China face a stern test ahead as they prepare to go head to head with the USWNT. USA were against Colombia last time out a match they won by a 2-0 score line. However it must be said that the US Women's team were not in complete control of the match with the South American side showing a lot of promise.
But it was Alex Morgan who opened up the scoring, putting the ball in the net just eight minutes into the second half. Carli Lloyd scored the second goal from the spot ensuring that USA qualify to the next round where they are now destined to go against China.
U.S. coach Jill Ellis seemed satisfied with the team's progress despite the fact that it was not one of the team's best outings
"This is the World Cup — I'm really satisfied with advancing," Ellis said postgame. "It's about finding a way."
USA have done well in the tournament so far but there is much room for improvement especially as far as attacking play is concerned. The strikers have not been at their level best but thankfully for the USWNT, star striker Alex Morgan is starting to get the rub of the green.
Midfielder Carli Lloyd who has been one of the team's top performers is expecting things to get difficult in the latter stages of the tournament and is hoping that her side can maintain their consistency moving forward.
"The effort is there — we just need to put it all together on the field," Lloyd said. "We're playing a little bit more of a direct style, which has been working. But I think we've got to continue to search for our form and rhythm on the field because the deeper we get, the harder it's going to get."
"We've got so many talented players on the team, and I don't think we've maxed into anybody so far," Lloyd said. "Yes, defensive shape has been strong. But I think in order for us to win this thing and in order for us to show the world what we've got, we've got to take some risks at some point."
"I think it's females in general — we all tend to overthink things, overanalyze things," Lloyd added. "We want to be at our best. That's the fact. We want to all be playing well, we want to all be peaking. At the end of the day, it's a game we've played our whole lives.
"When we step on the field, we've just got to let instincts take over."
Abby Wambach expressed similar opinions and urged her teammates to be more clinical infront of the goal.
"All of us know that we want to play better football," forward Abby Wambach said. "We want to create more consistent chances. But the better teams we play, the fewer chances you're going to create. Those chances that you create, you have to bury."
China on the other hand who have thrice been knocked out of the tournament in the quarter-final stage will be hoping they can break the curse and advance to the next round of the tournament at the expense of one of the competition's favorites.
China vs USA lineups
China's First XI: Wang Fei (GK); Liu; Wu; Li; Wang Shanshan; Zhao; Lou; Han; Tan; Wang Lisi; Ren
USWNT's First XI: Solo (GK); Sauerbrunn; O’Hara; Rodriguez; Lloyd; Krieger; Morgan; Brian; Heath; Johnston; Klingenberg
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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