KEY POINTS:
Heads in hands, tears flowing, the American players slumped to the North Harbour Stadium pitch, their dream shattered.
Hand in hand, their delighted North Korean opponents ran excitedly around the ground, their dream come true.
The Koreans had just beaten the Americans 2-1 after an extra-time goal to win the first Fifa Under-17 Women's World Cup.
As the drummers continued their incessant beating, the Koreans briefly halted their victory lap to accept congratulations from the German team, who earlier beat England 3-0 to take third place.
Even the sceptics had to admit the young soccer-playing women from 16 nations had turned on the biggest early-summer show in town.
The 16,162 fans who basked in the sunshine at North Harbour Stadium yesterday for the medal matches took the spectator count for the 32 matches to 212,504 - only 4348 fewer than flocked to games for the equivalent men's tournament in Auckland in 1999, when 22,000 watched the final between Brazil and Australia.
At the 2006 Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup in Russia, the total attendance was 52,630.
Yesterday's game brought together the ever-competitive, ever-combative North Koreans and Americans with a Peruvian referee and Brazilian assistants.
That all the players were born after January 1, 1991, could have been easily forgotten, such was the standard of their play.
Games were exciting and hard-fought, but without the theatrics that mar too many men's matches.
The tournament was played in the best traditions of Fifa's call for fair play - there was barely a booking a game, and only three red cards.
After receiving their silver medals, and having their goalkeeper, Taylor Vancil, voted the best of the tournament, the dejected Americans formed a guard of honour and congratulated the Korean team as they walked up the steps to receive their medals and trophy from the president of the Oceania Football Confederation, Reynald Temari of Tahiti, and Fifa representative Franz Beckenbauer of Germany.
Then, with Dave Dobbyn's Slice of Heaven and Loyal playing, the Americans unfurled a huge banner that said, "Thank You New Zealand". It was that kind of tournament.
