The USWNT Was Inches Away From Disaster, Survive 0-0 Vs. Portugal To Advance To Rd. Of 16

 

    The USWNT (1-2-0) is incredibly lucky to still be alive in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup and not taking that long flight home as they staggered to a 0-0 tie with Portugal (1-1-1) this evening in their Group E finale at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. Thanks to the Netherlands' 7-0 demolition of Vietnam, the Dutch deservedly find themselves in first place in Group E while the U.S. finished second. It was the first time that the Americans were shut out in a World Cup group match since 2015 (a 0-0 tie with Sweden). Ironically, it is not official yet but they will likely face their Swedish rivals in the round of 16 on Sunday morning (4 am, Fox).

    Where to begin with this latest performance that simply was not good enough for a team that is trying to make history by winning a third straight World Cup? USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made two changes to his starting 11 with Lynn Williams in for Trinity Rodman at right forward and Rose Lavelle in for Savannah DeMelo at right midfield. After a decent start to the game, the U.S. had another mostly lifeless first half-just like in their previous outing vs. Netherlands (a 1-1 draw). Lavelle also picked up a yellow card in the 39th minute which was on a questionable call but even more troublesome was the fact that she will now miss the next match since she earned a yellow card against Netherlands as well. 

    For a team playing in its first ever Women's World Cup, Portugal truthfully deserved a better fate since they had easily the best scoring chance of the match. Substitute forward Ana Capeta came on in the 90th minute and in the next minute, she was sprung loose with enough space to rocket a low shot off the post. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher did not register a save vs. the Portuguese and earlier she had fumbled a cross but ultimately smothered it. In the dying moments, she completely whiffed on a punch attempt but the Americans were able to withstand that nervy sequence too. 

    The USWNT finished with a pedestrian (by their lofty standards) four goals scored and one goal allowed in the three Group E matches. Scoring is a real issue since they have only found the back of the net once following the routine 3-0 opening victory vs. first timers from Vietnam. Forward Alex Morgan has yet to score a goal in Australia/New Zealand and after the match, the first voice that we saw talking to the entire team on the field was not Andonovski, another coach or the captains-Lindsey Horan and Morgan-but rather veteran defender Kelley O'Hara. Vlatko seriously looked on the verge of tears at the final whistle which should not be surprising at all because he was that close to losing the best job that he will ever get in his entire career. 

    The U.S. obviously lacks the explosive offense that we have been used to in the past. Forward Sophia Smith-who scored two goals and added an assist in her World Cup debut vs. Vietnam-has been MIA in the last two matches. She was subbed out for Megan Rapinoe early in the second half and the other promising young American forward-Trinity Rodman-who started the first two matches, came on very late on this one. It will be a tough call as to who starts at forward with Morgan the next time out. Williams played well enough to make another start so the question for Andonovski is does he trust Smith or Rodman more? Regardless of who he picks, the other one should play more than a few minutes. There is no obvious replacement for Lavelle in the starting lineup at midfield and needless to say, nobody on the U.S. bench has her abundance of skill and proven track record. You want to believe that the USWNT has a much better showing in their back pocket but with the way that they have stumbled through most of their three matches at this World Cup, it is hard to believe in them with our usual unquestioned trust

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After A Sleepy First Half, Horan Scored & The USWNT Salvaged A 1-1 Draw With Netherlands

 

    The much-anticipated rematch of the 2019 Women's World Cup Final between the United States (1-1-0) and the Netherlands (1-1-0) did not exactly live up to the hype as it ended in a 1-1 tie tonight in Wellington, New Zealand during the 2023 Women's World Cup group stage. Both teams had to settle for a point as the Dutch dominated in the first half and led for much of the match on midfielder Jill Roord's goal. The Americans lacked urgency and seemed tentative in the first half but responded with a solid second half that included the tying strike by co-captain and midfielder Lindsey Horan. Their head coach Vlatko Andonovski did them no favors though as he only used one substitution for the entire match-putting in midfielder Rose Lavelle for the overmatched Savannah DeMelo to start the second half. It felt like another move or two for the U.S. could have resulted in a win but I guess we will never know about that for sure.

    It was clear that the Netherlands' gameplan was to control possession which they successfully did 56%-44%. The United States took a bunch more shots (18-5) but only had three more of them on goal (4-1). The craziest part was that the Americans earned 10 more corner kicks (11-1) than the Dutch which seems like a misprint but it is true. Roord's goal in the 17th minute came after a series of defensive miscues by the USWNT that ended with her taking a quick touch at the top of the box then depositing a low and hard shot into the corner of the net past a diving Alyssa Naeher. Even though there was surprisingly only one card all game (a yellow for Lavelle five minutes after she came on in the second half), it was a very physical battle from start to finish. 

