Women’s World Cup: First Week Brings Big Wins, Gorgeous Goals — And Some Controversy
U.S. forward Alex Morgan shoots and scores past Thailand’s Natthakarn Chinwong on Tuesday in Reims, France, in the group stage of the Women’s World Cup.
Michael Chow/USA Today Sports via Reuters
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Michael Chow/USA Today Sports via Reuters
In the first seven days of the Women’s World Cup, there have already been stunning goals, crushing defeats and no shortage of controversy. We’ve been following the action from France — oui, un croissant, s’il-vous plaît — and here are some of the key stories we’ve seen in a week of great soccer.
A very big win
The biggest story is the United States’ demolition of Thailand on Tuesday night, winning 13-0. The game set all kinds of World Cup records: It was the most goals scored and the biggest margin of victory in any tournament, women’s or men’s; it had the highest number of players — seven — to score in a game; and it tied the record for number of goals in a match — five — courtesy of Alex Morgan. (U.S. forward Michelle Akers had five in 1991, as did Russia’s Oleg Salenko on the men’s side in 1994.)
And a number of World Cup rookies for the U.S. scored on soccer’s biggest stage: Samantha Mewis and Rose Lavelle both had two goals, and Mallory Pugh and Lindsey Horan each notched one. Veteran forwards Megan Rapinoe and Carli Lloyd both scored, as well.
As the history-making game played out in the stadium in Reims, the sense was that we were witnessing an incredible display. While it was no surprise that the U.S. defeated the weaker Thailand squad, the Yanks’ goals were impressive, as was their ability to keep up pressure nearly 100% of the time — a testament to the strength of a squad that could be the best ever.
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But some observers thought the U.S. celebrated its later goals with a bit too much joy. (One of those observers, a former player for the Canadian national team, says she began receiving death threats.)
But the U.S. shrugged off such criticism.
“We knew that every goal could matter,” Morgan said after the game, referring to the fact that goal differential can affect which team ranks at the top of the group. ‘When it comes to celebrations, I think this was a really good team performance tonight, and I think it was important for us to celebrate with each other.”
The leaderboard
Three teams have already secured two wins, making them very likely to advance: France, Germany and Italy.
Host country France looked powerful — and dangerous to its future opponents — in Les Bleus’ opening day 4-0 win over South Korea. Eugénie Le Sommer got the game off to a rollicking start with a goal in the ninth minute off a pass from captain Amandine Henry.
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Defender Wendie Renard, who hails from the Caribbean island of Martinique and stands 6 feet, 1 inch tall, scored two headers and showed how France will be a force on corner kicks. And Henry closed off the night with a gorgeous goal in the 85th minute.
WHAT A STRIKE BY AMANDINE HENRY ?? pic.twitter.com/FwXfNZWYJ6
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 7, 2019
The U.S. plays Chile on Sunday — a match the Americans are expected to win.
Some surprises
Group C, comprising Australia, Brazil, Jamaica and Italy, is shaping up to be an interesting foursome.
One reason is that Italy came out stronger than expected. Ranked No. 15 in the world, Italy beat Australia (ranked No. 6) 2-1 when they faced off on Sunday. In its second match, Italy clobbered World Cub debutante Jamaica 5-0 on Friday.
Australia is regarded as one of the strongest teams in the tournament, and after that surprise loss to Italy had to take on Brazil. Brazil beat Jamaica in its first game, without Marta, who was recovering from a thigh injury.
As Australia and Brazil faced off on Thursday, Brazil pulled out to an early lead, with a penalty by Marta in the 27th minute and a powerful header by Cristiane in the 38th. But the Matildas came roaring back, with a goal just before the half, another in the 58th and an own goal by Brazil’s Monica a few minutes later. Australia became just the second team in Women’s World Cup history to come back after a two-goal deficit.
Some questions linger around the Brazilian team. Marta, Cristiane and veteran defender Formiga all came off the pitch early in the Australia match, which could indicate nagging injuries. Formiga also racked up her second yellow card, which means she will miss Brazil’s final group-stage match, against Italy on Tuesday.
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There has also been only one tie thus far: a 0-0 draw between Argentina and Japan.
Good moves
South Africa — the team nicknamed Banyana Banyana — really knows how to enter a room.
