Other than Germany, this is a group of underachievers. Japan have only escaped the group phase once, Canada haven't done it yet, and Argentina are just happy to be here. Germany, for their part, have won five European championships but only reached the Women's World Cup final once.

ARGENTINA
What was Argentina's greatest accomplishment at USA 2003? Well... umm... how about this: Coach José Carlos BORELLO predicted Germany's championship. This was a tournament with few bright spots for the ladies from the pampas; as an example, only 39 minutes into their first match, Natalia GATTI was sent off for a reckless challenge on Japan's Tomoe SAKAI. This ended up the only red card given in the entire tournament. Argentina lost that match 6-0, and after a 3-0 loss to Canada, they were eliminated with one match still to play. Yanina GAITÁN scored in their 6-1 loss to Germany, but even though they were horribly outclassed, they can be proud that their level of play rose steadily over the three matches.

JAPAN
This was their fourth straight Women's World Cup in which Japan ended up third or fourth in their group. The easy win over Argentina made things look good for them, but 3-0 and 3-1 losses to Germany and Canada respectively showed that they are still not quite in the world's top class. Homare SAWA gave Japan an early lead against Canada, but the Canadians stepped up in the second half, having equalised in the 37th minute. Japan could not solve Canada's dynamic attack, conceded the winning goal, and then gave up a third. On the whole, they looked great against inferior opposition [Argentina] and lousy against superior opposition [Germany], but not quite good enough against equal opposition [Canada].

CANADA
Even PELLERUD has become a miracle worker in the Bora MILUTINOVIC mold. He lifted the Women's World Cup as Norway's coach in 1995, and with Canada, he inherited a team that hadn't yet won anything. He added a fearless mindset that took them to overtime against the US in the 2002 CONCACAF Women's Gold Cup final. So, when the Big Red opened the Women's World Cup against Germany, they said, "Why the heck not," and got a fourth minute goal from Christine SINCLAIR. They eventually lost 4-1, but in the process they served notice to future opponents.

After big wins over Argentina and Japan, they drew China PR in the quarterfinals. Again they tallied early, with forward-turned-defender Charmaine HOOPER racing in to score on a cross from Diana MATHESON in the seventh minute. But this time they withstood the opposing pressure to earn a semifinal berth for the first time; Hooper called it, quite rightly, Canada's greatest win. In the semifinal against Sweden, Kara LANG made it 1-0 with 25 minutes left, but Canada conceded two goals in the last twelve minutes. A loss to the US left Canada in fourth place, but the Canadian players should be motivated toward greater heights in future.

GERMANY
If you didn't see it for yourself, you could be forgiven for thinking that Germany waltzed to their first Women's World Cup title. 25 goals scored? Four goals allowed? Five straight wins by three goals or more? Well, consider that Germany were in the easy half of the draw. They never played Norway, or Brazil, or China PR. But when they did play elite squads, they still looked good. A comeback win over Canada and an open door match against the US that they only slammed shut in stoppage time made them deserved finalists.

And when they took the pitch against Sweden at the Home Depot Center - the US's new soccer cathedral - they were heavy favourites. They gave up one to Hanna LJUNGBERG just before the interval, but mere seconds after halftime Maren MEINERT received a pass from Birgit PRINZ and, with no defenders nearby, raced in to beat keeper Caroline JÖNSSON. Both keepers were highly active as the second half wound down, and substitute Nia KÜNZER scored the golden goal with a 98th minute header.

"Canada? A win over Germany is within their grasp, but they should concentrate on fighting off their other opponents." We made a rare correct guess in this group: Canada did concentrate on fighting off their other opponents and succeeded. Germany were the obvious class of this group, and they ended the tournament the obvious class of the world.