Their goal is now just four short victories away. But the margin for error shrinks considerably for the US women's national team as they enter the knockout stages of the Women's World Cup with a Round of 16 meeting with upstarts Colombia at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium on Monday night (8 pm ET, Fox Sports 1, NBC Universo).
Dropped into a less daunting corner of the tournament bracket than other trophy contenders, the USWNT remain strong favorites to win both this game and, should they advance, what would be a quarterfinal date with China, who defeated Cameroon 1-0 on Saturday. (Though a fearsome opponent like Germany or France will likely await in the semis.)
But “Las Cafeteras” (the Coffee Women) of Colombia stand ready to make life far more difficult for the US than the matchup would appear on paper.
So much so, in fact, that Colombia seem to have gleaned an extra edge in their mentality by playing up the idea that the USWNT have disrespected them and taken them lightly, despite the Americans' repeated statements to the contrary.
“They belittle us. They think we're a team they're going to walk all over and it will be an easy game for them,” star striker Lady Andrade said last week. “We're going to beat them since they like to talk so much.”
It's unclear whether they're basing this on remarks made during this World Cup, or recalling their group-stage clash with the USWNT in the 2012 Summer Olympics, where the US won 3-0 – and Andrade earned a ban for punching Abby Wambach in the face in an off-the-ball incident.
“They defeated us 3-0, however they said all sort of things because one of their players unfortunately got smacked,” said midfielder Yoreli Rincon. “But that happens in many matches. It always happens, there is a foul and a player is awarded a card following that episode. And because of something that happened three years ago, they’ve said things that have not been taken by us in the best way.
“They’ve said that it is a very easy game for them, that they are happy because they’ve played Colombia.”
If you're wondering, Andrade (No. 16 at right) sounds fairly unrepentant about that clash with Wambach, who is several inches taller than her and – according to her – subject to special treatment as an established star.
“I hit her, what else I can say?” Andrade told USA Today with a laugh. “If you look back at the video you'll see she hit me too, but we're Colombia so they don't want to review the whole episode.
“They [the USWNT] play very physically, taking a lot of shots, kicking out at you all the time,” she added, framing Monday's match as a meeting of strength vs. smarts. “Colombia's game is nice to watch, we play with touch, movement, we look for spaces, we try to trick you, to use our skill to deceive you. I think they will have a hard time dealing with this.”
Andrade's attitude epitomizes the chip on the collective shoulder of a team keenly aware of how lightly regarded they were coming into this tournament. But their 2-0 upset of championship contenders France in Group F play turned heads around the world, and has been called the greatest upset in the history of women's international soccer.
France, you may recall, soundly defeated the USWNT 2-0 in a February friendly. So the US are wary of their danger and, despite Colombia's many juicy soundbites, have taken pains not to escalate the pregame banter. Not that it's mattered all that much.
“I know they’ve made comments like they’ve been disrespected, but that’s not from us,” USWNT midfielder Megan Rapinoe said. “We definitely respect them as an opponent. We’ve seen what they’ve done in this tournament. I don’t think it’s any fluke that they beat France.
“In a way, I get it. They are an up-and-coming team and feel like they haven’t gotten the respect they think they deserve and they’re striving for. If that’s what is going to fire them up, that’s great. For us, we don’t need any extra motivation. This is the knockout round.”
Wambach, for her part, said she “moved past” the Andrade incident long ago and spoke with empathy of Colombia's situation.
“Surely, they have heart, right? They are a good team. They have gotten to the Round of 16, which is not an easy thing to do, especially with the expectations they’ve had,”
said the USWNT's captain
.
“They are that sleeper team that are living above their expectations, and it’s awesome, not only for women’s sports and women’s football, but it’s always fun to root for those kind of teams, right?”
Pointing to their fight against traditional prejudices regarding women's sports back home, Colombia feel they have destiny on their side. But they will probably need all that and more as they must face the favored Yanks without starting goalkeeper Sandra Sepulveda, who is suspended on yellow-card accumulation.
So backup Catalina Perez, a redshirt sophomore at the University of Miami, will step up to the challenge of stopping Wambach, Rapinoe & Co. – and springing another upset for the ages.
