U.S. Women Stunned in World Cup Final

By - Kris Fletcher

Japan came from behind twice on Sunday to win the women's World Cup for the first time ever, beating the United States 3-1 on a penalty shoot-out after the final had finished at 2-2 in extra-time.

Photo by: Thorsten Wagner

Shannon Boxx, Carli Lloyd and Tobin Heath all missed shootout tries for the Americans, who blew tons of scoring chances throughout the game and coughed up the lead just six minutes away from winning their third World Cup title.

Japan captain Homare Sawa was awarded the Golden Boot as the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

"I cannot believe this," said Sawa, who was playing at her fifth World Cup. "I have always aimed to become world number one and it is hard to believe this is real, but I feel happy."

Japan is now 1-23-3 all-time against the United States.