Women's World Cup 2015 Bracket: Quarterfinal Results After Friday Fixtures
Two spots in the semifinals at the Women's World Cup were up for grabs Friday, with Germany facing France in the day's first game and the United States taking on China in the second.
Below, we'll take a look back at both results and recap an exciting day of soccer.
Results
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| Germany | 1-1 (5-4) | France |
| United States | 1-0 | China |
United States Dominates China, 1-0
It wasn't always pretty. It wasn't always easy. But it was pretty dominant nonetheless, as the United States knocked off China 1-0 in a performance that was far more impressive than the score indicated.
Carli Lloyd was the hero in this one, as her 51st-minute header off a long ball into the box from Julie Johnston was all the United States needed to advance to the semifinals, where mighty Germany awaits.
The win also kept quite the impressive streak alive for the USWNT, per Paul Carr of ESPN:
While China ultimately held 51 percent of possession, the United States were all over the Chinese in this one—particularly in an energetic, dominant first half—outshooting the Chinese 17-7 (5-2 on goal) and earning four corners to China's three.
The team's defense continued to shine as well, per the USWNT on Twitter:
It's worth noting that this was a United States team without Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday—both suspended for accumulating yellow cards—while Abby Wambach also started on the bench for tactical reasons. At less than full strength, however, the Americans responded.
The United States probably should have had a goal within two minutes, as Amy Rodriguez was played through the middle of China's defense and found herself one-on-one with the keeper. Her wrong-footed chip attempt missed badly, however, and served as a metaphor for the first half that would follow, as the United States swarmed the Chinese and kept them trapped on their side of the pitch, though the USWNT couldn't put the ball in the net.
The goal wouldn't come until the second half when Lloyd struck. Really, she was just following her captain's instructions, as Wambach was caught on camera telling her teammates to score within the first 10 minutes of the second half and they delivered.
The United States as a team continue to baffle a bit, however. Perhaps they are simply victim to the weight of the expectations placed upon them, but they haven't put together a complete performance at this tournament yet. Kyle McCarthy of Fox Sports thinks they'll need to be better against Germany to advance:
Dan Levy of Bleacher Report, on the other hand, thought the performance was an improvement from what they showed against Colombia:
Facing Germany will be a very stiff test for the United States, however. For some, these were the top two teams coming into the tournament, and this game will have the feel of a final. The one benefit for the United States might be that Germany will be recovering from a rigorous, overtime game against France, while the United States didn't even play all of its top players for a full game against China.
The stage is set for a clash of titans on Tuesday night. If the United States can finally put together a complete performance, they're going to be very tough to beat.
Germany Beats France on Penalties, 1-1 (5-4)
One save.
The difference between France and Germany after 120 minutes of play and 10 penalty kicks, with a place in the semifinals on the line, was one save.
And Germany's Nadine Angerer was the woman who made it.
With Germany up 5-4 on penalties after the match ended 1-1, Angerer stared France's Claire Lavogez down, guessed correctly and made a huge save to earn Germany a thrilling victory.
Louisa Necib scored for France in regulation, while Celia Sasic converted a penalty 20 minutes later in the second half for Germany, but Angerer was the hero.
Julie Stewart-Binks of Fox Sports noted that Angerer was in the zone in the shootout:
Arsenal star and German international Mesut Ozil also gave Angerer a shout-out after the contest:
In the end, France held 53 percent of possession, outshot the Germans 24-17 (though the Germans had seven shots on goal to France's four) and held a 7-5 advantage in corners. It was a brutal loss for the French, given how well they played for much of the match, and was a game that didn't feel like a quarterfinal, per Ives Galarcep of Soccer By Ives:
France was the better team for much of the match—especially in the first half, when it dominated possession and had several excellent chances to score—but the Germans appeared to weather the storm and come into the game in the second half.
That changed in an instant, however, with one shot from Necib and a bit of luck.
Necib's goal in the 64th minute looked as though it might be the difference. After a poor clearance from the German defense, Necib let rip from just outside the box. Her shot needed a bit of fortune to find the back of the net, however, as it deflected off a German defender and past the outstretched hand of Angerer.
For Necib, it was a moment of redemption after a rough tournament to this point. The team benched the star midfielder to start its group-stage match against Mexico, and she wasn't as huge a factor as many expected of her until the quarterfinals. That changed Friday, however, per OptaJoe:
"6 - #FRA's Louisa Necib scored with her 6th shot of the game, after mustering just 6 shots in total in the 4 previous #FIFAWWC games. Stage.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 26, 2015"
But Sasic evened things up in the 84th minute.
Much as the French had been a bit lucky on their own goal, they were unlucky when they conceded. A handball blocked Leonie Maier's turning attempt to cross the ball in the box, though it didn't appear to be intentional. It appeared the call could have gone either way, but the referee pointed to the spot.
The Germans weren't complaining. That put the ball in Sasic's court, and she delivered, calmly sending French keeper Sarah Bouhaddi the wrong way and slotting her effort into the bottom left corner to even the score.
And so the game went into overtime, with fatigue settling in and both teams making their final substitutions. Nonetheless, the first 15 minutes were an open affair, with both teams creating opportunities they couldn't cash in on.
The second 15-minute session was a bit more cagey and reserved, however, as both teams were visibly exhausted. France looked like the better team in the second 15 after Germany dominated the first 15, but neither team could score, sending the game to penalties.
Angerer was brilliant in the shootout, but so were the German takers, as Melanie Behringer, Simone Laudehr, Babett Peter, Dzsenifer Marozsan and Sasic all converted. The French matched them through their first four takers, as Gaetane Thiney, Camille Abily, Necib and Wendie Renard found the net, but Lavogez's effort wasn't good enough to beat the German keeper.
Now, the team many people felt was the best in the world coming into this tournament awaits the winner of the United States-China match later Friday evening. The match most folks would love to see would pit the Germans against the Americans, two of the deepest and most talented teams in this tournament, in a semifinal that would feel much like a final.
The Germans will have some major recovering to do after an exhausting and rigorous match against the French. But the Germans also showed great resilience against a French side that looked to have them on the ropes.
And nothing is more dangerous than a team that can match its talent with its poise and grit.
