The United States have done it again, and off a header from Carli Lloyd have moved on to their seventh straight semifinals, getting to the final four every Women's World Cup. The United States had solid defense once again in their quarterfinals game against China, extending their shutout streak to 423 minutes behind Hope Solo's goalkeeping. After Germany eliminated France in penalties earlier in the day, the United States defeated China regulation time to set up a key match against one of the best teams in the world in Germany.
The United States last matchup against Germany came in 2003, where the Germans won 3-0. Overall, they are 2-0-1 vs Germany in World Cup play. Germany, however, has won two of the last three championships, winning the tournament in 2003 and 2007. The United States lost on penalties in the finals against Japan in the 2011 World Cup, the most recent, placing higher than Germany for the first time since the United States beat the Germans in their famous 1999 championship run.
One name that has grown exponentially across the United States is Alex Morgan. She's a young superstar forward who utilizes her extraordinary striking ability, speed and footwork in the United States advantage in the opposing zone. Morgan is one of the few players in the world that Germany might have a difficult time defending against, and German keeper Nadine Angerer is going to have to be on the top of her game to stop Morgan and the United States from scoring. Morgan is the United States' X Factor in the rest of the World Cup, because she is rested more than most tournament players due to her injury hindering her ability to play early on in the tournament, and her skill set continues to be an important part of the United States gameplans in international completion.
Meanwhile on the Germans side, they have the best offensive team in the world, and will face their hardest task yet going against Hope Solo and a United States defense that has only allowed one goal in five games, including zero in their last four. Celia Sasic has scored six goals in five games in the tournament, and is the top scorer of this World Cup so far. While no defense Germany has faced has been as strong as the United States, the U.S. has not seen an offense as strong as Germany's and nobody in the world except for possibly a healthy Morgan could match Sasic's goal scoring ability. Anja Mittag has five goals for the Germans, and could also prove to be a big threat to the United States defense Tuesday.
The United States has scored seven goals in their five games, while Germany has scored 20! That's a remarkable four goals per game average, and is almost twice as high as the second highest, Switzerland squad, who have 11 goals. Germany's two highest goal scorers have combined for more than any team except for the Swiss, while the United States only have two two goal scorers in Megan Rapinoe (who was suspended for the quarterfinal game) and Lloyd who scored the winner against the Chinese. On the opposite side, no goaltender who has played four matches so far has near the save percentage Hope Solo of the United States has so far, at a fantastic 91%. Canada's keeper Erin McLoed who faces off against England in the quarterfinals has an 88% (on 8 shots compared to Solo's 11), the only other keeper remaining with over an 81%. Angerer is only at 75% so far, and has given up three goals over five games. While it is still a strong performance, she will have to be even more effective against a United States team who has scoring ability.
Ultimately, this game will come down to offense or defense. Germany has by far the best offense in the world, and proved that with their 10-0 blowout of Côte d'Ivoire in the opening match, while the United States looks to continue to set records for their shutout streak with the best defense in the world allowing only one goal through five games. With the United States getting Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday back from suspension and Germany being faced with what could be multiple injuries according to their manager, the United States look to have a slight advantage going in, but with both teams being equally rested, equally prepared, and evenly matched, this should be an extremely tight matchup that could result in extra time or penalty kicks.
