On Friday, the United States women’s national team disposed of China, 1-0, behind a great team effort and a 51st minute header goal from Carli Lloyd.
Before the game, USWNT head coach Jill Ellis was left to make some serious decisions due to the yellow-card accumulation suspensions of midfielders Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe. To add to the suspensions, Ellis was also left to wonder how she could get her anemic offense back on track.
Starting XI's:
China PR (4-5-1 formation):
Goalkeeper: Wang Fei,
Defenders: Liu Shanshan, Wu Haiyan , Li Dongna, Zhao Rong
Midfielders: Jiahui Lou(35’ sub. Wang Shuang) , Han Peng(75’ sub. Tang Jiali), Tan Ruyin(58’ sub. Pang Fengyue), Wang Lisi, Ren Guixin
Forwards: Wang Shanshan
United States (4-4-2 formation):
Goalkeeper: Hope Solo
Defenders: Ali Krieger, Becky Sauerbrunn, Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg
Midfielders: Tobin Heath, Morgan Brian, Carli Lloyd, Kelley O’Hara (61’ sub. Christen Press)
Forwards: Alex Morgan (81’ sub. Heather O’Reilly), Amy Rodriguez(86’ sub. Abby Wambach)
Ellis opted to sit Abby Wambach for Amy Rodriguez, and move Morgan Brian into the holding midfielder position that the suspended Holiday plays and added the winger Kelley O’Hara to replace the suspended Rapinoe. For all the criticisms Ellis has received this tournament, she made the correct decisions in shaking up her lineup.
Rodriguez put in a good shift for the team. In the second minute of the game, she found herself in on the keeper one-on-one, tried a chip with the outside of her foot and managed to send the shot way left of the net. Besides this miss, Rodriguez consistently was running and harassing the Chinese backline, which put major pressure on them.
O’Hara also was a shot in the arm the USWNT needed to ramp up their intensity. O’Hara and Ali Krieger worked extremely well together on the flanks with Krieger overlapping and playing in crosses. O’Hara, who made the team as a fullback, also contributed to the lockdown defense this team has been known for in this tournament. Overall, the pairing of Krieger and O’Hara completely domnated and took over the right flank. It will be interesting to see whether Ellis will keep the Krieger/O’Hara pairing because of this performance or opt for something different.
Brian was the key cog for the United States in this game. Her play, as a holding midfielder, allowed midfielder Carli Lloyd to finally press up the field more and contribute to the offense.
In the 51st minute, with her returned offensive mindset, Lloyd was able to press up the field, receive a great ball from defender Julie Johnston, around the penalty spot and head the ball home for the 1-0 lead.
Lloyd, who has struggled mightily this tournament, finally showed a glimmer of what is expected from the attacking midfielder. Lloyd was involved much more in the attack as she totaled two shots on goal and the lone goal of the game. At times, Lloyd did struggle this game with possession but she did show much improvement over her performances prior to Friday. For her effort, she received Woman of the Match honors.
The USWNT nearly found a second goal in the 73rd minute from the foot of Krieger. Krieger took a shot from right side of the box, about 25-yards out, and hit the top left corner of the post.
From there, the defense continued their dominance in this World Cup. The backline allowed six shots. However, only two were on target and all the shots taken by China were outside the box. Johnston continued to show why many consider her the best United States player on the field with another stellar performance in the back. Furthermore, United States goalkeeper Hope Solo was not tested at all. In fact, China’s first shot on goal didn’t come until around the 80th minute.
"Our team did an excellent job in Canada, and I hope we can carry on the great work and continue to grow the game in Canada. Our girls did their best. My goal entering the tournament was to make it to the semi-finals, and we didn't - I'm very disappointed," China coach Hao Wei said of his team’s overall performance in the tournament after the game.
#USWNT backline of Klingenberg, Sauerbrunn, Johnston and Krieger (w/Solo in goal) now has a 0.18 goals against average in 11 starts together
— John D. Halloran (@JohnDHalloran) June 27, 2015
In the end, the whistle blew after three minutes of stoppage time and the United States are headed to the semifinals to play Germany on Tuesday. The performance was much better offensively than we have seen previously. The USWNT created 17 shots (four on target) and had 56% of the possession. However, this U.S. team still is having troubles finishing the chances they create. They will need to be much better against a talented German side, who will make the US pay for any mistakes.
"Tonight, we felt that China liked to build out of the back, and we thought that their backline could get disconnected from the rest of their team, and we looked to exploit that with our pressing triggers. It was a very good performance tonight, our possession was good, our movement off the ball, overall we dug in and committed," Ellis said of her team’s tactics and play in her post game press conference.