Women's World Cup England 1 - 2 USA F/T

Well, well, well. Some big team news from both camps! England keeper Karen Bardsley is out with a hamstring injury. Carly Telford takes her place. Telford will be making only her second appearance in a big tournament, having debuted against Argentina in the group stage. Meanwhile Rachel Daly and Beth Mead replace Fran Kirby and Toni Duggan in what looks like a 4-4-2.

But anything Phil Neville can do, USA coach Jill Ellis can do better: she’s dropped the captain Megan Rapinoe! She must be injured or exhausted, surely. Or is it tactical? Either way, Christen Press takes her place on the left. Lindsey Horan meanwhile replaces Samantha Mewis in the midfield.

England have made a habit of getting to the semi-finals of major championships lately. In the last ten years, they’ve made it to the last four at Euro 2009, the 2015 World Cup in Canada, Euro 2017 and now France ‘19. So far their strike rate is just one in three - goals from Kelly Smith and Jill Scott took them to the final of Euro 2009 - but trends are there to be bucked. And after winning all five matches so far in France, scoring 11 and conceding just the once, their tails will be up. Especially as five-goal Ellen White is on the lookout to seize the day and make this tournament her own. 

Only problem is, the USA’s record is on another level entirely. They’ve never failed to reach at least the semi-final stage at any World Cup. Since the tournament’s inception in 1991, they’ve won four of seven semis, going on to win the trophy on a record three occasions. And it’s not just history on their side. The USA haven’t quite managed to find top gear in this tournament to date, yet they’ve put out the holders, beat the impressive Swedes, and won one of their matches by 13 goals. There’s also Megan Rapinoe, who has been beyond immense, scoring five times and putting in a series of captain’s performances, walking the walk despite having to deal with Big Baby Blowhard bloviating away on social media 24/7. What a woman!

The USA - the reigning champs and world number one team - go into this game as deserved favourites. But England haven’t conceded a goal for 371 minutes, and are buoyed by the memory of going toe-to-toe with the Americans back in March, drawing 2-2 in the SheBelieves Cup. The four meetings before that game resulted in three 1-0 wins for the USA and one 1-0 win for England. So if all that’s any guide, tonight’s match at the Stade de Lyon promises to be a tight, tense tussle. Good luck to all; may the best team win. It’s on!