Final, 1-0 United States: It’s all over in Ottawa. Team USA moves on to the semifinals.
The Americans are celebrating after delivering a complete performance to down China. The 1-0 scoreline that Lloyd’s goal provided doesn’t reflect the balance of play, as Team USA controlled the game from start to finish and barely gave China a sniff of the ball.
Team USA was confident and capable with the ball, and hungry without it. China had no answers for the United States’ lively attack and suffocating defense.
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Team USA will play Germany on Tuesday in Montreal in the semifinals. No. 1 meets No. 2.
That’s all for now, and thanks for joining us. Let’s discuss this one on Twitter @NESNsoccer and Facebook. Be sure to keep an eye out for some news, fan reactions, analysis and opinion that is on the way on NESN.com.
Postgame analysis of USA-China >>
90th minute, 1-0 United States: There will be a minimum of three minutes of stoppage time in the second half.
89th minute, 1-0 United States: Press wins the ball in the midfield and dribbles into China’s penalty area, but her curled shot misses the target.
86th minute, 1-0 United States: Press shoots over the crossbar after a well-worked set-piece routine frees her inside China’s penalty area.
85th minute, 1-0 United States: Wambach enters in Team USA’s final substitution. She replaces Rodriguez.
81st minute, 1-0 United States: Team USA makes another change. O’Reilly enters. Morgan exits.
77th minute, 1-0 United States: Team USA still is in firm control of the game, but its advantage remains at one. The United States has expended a lot of energy up to this point. China needs a late burst in order to have a chance of coming back into the game here in the latter stages.
74th minute, 1-0 United States: Han exits and Tang enters, as China makes its final substitution.
73rd minute, 1-0 United States: Team USA nearly takes a two-goal lead, but Krieger’s long-range shot hits the post. Lloyd then scoffs the rebound effort, but she’s judged offside.
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70th minute, 1-0 United States: Team USA’s defending has been air-tight for most of the 2015 Women’s World Cup.
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64th minute, 1-0 United States: After allowing Team USA to dominate the first hour and going down by a goal, China is showing signs of life.
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61st minute, 1-0 United States: Team USA makes its first substitution. O’Hara exits. Press enters.
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58th minute, 1-0 United States: China makes its second substitution. Pang replaces Tan.
51st minute, 1-0 United States: Lloyd heads Team USA to a deserved lead.
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It came after a set piece. Johnston floated a pass into China’s penalty area, and Lloyd out-jumped Zhao to head the ball past Wang.
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Lloyd now has scored in consecutive games.
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47th minute, 0-0: Rodriguez cuts inside and shoots with her left foot from 25 yards out, but her effort misses the target.
46th minute, 0-0: The second half is underway.
Halftime, 0-0: That’s the end of the first half. It’s goal-less.
That’s more like it, from Team USA’s perspective. The United States was confident and relentless in the first half, pinning China deep inside its own half and creating a host of scoring chances. Rodriguez should have put Team USA in front after two minutes. She didn’t.
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Nevertheless, Team USA played its most impressive half of the tournament so far. Its attacking dynamism unsettled China from the start, and its intense pressing negated the Steel Roses’ vaunted passing game. Rodriguez was central in both aspects, despite the early miss.
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45th minute, 0-0: China has its first chance of the game, as Wang shoots from the edge of the penalty area and misses narrowly wide.
43rd minute, 0-0: Team USA remains by far the better team, as the first half nears its conclusion. It’s possessing the ball well and finding spaces with fine off-the-ball movement.
37th minute, 0-0: Lloyd powerfully shoots a free kick on goal but Wang punches it clear.
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35th minute, 0-0: China is makes an early substitution. Wang replaces Lou, perhaps because of injury.
31st minute, 0-0: Johnston heads Heath’s corner kick powerfully toward the goal but misses the target by a foot or so high.
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29th minute, 0-0: Lou fouls Johnston near the sideline. She somehow escapes a yellow card for her high challenge on the U.S. defender.
26th minute, 0-0: China’s goalkeeper is causing havoc in her own box. She has left her line to punch the ball on two occasions and missed both times, leading to scoring chances for Team USA.
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A defender clears Johnston’s shot off the goal line in the second instance.
23rd minute, 0-0: Team USA is playing with a level of aggression it hasn’t showed so far in the World Cup. The Americans’ attacking movement is dynamic, and they’re passing at a high tempo.
The United States also is pressing China deep in its own half, forcing turnovers in promising positions. We’ll see how long Team USA can maintain this pace of play.
20th minute, 0-0: O’Hara heads a cross wide. Team USA still is controlling the game.
20th minute, 0-0: Morgan shoots on goal, but Wang saves it.
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12th minute, 0-0: Team USA has dominated possession and tempo early on, while China struggles to establish a passing rhythm and gain a foothold in the game.
Eighth minute, 0-0: Rodriguez and Krieger combine on the right to set up a chance for O’Hara, who shoots just over China’s goal.
Fifth minute, 0-0: Morgan shoots from a tight angle, but Wang saves it.
Second minute, 0-0: It’s a bad start for Rodriguez, who walks in on goal but scuffs her shot badly wide. Team USA should be ahead right now.
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Kickoff, 0-0: USA-China is underway at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa.
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Pregame: Ellis’ suspension-induced lineup changes are in.
Solo and the back four remain the same as always, but the midfield now includes Morgan Brian and Kelly O’Hara, who haven’t played much in this year’s tournament. Watch to see whether Brian’s presence liberates Lloyd, whose attacking instincts rarely have been on display in Canada. It’s a big game for the U.S. No. 10.
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We also don’t know whether Heath and O’Hara can provide the creative outlet from the wings that Rapinoe has done so capably.
Abby Wambach drops to the bench in a change up front. Amy Rodriguez starts for the first time, partnering with Alex Morgan. Their speed could unsettle China’s defense if it plays with a high line. If China drops deep, Morgan and Rodriguez might be less effective.
7 p.m.: Here are the lineups.
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5 p.m. ET: The United States women’s national soccer team looks east for its next step toward a potential title in the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Team USA faces China on Friday at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa in the Women’s World Cup quarterfinals. The teams’ rivalry dates to the 1990s — the earliest days of women’s soccer’s premier global competition — but history means little on the field in Canada.
Second-ranked Team USA has yet to hit its attacking stride in the tournament, but its tough defense and strong mentality have carried it to this point. Head coach Jill Ellis is hoping forwards Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan and other attacking players find their form in Eastern Canada after struggling through their first four games, which took place in the western part of the country.
China has surprised and impressed many with its quick passing game at Canada 2015 and surprisingly sturdy defense. Its march to the quarterfinals suggests China is returning to the heights it enjoyed at the end of the last century when it played Team USA to a goal-less deadlock for 120 minutes before succumbing on penalty kicks in the final. Star players such as midfielder Wang Lisi weren’t involved back then, but they’re looking to write new history.
Team USA has to face China without two of its top midfielder. Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe are suspended for USA-China because of yellow-card accumulation.
USA-China kicks off at 7:30 p.m. Join us right here for all the action from Lansdowne Stadium.
How to watch USA-China >>
Thumbnail photo via Michael Chow/USA TODAY Sports Images
