The United States finished on top of the Group of Death with a narrow victory over Nigeria on Tuesday. The Americans will look to build on the momentum from that impressive Group D showing when they take on surprise package Colombia in the round of 16 at Commonwealth Stadium this coming Monday.
Can the Americans book their place in the quarterfinals? Or will Colombia pull off another gigantic upset? Read on below for a complete breakdown of this knockout clash and while you’re at it, you can check out our World Cup round of 16 previews of Brazil vs. Australia and Canada vs. Switzerland.
The United States booked a trip to Edmonton for the Round of 16 with a nerve-wracking 1-0 victory over Nigeria Tuesday at BC Place Stadium. Abby Wambach scored the winning goal for the Americans who have now advanced to the knockout stage in all but one of the seven World Cups.
[sc:Soccer240banner ]Wambach’s goal was a thing of beauty as she volleyed home Megan Rapinoe’s corner seconds before halftime. Wambach’s finish was a welcome sight for head coach Jill Ellis as it was the first time in this tournament that a forward has scored for the Americans. The captain has now scored a whopping 183 goals in 245 appearances for the American national team.
Also providing a much-needed boost to the USA offense was the return of star striker Alex Morgan. The most popular player in women’s soccer made her first ever World Cup start on Tuesday, playing 65 minutes against Nigeria. Morgan, who has been nursing a bone bruise on her knee, had only played a combined 23 minutes against Australia and Sweden.
What Morgan brings to the table for the USA is her timely forward runs. That provides an added dimension to an American offense that has been lacking some punch in this year’s World Cup. The Americans have scored just two goals in their opening three matches and they will need to get their attack in order if they want to go deep in this competition.
Morgan, in particular, can help the Americans improve on their play on set pieces. The U.S. had 18 set pieces (12 free kicks and six corners) in their last group match against Nigeria but only scored once. Morgan has been a prolific goal-scorer for the United States, scoring 51 international goals in 87 caps.
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Betting on Colombia
Colombia will live to fight another day in the Women’s World Cup after it secured a place in the round of 16 on Wednesday. Even though they lost 2-1 to England in their final group match, the Colombians’ four-point tally was enough to send them through to the knockout stages.
Lying in wait for Colombia in the second round is the pre-tournament favorite United States. The Colombians won’t be fazed by that matchup one bit, though, as they have already proven in this year’s World Cup that they can stand toe-to-toe and beat the very best.
Colombia pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the history of women’s soccer when it took down third-ranked France, 2-0, in their Group F clash on June 13. Colombia, ranked 28th in the world, is the lowest-ranked team to beat a top-10 side since FIFA began ranking women’s teams in 2003.
That being said, the Colombians will have their work cut out for them against a very experienced American squad. The USA already knows what it takes to win in this competition as it has won this event twice before. Colombia’s task got even tougher with goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda’s suspension after she picked up her second yellow card in the tournament against England.
Sepulveda played a key part in Colombia’s historic win against France, recording six saves in the shutout victory. With Sepulveda out, the onus is on backup goalie Stefany Castano to pick up the defensive cudgels for the Las Cafeteras. The 21-year-old only has eight international caps under her belt.
With such inexperience at the back, it’s going to take a total team effort for Colombia to record a massive upset against the United States. The counter-attack has been the bread-and-butter of this Colombia side so expect the Las Cafeteras to put numbers behind the ball and just hit the Americans on the break when the opportunity arises.
One player who has excelled in this strategy of Colombia is Lady Andrade. She has already scored twice in this competition, netting a goal each against European giants France and England. She has now racked up nine goals in 44 international caps for the Las Cafeteras in her career.
Writer’s Prediction
USA (-670) barges into the last eight with a resounding 3-0 win.
