Football
Associated Press 9y

Mark Sampson 'incredibly proud' of Laura Bassett and England

England coach Mark Sampson has paid tribute to his team after they were knocked out of the Women's World Cup in unfortunate circumstances.

Lioness' defender Laura Bassett was inconsolable after the semifinal. A deflection off her foot followed by a bounce off the crossbar led to an own goal in the final minute of stoppage time, allowing Japan to pull off a remarkable 2-1 victory on Wednesday.

"Oh, what a tough one, what a tough one to take," a red-eyed Sampson said. "I can't speak about the game. I can only speak about how incredibly proud I am of my group."

It was a withering moment for England, which had no time -- or energy -- to gather itself and make a comeback.

After the final whistle, Bassett lay on the field and had to be helped off by her teammates and Sampson.

"It really was a horrible moment obviously for Laura, but you could see the regard in which the team hold Laura," Sampson said.

"OK, she's hurting now, but tomorrow morning she'll wake up, she'll have 22 teammates and a group of staff give her a hug and tell her how proud we are of her."

It was a torturous finish for the sixth-ranked Lionesses, who have made their deepest run in four World Cup appearances. England had never won an elimination game until this year.

"There was nothing more our team could've done today to put that ball in the back of the net," Sampson said.

"So credit Japan for hanging on in there, finding a way to get themselves through to a final. But this team has shown the world what it's capable of."

Japan coach Norio Sasaki acknowledged there were several tense moments when England could have scored in the second half.

"But that's the game of soccer," Sasaki said through a translator. "And at the end, we were able to obtain such a dramatic goal."

Nahomi Kawasumi drove up the right side and sent a cross into the middle for Yuki Ogimi. Bassett was in full stride when she reached out with her right foot, caught the ball flush and inadvertently directed it toward her net. The ball struck the crossbar and bounced in just before goalkeeper Karen Bardsley could get across.

"I was very happy," said player of the match Saori Ariyoshi, referring to watching the ball go in. "Well, we did it. That's how I felt."

England will remain in Edmonton to play top-ranked Germany in the third-place match Saturday. Germany lost 2-0 to the United States on Tuesday.

Japan will be facing what's become a familiar foe in the U.S. with a championship on the line. The AFC champions beat the Americans on penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw in the 2011 World Cup final.

The U.S. responded by beating Japan 2-1 to win the gold medal at the 2012 London Games. Overall, the U.S. is 24-1-6 against Japan.

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