Amandine Henry, the decorated France captain, came out of the locker room before Friday’s World Cup quarter-final with a serious look on her face. The furrow of her brow gave away her concern and, whether it was stress or merely steely determination, her teammates looked similarly grave.

In contrast when Megan Rapinoe, the leader and tone-setter of the US team, walked out moments later, she looked like she was taking a leisurely stroll in the park. Her body language was loose, and she looked around, seemingly taking in the sights and sounds of a packed and raucous Parc de Princes. She casually chatted with teammate Alex Morgan, who was similarly relaxed.

The pressure right from the first whistle seemed to be entirely on France, the hosts who were starting to see their nation fall in love with the women’s national team at long last. The French players had seemingly internalized the enormity of Friday’s blockbuster quarter-final and were playing like they had everything to lose.

“Yes, there was pressure but was a good pressure because we have a lot of support with us,” Henry said after the game, which ended in a 2-1 defeat for her team. “But on the field, it was hard because they scored early. After that, to score against USA is difficult.”

Indeed, it was Rapinoe who scored in less than five minutes to put the US ahead, which practically sealed USA’s win. After all, the US have never lost in a World Cup after scoring first. France have always lost after conceding first.

Following her opening goal – which accidentally nutmegged Julie Ertz and Henry en route to the net – Rapinoe posed as if to say, “Ta-da! It’s me!” It was quintessential Rapinoe.

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She followed that up by pouncing on a deflected ball in the 65th minute for her second goal, without any French defenders tracking her run. Rapinoe joked that she almost had too much time to think about how to finish, but her strike was expertly placed. There was no second-guessing.

Yet, it had been the sort of week that might drag other players down. Tweeter-in-chief Donald Trump criticized comments she made months ago about not wanting to visit the White House, making Rapinoe the latest target of the president’s most fervent supporters. And the dust-up happened ahead of what had been hyped as the biggest quarter-final game in Women’s World Cup history — “a total shitshow circus,” as Rapinoe had called it in the days leading up to the game.

Not that the attention appeared to faze Rapinoe. She was unflappable this week taking questions from reporters about the Trump ordeal, and that cool carried over into the match. “I don’t really get energized by haters,” Rapinoe explained after the game. “I feel like there’s so many more people that love me so I’m like, ‘This is great!’ I’m more energized by that.”

Indeed, her teammates and coach Jill Ellis have expressed nothing but support and admiration for Rapinoe. “Pinoe’s such a special person because people just gravitate to her,” midfielder Rose Lavelle said. “She’s such a fun, unique person off the field and it helps on the field – she’s someone people want to listen to and learn from. She’s helped carry us through the tournament.”

With five goals, including a brace against both Spain and France, it’s plausible to argue that Rapinoe has been carrying the US team. The Americans looked at ease in the quarter-final, and there was no better embodiment of that feeling than Rapinoe. The majority of USA’s attacks were initiated down the left, Rapinoe’s side of the field. Crystal Dunn and Samantha Mewis kept feeding Rapinoe the ball. That wasn’t necessarily deliberate – Rapinoe was just in the zone. As defender Becky Sauerbrunn put it: “When a player’s on, you find that player more often that not.”

Rapinoe wasn’t wearing the captain’s arm band on Friday, but no player has influenced the US this year more than the 33-year-old, who plays the way she seems to approach life: with flair, irreverence, and supreme confidence. Morgan afterward called her “the heart of the team.”

France by comparison looked tense and stern coming into Friday’s clash. Later, as the game drifted away from them, they looked flustered and desperate. In the 78th minute, Henry fired a slow, skipping shot that USA goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher did well to smother, and the French captain winced.

What makes Henry so exceptional as a captain is her intensity and physicality. She can do it all – score from distance, spray passes around the field or break up play with crunching tackles. But she and her teammates could never quite throw a poised US team off their game.

Even though France eventually pulled a goal back, it never felt as if France were about to stage a complete comeback. “We have had quarter-final defeats haunting us for a while,” French coach Corrine Diacre said afterward.

For the hosts, who now have failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics because of the Friday’s loss, the narrative continues. The pressure, the moment was too big for them. “We had never seen a full stadium,” Henry admitted. “It’s a path for the women’s sport and we have to continue to work.”

For the US and Rapinoe though, it’s on to the semi-final round, and they too are aware of the stage they are on. “Everyone understands the gravity of the moment,” Rapinoe said. On Tuesday, we will see which one of England and the US handle that gravity best.