FOX Sports FIFA Women’s World Cup Evening Headlines – Tuesday, June 30

FOX Sports presents full coverage of the FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP 2015™, including the USA’s dramatic 2-0 win over Germany in the semifinals tonight. Coverage continues tomorrow with the tournament’s second semifinal, as Japan faces England on FOX Sports 1. Coverage begins with FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY at 6:00 PM ET.

See below for highlights from today’s coverage:

TODAY’S RESULTS
USA def. Germany, 2-0

USA advances to final on Sunday, July 5, at 6:00 PM ET on FOX
Germany plays in third-place match on Saturday, July 4, at 3:00 PM ET on FOX

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
6:00 PM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TODAY, FOX Sports 1
7:00 PM ET – Japan vs. England, FOX Sports 1
    (Edmonton – Jenn Hildreth, Kyndra de St. Aubin and Julie Stewart-Binks)
12:00 AM ET – FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT, FOX Sports 1

USA v. GERMANY Semifinal Highlights:

Game analyst Tony DiCicco said this was the USWNT’s best performance:
“This was their best performance. I know there were some controversial calls, but the bottom line is the U.S. was the better team in this match.”

Game analyst Cat Whitehill credits the team’s defense:
“The United States back line and Hope Solo are winning this tournament for this team. The United States is peaking at the right time.

“They made Germany’s Célia Šašić, the tournament’s leading goal scorer, look like an average forward tonight.”

Former USWNT player Heather Mitts credits coach Jill Ellis for her personnel decisions:
“I want to give major credit to Jill Ellis for changing the formation and for the substitutions that she made tonight. Everybody has wanted to see this team play in a 4-3-3, and tonight the players were put in the best position possible to go out there and win.”

Alexi Lalas says the USWNT is poised to win its third World Cup:
“Jill Ellis got it right and deserves a tremendous amount of credit. She passed with flying colors, as did her team, and the colors are red, white and blue. Congratulations to her and her team. We saw Carli Lloyd at the end of the game give an interview and say she’s thinking about bigger things – go out there and win that World Cup. It’s been 16 years, and now, after having taken care of Germany, it is right there in the palm of your hand.

“If they go on to lose in the final, it would be an incredible disappointment considering who they just beat.”

Former German international Ariane Hingst says the USA was the better team:
“The USA definitely had the best tactics today. They showed the best performance, so they deserved to win.”

USWNT goalkeeper Hope Solo spoke with FOX Sports USWNT Insider Jenny Taft immediately following the game about her mindset defending the PK and her team:
“You do what you can. I did the stall tactic. It worked.

“Our back line is incredible. I can’t say enough good things about them. But it’s not just our back line. We have our two holding midfielders playing so much defense. You saw Morgan Brian go up on that set piece, take a hit to the head, almost concussed, and she saved that goal.”

Canadian goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc joined FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP TONIGHT and said Solo’s stalling was the reason Célia Šašić missed the PK:
“Hope did a great job stalling. The time between when she put the ball down and when she took it – she had too much to think about. For me, that was the difference. It’s part of the game. It’s gamesmanship, and as a keeper, you have to do it.”

Hingst says the German team ran out of ideas against the USA:
“Germany faced a U.S. team that was really good defensively, and I’m not just talking about four defensive players on the back line, I’m talking about 11 players on the field. Morgan Brian was essential. She closed the gap in the central midfield. The Germans were out of ideas. They created so many chances in the games before, but in this game they didn’t really have a big chance besides the one penalty kick.”

Lalas says Julie Johnston benefitted from the referee’s lenient yellow card call:
“This is a younger and less-experienced type of player that is having a phenomenal tournament. That looked to be that one moment that was going to live in infamy, and yet things just changed and the soccer gods act in strange ways. She is lucky to have stayed in that game because that was as clear of a red card as I’ve seen.”