Germany v. USA

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Germany v. USA

"Women's Soccer's Steven Gerrard" Fires USA To Final

by Jeremy Ruane

With her ability to deliver big goals in big matches, Team USA captain Carli Lloyd is fast becoming the Steven Gerrard of world women's football.

The scorer of gold medal-winning goals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Women's Football Tournament Finals, the midfield general delivered the goods again for her country on June 30, scoring a crucial penalty before setting up the match-clinching second goal as the USA overcame Germany 2-0 to earn a place in the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup Final.

A 51,176-strong US-leaning crowd repeatedly roared on their heroines to victory under the roof of Montreal's Olympic Stadium, although it was the Germans who held the upper hand in the early stages of the contest.

Simone Laudehr's driving runs down the right were the top-ranked team's initial source of danger, and it was from one such thrust that the game's first corner materialised, in the third minute. Lena Goessling's delivery was met by Melanie Leupolz, whose twelve yard header landed on the roof of the net.

The USA responded with a corner of their own four minutes later. Megan Rapinoe's delivery was met at the near post by Julie Johnston, and but for the outstretched leg of Nadine Angerer, the Americans would have taken the lead.

Germany's captain was troubled by a teasing Tobin Heath cross-shot seconds later, before the European champions stormed downfield on the counter-attack, Leupolz and Goessling combining with Alexandra Popp, whose cross-shot was tipped over the bar by Hope Solo.

Back came the USA, Lloyd leading the charge, and swiftly bringing Rapinoe into play. She did Leonie Maier like a kipper as she twisted her way into the penalty area, where she undid all her good work by shooting straight at Angerer.

Germany's goalkeeper produced another big save in the fourteenth minute. Ali Krieger picked out Lloyd, who killed the ball superbly before laying it off into the stride of Heath. She instantly threaded a pass through the German defence which allowed Alex Morgan to storm through on goal with just Angerer to beat.

But the 'keeper stood firm, and managed to block the shot with her leg to once again leave the crowd groaning in despair. "They were so incredibly loud", Lloyd said afterwards. "When they got going, it brought chills to my arms!"

Throughout the day in Montreal, no-one could be in any doubt that Team USA was in town - their fans were everywhere, gender and age regardless, replica shirts, stars and stripes flags … and their chants of "USA, USA" regularly reverberated off the closed roof at Stade Olympique as they urged their charges on.

Unsurprisingly, given such support, the USA began to gain the upper hand in this clash of the titans, and in the 25th minute, Lloyd had a shot blocked. Rapinoe latched onto the rebound and worked a one-two with Morgan before laying the ball back to Meghan Klingenberg, whose teasing cross to the far post was grabbed by Angerer.

Back came Germany, four minutes later via another Goessling free-kick. Morgan Brian headed the ball clear, but a millisecond later Popp clashed heads with the midfielder, an incident which delayed play for a few minutes while both underwent treatment.

Popp was bleeding from her head wound, and eventually returned to the fray sporting a natty line in head bandages. Brian, meanwhile, appeared to be rather dazed, but it wasn't long before she was back on the park, her presence in front of the back four allowing Lloyd the freedom to push on in support of lone striker Morgan in attack.

After Johnston's timely intervention thwarted the progress of Celia Sasic in the 33rd minute, a rousing American attack had Germany on the ropes three minutes later, but they managed to stand firm - just!

Heath - a fine game - started things off with a marvellous jinking run into the area past three opponents. Annike Krahn's intervention prevented her adding a fourth, but the defender's clearance fell invitingly for Klingenberg, whose goalbound shot cannoned to safety off Saskia Bartusiak, the ricochet leaving Angerer stranded and grateful that the ball went past the post.

Cue a string of corners, the first of which was cleared to Johnston. She beat two players before threading the ball through to Morgan, whose presence forced Germany to concede another corner.

Rapinoe's delivery was punched out by Angerer to Krieger, who lobbed the ball back into the danger zone. Johnston headed it down for Morgan, whose flick invited Heath to let fly. Twice she attempted to turn the ball home, but Germany held on for dear life, and survived to tell the tale.

