredible damage from the massive earthquake and tsunami. It would also do much to improve the opinion of Japanese football around the world, as Japan was long thought to not be a sporting country, but now are highly competitive in both football and baseball.

Tomorrow Australia takes on Sweden at 6:30 AM Eastern (gross) and USA takes on Brazil in what looks to be the most anticipated match of the tournament.