AP Photo/Martin MeissnerThe U.S. team has spent less time tapering off its training regime -- going harder, longer. The result has players going into games fresher and playing with less fatigue.MONCHENGLADBACH , Germany -- Any player who isn't willing to admit she is a little tired at this point in the Women's World Cup, "isn't being realistic," said U.S. forward Abby Wambach.
And both the American and French sides have more of a claim to fatigue than the other two teams remaining in the tournament. Both played more than 120 minutes of soccer in their quarterfinal games before moving on to penalty kicks.
The U.S. squad played more than an hour of soccer one player short after Rachel Buehler was dismissed with a red card.
The French, having defeated England a day earlier, will have had 24 hours more rest and recuperation before Wednesday's Women's World Cup semifinal. It is the first time in six appearances the U.S. team will have less rest than its opponent.
French coach Bruno Bini said the fitness advantage remains with the Americans. In fact, he insisted on it a few times in Tuesday's prematch news conference at Borussia Park.
"The Americans are in such better shape than we are that we needed an extra day to regenerate," Bini said.
In America, we call that sandbagging. But the truth is, it really doesn't seem to matter -- the team with more rest has only a 7-6-1 advantage in World Cup knockout rounds. And the U.S. might be in its best physical condition in recent years.
Team trainer Dawn Scott came on board in January 2010. The team had been without a fitness coach, Scott said, since after the 2008 Olympics.
"At first it was a lot of assessments and determine where the players were at," she said.
And then came the failure at the World Cup qualifier in Mexico City and the playoff games with Italy that ultimately earned the U.S. team its berth into this tournament.
"I think that was partly a reality check and partly an assessment of where we were at and where we needed to go," Scott said.
Scott said the team has spent less time tapering off before games through tournament play -- in essence going harder, longer.
"I think that's pushed up our fitness even more," she said. "The players are reaping the benefits even more now, going into games fresher than they've ever been and playing games that are not as fatigued as they have previously."
But Scott said it is more than mere conditioning. It has been a process of education and developing "recuperative states."
"We have helped them with their recovery strategies, things like nutrition and hydration and natural strategies like ice baths and cooling sessions," Scott said. "There's been more education on the little things like that that can be a .1 percent difference and that can make all the difference."
Bini said he has convinced the French club teams, where many of his players play when they are not with the national team, to adopt the same fitness regimens he requires.
"We are prepared," he said, when asked about his team's fitness. "It's very easy after a victory to be in shape. When you score in the 86th minute and you were almost on the plane going home, it's very easy to get in better shape."
Wambach conceded that the French will have had an extra day.
"But it doesn't matter," Wambach said. "We're fit. We're ready. We're not going to make any excuses. The thing we are going to take away from this tournament, that we take away from this journey, is that we've had a thousand opportunities to make excuses. The reason we pulled out that win against Brazil is that we refused to excuse ourselves for losing.
"In the end, it's all about will, grit and who wants it more."
Wambach said the players, young and older, know how to take care of their bodies.
"Everybody knows what's best for their bodies," Wambach said. "We get massage and treatment and drink recovery shakes and have more food and drink. We don't approach this any different."
U.S. midfielder Megan Rapinoe said the U.S. players take pride in their physical fitness.
"It's going to play a huge role," she said. "Both teams played overtime games. France is very fit. They scored in the 90th minute of their game and took it all the way through. But this is what you work for. You have to dig deep and have an extra gear at this level.
"That's something we've always prided ourselves on and something that's always there for the U.S."