Their response saw Tabea Kemme send a thirty

yard piledriver flying narrowly past Solo's right-hand post, to which the USA responded by going close two minutes before the end of a frenetic first half.

Klingenberg picked out the unmarked Morgan on the left, and she cleverly evaded Krahn's challenge before lifting her shot beyond both Angerer and the far post, with Heath flying in just too late to turn the ball home.

The second spell was just eighty seconds old when Lloyd met a Rapinoe corner with a fifteen yard header which bounced a foot past Angerer's left-hand upright. That roused the Germans into action as an attacking force, and in the 52nd minute Laudehr led a raid which culminated in her clipped cross from the right picking out Anja Mittag, whose header was turned round the post by Solo.

On the hour, Johnston allowed the ball to bounce in her penalty area, and Popp was on top of her in an instant. Within seconds, the striker had got in between the defender and Solo, but as she let fly, Johnston hauled her down, prompting Rumanian referee Teodora Albon to point to the penalty spot.

To the defender's relief, she was only booked - she could very easily (and perhaps should have) been sent off, but she stayed on the park to watch Solo produce some daring gamesmanship prior to the penalty being taken by Sasic.

The striker made light of it by sending Solo the wrong way from the spot, but it was ultimately a triumph in mental strength for the 'keeper, as Sasic watched in despair as her well-struck shot sped a foot past the post.

It was a massive moment in the match, but initially it didn't appear to phase the Germans. After Angerer had plucked a Krieger cross intended for Heath from the heavens, Leupolz's cross-field ball invited Laudehr to get the better of Klingenberg in the 63rd minute, something the midfielder achieved in style. Her cross picked out Mittag, whose shot flashed past the post.

Three minutes later, the tide began to turn. Klingenberg sent Morgan racing into the inside left channel, where she promptly did Krahn a treat before firing a low cross-shot across the face of goal.

Unperturbed, Morgan charged again sixty seconds later, with Krahn this time blocking her progress outside the area. Morgan's momentum took her into the box, and as she tumbled, referee Albon pointed to the penalty spot - the latest in an ever-growing list of adverse officiating decisions which have proven to be turning points in matches at Canada 2015.

After what seemed like an eternity, with jostling aplenty on the edge of the penalty area needing to be sorted out by the referee before the spot-kick could be taken, Lloyd stepped up to the mark and promptly sent Angerer the wrong way, the ball crashing into the net to the sound of the biggest roar of the night so far from the partisan crowd, in the 69th minute.

A couple of substitutions took place over the course of the next ten minutes which saw Kelley O'Hara, Dzsenifer Marozsan and Abby Wambach enter the fray, but it was the Germans who needed to find a way through a US defence which hasn't conceded a goal since Australia scored against them in the 27th minute of their opening game of the tournament.

That wasn't going to happen while they were firing wayward long-range efforts in the general direction of the target, and six minutes from time, the Americans punished them in the best possible manner, clinching victory in doing so.

Wambach chased down a lost cause on the left and held off a challenge before steering it back into the path of Klingenberg. Inside her was Lloyd, who had ghosted into a virtual chasm of space in the German penalty area, with nary a red-clad opponent near her.

How Lloyd exploited the situation, scything past two opponents to the by-line before fizzing in a low cross which O'Hara, careering in off the right flank, arrived at break-neck pace to turn home from point-blank range - 2-0, game over.

There was still time for Johnston to dodge another bullet as Sasic was brought to ground in the penalty area by the defender's close marking methods, but there was no way through for the world's top-ranked team in this match, their nearest rivals heartily celebrating a 2-0 triumph come the final whistle as their bid to win the FIFA Women's World Cup for an unprecedented third time continue unabated - next stop Vancouver, for Sunday's final.

Germany: Angerer; Maier (booked, 34), Krahn (booked, 67), Bartusiak, Kemme; Laudehr, Goessling, Leupolz; Mittag (Marozsan, 77), Sasic, Popp

USA: Solo; Krieger, Johnston (booked, 59), Sauerbrunn (booked, 38), Klingenberg; Lloyd, Brian, Holiday; Heath (O'Hara, 75), Morgan (Leroux, 90), Rapinoe (Wambach, 75)

Referee: Teodora Albon (Rumania)

2015 Draw