South Africans showing up to World Cup games remains the best entries pic.twitter.com/yB7UCGZAQz
— Miriti Murungi (@NutmegRadio) June 8, 2019
After the USA’s thumping of Thailand, Carli Lloyd went up to Thai goalkeeper Sukanya Chor Charoenying and gave her a hug and some words of encouragement. Then the two had a very sweet interaction on Twitter.
All you can do is give it your best each and every day. Keep fighting and never give up!! Still 2 more games to play. ? https://t.co/pFW4wEK8Nb
— Carli Lloyd (@CarliLloyd) June 13, 2019
“I felt for her,” Lloyd told reporters Friday. “In the wins and losses, I think character is a true testament to the sport. … I just hope they continue to put their head up, continue to fight — and just keep going.”
Attorneys Unveil Plan For National Settlement Of Lawsuits From Opioid Epidemic
Attorneys who represent hundreds of local governments have a new proposal for how to deal with the opioid crisis. They unveiled the framework for nationwide settlement in federal court on Friday.
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
All right, attorneys representing hundreds of local governments around the country met this morning in Ohio. They unveiled a plan they hope will lead to a national settlement of lawsuits stemming from the opioid epidemic. Tens of billions of dollars are at stake. A lot of that money could go to helping people struggling with addiction, but big hurdles remain before the drug industry agrees to major payouts.
North Country Public Radio’s Brian Mann reports.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: The motion was filed in a federal court in Ohio by a team of attorneys who represent 1,200 counties, cities and towns that all say they need money to help respond to the opioid epidemic. One of those attorneys, Joe Rice, says they’ve been trying to reach a settlement with two dozen drugmakers and distributors that sold opioid medications. But during negotiations over the last year, companies haven’t signed on.
JOE RICE: The defendants don’t have a sense of how they get closure. How can they put this issue behind them? And with the whole country involved, it’s a difficult question.
MANN: The problem, says Richard Ausness, a professor at the University of Kentucky who follows opioid litigation, is that if companies like Purdue Pharma and McKesson settle for billions of dollars with one group of towns and cities, they could still face other litigation. What the drug industry wants, he says, is a deal that brings closure.
RICHARD AUSNESS: Because obviously they don’t want too many outliers suing them after they’ve settled with the majority. And this proposed settlement seems to anticipate that and try to provide for as much of a global settlement as is possible.
MANN: The plan unveiled today doesn’t include the dollar amounts for a settlement or a formula for who would pay. Negotiations haven’t gotten that far. What this plan does is lay out a deal where roughly 24,000 local governments would all be swept into a single group that could settle with drug companies together. Those communities would get to vote on any proposed payout. They could also opt out of the arrangements altogether. But attorney Joe Rice says he hopes for a lot of buy-in if this plan is approved by the court.
RICE: This is an attempt to bring a organizational load to the municipalities around the country in order they can speak with a voice.
MANN: This kind of closure and clarity could be an important bargaining chip because local governments hope for massive compensation, payouts that would rival the big tobacco settlements of the 1990s.
RICE: Tens of billions of dollars would be needed to make a significant – a real significant impact on this epidemic.
MANN: Attorneys for two of the drug companies involved in this lawsuit describe the proposal as interesting but preliminary. They said they haven’t had time to work through the details of how it would work. Some companies are also still reluctant to admit wrongdoing. Johnson & Johnson is facing a state civil trial right now in Oklahoma, accused of improperly marketing opioid products. Earlier this year, Jennifer Taubert, CEO of Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen division, testified before Congress, insisting the company isn’t responsible for the prescription opioid epidemic.
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JENNIFER TAUBERT: Everything that we have done with our products when we promoted opioid products, which we stopped marketing a long time ago, was very appropriate and responsible.
MANN: Joe Rice, attorney with the plaintiffs group that filed the motion today, says he doesn’t think this proposed settlement framework will resolve all opioid litigation against Big Pharma. But he does think it might allow companies or groups of companies to now come forward and cut a deal.
RICE: I think that the distributors could potentially all get on the same page. I think the manufacturers could potentially get on the same page.
MANN: The judge overseeing the consolidated federal opioid case in Ohio, Dan Polster, has been pushing for the parties to reach a settlement. So far, that’s been elusive, but sources tell NPR the creation of this new framework was one of the steps the court asked for to help make a final deal possible. Brian Mann, NPR News.
Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Worlds Colliding: Rhiannon Giddens And Francesco Turrisi
Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi.
Karen Cox/Courtesy of the artist
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Karen Cox/Courtesy of the artist
- “Ten Thousand Voices”
- “Pizzica Di San Vito”
- “Little Margaret”
Rhiannon Giddens and Francesco Turrisi are both gifted multi-instrumentalists and devoted students of music history. Each has dug into the past to illuminate the present and worked to give credit where credit is due for the way instruments and ideas have moved over time between people and places.
While Rhiannon’s work has focused on the influence of African traditions on what we think of as American music, Francesco is an expert in the often unacknowledged influence of Arabic and Middle Eastern music on what we think of as European sound. They found common ground in their quest to dispel false cultural narratives and turned it into gorgeous music on a new collaborative album called there is no Other. Hear their live performance in the player.
New Orleans Sues Big Oil
New Orleans is suing oil and gas companies to help it pay for flood protection. It’s a major move against an industry that’s key to the city’s economy.
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Living in New Orleans means living with the constant threat of flooding. After Hurricane Katrina, the federal government built a giant $14 billion flood-protection system. Now the city is trying to restore the marshes that protect it from storm surge. To pay for that, it is suing an industry that’s been key to the state’s economy. Tegan Wendland of member station WWNO and NPR’s energy and environment team reports.
TEGAN WENDLAND, BYLINE: New Orleans isn’t exactly on the coast, but it recently hired Anne Coglianese to manage coastal resilience.
ANNE COGLIANESE: I always have sneakers in my car, so I’m ready to be in the mud at any given moment.
WENDLAND: It’s a hot, sunny day. And Lake Pontchartrain laps at the shore to our left, the Gulf of Mexico to our right. This is the New Orleans Land Bridge, a shrinking strip of land just outside the city. Homes rise high on stilts, and the marshy wetlands stretch out for miles.
COGLIANESE: This is pretty much our last line of defense to keeping surge from the Gulf from coming into the lake and really putting pressure on our levees.
WENDLAND: These marshes act as natural buffers from storm surge. The problem is the land is disappearing. Like much of southern Louisiana, it’s naturally sinking, and then there’s sea level rise. But the biggest reason is the thousands of miles of channels that oil companies carve through these fragile marshes to get out to their rigs. Those channels have eroded and turned to open water. New Orleans mayor LaToya Cantrell.
LATOYA CANTRELL: We have to protect our people and property. And we have been damaged by offshore drilling. It is a fact. And we need protections in the future. And in order to get those protections, you need money.
WENDLAND: Cantrell says there is some money for restoration, mostly through the state. And she’s looking for more to pay for things like rebuilding the land bridge and urban projects, like rain gardens. So she’s suing a handful of oil and gas companies over those channels they carved through the marshes, including Chevron and Exxon Mobile. It’s a risky move in a city so tied to the industry.
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UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Don’t miss French Quarter Festival, presented by Chevron…
WENDLAND: There’s also Jazz Fest funded by Shell, summer camps funded by Chevron.
ANDY HOROWITZ: New Orleanians and Louisianans in general have often viewed the oil industry as kind of a benevolent corporate patron.
WENDLAND: Tulane environmental history professor Andy Horowitz says the legal action represents a big shift.
HOROWITZ: The lawsuit is, in part, a recognition that the oil industry has not been an unalloyed good for New Orleans or for Louisiana, that it’s caused a lot of damage here, too. Having the mayor claim it in a lawsuit and claim specific damages is a new step and a significant one.
WENDLAND: Six other parishes have filed similar suits. Gifford Briggs is the president of the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association, which represents many of the companies listed in the suits. He points out the city has been an energy hub for the Gulf of Mexico.
GIFFORD BRIGGS: And to think that that city has now turned on the industry that, to a large degree, sort of was the foundation and built that city up into a global energy community is very frustrating. And it’s unfortunate.
WENDLAND: He says fewer companies want to drill in Louisiana because of the suits. Meantime, Mayor Cantrell says the coast continues to wash away.
CANTRELL: New Orleans is a coastal city. It’s a fact. And because of that, yes, we are growing more vulnerable, and it is requiring us to do things differently.
WENDLAND: It could take years for the lawsuits to wind their way through the courts. And law experts say if the city wins, the money may be negligible, certainly not enough to rebuild all the land that’s disappeared. Still, it may force the oil and gas industry to step in and try to solve a problem it helped create.
For NPR News, I’m Tegan Wendland in New Orleans.
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Copyright © 2019 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
