LYON, France _ Of all the words flung around before the U.S. faced England in a World Cup semifinal Tuesday, standing above silly accusations the Americans were arrogant and had breached etiquette by scouting out their opponents' hotel for possible future use, was one essential truth uttered by England coach Phil Neville.
"America has got that ruthless streak of wanting to win," he said, summing up what has driven the U.S. women throughout the soccer program's history. That quality continues to separate the U.S. from rivals who are pursuing them, as they demonstrated on Tuesday in a 2-1 victory at Stade de Lyon that launched them into Sunday's final and gave them a shot at winning their second straight championship. They will face the winner of Wednesday's semifinal between Sweden and the Netherlands.
The deepest team in the tournament again demonstrated it is also gritty and resourceful and resilient. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saved the day when she stopped England's Steph Houghton on a penalty kick in the 84th minute by getting her body in front of the ball. The U.S had built that lead despite the absence of forward Megan Rapinoe, who had scored all four of their goals in their 2-1 victory over Spain in the round of 16 and 2-1 quarterfinal triumph over France. Rapinoe told Fox Sports after the match that a minor hamstring strain kept her out of the match. She said she expects to play in the final.
Not many teams can win without their co-scoring leader but the U.S. pulled it off, and did it with a bit of sass that entertained the Americans in the crowd of 53,512.
Team captain Alex Morgan, celebrating her 30th birthday, added a twist to her celebrations after she scored on a header for the second U.S. goal, which held up as the winner: She turned toward the crowd and mimed drinking a cup of tea, tilting her head back and extending her pinky finger as she lifted the imaginary cup. Morgan surely won't be invited to high tea in England anytime soon, but she has more important plans _ such as playing in Sunday's final.
The U.S. women will play in their third straight final and fifth overall. They've won three titles. They'd have to be favored over Sweden _ which they defeated 2-0 in group play _ or the Netherlands, another up-and-coming team that has yet to develop the unshakable determination the Americans have made their trademark.
The U.S defense has been challenged during the tournament but has rarely been overwhelmed; Naeher has been a clutch player for a team that is energized by pressure and is winning on more than its prodigious skill. "I think tactically this team has been a little more adapting than in the past in some of the games that we've played," Christen Press, who replaced Rapinoe in the starting lineup and scored the first U.S goal Tuesday with an 11th-minute header, said during a news conference on Monday.
"That's only natural. You're in a World Cup and the stakes are so much higher. I think huge credit to Alyssa and our back line. It's not easy for any team that has relied a lot on their attacking mindset and being the aggressor as much as we have in the last two games. Both did it beautifully and it was a force to be reckoned with and I think that's really cool."
For the third straight game the U.S. women had to play a rugged match against a team whose year _ or maybe decade _ would have been made by beating them. The U.S. lineup was different but its ruthlessness was the same as it has been throughout this tournament. Indeed, throughout the years. One more time and they're champions again. That's their cup of tea.
