Americans eke out ugly win over Spain with an assist from the refs

The women’s World Cup has produced its dramatic showdown on Friday — the defending champions United States versus hosts France — though the U.S. needed some help from a Hungarian referee to get there.

Official Katalin Kulcsar awarded two penalty kicks to the Americans, who desperately required both of them in a tight 2-1 victory. Megan Rapinoe went low and left on both efforts, perfectly, beating goalkeeper Sandra Panos twice. That was enough to send the U.S. to Paris for the quarterfinal match against France that everyone has been awaiting since the brackets were set.

Both France and the U.S. survived real scares to reach this climactic tête-a-tête. For the Americans, arguably, it was more of a gift. The second penalty award, which broke the tie in the 75th minute, was particularly borderline. Spain midfielder Virginia Torrecilla’s cleat appeared to brush across Rose Lavelle’s shin in the box, and Lavelle plunged forward after taking one additional step. A VAR review was used to determine whether this was a dive or a legit trip, and the U.S. was given the benefit of the doubt. The replay officials did not believe there was enough evidence to overturn Kulcsar’s call.

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Before the review, Alex Morgan was prepared to take the second penalty, at Rapinoe’s suggestion. Morgan does not normally take the kicks, however, and during the VAR delay coach Jill Ellis vetoed that idea.

Instead, Rapinoe stepped up to the spot.

“‘Pino is our one on PKs,” Ellis told Fox Sports after the match. “I asked her, ‘Did you give it to Alex?’ I want you to take it. No issue there.”

Morgan did not have a good game. She was fouled often by the Spaniards and failed to receive much service from her midfield. She remained upbeat, albeit a bit bruised, and kidded that she could skip the next chiropractic appointment after taking many spinal adjustments during the match.

“I thought it was worthy of some yellow cards, it seemed like I got fouled in the double digits,” Morgan said, of her treatment. “But to see the heart of this team, we haven’t been tested like this in a while.”

Even though Spain had three extra days of rest, Ellis did not make a single substitution until late in the match. Despite past claims of great depth, the coach apparently did not trust her bench at crunch time.

Ellis said her team played well everywhere except in the attacking third of the field.

“That final pass we could clean up,” Ellis said. “We could have been up by three at the half.”

For the U.S., this was the first match of the tournament against a quality opponent that was actually motivated to win.

For the fourth straight game, the Americans scored a goal in the first 15 minutes — this time, on the first penalty kick by Rapinoe in the seventh minute. Tobin Heath settled a long pass, cut sharply into the right side of the box and was tripped by defender Maria Pilar Leon Cebrian for the foul.

The lead didn’t last long. In the ninth minute, U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, considered a potential weak link going into the tournament, foolishly distributed the ball to defender Becky Sauerbrunn, who was under pressure and in the middle of the field. Sauerbrunn was quickly stripped of the ball by Lucia Garcia and then Spain forward Jennifer Hermoso finished off the charitable opportunity with a shot beyond the reach of Naeher and into the upper right corner.

The goal by Spain was the first one against the U.S. at this World Cup, and left all to wonder whether the banished Hope Solo might have committed such a rash error. To her credit, Naeher settled down after that blunder to make some smart plays on crosses and long balls.

The Spanish women, like their technical counterparts on the men’s side, traditionally rely on ball possession. Yet they effectively changed that strategy against the fleet, physical Americans, choosing instead more of a countering game.

Even if the victory was a bit of a mess, it represented the ninth straight World Cup win for the Americans.

“I thought it was unconvincing, I thought it was sloppy, but was completely necessary,” Alexi Lalas said.

Next comes Paris, and France, which might never have happened. The French barely made it through the round of 16 themselves, with a 2-1 victory over Brazil in extra time. The Americans gutted it out against Spain.

None of that will matter on Friday. Parc des Prince will be packed and all marginal penalty kicks will be gladly accepted.