So on Sunday, as she awaited the penalty-kick shootout, Solo took in the crowd. She let the noise wash over her. The United States had been a player down for the final 25 minutes of regulation and all 30 minutes of overtime but kept its resolve and tied the score. And now Solo felt a kind of release. If others were tense, she was relaxed.

“I just wanted to enjoy this moment because in 2007, I wasn’t able to do that,” she said. “I was at peace, clear-headed, right where I needed to be.”

When Daiane, the third Brazilian shooter, set up for her penalty kick, Solo made her wait. She moved unhurriedly in the goal mouth, stalling, trying to spot something that would betray Daiane’s intent. Finally, she did. The way Daiane ran toward the ball, the arc of her approach, was the giveaway. She was behind the ball and her hips opened, and the ball could go in only one direction. Solo dived to her right and punched the ball away, and the Americans soon advanced to the semifinals to face France here Wednesday.

Image "This is what I live for," Solo said. "I’ve prepared my entire life for this moment.” Credit... Marcio Jose Sanchez/Associated Press

It will be a challenge. The United States is playing on short rest after a physically and emotionally draining quarterfinal. France plays elegant possession soccer. And the Americans will have to make a change in central defense. Rachel Buehler is suspended with a red card. Becky Sauerbrunn is expected to take her place. She has not played yet in this tournament. But she will have Solo as a last line of defense, rangy, confident, renewed.

“I’ve been prepared for this through heartaches, through personal struggles,” Solo said. “This is what it’s all about. It’s about defying the odds for me. It’s about proving people wrong. It’s about playing the game I’m passionate about. This is what I live for. I’ve prepared my entire life for this moment.”

Her right shoulder is still sore from surgery in September to repair a torn labrum. She grimaces during warm-ups, during the games, windmilling her arm as if stretching in the bullpen.