In the early hours of Saturday morning, with the match kicking off at 0:30am BST, the United States of America picked up their 25th consecutive win over their Asian counterparts, China, to secure a place in the semi-finals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Here’s how it happened:
1) China were never able to compete, either physically or in the air.
Asian football teams are seldom known for their height or stature and this was a large factor in China’s defeat to the USA. Much like when Thailand faced Germany in the group stages, the Asian side simply could not match the strength or aerial capabilities of their opponents. USA’s sole goal was a very impressive and powerful header from captain Carli Lloyd, the no.10 towered above the Chinese defence to meet Julie Johnston’s long diagonal cross after 51 minutes.
2) The Americans’ swagger was too much for a meek China side
The United States were confident on the ball, bringing it forward with a certain positive attitude that showed that they knew they were there to win and very little else. They toyed with it around the box, stringing together crisp, accurate passes. The US certainly look like a team who know how each other play. When they did make their way into the box they looked certain to score every time and they will undoubtedly be a bit frustrated to have only netted once. Ali Krieger came closest to adding to the score line when her long-range effort struck the inside of the post.
3) China didn’t exploit the Americans on the break
Perhaps the major failing of the Chinese game was their lack of ability to really launch themselves into a proper counter-attack, which would have made sense particularly with the game at 1-0 for a long period in the second half. The USA were playing a very high line in order to maintain their dominance in midfield and China might have made more use of their pace on the break. The Chinese created precious little from open-play, a meagre free-kick effort from Wang Li Si was easily saved by Hope Solo towards the end.
USA coach Jill Ellis believes her side are gaining good momentum. “It was a very good performance tonight, our possession was good, our movement off the ball, overall we dug in and committed.” She added, “We talked about trying to grow in this tournament, and today was a big, big step.”
The Americans will now face Germany, who needed penalties to overcome a brave French side. The semi final will take place on Tuesday at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
