USA control China, advance to semifinal against Germany
It hasn't been easy for Carli Lloyd here in Canada and sometimes -- a lot of times, actually -- it hasn't looked like it's been that fun. But the U.S. captain continues to have her biggest moments on the international soccer stage when the stakes are the highest.
The veteran midfielder threw off weeks, if not months, of frustration and confusion about the U.S. team's inability to get offensively ontrack and headed home a definitive goal to give the U.S. a 1-0 win over China in the quarterfinal match. The U.S. now faces Germany in the semifinals Tuesday at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, bringing the No. 1 and No. 2-ranked teams in the world together for what promises to be a stiff challenge for the U.S. side.
They're going based on a single goal scored by a New Jersey native. It was Lloyd's second goal of the tournament and she accounts for the U.S.'s last two goals -- a feat in keeping with Lloyd's history in World Cup and Olympic action. It came in a fitting time: Her appearance against China was Lloyd's 200th cap for the U.S., and she collected her 65th career goal.
With U.S. midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday out of action last night due to yellow card accumulation, Lloyd had a bigger mandate to take over action on the attack from the midfield spot -- a role she thrives on but in which she had been long thwarted.
In U.S. national team qualifying and warm-up matches leading to this World Cup, Lloyd had been rotated out to a wide midfield spot by coach Jill Ellis. The switch interfered with Lloyd's comfort level and, even after being moved back to the center alongside Holiday, Lloyd felt off kilter.
But with the lineup changes that put Amy Rodriguez up top with Alex Morgan and Morgan Brian and Tobin Heath next to her, Lloyd was clearly motivated to turn the fortunes of the U.S. side. China had exceeded expectations in this World Cup by advancing to quarterfinals with impressive organization and defense.
"It was what we needed and I think that we’re going to be flying next game," said Lloyd after the game.
In a sense, China was playing with house money last night, and while they presented a challenge to the U.S., the matchup did not produce the level of soccer equal to what had been the showcase match of the day: France vs. Germany.
"I thought it was a very good performance tonight. I thought our possession was good, I thought our movement off the ball our willingness to get in pressing situations ... I thought that just overall we knew we had to run and work hard and they dug in and committed to that," said Ellis after the match. "I think, as you get in to the later stages of the tournament, certainly it's tactics, Xs and Os, but a big huge part of it is your mentality, it's your psychology, it's where you are in terms of your attitude. And I think, certainly tonight, the players have a good feeling on the field and that will help us going in to German game."
By the time the U.S. and China took the field at Lansdowne Stadium, their quarterfinal match had the definite feel of an undercard bout, given the heavyweight showdown that had just taken place a few kilometers away in Montreal.
The U.S. did not do much to catapult the level of action anywhere near what the world witnessed earlier in the afternoon. The first half was nearly an exhibition in frustration, despite more speed and fire from Amy Rodriguez and Kelley O'Hara, who also got the start.
In that first half, the U.S. frustration was summarized best by Alex Morgan slamming her hand into the turf in the final seconds of the first half. Morgan's frustration was completely justified. With a chance to press for a goal, Lloyd headed a nicely placed short pass back to Morgan, who thought she could get off a quick shot only to find three China defenders collapse on her. The sliding tackles by the China defenders sent Morgan's shot ricocheting backwards and Morgan stayed kneeling face down on the carpet, slamming her hands.
The U.S. had 11 shots in the first half, but only three were on goal, only 27 percent accuracy. The trend was started almost from the start, when Amy Rodriguez had an immediate chance to put the U.S. on the board.
With just one minute gone, Rodriguez was led into the box by a perfect pass and had clear space between and China goalkeeper Fei Wang. But with plenty of time to pick her spot, Rodriguez opted to try and chip it on -- the ball was well wide. Maybe the U.S. was surprised by how much room they found to run. China gave away more space in the early going of this match than it had against Cameroon or their group play matches.
