After years of anticipation, months of preparation and three weeks of group-stage and Round-of-16 play, the business end of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup has arrived.
The US women's national team will clash with China in Ottawa Friday night (7:30pm ET, FOX, NBC Universo) as the tournament's eight surviving teams battle over two days for the four semifinal berths.
The US-China quarterfinal is a rematch of one of the most memorable games in US soccer history, the dramatic 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup final at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on July 10.
The top two women's programs in the world at that time, China and the US played out a scoreless draw, then a gripping penalty-kick shootout which ended with Brandi Chastain netting the decisive spot kick and ripping off her shirt in a delirious, iconic celebration in front of more than 90,000 fans, the largest turnout for a women's sporting event.
In winning the program's second World Cup, “the 99ers” set the standard that few of their successors have been able to match, stoking a raw hunger for another WWC trophy that is keener than ever 16 years down the line – even as the US have brought home multiple Olympic gold medals and generally dominated the world scene.
“I was watching at home, and all my teammates were watching too,” US fullback Ali Krieger told FIFA.com. “I thought it was a dream come true, just watching all the girls play. It is something I will never forget. I remember wanting to be in their shoes, be on that field and have that experience. I wanted that dream for myself.
“I loved Mia Hamm, and I really looked up to Julie Foudy as well, who is one of my mentors. That team really inspired the young players that provided the path for us and helped create what we have now.”
Meanwhile, China dropped into a tailspin after the turn of the century and have only now shown signs of a renaissance, climbing back into the global reckoning with a young but determined squad that averages just 23 years of age. They have only scored four goals in the tournament – two each from Wang Shanshan and Wang Lisi – but their tenacious defending has served them well.
Conversely, the US have not looked like the domineering force that they or their fans expected, with a sputtering attack leaning hard on the work of an outstanding back line that has conceded just one goal in four games. As questions mount regarding their difficulties with possession and creating chances, head coach Jill Ellis and her squad have expressed steadfast confidence that their best is yet to come in this event.
But their best may well be required against China's well-drilled defend-and-counter approach, which will clog the attacking third for the US with massed ranks of bodies prepared to soak up pressure and hit back on the break when opportunities present themselves.
“I feel we are getting better and better with every match that we play,” said Chinese midfielder Wang Shuang. “In the first game we were nervous, then the second game we were more relaxed, and in the third we got rid of more and more nerves.
“We watched the USA play and saw their strengths as well as their weaknesses, so in our next match we will use our strengths against their weaknesses. Their strengths are that they are physically strong, and they attack and defend fast. Their weaknesses are certain aspects in their defense, like how they turn, and that will be our focus.”
To further complicate their task, the USWNT must replace two key figures, Megan Rapinoe (pictured at right) and Lauren Holiday, who are suspended for this match due to yellow-card accumulation. Savvy young playmaker
Morgan Brian is expected to step in for Holiday in the middle of the park
, while Rapinoe's all-action role on the flanks will likely be handed to striker Christen Press, or perhaps veteran winger Heather O'Reilly, who has not played in the tournament.
Ellis said on Thursday that international soccer's all-time leading scorer Abby Wambach, whose longevity was a concern coming into this tournament, is fit and ready to play 90 minutes if needed.
That was taken as a hint that the star striker will probably start against China, as she has in three of the USWNT's four tournament matches to date, and her size and strength in a packed penalty box will likely make her a prime target, as usual, for crosses and set-piece deliveries.
But her teammates acknowledged this week that something new may be needed to reach their end goal this summer.
“In order for us to win this thing, and in order for us to show the world what we've got, we've got to take some risks at some point,” central midfielder Carli Lloyd told reporters on Wednesday. “We know that it's not our best. We know that we're capable of so much more.
“We're just following the direction of our coaches, the coaching plan, doing everything they ask of us,” she added. “At the end of the day, I've got full faith and confidence in everyone that we'll find our rhythm. We're working, we're grinding, the effort's there.”
