Benoit Tessier/Reuters
LYON, France — Alex Morgan had the ball at her feet, Carli Lloyd at her side, and a great green expanse opening up in front of her eyes. England had long since thrown any and all caution to the wind; its players were marooned upfield. Now only one white shirt stood between Morgan, that apex predator, and Carly Telford’s goal.
Morgan flicked the ball ahead of her, and sprinted into open space. Deep into one of the almost endless periods of injury time that the introduction of video-assisted refereeing has created, she bristled with energy, speeding over the ground toward her target.