The U.S. defeated England 2-1 in a close match on Tuesday and will advance to the 2019 Women’s World Cup final on Sunday. The U.S. will face the winner of the Netherlands and Sweden, who meet in the semi-final match on Wednesday. England will face the loser Saturday to determine third place.
USA vs. England: Highlights
- Megan Rapinoe was left out of the starting lineup due to a hamstring injury.
- Christen Press, replacing Rapinoe at forward, scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the match.
- England’s Ellen White scored in the 19th minute to tie the game at one.
- Alex Morgan scored the game-winner in the 31st minute.
- U.S. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saved a penalty kick with six minutes left in regulation time.
Women’s World Cup Fast Facts
- With the win over England, the U.S. have now won 11 consecutive matches in Women’s World Cup play and own the record for the longest winning streak in the tournament.
- The U.S. are the first country to reach the Women’s World Cup final three consecutive times.
- The U.S. also owns these World Cup records: most games played (49), most wins (39) and most goals scored (136)
- England’s Lionesses hold the Women’s World Cup record for most penalty kicks taken (4) and most penalties missed (3)
- Golden Boot race: Both Alex Morgan for the U.S. and England’s Ellen White scored in the first half and are tied with six goals apiece.
USA vs. England: First half highlights
Halftime score: USA 2, England 1
The U.S. outshot England 9-3 and England had 56% of the possession. The two sides were otherwise equal in the first half, each with two corners and three fouls.
40th minute: Yellow card, England. Millie Bright threw her right arm out across the face of Alex Morgan, knocking the U.S. forward to the turf. The U.S. placed the ensuing free kick into the box where it was headed wide.
31st minute: GOAL USA. On her 30th birthday, Alex Morgan gives the U.S. the lead again taking a ball dead center in the box from a pass from midfielder Lindsey Horan and heads it home. That’s Morgan’s sixth goal and she’s tied again with Ellen White for the Golden Boot award.
19th minute: GOAL England. Driving down into the U.S. zone, left winger Beth Mead played a great ball into the box and Ellen White put it away for England’s shot and first goal. White is now leading the golden boot competition with six goals.
10th minute: GOAL USA. Christen Press, making the start in place of Megan Rapinoe – gets her first goal of the tournament. Forward Tobin Heath played a long “through ball” down the right side. Defender Kelley O’Hara ran deep onto the ball and played a long cross in and Press made no mistake heading it into the net.
5th minute: Both teams are feeling each other out, but USA has had the ball in the England side of the field more so far. England is committing a few early fouls as it ties play more physical with the U.S. team. U.S. forward Alex Morgan has been the recipient of a few hard tackles.
USA vs. England: Second half highlights
Final Score: USA 2, England 1
90th minute: There will be seven minutes of stoppage time.
89th minute: England makes their last substitution. Midfielder Georgia Stanway comes in, replacing Rachel Daly.
87th minute: The U.S. makes their final substitution as Ali Krieger comes in to replace defender Kelley O’Hara.
86th minute: RED CARD England. Defender Millie Bright tackles U.S. forward Alex Morgan with her cleats and receives her second yellow card. Two yellow cards in a match is an automatic red card. England will now play with 10 women for the remainder of the match.
84th minute: PENALTY. After a long video review (VAR), Becky Sauerbrunn receives a yellow card for a challenge on Ellen White. Alyssa Naeher guesses correctly and saves the penalty kick, keeping the U.S. up 2-1.
80th minute: The U.S. makes its second substitution. Carli Lloyd comes in to replace forward Tobin Heath.
76th minute: Tobin Heath goes down with an apparent injury. After coming off the field for a short rest, she’s eventually waived back on in the 78th minute after a long wait.
71st minute: England makes their second substitution. Coach Phil Neville takes midfielder Keira Walsh off in favor of Jade More.
67th minute: Jill Scott plays a great one-touch pass down the middle of the U.S. defense. Ellen White picked it up and slotted a low shot past U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher. But the goal is called back on the offside.
64th minute: The U.S. makes their first substitution. Rose Lavelle goes down after making a great defensive play in her end of the field, injuring her hamstring in the process. She has been replaced by Sam Mewis.
58th minute: England makes the first substitution of the game. Forward Beth Mead is subbed out and is replaced by Fran Kirby to give the Lionesses fresh legs as they work toward the equalizer.
46th minute: Yellow card. USA. Lindsey Horan was issued a caution less than a minute into the second half for fouling England forward Rachel Daly.
Megan Rapinoe out of the starting lineup
In a stunning decision, Rapinoe, who has scored all four goals in the knockout stage for USA, will not be in the starting lineup, the team announced on Twitter. Unclear if she is injured, but the star was seen on the sidelines warming up prior to the game
According to the Goal.com’s Seth Vertelney, a U.S. team official said her absence is not disciplinary.
U.S. soccer confirmed during the match that Rapinoe had suffered a hamstring injury. The extent of that injury was not disclosed.
USA vs. England: How did they get here?
United States’ World Cup path
The U.S. Women won all three matches in the group stage. They beat Thailand 13-0, Chile 3-0 and Sweden 2-0 to win Group F and advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup.
The U.S. faced Spain in the Round of 16 in a match filled with controversial calls. The U.S was awarded two penalty kicks and Megan Rapinoe capitalized on both of them. It was the worst performance by the U.S. this tournament, but they bounced back in the Quarterfinals.
The U.S. was convincing in Friday’s quarterfinal win over France, thanks to clinical defense by the U.S. team throughout the first half. They managed to keep France without a single shot on target and – more importantly – off the scoreboard. The U.S. stumbled a bit in the second half, but displayed a show of defensive force worthy of World Cup champions. The lone French goal was only the second the U.S. has allowed all tournament.
England’s World Cup path
England has only advanced into the semi-final round once in their previous four World Cup appearances. They fell to Japan in the 2015 World Cup semi-final, settling for third place after beating Germany in the runners-up match.
2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup Bracket
USA vs. England: Past matchups
In their first-ever meeting with England, in 1985, the U.S. women lost by a score of 3-1. That match was the third match ever played by a United States Women’s National team.
Overall, the U.S. has won 10 of the 16 all-time meetings with England, losing four times and drawing twice. The two sides last met in March 2019 at the SheBelieves Cup. England ultimately won the tournament, but played the U.S. to a 2-2 draw.
Before that, the United States defeated England in their 2018 SheBelieves Cup match, by a score of 1-0.
