U.S. players see need to remain aggressive in semifinal against top-ranked Germany
OTTAWA, Ontario — Megan Rapinoe is so done with her exile to the spectators’ seats at the Women’s World Cup.
Bring on Germany, said the U.S. midfielder, who had to sit out the 1-0 victory over China in the quarterfinals of soccer’s biggest tournament. The confidence-boosting win sent the second-ranked Americans on to a semifinal match against topranked Germany on Tuesday in Montreal.
“Huge match,” Rapinoe said. “No. 1 against No. 2 in the world. They’ve had a great tournament so far, but hopefully they’re a little tired.”
Rapinoe was referring to Germany’s quarterfinal, a penalty-kick victory over France on Friday.
Rapinoe watched the U.S. quarterfinal from the stands at Ottawa’s Lansdowne Stadium with team- mate Lauren Holiday. They were suspended for the match because of yellowcard accumulation — both had received their second yellows in the knockoutround opener against Colombia. Both will be back for Germany.
The Germans trailed third-ranked France 1-0 until Celia Sasic’s equalizing penalty kick in the 84th minute, then goalkeeper Nadine Angerer stopped Claire Lavogez in the final attempt of a shootout as Germany prevailed 5-4 on penalty kicks.
Like the Americans, Germany has two World Cup titles, in 2003 and 2007. The United States seeks its first title since 1999.
Longtime rivals
The two have met three times in the World Cup, with the United States winning twice. But Germany claimed the last meeting, a 3-0 victory in 2003. Overall, the Americans are 18- 4-7 against the Germans.
The United States has made it to the semifinals in every World Cup since the first in 1991.
The Americans made it this year because of Dash midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored the lone goal against China. Lloyd, 32, roamed freely, because of tweaks to the lineup, for another big moment.
Lloyd had the winning goal in overtime to beat Brazil for the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and scored both U.S. goals in the 2012 Olympics London final win against Japan.
The U.S. team also was boosted by its defense, which has been the team’s biggest asset throughout the tournament while the offense has sputtered.
The United States has not conceded a goal in 423 minutes, with the lone goal against the Americans coming in the tournament opener against Australia. Hope Solo, who set a re- cord for a U.S. goalkeeper with her 134th win against No. 16 China, has put up four straight shutouts.
Confidence builder
Kelley O’Hara and Dash midfielder Morgan Brian were called on to replace Rapinoe and Holiday, who had been among the most effective players for the United States to that point in the tournament. Brian, 22, sat back in the pocket, allowing Lloyd to create.
The Americans had a 17-6 advantage in shots and 56 percent possession, creating more chances than in the 2-0 round-of-16 win over Colombia. The team looked more organized and pressed China.
“This game was huge for our confidence going into that semifinal match,” Lloyd said. “Even players who were pressuring and taking risks, if it didn’t work out, we tried again. And I think that’s what we need to do to be successful.”