The United States will meet Asian giant China in the quarterfinal round of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. Their match will be held at the TD Place Stadium in Ottawa, Canada on Friday, June 26.
Ranked no. 2 in the world by FIFA, the Americans will be riding on the momentum of their 2-0 victory against bitter rival Colombia during the Round-of-16 knockouts. Forward Alex Morgan and midfielder Carli Lloyd provided the goals for the Yanks in turning back the challenge of Las Chicas Superpoderosas, as per Sporting News.
Meanwhile, China beat top African team Cameroon, 1-0, to set up a knockout match against TEAM USA in the quarters. Defender turned center forward Wang Shanshan again led the Steel Roses to the win by scoring the lone goal of the match.
The Chinese played without head coach Hao Wei, who was suspended for one match because of an in-game interference in the late minutes of their group meeting against New Zealand. Assistant coach Chang Wei-Wei guided the team over Cameroon, as reported by Yahoo Sports.
With Hao back in the sidelines against the Americans, expect China to unleash a more inspired play anchored on their discipline and organization. But as long as Jill Ellis' girls would play their game and dictate the tempo of the match, they will not be in trouble.
Prediction: Team USA will win a close one over China, 2-1. China will try to impose its physicality on the Americans, but Ellis will be ready for that.
U.S.A. starting lineup (4-2-2-2 formation): Solo; Krieger, Johnston, Sauerbrunn, Klingenberg; Lloyd, Holiday; Brian, Rapinoe; Press, Leroux
China starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Wang F.; Wu, Zhao, Li D., Liu; Tan, Ren; Han, Tang, Wang L.; Wang S.