    Horan got taken out by her club teammate at Lyon (France) midfielder Danielle van de Donk in the 59th minute. She was understandably upset about it since between getting hit on the knee not to mention a hard fall on her head, she could have suffered a couple of serious injuries. Thankfully, she let that temporary anger fuel her as she was first to a subsequent corner by Lavelle and knocked in a powerful header to tie it up 1-1 in the 62nd minute. If you had any question as to why the normally quiet Horan was named a co-captain before this tournament, here was living proof. She stepped up when her team needed her the most. 

    From there, the U.S. had all the momentum and poured on the pressure hunting for another goal. Forward Alex Morgan scored in the 67th minute after a pretty touch on a through ball by forward Trinity Rodman but it was rightfully called offside. By the end, it felt like the Dutch were hanging on for dear life but it seemed fitting that it ended 1-1. Neither side really deserved to lose but conversely, you could say that neither was owed a victory more than the other. 

    In terms of excitement, this could not set up much better for the third and final group match as the U.S. meets Portugal (1-0-1) on Tuesday (3 am, Fox) while the Netherlands takes on Vietnam (0-0-2) at the same ungodly time stateside. Playing in their first ever World Cup, the Portuguese beat fellow debutant Vietnam 2-0 this morning. The U.S. will be favored but Portugal is not a layup so they have to come out faster from the opening whistle and not wait so long for the game to come to them. Without giving you too much of an ice cream headache, I will just say that the USWNT is up two goals in goal-differential on the Netherlands so if they win and as long as the Dutch do not blow out Vietnam (a possibility), the U.S. should finish on top of Group E. Lavelle should start against Portugal and I would also like to see Megan Rapinoe (who did not appear vs. Netherlands) get some playing time. Teenage midfielder Alyssa Thompson should see the field as well in my opinion since Andi Sullivan is nothing special by any means. 

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USWNT Began Their '23 World Cup With 3-0 Win Vs. Vietnam, Thanks To Sophia Smith (2G, 1A)

 

    You might have heard: the USWNT is trying to become the first team ever (men's or women's) to win three straight World Cups, no pressure or anything. Tonight, they opened their 2023 World Cup journey with a routine 3-0 victory over Vietnam in Auckland, New Zealand. American forward Sophia Smith had an incredible World Cup debut as she scored the first two goals for the USWNT then assisted on the final strike by midfielder and co-captain Lindsey Horan. The U.S. was far from perfect as they missed a penalty kick not to mention that they owned 66% possession for the game but only had three goals to show from it. Still, nobody got hurt and eight players made their World Cup debuts for the USWNT so the bottom line is that they will move on to bigger and better things soon enough.   

    In reality, this was a mismatch of epic proportions as evidenced by the final stats: the US outshot Vietnam 28-0 but only seven of those were on goal so you can see specifically where they will have to improve starting on Wednesday (9, Fox) when they face the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 Women's World Cup final. American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher gets credit for one of the most fraudulent shutouts in sports history. The winner of that is basically guaranteed to win Group E since the other team in it is Portugal who is playing in their first World Cup therefore you cannot expect them to upset the U.S. or the Netherlands (most likely). Vietnam and Portugal figure to be at the bottom of the group barring some crazy results.

    Smith did not wait too long to open her World Cup account as she made it 1-0 in the 14th minute. It was a beautiful goal as Horan looped a pass to forward and fellow co-captain Alex Morgan who flicked it into the box where Smith outran her defender and unleashed a well struck low shot with her left foot. Vietnam did their best to waste time (not a bad tactic in soccer when you are that overwhelmed) in the first half and it seemed to pay off until forward Trinity Rodman (yes, she is Dennis' daughter) earned a penalty kick in the 44th minute. Morgan stepped up to take it (I think that whomever earns a penalty kick should almost always take it) but her shot was stopped by Vietnamese goalkeeper Tran Thi Kim Thanh. Luckily for the USWNT-like we saw in the 2022 men's World Cup-there was ample stoppage time. Smith scored her second goal seven minutes (!!) into stoppage time before the halftime whistle. Thanh punched the ball but it fell to Smith and while her shot was not a great one by any means, there were enough bodies to screen Thanh who had the ball go through her legs once again. 

    Teams have five substitutes to use in this World Cup and USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski made ample use of them in the second half. This morning, we were told that star midfielder Rose Lavelle and star forward Megan Rapinoe would both be on minute restrictions at least for this evening and that is exactly what happened as they both entered in the 63rd minute. Also notably, 18-year-old Alyssa Thompson-the No. 1 pick in the last NWSL Draft-made her first World Cup appearance in the 75th minute. Fittingly since they were the two best players in the match, Smith and Horan combined for the last goal. Smith took the ball away from a Vietnam defender along the end line and then she played it back to Horan who slammed it home from the top of the box. It was another awesome highlight provided by the two Colorado natives. Lavelle had a great chance to make it 4-0 a few moments later but her right-footed shot hit the crossbar and did not cross the goal line. 

    It will be interesting to see how the Netherlands fares against Portugal tomorrow morning (3:30 am ET, FS1) but as I said, expect a relatively easy Dutch victory. The U.S. will obviously get an extra day of rest ahead of their next showdown which should help them as well not that the Vietnam match was too taxing. It is doubtful that Smith will have this type of output against the Netherlands but I also believe that Morgan and Rodman should both play better as that super talented trio gets more used to each other on the field in a competitive environment. Outside of Horan, the American midfield looks like a possible weak spot (if they even have one) while the defense led by veterans Crystal Dunn and Julie Ertz should be solid. This is the biggest field ever (32 teams) for a Women's World Cup-eight more than in 2019-and there is more parity than ever but make no mistake, the USWNT is still the team to beat until that is proven otherwise.

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The U.S. Women Survived Penalty Kicks Against The Netherlands To Reach The Olympic Semis

 

    With the huge time difference meaning that most games are happening live in the middle of the night back in America, it's been hard to get into the Tokyo Olympics however leave it to the USWNT to make it way more interesting and exciting. This morning (our time), they outlasted the Netherlands 4-2 in penalty kicks to reach the Olympic semifinals for the sixth time in their last seven chances. It sounds odd saying it since she allowed two goals in regulation but the USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was the player of the match as she stopped what would have been a go-ahead penalty kick late in regulation then she topped that with two more saves in the shootout. Midfielder Samantha Mewis-my Massachusetts Olympic hero-and forward Lynn Williams each had a goal and an assist for the U.S. who advance to face Canada on Monday (4 am, USA Network) in the semifinals. 

    It's been a little over two years since these same countries faced off in the 2019 World Cup Final which you'll remember was captured 2-0 by the U.S. in Lyon, France. The Netherlands must be wondering what they have to do to beat the U.S. (who improved to 8-1-1 all-time against the Dutch as this match was recorded as a tie) who have looked vulnerable in this tournament with a shocking 3-0 loss to Sweden in the opener along with a scoreless draw with Australia to close out the group stage. If we know anything about this team though, they typically perform their best when the stakes are the highest. The Netherlands led 1-0 in the 18th minute as their excellent forward Vivianne Miedema-the leading goal-scorer in these Olympic Games-made the Americans pay for a failed clearance out of the box. It didn't take long for the U.S. to respond as Williams served a low cross that Mewis dove to head into the net for his first career Olympic goal in the 28th minute. 

    Things started rolling for the U.S. as they took a 2-1 lead just three minutes later when Mewis won a header in the box following a U.S. corner and Williams was able to volley in her first Olympic goal as well. The USWNT took that 2-1 lead into halftime but the Dutch (specifically Miedema) would not go home quietly as she tied it in 54th minute with a long-range blast from beyond the arc for her 10th goal of the tournament which is an amazing number in only four matches. U.S. defender Kelly O'Hara almost made a fatal mistake as her harsh foul in the box led to a penalty kick for the Netherlands in the 80th minute that would have put them ahead 3-2. Luckily, Naeher was up to the task to rescue her teammate and save the shot by another lethal Dutch forward Lieke Martens.   

    It is hard to explain why but the U.S. has had a crazy amount of goals called back (nine total including four today!) due to being called offside in these Olympics. There is VAR and I'm sure the American coaches have been hammering this point over and over but ultimately it's up to the players to adjust to it and find ways not to have that happen so often. To make them feel better, the Netherlands had a header goal called offside in the first period of extra time while American forwards Christen Press and Alex Morgan (who oddly enough both came off the bench in the second half) each had a goal called back for the same reason in the second period of extra time. Good grief, enough of that!

