Jill Ellis has some tough choices to make against top-ranked Germany as the U.S. looks for a second straight trip to the World Cup final.
MONTREAL — One game at a time has been the mantra for the U.S. national team during this Women's World Cup. But in reality? They've been well aware of their collision course with Germany.
After five games apiece, that marquee semifinal matchup has arrived. While there were some bumps in the road for both sides, each team did its part to ensure the world's top two squads will go head-to-head Tuesday at Olympic Stadium.
"It's the No. 1 and the No. 2 team — It's almost like a final in itself," U.S. forward Alex Morgan said. "It's going to be a great game tomorrow for the fans. We've been watching Germany a lot knowing that we could very well see them in the semifinal. The day has finally come tomorrow, and we will be ready."
After a series of efficient but largely underwhelming performances, the U.S. enjoyed a stylistic breakthrough in the 1-0 quarterfinal win over China on Monday. With Morgan Brian inserted as a holding midfielder and Carli Lloyd given more flexibility to attack, the Americans displayed slick ball movement that kept the Chinese pinned back from start to finish.
But China is no Germany. Having displaced the U.S. as the world's top-ranked team, Germany has the ability to test the Americans in a way no either team has in Canada thus far. Although it's been a while since the U.S. wasn't the favorite in a given match, many have tabbed the Germans — who have scored 20 goals in five games — as the team to beat.
"I'm going to go out there and fight like an underdog, even though I still think we're the best team in the world," Lloyd said. "At the same time, I think that there is a different air and a different feeling with the group than we had prior to the China game. We've got the momentum, we displayed some really great things, we're going to go into this game much more confident and we're going to put Germany on their heels."
How U.S. coach Jill Ellis plans to combat Germany is the key question. In addition to adding Brian, Ellis also gave winger Kelley O'Hara and forward Amy Rodriguez their first starts of the tournament in the win versus China. Yet more shuffling appears to be in the cards against Germany, with midfield stalwarts Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday returning from suspension.
With Rapinoe back on the left flank, Ellis will likely decide between starting O'Hara or Tobin Heath on the opposite side. The speedy Rodriguez could get the nod up top again, but Abby Wambach, Sydney Leroux and Christen Press are viable options there as well.
In central midfield, Holiday and Lloyd had started every game together before Brian stepped in Friday. Ellis could go back to that duo, or she could switch to the 4-2-3-1 formation used late in the win over Colombia that gets all three players on the field together.
No matter the alignment, the question remains: Can the U.S. get the most out of Holiday and Lloyd going forward?
"Let's hope so," Ellis said with a wink. "We'll figure that out. They're both attacking personalities. It's pick and choose the moments because obviously Germany is a tremendous transition team. It's that measure and that balance, but yeah, we'd like to get them involved in our attack if possible."
Discussing the possibility of a midfield trio, Lloyd added: "The three of us are really comfortable playing with one another.
Read more at;
http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/11102/us-womens-team/2015/06/30/13165672/womens-world-cup-germany-stands-between-us-and-return-to
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