U.S. vs. France was everything we hoped it would be
PARIS» The epic showdown between the U.S. and France was every ounce of what we anticipated it would be. It felt like it could have been the World Cup final, rather than a quarterfinal. It had quality play, it had drama, it had electric atmosphere … it was a match I will remember for a lifetime.
When you go into games like this with so much hype, there is a chance they will fail to live up to expectations, but this game was almost exactly what we thought it would be. The feeling in that stadium was intense, and people could feel the pressure of this game. The French were loud and proud. I have never been to a louder game in my life, complete with back and forth cheering and chanting as the French would attack, then the U.S. would defend. It was so entertaining and ear piercing.
The game was amazing. The French were going at the left side of our defense, and I thought left back Crystal Dunn had a great game, coming up big on multiple tackles and defensive plays. It wasn’t just her, but she constantly had a supporting defender. Whether it was Julie Ertz or Becky Sauerbrunn, they would provide cover after that initial one-v-one that didn’t allow France to get the momentum they were searching for.
Of course, getting an early goal in the fifth minute helped the U.S. cause. The free kick drawn by Alex Morgan was awesome, and in these big moments, set pieces are killers. Both teams scored on set pieces from very similar places on the field. Megan Rapinoe struck it low and hard, and with that many numbers in front of the goalkeeper, it makes it hard for her to see and it went straight into the back of the net.
In the second half, France changed some things tactically and created a lot of good options. It felt like the momentum was shifting slightly in France’s favor. Before the game, I felt like it was going to be a 2-1 game because it’s really hard to stop either one of these teams from scoring, and that’s how it turned out. Wendie Renard has been so dangerous on set pieces throughout this tournament and that is how she got the French back within one in the second half.
In the second half, there was a play France had where they probably had eight passes on one attack and six of the eight were one-touch passes, just playing through the U.S. lines. The U.S. had moments like that, too. It was beautiful, such good soccer. I was eating popcorn like a mad woman, crushing it because I was so nervous. These are the two best teams in the world, and they played like it.
The U.S. substitutes — Carli Lloyd, Christen Press and Golden’s Lindsey Horan — did a really good job. They all played very specific roles and played those roles to perfection.
It’s just a great, great, great win for the U.S. The celebrations of the team, the friends and family and the fans who were there, you could just feel what a big win it was. I will never forget this game as long as I live.