Bernadett Szabo/Reuters
This was the game — the United States against France in a quarterfinal — that everyone circled in pencil as soon as the Women’s World Cup draw was made in December, and in pen after France handled the Americans with ease in an exhibition match in January. The stadium will be full. The air will be hot. The stakes will be high. But how will the match go?
Why the United States will win.
The Americans are the most accomplished women’s team in the world, the defending World Cup champion. They also are the deepest team in the world, so blessed with talent that it keeps Carli Lloyd, a former world player of the year, on the bench in case of emergencies.