US-England game revives other battles

Alex Morgan's tea-sipping gesture after she scored a goal in the US' 2-1 victory over England in the Women's World Cup semifinals on Tuesday could rival another American's famous moment in the game's lore.

In the 1999 final at the Rose Bowl in California, Brandi Chastain, after scoring the game-winner in a shootout against China, doffed her jersey in glee. But those were in the pre-social media days.

Tuesday's game in Lyon, France, featured a powerful display of soccer (football) with a dramatic missed penalty kick by England, which deflated its hopes for a massive upset.

The US, which has won three previous Women's World Cups, will play in the final for the fifth time on Sunday at 11 am New York time at the Stade de Lyon. The Americans will face the winner of Wednesday's Netherlands-Sweden semifinal.

Star US player Megan Rapinoe did not play, fueling wild speculation as to why. But it turned out that she was sidelined with a hamstring injury and is expected to play in Sunday's final.

Rapinoe dismissed the White House with a profanity last week when asked if she would visit if the Americans win the tournament. Those comments drew a response on Twitter by US President Donald Trump.

The game was the lead story on the Daily Mail of London, a website that also is widely read in the US. Among the 1,500 comments on the story, many Americans expressed dissatisfaction with how the team conducted itself. But as defending champions, it could be argued that the US side earned that pride.

#ENGUSA was the top trending hash tag on Twitter on Tuesday, with around 164,000 tweets at 8:40 pm New York time Tuesday.

The US team also has fielded some accusations of arrogance, and Morgan's gesture added to the rhetoric.

British media personality Piers Morgan, who himself appeared in 24,000 tweets, cheekily replied to Morgan's gesture with: "When we win this, I hope every one of our players feigns eating a Big Mac and large fries."

Some tweets made snide references to the Americans' Revolutionary War victory over England while Prince William cheered on his nation's "Lionesses".

One Twitter post showed the US players superimposed on the canoe in a famous painting picturing General George Washington sailing across the icy Delaware River during the Revolutionary War.

"Working our way through all the colonial powers. First Spain, then France, on to Jolly old England. Looking forward to seeing @piersmorgan eat some crow," tweeted Grizz66.

This game perhaps will go down as the one that emblazoned the women's game into the international consciousness. No longer can serious male soccer fans dismiss the level of play.

Smithfield Hall NYC, a popular Manhattan bar and football gathering spot that draws supporters of all the world's major men's teams, had to post a sign on the sidewalk that said "The bar is full."

English captain Steph Houghton missed an 84th-minute penalty kick that could have extended the game.

After a powerful start from the Americans, Christen Press, replacing Rapinoe, opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a fine header but the Lionesses fought back, leveling nine minutes later with Ellen White's sixth goal of the tournament on a beautiful redirected tap-in of Beth Mead's searing pass into the box.

The US retook the lead in the 31st minute on Morgan's header of Lindsey Horan's perfectly floated ball — a goal that Morgan, on her 30th birthday, celebrated with the tea sip. Morgan leads the tournament with six goals.

England believed it had tied the score in the 69th minute, through another excellent finish by White, but the goal was disallowed for offside by VAR (video assistant referee) review.

VAR did provide England with a lifeline though, a penalty awarded for a foul on White, but Houghton's soft, low kick was easily smothered by US goalie Alyssa Naeher.

"She saved our a--," Morgan said of Naeher's save. "Sorry, excuse that. But she saved our butts today ... it was huge. … At that time we knew we had to buckle down.'

Reuters contributed to this story.