    Naeher immediately made a statement in the shootout since the Netherlands went first and she dove to her right to save Miedema's shot. All four U.S. shooters (Rose Lavelle, Morgan, Press and Megan Rapinoe) scored and after Naeher made another huge stop on Aniek Nouwen, Rapinoe was fittingly there to blast home the game-winner. The USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski improved to 23-1-3 in his first 27 matches in charge and I'm not saying it would have (or should have) happened but if his team had lost this game, there would have been serious discussions about him getting fired after the USWNT went out in the quarterfinals in the Olympics (which happened to the last head coach Jill Ellis in 2016 vs. Sweden in PKs) for the second time in a row. Instead, they will be favored to beat Canada (remember their epic 4-3 semifinal win vs. the Canadians in the 2012 Olympics?) and get to the Final where they would meet either Sweden or Australia.

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Samantha Mewis Goes to Man City Which is Great For Her & USWNT but Bad News for the NWSL

 

    Hello friends, I thought that I should check in after over a year since my last post. Haha so what have you been up to lately, are you enjoying the pandemic as much as I am? With no Olympics this summer (maybe next summer?) plus all USMNT and USWNT matches cancelled due to the coronavirus, there has not been a whole lot going on with our best men and women's soccer players. Yes, our top men like Christian Pulisic (Chelsea) and numerous guys in the Bundesliga gave us something to watch this spring/summer when European leagues returned to action. Similarly, many of the top women's players were in the successful NWSL Challenge Cup tournament in Utah which concluded in July. 

    Still, there are so many question marks in all of our lives these days, so imagine if you were a professional athlete in the prime of his or her career. What a nightmare. Whitman-Hanson alum (shoutout to that Massachusetts high school) and UCLA star Samantha Mewis has improved by leaps and bounds the last few seasons to become one of the best midfielders in the world. As such, she wants to challenge herself and the fact that there is no certainty if the NWSL will even have anymore games this year, she made the prudent decision to head to England to play for Manchester City. 

    I have always taken the opposite view to our USWNT players than the USMNT guys (who I always want to go abroad) since they are in the mix every year for the best national team in the world so you would hope that the United States could sustain a top-flight women's professional soccer league. Turns out, no matter how many World Cups (four) or Olympic gold medals (also four) that they win, all that love and positive momentum that they gain in the brightest spotlight, without fail always fades a bit too much when they return home. 

    That's why more and more of the USWNT's top stars head to Europe like Carli Lloyd or Alex Morgan (before she got married and had a baby) to play for powerhouse clubs like Man City or Lyon. Rose Lavelle is also rumored to be going to Man City any day now. There are only eight teams in the NWSL and even though Mewis' club-North Carolina Courage-is one of the best, she needs more certainty in her professional life. Women's soccer is slowly getting more popular overseas and it's no wonder that the juggernaut men's clubs can also field a women's team in its own backyard. 

    I will never lecture anyone on what to do with their time but with that said, this is my personal feeling on the subject of women's soccer in the U.S.: if you enjoy the USWNT, please support them at their club teams as well and make the NWSL or whatever women's league is around in the United States more stable so that our best players don't have to compete elsewhere to stay in top shape for the World Cup, Olympics, She Believes Cup, friendlies, etc. Rant over. 

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U.S. Becomes 2nd Women's Team to Win Back-to-Back World Cups After 2-0 Win vs. Netherlands

The U.S. women's soccer team was the best squad in France over the past month and they put a bow on their latest unforgettable run with a 2-0 shutout of the Netherlands this afternoon in Lyon for their second straight World Cup title and record fourth overall (1991, 1999, 2015 and 2019). The Americans outscored their opponents 26-3 (sure half of those goals came against Thailand but who's counting?) and they never trailed as they became the second women's team to win back-to-back titles-joining Germany from 2003 and 2007. Head coach Jill Ellis is the first person to lead a team to back-to-back Women's World Cup crowns.

After missing the semifinal match vs. England, icon Megan Rapinoe returned from her hamstring injury to score one last goal (another successful penalty kick) that turned out to be the game-winner on the way to the double award sweep of the Golden Ball (best player) and Golden Boot (top scorer with 6 goals and 3 assists). At 34, this more than likely was her last World Cup match (same for Carli Lloyd who came on for the last 3 minutes as a substitute) so what a way to go out after an absolutely brilliant stay in France. Midfielder Rose Lavelle had the highlight of what was truthfully a rather boring Final as she blasted in the insurance goal for a 2-0 U.S. lead after one of the best goals of the tournament.

Coming into this matchup, I felt like there was a good chance that the Netherlands wouldn't be ready for this type of moment and what do you know, I was right! Let's not forgot that although they won the 2017 Euros, this was only their second ever appearance in the World Cup following 2015's loss in the Round of 16. They also had never trailed in France and held the U.S. scoreless in the first half thanks to some incredible saves by their goalkeeper Sar Van Veendendaal. The Dutch surprisingly made it this far playing in low-scoring, defensive struggles but that is not exactly the recipe to defeat a true juggernaut like the U.S.

