Norway beats US in Olympic Soccer

Well the Olympics gets underway in a couple of days and the U.S. has already suffered a defeat in Olympic Soccer. It was not an official match for medals, but it does sow that Norway may be every bit of the contender in Olympic soccer that they have been estimated to be. This Norway soccer team will be the one to watch when the official Olympics get underway.

Norway jumped on the United States from the opening whistle Wednesday in Qinhuangdao, China.

The Norwegians scored two goals in the first four minutes and beat the U.S. women’s soccer team 2-0 at the Beijing Olympics two days before the Opening Ceremonies.

In a matchup of world powers, Norway played like the medal-contenders they’re supposed to be, while the Americans never looked the part.

Leni Larsen Kaurin outmuscled U.S. defender Lori Chalupny to head the ball over charging goalkeeper Hope Solo and into an open net in the second minute.

U.S. Women’s soccer Photos Two minutes later, Melissa Wiik latched on to a deep pass on the right side after the U.S lost the ball in midfield. The Norwegian then outraced U.S. captain Christie Rampone and curled a right-footed shot past Solo and just inside the far post.

"We are satisfied," Norway coach Bjarne Berntsen said. "We are grateful for the tremendous start we had."

"After the great start, I think we played a very good defensive game. There were very few big chances for the United States."

Norway, which handed the U.S. its only other Olympic loss in the 2000 gold-medal match, dominated the first half as a sluggish U.S. side seemed out of sync in the back and lacking creativity up front.

The loss was the first for U.S. coach Pia Sundhage, who took over in November.

"My glass is always half full, so for us it’s a new experience to lose a game," Sundhage said. Sundhage was encouraged with her team’s aggressive play after the break.

Japan 2, New Zealand 2: Aya Miyama and Homare Sawa scored second-half goals to rally Japan in Group G in Qinhuangdao.

Canada 2, Argentina 1: Goals by Candace Chapman and Kara Lang offset a goal by Ludmila Manicler in the 85th minutes in a Group E match in Tianjin.

Germany 0, Brazil 0: In a Group F match between the World Cup finalists in Shenyang, the Germans limited FIFA player of the year Marta from threatening. Both teams had a shot that struck the piping.

China 2, Sweden 1: Han Duan scored the winner in the 72nd minute in a Group E match in Tianjin.

North Korea 1, Nigeria 0: Kim Kyong Hwa scored in the 27th minute in a Group F match in Shenyang.

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