Women’s World Cup: United States Vs. China Preview, Who Will Advance To The Semifinal?

The United States and China are set to face off on Friday in the Quarterfinals of the Women’s World Cup. The United States defeated Colombia by a score of 2-0 on Monday to get to this matchup. This was the third consecutive shutout for the U.S. in the Women’s World Cup. They forced a red card on the Colombian goalkeeper and obtained two penalty kicks due to takedowns inside the box. The United States only converted one of these opportunities on a beautifully taken kick by Alex Morgan.

Meanwhile, China advanced to this stage by way of an early goal against Cameroon that they were unable to equal.

Coming into this game, the United States are without two of their top players, Lauren Holliday and Megan Rapinoe, who both obtained their second yellow card of the Women’s World Cup against Colombia, resulting in a one-game suspension. These two create more opportunities than anyone else on the roster. Rapinoe was the sole reason for the U.S. victory in their first group stage match against Australia. Holiday has been a major threat on set pieces and has played amazing central midfield, connecting the back four with the forwards.

A live stream of the match can be found here.

China is a great defensive team. They won’t bring a lot of pressure on the attacking front. They won’t bring the same pace that the Colombians brought against the struggling United States. They will keep their opponents from creating great chances. Like the U.S., China has only conceded three goals in the Women’s World Cup thus far.

On top of being a great defensive team, the Chinese are one of the youngest teams in the Women’s World Cup with an average age of 23 on their roster. On the other end, the United States is one of the oldest teams in the Women’s World Cup with an average age of 28. Playing great defense takes a lot of stamina, which the Chinese will have due to the young talent in the squad.

This is the first time since the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final that these two teams will meet in the World Cup. In 1999, the U.S. won the tournament in memorable fashion, in penalty kicks.

One thing is for sure: The United States will need to play much better Friday than they did against Colombia and Nigeria in order come out victorious and advance to the semi-final.

The match is set for kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET.

[Image Source: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images]