Lloyd steers USA into World Cup final

AFP, MONTREAL: An inspired performance from Carli Lloyd lifted the United States into their second straight Women’s World Cup final with a 2-0 win over top-ranked Germany on Tuesday.
In a battle between the world’s top two teams, the United States largely dominated in front of 51,000 largely US supporters at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium.
In a dramatic second half, Germany’s Celia Sasic missed a penalty kick on 60 minutes before Lloyd opened nine minutes later from the spot with defender Kelley O’Hara sealing victory with her first-ever goal for the Americans six minutes from time.
The United States, winners in 1991 and 1999 and ranked second in the world, will play either defending champions Japan or England for the title in Vancouver on July 5.
Japan beat the Americans in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to take the title four years ago. The Americans dominated the first half, with forward Alex Morgan having the best chance to open but Nadine Angerer held firm in the Germany goal.
A second effort from Morgan from close range also failed to find the target.
After the break, Germany’s Anja Mittag headed wide but on the hour mark the European champions had a golden chance when US defender Julie Johnston pulled down Alexandra Popp as the midfielder slipped in on the blindside.
Sasic, the tournament’s top scorer with six goals, send the shot low and just wide of Hope Solo in the US goal, to tears of relief from a distraught Johnston.
The Americans were then awarded a contested penalty when Morgan was brought down by defender Annike Krahn in a tackle that looked outside the box.
And Lloyd made no mistake, stepping up and sending the ball into the corner of the net for her third goal in as many games as Angerer dived the opposite way.
The USA’s all-time leading goalscorer, Abby Wambach, came on 10 minutes from time in place of Megan Rapinoe.
And minutes later, Lloyd pulled clear of her marker to run down the field, crossing to O’Hara, who entered in the 75th minute. O’Hara fired in the winner from close range, dumping former two-time winners Germany.
Germany had been bidding for a record third title and to match their men’s team who won the World Cup in Brazil last year.
Germany next prepare for the third-place playoff in Edmonton on Saturday.
It was the fourth World Cup meeting between the two superpowers — the Americans won 5-2 in 1991 and 3-2 in 1999, with Germany winning 3-0 in 2003 — and each time the winner went on to take the title.
Japan and England play their semi-final in Edmonton on Wednesday.

Lloyd steers USA into World Cup final

AFP, MONTREAL: An inspired performance from Carli Lloyd lifted the United States into their second straight Womens World Cup final with a 2-0 win over top-ranked Germany on Tuesday. In a battle between the worlds top two teams, the United States largely dominated in front of 51,000 largely US supporters at Montreals Olympic Stadium. In a dramatic second half, Germanys Celia Sasic missed a penalty kick on 60 minutes before Lloyd opened nine minutes later from the spot with defender Kelley OHara sealing victory with her first-ever goal for the Americans six minutes from time. The United States, winners in 1991 and 1999 and ranked second in the world, will play either defending champions Japan or England for the title in Vancouver on July 5. Japan beat the Americans in a dramatic penalty shoot-out to take the title four years ago. The Americans dominated the first half, with forward Alex Morgan having the best chance to open but Nadine Angerer held firm in the Germany goal. A second effort from Morgan from close range also failed to find the target. After the break, Germanys Anja Mittag headed wide but on the hour mark the European champions had a golden chance when US defender Julie Johnston pulled down Alexandra Popp as the midfielder slipped in on the blindside. Sasic, the tournaments top scorer with six goals, send the shot low and just wide of Hope Solo in the US goal, to tears of relief from a distraught Johnston. The Americans were then awarded a contested penalty when Morgan was brought down by defender Annike Krahn in a tackle that looked outside the box. And Lloyd made no mistake, stepping up and sending the ball into the corner of the net for her third goal in as many games as Angerer dived the opposite way. The USAs all-time leading goalscorer, Abby Wambach, came on 10 minutes from time in place of Megan Rapinoe. And minutes later, Lloyd pulled clear of her marker to run down the field, crossing to OHara, who entered in the 75th minute. OHara fired in the winner from close range, dumping former two-time winners Germany. Germany had been bidding for a record third title and to match their mens team who won the World Cup in Brazil last year. Germany next prepare for the third-place playoff in Edmonton on Saturday. It was the fourth World Cup meeting between the two superpowers the Americans won 5-2 in 1991 and 3-2 in 1999, with Germany winning 3-0 in 2003 and each time the winner went on to take the title. Japan and England play their semi-final in Edmonton on Wednesday.