Possession was relatively even (54%-46% in favor of the Americans) but the U.S. outshot them 17-5 with 10 times as many (!) of those on goal (10-1). Van Veendendaal (who won the Golden Glove) was forced to make eight saves while U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher might as well have taken a nap since she only had to make a lone save in over 90 minutes of "action." Finally, the U.S. had four times as many corner kicks (8-2) so it is probably an upset that the Netherlands were able to hold the line at 0-0 for that long.

The first half wasn't a classic by any means (much like the match itself) but the U.S. should have been up by at least a goal or two if it wasn't for Van Veendendaal's heroics. She knocked away Julie Ertz's quick turnaround shot that came from a loose ball in the box, a header by Samantha Mewis hit her in the ribs, she stopped a shot from Alex Morgan that also hit the post and yet again she stoned Morgan who took a curling shot from outside the box. The Americans also suffered an injury to defender Kelley O'Hara in the closing minutes of the opening 45 minutes: she went up for a header and hit her head very hard against her Dutch opponent. She lay on the field barely moving (knocked out?) but eventually got up and walked off so it wasn't shocking to see Ali Krieger replace her to start the second half since she undoubtedly had to have concussion-like symptoms.

Like Rapinoe, Morgan finished with six goals and three assists (in more time so I guess that was the tiebreaker) in France and you could make a valid case that she worked harder for those numbers since she seemed to get physically beat up during every single game. Haha well maybe not against Thailand where she scored a whopping five goals but that's besides the point. She drew the penalty kick that was taken by Rapinoe in the 61st minute and Lavelle put this to bed eight minutes later after an assist from Mewis. Rapinoe's goal was the 50th of her U.S. career and I'm comfortable saying that Lavelle has never scored a bigger goal in her life.

It's easy to acknowledge it now after the fact but France, England and even Sweden (you could argue) all gave the U.S. a tougher test than the Netherlands. It was clear from the beginning today that the Dutch were probably just happy to be here and knew in their heart of hearts that they didn't have a true shot to win the crown barring something crazy going down. That's not to say that they didn't deserve to be here or that they weren't a worthy opponent, just that the Final was not close to the most exciting of the seven matches that the Americans had in the past month.

Finally the hard truth for U.S. soccer fans: just like in 2015, this World Cup journey for the USWNT has been an utter joy to witness on many levels. However, we can't bury our collective heads in the sand and pretend that all that matters for women's soccer is this event which only happens every four years. Nope, for the sport to continue to build off of this incredible momentum, they need the NWSL (National Women's Soccer League) to be way more relevant.

That means that if you liked what you saw at the World Cup, you should check out the league that many of these players compete in. ESPN picked up many of its games to broadcast for the remainder of the season culminating with the playoffs. The NWSL has lost money for years, hence why so many of the top players (Americans and beyond) have gone to play in Europe to rightfully earn bigger paychecks. We have to do a better job of supporting this product day-to-day rather than year-to-year, otherwise we'll be stuck in purgatory having these same frustrating conversations about wage inequality forever.

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Another 2-1 Nailbiter vs. Legit European Team (ENG) Propels U.S. to Their 3rd Straight WC Final

The 2019 Women's World Cup delivered another instant classic event (at least if you are a fan of the USWNT) as the Americans outlasted England 2-1 in the semifinals tonight in Lyon, France. This means that the U.S. will be in their record third straight World Cup Final on Sunday (11 a.m., FOX) vs. either Sweden or Netherlands and it will also be the fifth World Cup Final appearance in team history.

Star forward Megan Rapinoe was a surprising late scratch with a hamstring injury (she says she'll be fine for Sunday) so it took some different players to step up: namely Christen Press (who started in her place) and superstar Alex Morgan (who was celebrating her 30th birthday) along with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher who made a brilliant save in the first half with a diving stop, only to raise the stakes much higher with a penalty kick save on England's captain Steph Houghton in the 84th minute. Believe it or not, that was the first time in USWNT history that one of their goalkeepers had stopped a penalty kick in a World Cup. That would have tied the match at two goals apiece but the English crumbled after that with defender Millie Bright picking up her second yellow card thus earning a red card in the 86th minute.

