England and USA kicked off their Semifinal in front of massive crowds. The former donned their usual White, while the Americans were painted Red! England looked to better it’s 2015 result and go ahead from the Semifinal stage, instead of repeating a battle for the 3rd Place, while the Americans looked to keep up their run (after some Moral Policing by Mr. Neville. I found it justified, personally!)
Aaand the Match was on FIRE since 0 point! The legendary battle between the 2 sides was full of sprints, shots and pure awesomeness! The possession was equal, the desire was equal, the fights were Equal!
USA got the lead in the 10th minute itself as USA No. 17 Tobin Heath sent in a cross from the right flank, Christian Press got to it and headed it right over English GK Telford’s head! It came fast and furiously!
The teams held onto every single thread and kept pushing.
18th minute saw Ellen White equalise for the English as she tipped in a cross from Arsenal forward Mead. The ball hit the post on her right, but got nudged inside to bring them back on square 1! Game all, HAIL ALL!
In the 22nd minute, England’s No. 7 Parris made a run, Daly got the ball and passed it in, White got to it, but was steered off.
In the 25th minute came a powerful shot by Lavelle for a long incoming pass, was saved while Morgan was brought down in the box.
27th minute saw English No. 2 Lucy Bronze move through the defense, Mead got the ball but slipped and won an outside. Walsh sent it in, but US No. 4 Sauerbrunn got to it, shinned it dangerously close but safely away from the goal !
USA was on its feet after the equaliser. The attack made the run upto the English box and pressurised GK Telford at all occassions. They switched on their “Kill mode”, and as often seen, minimum 3 of the players were always in the English half no matter where the ball lied!
31st minute saw USA take the lead again as Morgan headed in Horan’s ball that flew in from the left! A classy goal and an equally classy tea drinking celebration by the Lucky No. 13 Alex Morgan!
Morgan drinks tea !
32nd minute : Walsh attempted a shot from outside the box, but Naeher jumped and punched it away.
39th minute came and Bright received a yellow for a slapping challenge on Morgan. Free Kick was awarded and taken by Dahlkemper. She sent in the ball and Horan headed it just wide to her left.
41st minute saw another Partnership run-up by Heath and Press while Morgan sprinted beside them. White cleared it away for a corner, Heath took it and the ball was in play again!
44th minute saw English No. 2 Lucy Bronze intercept a pass to USA No. 9 Horan, ran with the wind, outran Dunn and finally won a corner kick which was shot wide right behind the other side of the net!
1 minute was added in the first half.
England and USA looked crisp, fresh and hungry! While USA’s attack was the usual Morgan-Press-Heath, the English side had more variety! Scott, Bronze, White, Bright, Stokes, Parris- all took their strides in the American half and the box! They were both equal opponents and a heavenly match for this Semifinal! 😀
Second half kicked off.
48th minute: Bronze Took over USA No. 19 Dunn’s pass, Daley and Parris played it, and a free kick was finally awarded for Dunn’s challenge on Parris. The ball came in, Bright headed it, ball hit the ground, bounced back, White picked it up for a mini bicycle but Naeher caught it as her feet stood narrowly outside the goal line! Soo close!
52 nd minute saw Bronze and Stokes lay it up for the English side but Stokes’ pass was intercepted, resulting in a counter attack by the USA as Heath and Ertz waltzed in! Ertz dribbled past White and a few more quite incredibly but shot it wide!
England’s No. 10 Kirby came on in the 57th minute for Mead and right away sent in a cross, cleared by USA No. 5 O’Hara.
58th minute slip up by English GK Telford brought in a scare as she looked to pass to Bright, but USA No.23 Christian Press came out of nowhere, intercepted, took the shot and it went just wide on her left! What an embarrassing goal it could’ve been! (Reminded me of one of Benzema’s goal for Real Madrid this season!)
61st minute and Dunn ventured into the English half, passed the ball to Heath who set it further in motion, went in from the right, Stokes tailed her and cleared the chance away for a goal kick.
64th minute: USA was awarded a free kick for Daly’s challenge on O’Hara just outside the box on the right side. Heath took it and shot it over the English wall and into Telford’s gloves.
It was the 68th minute, the ball came in, English No. 8 deflected it slightly and smoothly, White reached it and shot in the left corner, celebrated her goal but was ruled offside!!!! The heartbreak! How the game would’ve changed has it been the English Equaliser! But, it wasn’t meant to be! 😦
USA intensified their attack as they saw England threaten every now and then. USA met such an opponent for the first time around in this competition and it showed! The teams walked shoulder to shoulder, toe to toe, brains to brains!
73rd minute saw substitute Kirby take the ball from a Hara-Horan partnership, ran on the left flank from right in between Americans occupation :’) , Scott received the pass and saved possession by an amazing sliding tackle keeping ut to herself, but the next pass was intercepted.
78th minute was a blockbuster! Stokes ran inside the American box on the left, sent in a well-timed accurate pass, White skipped right over it and a chance was missed! VAR checked for a possible penalty for challenge on White by USA No.4 Sauerbrunn. After a lengthy check, penalty was awarded to England and a Yellow for Sauerbrunn. But oooohh, Steph Houghton missed the spot kick! The US GK jumped to her right, Houghton shot to her left and Naeher saved the shot and the day for the Americans!!
Houghton misses the Penalty!
Bright was sent off for a challenge on Morgan after 80 minutes of play as The English came down to 10 players on the field. Daley made way for Stanway in the 88th minute for England.
7 minutes were added to regulation time. England looked hassled and did not work well under pressure. They lost the ball, and easily committed fouls as The Americans played on their psycho and irritated them with their time wasting techniques! Morgan kept the ball on the flanks and shadowed it till out of play. 4th minute of additional time saw English players Stokes and Kirby run up, but Horan cleared the air for USA. Parris was handed a yellow after a challenge on Lloyd with hardly 2 minutes to go.And the time went by without any real chances for England!
They have once again failed to advance out of the Semifinals, and it seems 2015 over again for Coach Phil Neville! England will look to at least get a bronze in the 3rd place match. Nevertheless, I believe England is on the cusp of creating history and they’ll do it eventually, if not now, next time! USA did what it does- reach the finals! 😀 They were quick, smart and aggressive throughout. The quality shows!
Onto the Finals then!
All the views above are author’s own. They are not meant to offend anyone. This is not an official coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019. The author owns no rights in this tournament
Trailblazers! 
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