It wasn’t pretty (again), but the US will take it. After another unimpressive, but ultimately victorious performance over Colombia, the US Women’s National Team is back in the quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup.
Up next for USWNT is China, which ended Cameroon’s Cinderella run in the round of 16. The Chinese have proven to be a pretty tough nut to crack defensively in this tournament. Can the struggling Americans – minus a couple of key pieces – find their way through for a spot in the semis?
Read on for our complete breakdown of the USWNT’s quarterfinal clash with China. Meanwhile, check out the other very intriguing quarterfinal matchups in Germany vs. France and Canada vs. England.
The USWNT booked its place in the World Cup quarterfinal with what turned out to be a comfortable 2-0 win over Colombia. The USWNT was hardly threatened by Las Cafeteras, who had their starting goalkeeper sent off early in the second half.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]However, the Americans continued the unconvincing play they’ve shown for just about the entire tournament. The tempo of their midfield play was again very slow and uninspired, with no real sense of urgency.
They were also dealt the double blow of midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday picking up yellow cards, which will see them suspended for the China game. Rapinoe’s absence, in particular, will rob even more flair and creativity from a struggling offense already lacking in both.
But on the bright side, star striker Alex Morgan finally got on the scoresheet with the opening goal – her 52nd career international goal in 88 caps – against Colombia and now looks back to her best after dealing with a knee injury prior to the tournament.
Furthermore, the US will also have a relatively easy quarterfinal assignment against China, a team the USWNT hasn’t lost to in 24 matches since 2003. The Americans destroyed China 3-0 in their latest meeting in April last year, their 20th win of the unbeaten run.
Meanwhile, the US defense – led by their rock solid defender Becky Sauerbrunn – has been spectacular all tournament, and should be able to contain the Chinese attacks. US ‘keeper Hope Solo has only conceded one goal throughout the tournament, and has kept a clean sheet in three straight matches.
Betting on China
China continued its impressive run in the tournament with a gritty 1-0 win over upstart Cameroon in the round of 16. A 12th minute strike from Wang Shanshan off a well-worked corner kick was enough to give the Chinese the win, their first in the World Cup knockout stage since reaching the final in 1999.
This relatively inexperienced Chinese team entered the competition as something of an unknown quantity, but it has shown that it is indeed very capable on both ends of the pitch.
The Chinese displayed their attacking prowess in their dominant 1-0 win over the Netherlands, wherein they outshot the Dutch 27-8, and their 2-2 draw against New Zealand. The Chinese also demonstrated their solid defensive discipline in the clean sheet against Cameroon – they kept one despite 21 shots from the Africans – and in their opening game against Canada, where they almost held on for a deserved draw.
China likely won’t be as gung ho against the US as it was against the Netherlands, though. Instead, it will lean more on its defensive solidity to frustrate an American attack that has struggled to impress throughout the tournament. The Chinese can also be dangerous on the counterattack, as they showed when they threatened Cameroon on the break on several occasions.
The big question for China, though, is whether it has enough quality upfront to take its chances and beat Solo in the US goal. The Chinese strikers on the squad have a combined 13 goals in 165 caps.
China has been eliminated in its last two appearances in the World Cup quarterfinal stage back in 2003 and 2007.
Writer’s Prediction
The US puts together its most complete performance yet with a 2-0 win over China. Create a betting account now and complete your Women’s World Cup quarterfinal picks today.
