England score own goal during injury time to lose Women’s World Cup semifinal in cruelest way possible

This might be the worst thing that has ever happened to anyone ever. With the score even at 1-1, and after England threatened to take the lead several times in the second half of their Women’s World Cup semifinal against defending champions Japan, Laura Bassett scored an own goal in the second minute of injury time.

If the England men’s team thought they had a monopoly on horrible World Cup exits, they were very, very wrong. This is the worst.

Both sides benefited from undeserved penalties in the first half, but England looked the better side as the match wore on. Until the worst thing imaginable actually happened, leaving everyone in the stadium in a suspended state of disbelief until the referee confirmed what they had all seen.

Japan will now face the U.S. for the third straight major tournament final in a row (2011 World Cup, 2012 Olympics, now this for the tiebreaker). England will face Germany in the third place match, but they really should be allowed to just go to a movie or something instead after this.

As difficult as it will be for the England players to consider right now, their performance at this tournament was still a tremendous achievement. It was the farthest they have ever gone in a World Cup and they showed great skill and resilience throughout. But…damn.

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