2011 runner-up United States face an unlikely challenge from Colombia on their upcoming match in the Round-of-16 stage of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup at the Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada on Monday, June 22.
Jill Ellis' ladies not only survived the tournament's "group of death" but they also came out on top of it. They beat good teams in Australia (3-1) and Nigeria (1-0), but Sweden forced them into a draw. So far, the American defense had only given up a lone goal and it is not expected that any team would add to that soon.
ESPN reported that they will have an easier path to the final as the only challenging match awaits in the semis against either Germany or France. The problem with this, however, is that would they be toughened enough to handle the pressure from any of those powerhouse teams enough to advance to the championship?
Meanwhile, Colombia had drawn versus Mexico and upset France 2-0 to advance in the knockout stage. While their last game was a 1-2 loss to England, Fabián Taborda's team is a gritty bunch who does not give up so easily. Winger Lady Andrade even predicted that they are going to beat the favorites coming into the match, as per USA Today.
The predicted result is a tight United States win over Colombia, 1-0. Las Chicas Superpoderosas were killing giants as of late, but the mighty Team USA will still prevail despite Andrade's fearless forecast.
U.S.A. starting lineup (4-2-2-2 formation): Solo; Krieger, Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Klingenberg; Lloyd, Holiday; Brian, Rapinoe; Press, Leroux
Colombia starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Sepúlveda; C. Arias, Clavijo, N. Arias, Velásquez; Gaitán, Montoya; Ospina, Rincón, Andrade; Vidal