Coach Jill Ellis post match gave credit to the players for the win and not the change in tactics or formation. However, the under pressure Ellis criticized for sticking to a one dimensional attack which lacked speed and flair showed she was responsive to her detractors as she continued to vary her attack against Germany like she did against China when she sacrificed Abby Wambach for Amy Rodriguez.
This time it was a 4-2-3-1 with Alex Morgan up on top as the sole striker with Carli Lloyd, now firmly in position to be the player of the tournament as a free ranging false 9 with Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath on either side completing an attacking trio of midfielders. Further below, the impressive Morgan Brian and the evergreen veteran Lauren Holiday fronted a back line that last conceded a goal aeons ago against the Australians in their opener.
The transformation was clear as the USA began with a crisp, passing game which led to some delightful football as Heath found Morgan with a delicious through ball, the striker’s effort stopped by Natalie Angerer’s brilliant save. Angerer was a busybody in the first half bringing off three clear saves also denying Julie Johnston just as the defender’s header appeared goal bound. The USA were the ascendant attacking side pushing the German defense hard with Morgan gradually finding her trademark bursts of speed with only her lack of finishing limiting the damage.
Germany began the second half brightly with their midfield of Simone Laudehr and Lena Goessling linking up nicely finding space and time to penetrate the US defense. Alexandra Popp, gamely carrying on after a clash of heads with Brian in the first half left her bloodied, accelerating towards goal was pulled down by Johnston after she misjudged the bounce on Laudehr’s pass. The ref Teodora Albon rightly pointed to the spot but Johnston was lucky to be left on the field receiving a booking instead of marching orders for clearly denying a goal scoring opportunity. Hope Solo’s head games must have done a number on Celia Sasic, top goalscorer of the World Cup and an almost automatic. Her delicately placed sweep pulled just wide after Solo dived the wrong way.
That miss seemed to crush Germany’s spirit as Sasic drifted into irrelevance and the Germans thereafter relied on ill advised long range blasts which rarely troubled Solo. The USA raised their defensive mettle with Brian despite her clash with Popp leaving her woozy, doing a yeoman’s job in the middle with her quick interceptions and relays upfield. At the other end, the USA also sensing the danger of letting the Germans have so much of the ball hit their attacking stride with Morgan now dancing past Krahn at will exploiting the shaky German defense quickly wearing down. The Germans were lucky as Morgan’s cross flashed across goal going a begging with no one for a simple tap in.
The 68th minute proved decisive as Krahn once again proved unequal to Morgan bringing her down just outside the box leading to the second big controversial decision favouring the USA, a penalty punishing the Germans. This was a moment ripe for Lloyd’s big game instincts and she seemed to savour it as Silvia Neid, the German coach on the sidelines, pacing nervously on the sidelines could clearly see the shifting pendulum. The whistle blew and Lloyd slammed the ball into the net as Angerer chose the wrong direction. The pendulum had shifted.
As the minutes ticked by, Neid seemed to have run out of ideas and subs despite the Germans having the likes of Lena Petterman and Jennifer Cramer on the bench. Inexplicably, Anja Mittag was subbed for the hobbled Dzenifer Marozsan despite her ankle injury. Jill Ellis then unveiled her master stroke replacing Tobin Heath with Kelley O’Hara making her third World Cup appearance. In the 84th minute, Lloyd running full tilt down the left flank swept in a cross and O’Hara’s flashing interjection caught Tabea Kemme painfully off guard. It was O’Hara’s first goal and its purity turned out to be the most important moment of the match laying to rest all the previous controversies. This was the Rubicon, the USA’s decisive claim as the superior side in this match.
Tactically, the USA elongated the pitch so much for the Germans their attack invariably started off deeper and deeper. By the time they did get into attacking positions, the Germans became predictable and error prone. Meat and potatoes for the impressive US defense now holding the opposition scoreless for 513 minutes. Sasic so previously impressive was but a footnote, Mittag similarly so, with Popp the only clear threat. The Germans seemed to be constantly surprised by the organization of the US defense, rarely pressing to get the ball back, and their passing so effective against more obliging opposition, faltered at very critical moments. One shot on goal was just about all they could muster. The USA continues to be Germany’s most feared stumbling block having not lost since 2003, compiling a 7-0-5 record since then.