The USA kicked off against Australia in their first group stage match and put three past the Matildas in a game that would set the tone for the rest of the competition with a defensively disciplined team who pounces on the counter. Megan Rapinoe put away two goals in the first and second half to secure the first win of the competition.
Finally out of the 16-year shadow cast by the 1999 Women’s World Cup Champions, the 2015 winners are searching for the next team to beat. With literally no other team standing, it only makes sense to compare the champs head to head.
Goalkeeper: Scurry vs. Solo
For all the flack she has received, USWNT coach Jill Ellis has led her team to their first World Cup since 1999, avenging their lost to Japan in the 2011 WC Final.
Ellis took a lot of heat during this tournament because of her team’s lack of scoring and relying too much on her team’s defense to win games, but in the end it paid off.
The U.S. is now World Cup Champions and Jill Ellis and her team earned it.
There was a common theme present whenever someone spoke about Carli Lloyd after her shock and awe campaign the 2015 World Cup Final.
"She's just a beast man, she's unbelievable, a rock star.”
“She was obviously a beast.”
“Are you kidding me? The girl is just — she’s a beast.”
Happy belated birthday, America. Nevermind that your present came a day late. Maybe you were born a day too early.
In perhaps the most stunning opening to a World Cup final ever (except for that time Messi scored a hat trick in the opening 16' of a major international final...oh wait, that didn't happen), Carli Lloyd just picked up our nomination for player of the year and President of the United States with her unbelievable – seriously, we can't believe it – hat trick in the opening minutes of the USA-Japan final.
This is what leadership is.
England manager Mark Sampson gave a touching interview about Laura Bassett's own-goal and England's heartbreaking exit from the Women's World Cup.
Sampson called Bassett a hero for her play throughout the World Cup and said she doesn't deserve the World Cup ending that she got.
It was hard to believe at first when it popped up in the upper left hand corner of the TV during the broadcast of the semifinal between the United States Women’s National Team and Germany:
Over the past 5 games of the 2015 World Cup, Germany had average 11.8 shots on goal, not shots in general, shots on goal. Against the USWNT on Tuesday night, they only had one.
England will be wondering what could have been after losing a heartbreaker to Japan in the Women's World Cup semifinals.
Laura Bassett scored an own goal during injury time to send the defending champions into the final against the United States.
Japan opened the scoring on a 33rd minute penalty from Amy Miyama. England equalized on a Fara Williams penalty seven minutes later.
The score remained 1-1 until Bassett's own-goal in the 92nd minute.
Japan will play the U.S. on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.
Highlights (or lowlights, if you're an England fan) below:
Following the U.S. Women’s National Team’s 2-0 win over Germany on Tuesday night, we at The18 examined the top 5 storylines emerging from this semifinal victory:
In just a few hours from now, we will be witnessing probably the match of the year between the US and Germany, the two best teams in women's soccer.
With the exception of their game against France, the Germans cruised into the semis. The US on the other hand, has played a few nail biters to get to this point.
It's going to take a team effort in order for the USWNT to advance to the World Cup Finals. So, what will it take to defeat the Germans?
Here are three things: