Women's World Cup 2015: Friday's Day 21 Takeaways
Two of the four semifinalists are set after Germany and the United States stayed alive on Friday at the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.
In the first quarterfinal in Montreal, Germany survived a robust challenge from France, erasing a late deficit before winning in a penalty shootout.
Later, the U.S. played attractive football but scored just once in a 1-0 victory over China in Ottawa.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Germany and the U.S. will now face off in the semifinals on Tuesday in Montreal.
Here are the key takeaways from Day 21 at the Women's World Cup.
USA finally shows improvement
For the first time in five games, the U.S. is looking like a team capable of winning the World Cup.
The Americans scored just once in beating China in the quarterfinals, but Jill Ellis' side turned in its best performance of the tournament. The midfield, which had been a weakness to this point, improved with the introduction of Morgan Brian. In turn, the team played cohesive, attractive football for the first time in Canada.
And it all happened without star attackers Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday in the lineup.
Rapinoe and Holiday were both suspended because of yellow-card accumulation, and in their absence, Ellis drafted Brian and Kelley O'Hara into the starting lineup. Brian's introduction was the most crucial. Playing a deeper, more defensive role, Brian's presence allowed playmaker Carli Lloyd the freedom to attack. In doing so, Brian brought balance to the midfield, which in turn gave the U.S. the platform to play its best game of the tournament so far.
The Americans scored more against Colombia and Australia, but they haven't played better soccer at any point in Canada than they did against China. The team's passing and movement were solid, and for the first time, the U.S. relied on intricate, one-touch combinations to break down an opponent in the attacking third.
It all started with Brian's introduction to the starting lineup, and that means Ellis will have to make a difficult decision ahead of Tuesday's semifinal. The combination of Holiday and Lloyd hasn't worked. One could easily argue that Holiday is a better overall attacker than Lloyd, but Lloyd served as captain on Friday and scored for the second game in a row. It's hard to see Ellis dropping Lloyd, but she might have to think about keeping Holiday on the bench.
Meanwhile, the U.S. defense starred again, with Julie Johnston turning in another strong performance. In addition to shutting down China's attackers, Johnston played the ball into the box that resulted in Lloyd's game-winning goal. The U.S. has now shut out four straight opponents, which is an encouraging sign heading into the Germany game.
As Jeff Carlisle noted at espnW.com:
"It was another game where the defense shined, and the U.S. has now gone 423 minutes without conceding. In terms of the attack, the U.S. took some steps forward, creating more chances in this game (13) than any other in the tournament. But without question the Americans will need to deliver substantially more in order to prevail over Germany.
"
It's correct to argue that the U.S. will have to play even better to beat Germany, but the win over China represented the Americans' best performance of the tournament. That does not mean Ellis and the players can relax, confident in the knowledge they can perform up to their abilities.
It only sets the bar higher ahead of what should be the team's greatest challenge yet.
Germany barely survived, but that's all that matters
In what was probably the tournament's most anticipated match to this point, Germany defeated France on penalty kicks following a 1-1 draw in extra time. Germany, a side that had been dominant for most of its stay in Canada, was second-best on the day to France and was fortunate to advance.
But in knockout football, moving on is all that matters.
In the early stages, France stunned Germany with a thrilling attacking flourish and should have taken the lead in the very first minute. Elodie Thomis, who tormented Germany throughout her time on the pitch, created space with her speed down the right flank and picked out an unmarked Louisa Necib in the box. Necib sent her shot inches wide of the near post, and Germany escaped.
That turned out to be a theme of the match. Les Bleues continued to create multiple clear chances but could not open the scoring until the 64th minute. Following a poor clearance by Germany's Babett Peter, Necib hit a deflected shot that bent past Nadine Angerer and into the goal.
But Angerer and Germany would have the final say. The two-time champions pulled level in the 84th minute through Celia Sasic's penalty shot, and the referee's decision to award the spot kick infuriated France after Les Bleues were denied a similar claim in the first half. Then, in the penalty shootout, Angerer stopped Claire Lavogez's kick to give Germany a 5-4 win.
For Germany, the world's top-ranked team, the result will be all that matters. Up next is another stiff test against second-ranked USA, and after playing 120 minutes, Silvia Neid's team will need all three days between Friday and Tuesday to recover.
"It was hard to find our way into the match," Neid told FIFA.com. "We were poor in all areas of the pitch, and we were made to chase the ball. France were overwhelmingly fast and extremely skilful with the ball, and they kept their shape well."
Neid added: "Winning a match like this will give us a real confidence boost."
France, meanwhile, will regret a string of missed chances in the first half. Perhaps even more so, though, Les Bleues will rue the fact that they were unable to finish off what would have been a landmark win on the world's biggest stage. Philippe Bergeroo's team has beaten Germany and the U.S. in the past year—but only in friendlies.
The World Cup has been a different story, and to take the next step—that is, winning a World Cup—France most likely will have to beat one of those teams in a high-stakes knockout match eventually.
Germany vs. France could have been a final
The match between Germany and France was perhaps the best so far at the Women's World Cup and was fully worthy of being a final. Both teams played beautifully, and both had already proved themselves as two of the world's best during their impressive runs through the tournament.
But instead of a final, it was a quarterfinal. That was down to FIFA's shortsightedness in assigning seeds and scheduling the tournament.
Like most major tournaments, FIFA announced in advance which teams would be seeded for the Women's World Cup draw. But unlike most major tournaments, those teams were assigned to their groups before the draw. What's more, their paths through the knockout stage were determined in advance—if, that is, they finished first in their respective groups.
That means FIFA knew Germany and France could meet in the quarterfinals. That was poor judgment on the part of football's world governing body, considering Germany and France were the No. 1 and No. 3 teams in the world before the tournament.
Follow @MiguelCominguez
