England vs. Canada: Score, Twitter Reaction from 2015 Women's Soccer World Cup

Despite playing in front of a hostile crowd at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada, England defeated hosts Canada 2-1 Saturday night to advance to the Women's World Cup semifinals for the first time in team history. 

The Three Lionesses jumped on the Canadians early as both forward Jodie Taylor and defender Lucy Bronze scored in the first 14 minutes of the match. Canada's Christine Sinclair answered in the 42nd minute, but the hosts couldn't find a way to tie it.

England will now take on defending World Cup champion Japan for a right to face either the United States or Germany in the 2015 Women's World Cup final.

As pointed out by Mick Dennis of the Daily Express, Saturday's victory was one of the most significant accomplishments in the history of English soccer:

Before England seize control of the contest with two early strikes, the Canadians looked poised to score the first goal of the match. In the eighth minute, Sinclair pulled off some dazzling moves and set up Melissa Tancredi, who missed the net with her attempt.

That missed chance prompted some criticism from ESPN's Julie Foudy:

Tancredi's failure to score became even more costly for Canada just three minutes later, when Taylor took advantage of a miscue from the hosts' back line to put England ahead 1-0.

The chance began with Canadian defender Lauren Sesselmann failing to handle a pass and falling down inside her own half. Taylor quickly took possession of the ball and beat goalkeeper Erin McLeod with a strong, low shot.

Paul Chapman of the Province placed the blame on Canadian head coach John Herdman for his lineup decisions:

The early marker clearly energized England, and they added another goal three minutes later when Bronze headed a ball from midfielder Fara Williams just over McLeod, off the bar and into the net to make it 2-0.

It was a shot that McLeod probably should have handled since it was placed just over her head, but England certainly wasn't complaining about the two-goal lead.

Not only did Bronze's second goal in as many games put the Three Lionesses in firm control of the match, it also made English women's soccer history, according to ESPN's Paul Carr:

Two-goal advantages are always massive in soccer since coming back from that deficit is extremely difficult. ESPN Stats & Info truly put Canada's uphill climb into perspective:

After England's second goal, Heather Mitts of Fox Sports 1 stressed how important it was for them not to allow Canada back in the match:

The pressure was on Canada to provide an answer in front of their home crowd, and while England were able to maintain their advantage for the next half hour, the Canadians finally got on the board in the 42nd minute.

Sinclair pounced on a rebound and directed it past goalkeeper Karen Bardsley for the 155th international goal of her career, and more importantly, Canada's first goal of the match.

Henry Winter of the Daily Telegraph felt Bardsley could have done a better job corralling the initial shot, which she bundled right into Sinclair's path:

It was an unfortunate miscue from England's perspective, but it was huge for the Canadians. That strike cut the lead in half and rejuvenated the crowd in a big way, per Ed Willes of the National Post:

Although England entered the locker room with the lead, Canada clearly had momentum on their side. Because of that, Winter put the onus on English head coach Mark Sampson to get his squad prepared for the closing 45 minutes:

An interesting plot twist occurred in the 52nd minute when Bardsley had to be subbed off due to an apparent eye injury caused by the turf. Siobhan Chamberlain took her place in net.

Julie Stewart-Binks of Fox Sports 1 described the scene after Bardsley came off the pitch:

Rather than attempting to put Canada on the ropes with a third and decisive goal, England were clearly content to salt the clock away with a defensive posture despite the goalkeeper change.

Marc Weber of the Province questioned if that cautious approach might ultimately come back to haunt the Three Lionesses:

While the Canadians did all they could to pressure England and their replacement goalkeeper, Sampson's team kept its shape and prevented the hosts from creating too many high-quality scoring chances.

Canada were spurred on by their supportive fans, but they couldn't find an equalizer, and their dream of winning the World Cup on home turf was dashed.

Perhaps England's victory shouldn't be considered an upset since they are ranked No. 6 to Canada's No. 8 in the FIFA world rankings, but the fact that Canada were playing familiar surroundings made them the favorites.

Unfortunately for the Canadians, playing at home may have been their downfall as early jitters put them behind early, and they were never able to fully dig out of that hole.

England, on the other hand, showed a great deal of mettle by clinging to a one-goal lead for an entire half, and that should give them confidence against Japan.

The Three Lionesses will once again be expected by most to lose considering Japan's success at the last Women's World Cup, but they showed Saturday they have the depth, talent and toughness to compete with the best teams on the planet.

Post-Match Reaction

Following what was a hard-fought and emotional match for the teams involved, both managers expressed great pride with regard to how their players fought and performed Saturday night.

As expected, Sampson was a bit more upbeat considering he and England will have a chance to face Japan for a spot in the Women's World Cup final.

The Three Lionesses boss said he was extremely impressed by his team's ability to come through despite the adversity it faced, according to Gary Rose of BBC.com:

"

What a show of resilience and character. We didn't play much football today, Canada were outstanding, but this team just won't give in. I don't know where this team found their energy. We got ourselves through and I could not be prouder. Every player run through brick walls for this team. We had to get to levels we have never been before. It was a do-or-die game and we came out on top.

"

Herdman was similarly pleased with Canada's effort, but he acknowledged they didn't have the killer instinct they needed, per Laura Armstrong of the Toronto Star:

In addition to praising his squad, Herdman also seemed to take a shot at England's support of women's soccer after turning down an opportunity to coach for his home country, according to Nancy Armour of USA Today:

Herdman also stressed how huge the 2015 Women's World Cup will be for soccer in Canada moving forward, per Richard Zussman of CBC Vancouver:

While Herdman and Team Canada are now looking way ahead, greatness could be part of England's not-too-distant future.

This already represents the furthest England have ever advanced at the Women's World Cup, and although they are playing with house money in the eyes of many, it is unlikely they will be satisfied with that.

The Three Lionesses are just two wins away from becoming world champions, and they may very well have a team capable of achieving that goal.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter.