By Tommy Kane

Published: July 2nd, 2019

The United States Women’s National Team defeated England, 2-1, in the 2019 World Cup Semifinal. The match took place in Lyon, France, on Jul. 2, 2019. With the victory, the Americans will go to their third-straight World Cup Final.

Prior to the match, the two rivals met in the 2019 SheBelieves Cup, where they drew, 2-2. Meeting in the Semifinals of the World Cup was a much-anticipated match.

To much of a surprise, Megan Rapinoe was kept out of the lineup and replaced by Christen Press. Much speculation led to a confirmed report by U.S. Soccer that she was dealing with a hamstring injury. The Americans needed to find a way to win without a prolific goal-scoring and playmaker, and they did.

Fast Start

The United States made no mistake in changing the way they have played all of the World Cup. Getting the early goal was the way to go, really for both sides. But, the U.S. were the ones to get the first tally.

Kelley O’Hara, who has made great passes recently, lobbed a beauty across the box and found Press’s head. Press (shown above on the left) headed the ball past English goalie, Carly Telford. Telford was playing in lieu of an injury to England’s #1 keeper, Karen Bardsley, who was having a stand-out World Cup.

Press lifted the American spirits early in the 10th minute, but nine minutes later, Ellen White did what she does best for England. Beth Mead found White and she was able to strike it past U.S. goalie, Alyssa Naeher, with the help of the post. The game was tied, 1-1, before the 20th minute.

American fans held their breath minutes after, as Alex Morgan went down and was a bit shaken up. Throughout the tournament, she had been dealing with nagging injuries. She was up quickly and play continued.

Speaking of Morgan (shown below), she celebrated her 30th birthday. She also broke a record. In the 31st minute, she cut in front of a defender at the right time and was able to knock in the ball with a header. The service from Lindsey Horan was perfect, and Morgan became the first play in Women’s World Cup history to score on their birthday.

To round out the first 45, Naeher made a great diving save to push the ball away and preserve the 2-1 lead. This was not the biggest save she had made yet, though.

Penalty Save and the Win

A slow and choppy start to the second half distorted the way both teams wanted to play. A few players went down hurt, but notably, Rose Lavelle went down and was subbed out. Lavelle had great strikes in the game and was clearly upset that her day was done too soon.

England found an opening later in the half. White made a deadly run between two American defenders and found herself on a breakaway, scoring the equalizer. Minutes later, it was ruled offsides and the Americans took a sigh of relief.

It didn’t end there, though. England found a way around defenders and was in the box. A great feed to White left her able to just get a touch and get a goal. Becky Sauerbrunn denied the goal by clipping the back foot of White, warranting a penalty shot for England. Steph Houghton took it, but Naeher (shown below) came up huge and saved it. The shot by Houghton was weak and went to the left, but Naeher still picked out the right spot and saved the game for the Americans.

In the process of running the clock out, Millie Bright earned her second yellow card for England by fouling Morgan. This made it difficult for England to strike back because they went down a player due to Bright getting her second yellow card of the match.

The final whistle sounded and the U.S. advanced to the 2019 World Cup Final by winning the match, 2-1. Both teams had four shots on target and England controlled the ball 53% of the time.

The Big Dance! Sweden or Netherlands?

On Jul. 7, 2019, at 11 AM EST in Lyon, France, the United States will take on either Sweden or the Netherlands at the 2019 FIFA World Cup Final. The Swedes and the Dutch will play on Jul. 3, 2019, at 3 PM EST to determine who will play the Americans. The U.S. is looking for their second-straight World Cup Championship, having won in 2015.

Sweden and the U.S. met in the Group Stage, where the U.S. won, 2-0. The Americans did not meet the Dutch in the 2019 World Cup (possibly yet).

The Stars and Stripes played a great game against the English, doing so without Rapinoe. Press played well in her role, helping out Morgan and Tobin Heath up front. Lavelle also had one of her best games. She looked confident on the ball and got a few goalscoring chances that were saved.

Defensively, the U.S. was not flawless, but overall they did well stopping the English attack. Besides, they held them to only one goal, which is unusual from England.

Naeher played her best game in a U.S. uniform. The penalty kick save, along with other huge saves, really won the game for the Americans. She looked confident throughout and improved since playing France in the Quarterfinals.

Lastly, the Americans were able to take advantage of turnovers. Throughout the tournament, the English were giving up chances and looked weaker on the backline. The U.S. was able to expose that, which helped get them the win.

Look for a career performance from all U.S. players in the Final. It will be interesting to see if Rapinoe and Lavelle are able to play as well.

GO USA! LET’S GET THE WORLD CUP AGAIN!

Match Stats Against England

Video Highlights Against England