It was an electrifying 97 minutes in Lyon as the United States Women’s National Team faced the England Women’s Team in the Semi-final of the Women’s World Cup.
With a lot of controversy and excitement before the game, with the USWNT team reportedly scouting out the hotel England would stay in if they made it to the final, and England manager Phil Neville accusing the team of lacking “etiquette,” there was a lot of tension heading into the match.
There was a lot of questions behind why Megan Rapinoe, who scored all four of the USWNT goals in the knockout stage of the tournament, was sitting on the bench for the game. It was reported at halftime that Rapinoe was dealing with a hamstring injury, and following the match, she stated that she would be ready for the final on Sunday.
It was nearly a quick lead for the United States as midfielder Rose Lavelle nutmegged an England defender before cutting inside and forcing English keeper Carly Telford to make a save early. Only five minutes later the Americans would get their first goal after Lavelle dummied a through ball perfectly, letting Kelley O’Hara free down the right hand side to play a cross to the back post finding Christen Press to head home.
But the lead didn’t last long as Ellen White equalized 10 minutes later. Bethany Mead received the ball in loads of space before playing a whipped low cross to the foot of White who placed it to the far post to draw level.
Both teams continued to trade chance after chance with sloppy defending, until Alex Morgan grabbed her birthday goal after a fantastic weighted ball in the air that the 30-year-old headed home for the 2-1 lead. Morgan’s “sip the tea” celebration drew a lot of controversy, but the now Golden boot leader (tied with White) had no regrets on Twitter.
This team is special. Thanks for the bday love. Thanks for the rocking stadium. Thanks for continuing to believe with us. And that’s the tea.
— Alex Morgan (@alexmorgan13) July 2, 2019
Frustration ensued from the England team, who began to get more physical with their play, leading to the United States doing the same. English Defender Millie Bright picked up a yellow card in the 40th minute of play, and American midfielder Lindsay Horan picked up a yellow card seven minutes later.
Controversy continued, as England thought they were level again from a second White goal, but after checking the goal for offside from the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), it was ruled offside and the score stayed 2-1.
England seemed to gain confidence after the offside ruling, piling the pressure on the now five at the back United States defense. In the 80th minute White had another chance, being played a ball in the box but contact with Becky Sauerbrunn caused her miss, leading to a VAR check for a penalty. The penalty was given, and English captain Stephanie Houghton stepped up. She looked calm and collected, before her attempt to the bottom left corner was saved by United States keeper Alyssa Naeher.
The frustration continued for England, as a harsh challenge from Bright saw her second yellow card of the night and a sending off in the 86th minute, followed by a Nikita Parris yellow card in the 95th minute. After an additional seven minutes of extra time, the United States Women were through to their third consecutive Women’s World Cup Final.
The United States take on the winner of Netherlands against Sweden on Sunday at 11:00 am. The USWNT will look to make up for their sloppy defending and errors made against England that nearly cost them the game, but also keep their energy and confidence high looking to win consecutive Women’s World Cups.
