It wasn’t pretty, but the USWNT is heading to the semifinal thanks to two goals from Megan Rapinoe.
The left winger scored in the fifth minute off a beautiful set piece play, then doubled her tally against the run of play in the 65th minute thanks to a bit of beautiful play from Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath.
France got a goal back thanks to star Wendie Renard late, but the USWNT was able to hang on.
It’s a huge win for USWNT coach Jill Ellis, who was questioned (by me especially) for leaving Lindsey Horan out of the starting lineup. Horan got in during the second half, and Ellis also rolled the dice late by putting Carli Lloyd into central midfield, and somehow it all worked out.
The USWNT will take on England in the semifinal on Tuesday. See all the highlights below:
HIGHLIGHTS
5′ — GOAL USA, AND IT’S RAPINOE. USA 1 – 0 FRANCE.
WHAT A SET PIECE PLAY. Megan Rapinoe whips in a low ball that Julie Ertz dummies and France can’t pick up on the ball’s flight. HUGE goal for the USA.
65′ — GOAL USA. RAPINOE AGAIN. 2-0.
Unbelievable! Against the run of play, the U.S. snag an incredible goal. Alex Morgan gets the ball in midfield, springs in Heath, and Heath cuts back across which Rapinoe finds at the back post. Simply unbelievable.
81′ – GOAL FRANCE. WHO ELSE BUT WENDIE RENARD? 2-1
Lineups
France – Bouhaddi, Renard, Torrent, Henry, Le Sommer, Majri, Diani, Gauvin, Bussaglia, Thiney, Mbock Bathy.
USA – Naeher, Mewis, Sauerbrunn, O’Hara, Dahlkemper, Ertz, Morgan, Rapinoe, Lavelle, Heath, Dunn.
That’s right … no Lindsey Horan for the USWNT. Jill Ellis better be right about this.
Preview
The USWNT will take on France today in the biggest match of the 2019 World Cup. A quirk in ranking has the two best teams in the World Cup facing off in the quarterfinal, but here we are. France is the host nation, the USWNT is the No. 1 ranked team in the world, and this is going to be good.
The big story early on is that USWNT coach Jill Ellis is benching 2018 NWSL MVP Lindsey Horan in order to keep the same midfield and defense that struggled to beat Spain, 2-1. It’s a bold move and one that Ellis better hope works out for her.
Franche is loaded with talent, including center back Wendie Renard, who is a free kick weapon that scores tons of goals, and Eugénie Le Sommer, a game-changing attacking center midfielder. USA will need to keep focused or they will have big issues to deal with going the other way.
[jwplayer y2zneKRM-q2aasYxh]
