If Hope Powell is soon to step down after 13 years as coach of the England women's side, she has delivered quite a parting shot. After the defeat to France on penalties in the World Cup quarter-finals she accused some of her squad of "cowardice" for failing to volunteer to take a spot-kick.Three of the back four stepped up in the shoot-out, with the 22-year-old left-back Claire Rafferty, who had been brought off the bench to make her World Cup debut 10 minutes from the end of the initial 90, and the central defender Faye White, the captain, in what may well have been her last game in an England shirt, missing the fourth and fifth attempts from the spot to send France through to the semi-finals."Three times I had to ask [for volunteers] before anyone stepped forward," said Powell. "'Where are you?' I was thinking, and then a young kid is the first to put her hand up. And Kelly Smith was dying on her feet but she stepped up and took one. You've got to want to take a penalty, but other players should have come forward and they didn't. That's weak, it's cowardice."
Hope Solo fever is going wild over here.They even covered the sport on ESPN for a few minutes today!
A deserved win for the Japan ladies.
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Topic: 2011 Women's World Cup (Read 13233 times)