From the start, there were plenty of twists and turns as for the sixth time in six matches this tournament, the U.S. scored a goal in the opening 12 minutes of play. Wouldn't you know that it came from Press (her 1st of this World Cup and only the 2nd WC goal of her career)? Defender Kelley O'Hara played a perfect cross to Press who was somehow unmarked in the box so she was able to knock in a powerful header to the upper left corner of the net in the 10th minute. In a candid postgame interview she said was inspired by what she sees teammate Carli Lloyd do in training every day.

England was not deterred in the least bit as their star striker Ellen White scored her World Cup leading (for the moment anyway) sixth goal in the 19th minute. She made a beautiful redirection (with her right foot) of Beth Mead's cross that went off the post and by Naeher who could only watch it clank by. That sequence reminded me of the Spain matchup in the Round of 16 for the Americans since the Spanish were able to quickly answer the U.S.' patented early strike.

After not scoring for four matches (1 of which she sat out), Morgan somehow became the first ever woman to score on her birthday at the World Cup (nice stat but seriously, how is that possible?) in the 31st minute. Her goal was pretty similar to Press' as Lindsey Horan (starting in place of Sam Mewis) chipped a ball onto a running Morgan to head past England's goalkeeper Carly Telford. It's weird that England was so clueless on those two scoring plays for the U.S. since their head coach is Phil Neville, a legendary English defender for Manchester United and the English national team not that long ago. Morgan's goal was her sixth in the tournament but first against anyone other than doormat Thailand. She takes the lead in the race for the Golden Boot since she also has three assists (more than White) which apparently comes into play as well.

I haven't hesitated to knock midfielder Rose Lavelle earlier in this World Cup because I couldn't grasp just what head coach Jill Ellis really saw in her. Today's performance made me a believer as Lavelle was lively on the ball with a bunch of clever moves and scoring chances that she created all on her own. She's been plagued by hamstring injuries the last few years so it truly was a shame to see her go down with what appeared to be another one in the 64th minute (Mewis replaced her). She also claimed after the win that she'll be OK for Sunday but we'll have to see about that.

With a one-goal lead, the U.S. actually dodged two serious chances as White temporarily tied it in the 67th minute but our old friend VAR (video assistant referee) ruled that she was offside (by an eyelash). Too easily, the U.S. central defenders allowed her to slip through and beat Naeher to the ball for the goal. If you want to say that the Americans got lucky on that decision, I'll grant you that but then it must have been some sort of cosmic justice when England's shady penalty kick earned by White (after Becky Sauerbrunn accidentally touched her feet causing her to do a face-plant in the box) turned into Naeher's best play of her life. White was clearly England's most dangerous offensive threat so I would have let her take the PK but I'm guessing that Houghton was better on them at practice (when it couldn't matter less). Naeher dove low to her right which is exactly where Houghton put her ill-fated attempt. That resulted in a huge in-game celebration for the U.S. as a bunch of players surrounded Naeher and hugged her before she shooed them away since you know, there was still some time left on the game clock.

Ellis loves those 80+ minute subs in close games which drives me crazy but hey, I guess that it doesn't matter. Lloyd came on for Tobin Heath in the 80th minute and Ali Krieger took out O'Hara in the 87th minute. A fresh Lloyd was able to waste time perfectly, drawing two free kicks from the exhausted English who at that point were had only 10 players left on the field thanks to Millie's clumsy challenges. In the buildup to this much-anticipated battle, Neville had hyped his defender Lucy Bronze as "the best player in the world." Of course, she is a great player but I'm sure that only motivated the U.S. even more to shut her down since she was barely heard from this evening.

Personally, I'm rooting for the Netherlands to beat Sweden since we already saw the U.S. beat the Swedes 2-0 in the group stage finale on June 20. Yes their rivalry with the Swedes is fun but I'd rather watch them face the Dutch who are a serious contender now after winning the European Championship in 2017. England plays in their second third-place match in a row on Saturday afternoon (11 a.m., FOX) against the loser of tomorrow's all-Euro match. Hopefully Rapinoe's hamstring holds up as nobody deserves to play on Sunday in that setting more than our favorite pink/purple-haired hero after her incredible outings vs. Spain and France. Regardless, the U.S. will be the heavy favorite with a 2-1 final score feeling like the lock of the century after they've done that three games in a row vs. European competition. Sunday should be another ratings bonanza for the USWNT and women's soccer/sports in general as they shoot for their fourth World Cup title back in Lyon.

