OTTAWA, Ontario — Megan Rapinoe is so done with her exile to the spectators’ seats at the Women’s World Cup.
Bring on Germany, said the U.S. midfielder, who had to sit out the 1-0 victory over China in the quarterfinals. The confidence-boosting win sent the second-ranked Americans on to a semifinal against the top-ranked Germans on Tuesday in Montreal.
Women's World Cup
SEMIFINALS
• United States vs. Germany, 7 p.m., Tuesday (FOX)
• Japan vs. England, Wednesday, 7 p.m. (FOX)
CHAMPIONSHIP
• 7 p.m. July 5 (FOX)
“Huge match,” Rapinoe said. “No. 1 against No. 2 in the world. They’ve had a great tournament so far but hopefully they’re a little tired.”
Rapinoe was referring to Germany’s quarterfinal, an extra time penalty-kick victory over France on Friday.
Rapinoe watched the U.S. quarterfinal from the stands with teammate Lauren Holiday. They were suspended for the match because of yellow card accumulation – both had received their second yellows in the knockout-round opener against Colombia. Both will be back for Germany.
The Germans trailed third-ranked France 1-0 until Celia Sasic’s penalty kick in the 84th minute, then goalie Nadine Angerer stopped Claire Lavogez in the final attempt of a shootout as Germany won 5-4 on penalty kicks.
“It was a very intense game. I was extremely elated along with the team,” Angerer said. “Honestly, I felt completely empty because the match was finally over and it ended well for us. It will take a day to process all the impressions and then we can prepare for the next match.”
Lavogez, 21, France’s third-youngest player, ran to the spot and kicked the ball to Angerer’s left. Angerer dove and blocked the ball with her left knee.
German Coach Silvia Neid sighed heavily after the match: “Such a game as this, which was so tough, when you win that makes you very confident. But we had to play for 120 minutes, we have injured players we have to rest.”
Like the Americans, Germany has two World Cup titles, in 2003 and ’07. The United States is seeking its first championship since 1999.
The teams have met three times in the World Cup, with the United States winning twice. But Germany claimed the last meeting, a 3-0 victory in 2003. Overall, the Americans are 18-4-7 against the Germans.
The United States has made it to the semifinals in every World Cup since the first in 1991.
JAPAN 1, AUSTRALIA 0: Mana Iwabuchi scored during a scramble in the 87th minute and defending champion Japan won a quarterfinal at Edmonton, Alberta.
Aya Miyama’s corner kick from the left corner was blocked in the penalty area, but the ball bounced directly to Azusa Iwashimizu, who got off a hard shot that was blocked by goalkeeper Lydia Williams. The ball squirted to the left, where Iwabuchi kicked it into the open side.
ENGLAND 2, CANADA 1: Jodie Taylor and Lucy Bronze scored in the shocking first 14 minutes, and England won at Vancouver, British Columbia, eliminating Canada from its home World Cup.
Christine Sinclair scored in the 42nd minute for Canada, which had given up just one goal in the World Cup before giving up two just three minutes apart.
After Taylor scored the opener on a horrible turnover by Lauren Sesselmann, Bronze added an impressive long header to build a lead that England never relinquished.
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