Something’s gotta give. The United States and Germany will put their unbeaten tournament records on the line when they square off this coming Tuesday in the semifinals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup. Both teams are playing some excellent soccer of late so expect a mouth-watering contest between the two sides.
Who will grab the edge in this battle between the world’s top two teams? Read on below for a in-depth breakdown of this blockbuster matchup and while you’re at it, you can check out our preview of the other semifinal between Japan and England.
The United States barged into the semifinals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup with a nerve-wracking 1-0 victory over China on Friday night. Carli Lloyd scored the winner for the Americans, flicking in a gorgeous header in the 51st minute for the game’s only goal. The 32-year-old captain has now scored 65 goals in 200 international caps for the USA.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]It was a huge result for the Americans who are now unbeaten in their last 25 games against China (21-0-4). With the victory, the Americans moved to the Women’s World Cup semifinals for the seventh consecutive year. Things are bound to get tougher, though, for the USA as standing in its way in the next round are the mighty Germans.
For the Americans to grab the all-important win this coming Tuesday, they will need to be solid at the back once again. With their clean sheet against China, the United States has now gone 423 minutes without conceding a goal. That’s the longest such streak for any American side in the Women’s World Cup and the third longest by any team in the history of the tournament.
On the offensive end, the onus is on Alex Morgan to rediscover her goal-scoring form against Germany. Morgan, who has scored 52 goals in 89 international caps for the USA, was a non-factor in the quarterfinal win against China. She is expected to get more chances, though, this time around with the return of Megan Rapinoe to the starting lineup.
Rapinoe, who was suspended in the previous match because of two yellow cards, has scored two goals and one assist in this tournament thus far. She has scored a total of 31 goals in 106 international appearances for the United States in her career.
The US leads Germany in their head-to-head matches in the World Cup, 2-1. The Germans, though, emerged victorious in their last meeting in this tournament, thrashing the Americans 3-0, in the semifinals of the 2003 World Cup.
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Betting on Germany
When it comes to penalties, the Germans are just a different class.
Top-ranked Germany booked a place in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup with a dramatic 5-4 penalty shootout victory against France on Friday. Nadine Angerer was the star of the show for the Germans in that shootout, denying France’s fifth attempt to seal the two-time champions’ passage into the next round.
The Germans’ victory wouldn’t be possible, though, without the heroics of their star striker Celia Sasic. With time winding down and Germany trailing by a single goal, Sasic calmly sank an 84th-minute penalty to send the game into extra time. Sasic has been on a tear in this tournament, scoring six goals in five matches played. She has now scored a whopping 63 goals in 109 international caps for Germany.
That being said, the Germans were disappointing in this match as they were thoroughly outplayed by a vibrant French side. The French had a 24-17 advantage in shot attempts as they attacked with gusto the German backline. Only wasteful finishing prevented the French from recording a stunning upset.
The Germans can ill afford a repeat of that display in the semifinals as they will surely be punished by a world-class American attack. Germany needs to control the tempo right from the get-go and impose its will immediately on the offensive end. The Germans lead the entire tournament not only in goals scored (20) but also in shot attempts (134). They will have their work cut out for them, though, against a USA side that has recorded clean sheets in its last four World Cup matches.
A main source of concern for Germany heading into Tuesday’s clash is midfielder Dzsenifer Marozsan’s ankle injury. Marozsan hyperextended her left ankle in the game against France and is a major doubt for Germany’s crunch showdown with the USA. Marozsan’s a key piece of this German attack, scoring 26 goals in 52 caps for the national team.
Writer’s Prediction
Germany (+140) prevails in another penalty shootout.