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Thanks to Superwoman (Megan Rapinoe), US Top France 2-1 to Reach 8th Straight World Cup Semis

I don't think that it's hyperbole to say that nobody crushed this early week of summer in the world quite like U.S. women's national team icon Megan Rapinoe. From scoring both goals in the U.S.' 2-1 win vs. Spain in the Round of 16 on Monday afternoon, to sparring with the orange buffoon that currently resides in the White House, she was basically everywhere. Proving what a certified baller and legitimate bad ass/role model that she is, Rapinoe left her biggest mark on France in this afternoon's quarterfinal match at the Parc Des Princes (PSG's home stadium) in Paris. Once again, she scored both goals for the Americans as they got out to a 2-0 lead on the French and held on for a mighty impressive 2-1 victory.

Many pundits thought that France (ranked #4 in the latest FIFA world rankings) would represent the toughest test for the top-ranked US and I have to say that the game lived up to the hype and then some. I agree with those that said it's a shame that these two heavyweights had to face off this early in the tournament but I think that also discredits England (ranked #3) who the US now meets in the semifinals on Tuesday afternoon (3, FOX) and Germany (ranked #2) who they could possibly meet in a dream World Cup Final next Sunday.

For days, Rapinoe faced the media and backed up what she said about Donald Trump rather than take the coward's way out by retracting what she had said or even worse, just backing down to the bully. Nope, she faced all the cameras and extra attention but it clearly didn't faze her in the least bit as she gave the U.S. a 1-0 lead five minutes into the match. That means that the U.S. has scored a goal in the first 12 minutes of all five matches in this World Cup which is pretty insane given the quality of their last three opponents (Sweden, Spain and France).

Unlike her two goals vs. Spain which were both on penalty kicks, Rapinoe's first tally against France came via a free kick. Somehow her shot (pass?) found its way through a maze of arms and legs without anybody (not American Julie Ertz, French defenders nor goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi) touching it. Including the U.S.' second goal (which also came during the run of play), eight of their 22 goals at this tournament have come from set pieces. As a team, they are only one goal behind their 1991 squad and 2003 Germany (both Cup winners) for the most goals in a single World Cup.

France dominated possession all game (61-39%) but they were so wasteful once they got in the attacking third of the field: they took twice as many shots as the US (20-10) but the Americans actually put three more (8) on target. The French also had more than twice as many corner kicks (7-3) so you have to conclude that this was close to a defensive masterpiece by the U.S. Trailing 1-0 at halftime, France came out with their hair on fire to start the second half with U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher forced into by far her most stress of this fortnight.

After withstanding that pressure by France, Rapinoe doubled her team's advantage and effectively put a dagger in French hearts around the globe. We had heard that France's backline was a potential weakness against the U.S. and didn't that pan out on the second goal that made it 2-0 in the 65th minute. Tobin Heath had a rare counterattack for the Americans and she made the most of it as Sam Mewis drove to the net but the clever Heath instead hit a changeup slower pass to Rapinoe on the far post that she was able to blast in. France seemed to be in full collapse mode when Heath scored in the 77th minute but for some reason, it was quickly ruled that Crystal Dunn (who gave her the ball) was offsides on the initial pass from Alex Morgan before she found Heath for a one-time finish. With all the VAR delays in this tournament, it was very surprising that this one wasn't looked at least looked at further. Ugh, thankfully it didn't ultimately mean anything.

Speaking of Morgan, she's had a rather bizarre four games (head coach Jill Ellis-who won her 100th game today-sat her vs. Chile): an insane five goals in the laughable opener vs. Thailand but after that no more goals. She's had her chances of course but now Rapinoe along with England striker Ellen White are tied with her for the Golden Boot award (most goals in the World Cup). She's definitely banged up which isn't a total excuse but something to keep in mind when you see her stay on the ground time after time since getting hurt in the Sweden group stage finale. It's not like she's been completely useless as she had the through ball that sprung Heath on the second goal as well.

Credit to France for not completely rolling over though I'm sure they were stunned to be down 2-0. Their massive (6-foot-2) central defender Wendie Renard put in a header from midfielder Gaetane Thiney's free kick in the 81st minute to cut it to 2-1. That was her fourth goal of the tournament, all coming from set pieces where she uses her height and power to head everything in sight. Ellis was a little faster to make a substitution than against Spain as midfielder Rose Lavelle was pulled in the 63rd minute for Lindsey Horan (who should be starting but I digress). Carli Lloyd entered for midfielder Sam Mewis in the 82nd minute and Christen Press replaced Pinoe (her second Woman of the Match award in a row) in the 87th minute. The U.S. used the exact same lineup for the second straight match and Lavelle is the only puzzling decision since even before the game, you questioned it then she went out and played rather terribly.

