USA vs. Colombia: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 Women's Soccer World Cup

The United States knocked out Colombia and advanced to the quarterfinals Monday following a 2-0 victory in Edmonton at the 2015 Women's World Cup.

Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd were the two goalscorers, with both of their tallies coming after the halftime interval.

Although the United States maintained 53 percent possession and got six shots on target, per FIFA.com, it was far from what you'd call a convincing win. Most American supporters will likely feel the team's performance was a little underwhelming. Tactically, the U.S. weren't very adventurous, and they received a major helping hand in the second half. 

Ultimately, though, Soccer Morning's Jason Davis is correct in pointing out the result is all that matters:

Looking at the quality of their opponents, many will feel the United States should've taken greater command.

Colombia entered the match as fairly substantial underdogs to the United States. Whereas the U.S. are among the most decorated and talented teams in the tournament, Colombia had never been further than the group stage before this year and sit 28th in the FIFA rankings.

Colombian star Lady Andrade took exception to what she felt was disrespect coming from her opponents' camp.

"They belittle us. They think we're a team they're going to walk all over and it will be an easy game for them," she said, per Paul Logothetis for USA Today. "We're going to beat them since they like to talk so much."

Andrade's comments certainly stirred the pot before the match, and if the United States were at all lacking motivation ahead of the round of 16, then the opposition gave them plenty.

Through the first half, though, the Americans looked more like the underdogs. Rather than controlling the match on the ground and dictating the flow with sustained possession, they instead relied on the sort of long-ball tactics often utilized by teams in an effort to bridge a talent gap.

On one hand, you could understand why head coach Jill Ellis might opt for a more direct approach. Abby Wambach benefits more from aerial service, but the strategy wasn't paying any sort of dividends. ESPN.com's Jeff Borzello hoped to see a more proactive style from the U.S.:

Wambach had a goal wiped off the board in the fourth minute after she was rightfully ruled offside. Other than that, the United States mustered few real goalscoring opportunities.

They constantly worked the ball into wide areas and then crossed into the box to little success. It wasn't a terrible first half, since the score was still 0-0, but American fans quite rightly expected more from such a talented squad.

Two developments in the first half will also have a major impact on the United States in the quarterfinals. Both Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe picked up yellow cards, which rules them out of the next match. Rapinoe in particular has been one of the United States' best players, so her absence will leave a major hole in the squad against China.

Soccer writer Charles Boehm worries for the U.S. without Rapinoe:

Of course, the squad couldn't afford to look ahead given its first-half struggles.

Colombian goalkeeper Catalina Perez provided a major assist in the 47th minute after she brought Morgan down just inside the 18-yard box. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and sent off Perez.

Colombia had little argument since Perez's tackle did come inside the penalty area, and she was the last defender between Morgan and the goal.

As a result, Wambach had a glorious opportunity to put the United States ahead. Instead, her penalty was left of the mark, missing the goal frame entirely. Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl felt Wambach's first objective should've been simply getting her kick on frame:

Between that missed penalty and the necessity for Ellis to cater the tactics to her style, the Shin Guardian's Matthew Tomaszewicz wondered if Wambach's inclusion in the starting XI was doing more harm than good:

The missed penalty, however, proved inconsequential when Morgan scored in the 53rd minute to make it 1-0. She received the ball on the right edge of the 18-yard box, turned and let the ball run a few yards before unleashing a right-footed shot that beat Stefany Castano at the near post.

NBC Sports' Jeff Kassouf thought the U.S. benefited from Castano entering the game just minutes earlier:

Things got even worse for Colombia in the 65th minute after Angela Clavijo fouled Rapinoe in the box, giving the United States another penalty. Lloyd stepped up to the spot this time, and her PK sent Castano the wrong way, doubling the Americans' lead.

Soccer writer Leander Schaerlaeckens highlighted an important fact regarding the two penalties and the two players the U.S. will miss in the quarterfinals:

That second goal all but eliminated Colombia. They had failed to mount much of an attack before Perez's sendoff. Between that and a 2-0 deficit, the Colombians would've needed a herculean effort in the final 24 minutes to either win or push the match to extra time.

In the end, the U.S. defense maintained the clean sheet. United States men's national team star Jozy Altidore applauded the USWNT's effort:

"

Well done ladies! On to the next round, keep it going!!! #USA #USWNT

— Jozy Altidore (@JozyAltidore) June 23, 2015"

The final score doesn't necessarily illustrate the true difference between the two teams. The red card completely turned the tide of the match. Without it, you could easily envision penalties deciding the outcome after extra time.

Lloyd admitted the team still hasn't played their best soccer, per Jere Longman of the New York Times: “We keep telling everybody we haven’t peaked yet. We still have a few more games to go for that.”

ESPN FC's Michael Caley used an expected-goals chart to show how the U.S. lacked creativity throughout the match:

"

xG map for #USA-#COL. Winning is winning, but the lack of attacking ideas 11v10 was not heartening. pic.twitter.com/cf0gMuK4LZ

— Michael Caley (@MC_of_A) June 23, 2015"

Needless to say, the United States will need to be much better in the quarterfinals. China have allowed three goals—one of which was a somewhat dubious penalty in the 92nd minute against Canada—all tournament.

Breaking down the Chinese defense would've been tough for the U.S. at full strength. Take out Rapinoe and Holiday and the task becomes even more difficult.