Srdjan Suki/EPA, via Shutterstock
LYON, France — To start to grasp the depth of talent on the United States women’s soccer team, one only had to observe the utterly unperturbed manner in which its players handled the absence on Tuesday night of forward Megan Rapinoe, the player who had been responsible for all four of the Americans’ goals in their two previous knockout-stage wins.
Fans on social media and elsewhere experienced a short freakout when the lineup for the Americans’ World Cup semifinal against England was announced, but on the field, no one missed a beat. Hardly anyone seemed to miss Rapinoe at all.