Topics: USWNT, China, United States, FIFA Women's World Cup, Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Holiday, Jill Ellis
They are the two players that have created the most chances for the team. Some players call Lauren Holiday the unsung hero in the team.

Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday were booked with yellow cards in their game against Colombia and will pay the price for a second booking in the tournament by watching the USWNT take on China from the stands. Based on the stats, their team could really suffer without two of their most experienced and creative players.

The two players have created the most chances for their team in the past four games. Rapinoe has a total of ten chances created and Holiday adds eight over the course of the tournament. The rest of their team combined has created just one more than these two players.

Rapinoe was the one that led the USWNT to victory in their opening game and is the leading scorer for the Red White and Blue with two goals and one assist. Those two goals came in the game against Australia. Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Carli Lloyd have scored once in this tournament. 

Rapinoe is also the player that has tallied the most touches in the attacking third for Jill Ellis' team with 115. Next up in that same list is Holiday with 64. They are also the players who have felt the most comfort with the ball on their feet throughout the World Cup for the United States. Holiday has 293 touches and Rapinoe 258.

Another aspect that the team could be concerned about is that they will be missing two of their biggest leaders for this game. Rapinoe just passed the 100 caps with the national team this summer and has a total of 106 after the game with Colombia. Holiday adds even more experience with 128 games and 819 World Cup minutes played. 

Abby Wambach felt that the referee succeeded in trying to get both players booked knowing that a yellow card could be a big hit against the USWNT. Wambach's comments on Stephanie Frappart almost got her out of the game as well but ended up in a warning for the all-time leading goalscorer in the USWNT. 

Tobin Heath, a midfielder said her two teammate would be missed in their very important game against China. They deserve a lot of credit for having the USWNT make it this far.

"I think [Holiday's] an unsung hero on our team. Her work ethic and just her ability and her vision on the field is tremendous," Heath said. "Obviously Pinoe has been one of our stars this tournament so far in her ability to create and be dangerous."

Some are still optimistic despite the big absences