The United States defeated China 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the World Cup 2015, Friday night in Ottawa. They will face Germany in the semifinals .
A goal of Carli Lloyd on a header in the 52nd minute gave the victory to the United States. The captain gave herself another reason to celebrate, she was at her 200th selection with the US team.
“I repeated this game so often. My coach has to be proud of me, because he has served me with thousand of balls like this one. I was often told to be present on air games”, said the 32-years old player. According to Lloyd, the victory gives an overdose of confidence to the American team, who have not always offered inspiring performance in this tournament.
The coach Jill Ellis praised the work of its players, who were deprived of two team-mates, Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe, suspended for an accumulation of yellow cards. “The team moved the ball very well. It was an inspired play and a great performance”, stated the American coach.
Pressed with questions about the next opponent, Germany, Ellis does not believe that the Americans will be better off because of the extension of the German played against France. “They are German, it will not be a disadvantage for them! I do not think there will be an impact on the players. At this level, they are very fit and can play as long as a team needs”.
American supporters in large numbers:
More than half of the 24,000 tickets available for this game have been sold to American supporters. Throughout the day, the southern soccer fans showed their colours in the streets of the city. They were heard loud and clear during the game with cheers for the USA.
American fans will have another opportunity to encourage their team on June 30 in Montreal against Germany.