Megan Rapinoe was a standout for the United States vs. France

Photo courtsey of
United States Olympic Committee
via Flickr

By Jennifer Edwards
Copyright 2019 All Rights Reserved

LYON, FRANCE (July 2, 2019) Love her or hate her, Megan Rapinoe (shown right) was the star of the United States vs. France quarter final match in the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2019. Rapinoe is not one to shy away from the spotlight off the pitch, but her actions on the pitch allowed the USWNT to advance to the semi-finals. 

Rapinoe, one of the captains of the USWNT, is a midfielder with a ton of speed and ability to read a play and be in the right place at the right time. She is also spot on for penalty and free kicks. Rapinoe took both kicks and scored both times to keep the game at 2-1. When looking at the stats for the game, the USWNT did not dominate the game. They were behind most of the time. The defense stepped up during the game to shut down France, but were having a tough time doing so. 

Crystal Dunn, now a defender, had a stand out game. She frustrated the French offensive line many times and stepped up her game to create passing opportunities. That being said, the USWNT should not have won that game. Looking at the official statistics the US only had possession of the ball 39% of the time to France’s 61%. 

The US made the most of that 39%, but it was a tough and close match. France had 20 shots on goal with 5 being on target to the US’s 10 shots with 8 being on target. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher saw more action during this game than all the other games combined. It should be noted that the US did not score of these attempts. 

The US will face off against England Tuesday, July 2 at 2 p.m. in the semi-finals. It will be interesting to see how both teams fare. They are both strong, hard-hitting teams known for their speed and tenacity.