Two quick goals dash host country’s hopes
ENGLAND 2, CANADA 1
VANCOUVER, Canada — Jodie Taylor and Lucy Bronze scored in the shocking first 14 minutes, and England eliminated Canada from its home World Cup with a 2-1 victory in the quarterfinals Saturday.
The Lionesses overcame a frenzied Canadian crowd at BC Place and a second-half goalie change to secure their nation’s first trip to the semifinals.
England crushed the hopes of a host nation hoping to celebrate Canada’s first World Cup title on this same field next month.
Instead, England will face defending champion Japan in the semifinals in Edmonton on Wednesday — which also happens to be Canada Day.
Christine Sinclair scored in the 42nd minute for Canada, which had given up just one goal in the entire World Cup before giving up two more just three minutes apart.
After Taylor scored the opener on a horrible turnover by Lauren Sesselmann, Bronze added an impressive long header to build a lead that England never relinquished.
Canada struggled to generate many good chances in the the scoreless second half. The drought slowly crushed the crowd of 54,027, most wearing red and supporting their plucky team.