Rapinoe made some notable history in the win as she became the first American woman to score four straight goals for her team in a World Cup. She was also the first woman since Brazil's Marta in 2007 to get back-to-back braces (2-goal performances). Normally, I would throw out the old cliche that the U.S. has to be careful not to have a letdown vs. England but with so many players still active for them that won the World Cup in 2015 vs. Japan not to mention a few that lost in the heartbreaking Final to the Japanese in 2011 (damn you, penalty kicks!), I doubt that will be an issue. Furthermore, this is the #1 team for a reason, they are always a huge match for any opponent no matter the time or venue so they are used to that constant pressure of living up to their incredible history. Even if they lose to England (who rolled 3-0 over Norway in the quarterfinals), the U.S. is at least assured of another game in France-the third-place match-but who wants to be in that? This team is on a mission and they are two wins away from the fourth Cup title in their storied history joining all the legends from 1991, 1999 and 2015.

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Thanks to A Pair of Shaky PK calls, U.S. Survives vs. Spain 2-1 to Reach the WC Quarterfinals

The good news is that the U.S. women's national team had far from their best performance against Spain this afternoon in the Round of 16 but they were still able to squeak by 2-1 as star forward Megan Rapinoe bagged a pair of penalty kicks (1 in each half). After not allowing any goals in the cruise control group stage, Spain was able to become the first opponent to score vs. the U.S. mostly due to a disastrous clearance attempt by goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and defender Becky Sauerbrunn. Each decision for the U.S. to earn a pk seemed dubious at best so they should count their lucky stars that they benefited from both of those. Conversely, they have to know that they'll need to ratchet things up on Friday (3, Fox) vs. France in the quarterfinals, a more than worthy opponent that is 2-0-1 in their last three matches vs. the mighty Americans.

From the start, it was a bumpy ride for the U.S. as Spain nearly took a shocking 1-0 lead in the first few minutes but defender Abby Dahlkemper blocked a shot that appeared ticketed for the net. Forward Tobin Heath was taken down in the box for a penalty kick in the ninth minute which was a generous call since there didn't seem to be a whole lot of contact. No matter as Rapinoe stepped up confidently to the spot and blasted a low hard shot into the left hand corner past goalkeeper Sandra Panos who dove in the opposite direction. That early strike continued the U.S.' impressive streak this World Cup of getting their first goal within the opening 12 minutes of action.

There was not much time for celebrations though as Spain answered two minutes later to tie things up at one. Naeher had a free kick that she gave to Sauerbrunn's feet in traffic that was quickly stolen by the Spaniards. Lucia Garcia played it to teammate Jennifer Hermoso who was able to pop a pretty shot over Naher's (caught in no-man's land) outstretched hands and into the goal. I would give Naeher a bit more of the blame since she ultimately made the decision to give Sauerbrunn the ball in a dangerous area but with such an experienced, quality defender, you would expect Sauerbrunn to assess things better and either hit it out of bounds or try to get it to Crystal Dunn who was stationed nearby.

Spain's gameplan was obvious: they would never match the skill and speed of the U.S. so they decided to physically beat them up with countless rough, dangerous tackles. For the most part, it worked. It was still 1-1 at halftime and pretty deep into the second half before the Americans drew an even shadier penalty kick after midfielder Rose Lavelle went down a few strides in the box after getting tapped on the leg. As there should have been, there was a lengthy VAR review of the play but surprisingly, the ref stuck with her initial choice of a pk. There was such a long delay that Alex Morgan at first was lined up to take it but the U.S. coaching staff thought better of that and they let Rapinoe give it another go. Panos guessed correctly this time since Rapinoe again went for the same spot but with her precision and power, it still couldn't be stopped.

The U.S. had 55% of the possession and way more shots (10-4) but only one more on target (2-1) and one additional corner kick (3-2). With an injury in the first half, Spain was forced to make an early substitution and then made their final two moves in the second half before U.S. head coach Jill Ellis finally did something to counter them. Carli Lloyd came on for Morgan in the 85th minute, Lindsey Horan replaced Lavelle in the 89th minute and in the last minute of the allotted seven minutes plus of added time and Christen Press took out Rapinoe-the slam dunk selection for Woman of the Match.

Playing in Paris on Friday against the host nation France should make for a great atmosphere. The French went to extra time to defeat Brazil 2-1 yesterday but they'll be sure to bring an even more difficult test than Spain did. I have faith that the U.S. will bring their collective play up a level or two, otherwise they could be going home. They are still the best team in the world and even when they don't have their best effort (like today), they are able to piece a result together with experience and their trademark exceptional work rate. Leave work early or just don't even go to begin with on Friday because you are not going to want to miss that big-time women's World Cup match.

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