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04-12-2019 04:43:41 |
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LYON Christian Pulisic Jersey , France (AP) — A minor hamstring strain kept star forward Megan Rapinoe out of the United States‘ nail-biting 2-1 win over England in the Women’s World Cup semifinals Tuesday night.It didn’t stop her from pouring off the bench with the other substitutes to congratulate their teammates, and Rapinoe is confident it won’t rule her out of Sunday’s final against either the Netherlands or Sweden.Rapinoe was injured late in the second half of the 2-1 win against France last Friday.“It just tightened up a little bit toward the end. Just wasn’t going to be ready for today,” Rapinoe told reporters after the victory against England moved the U.S. closer to a fourth World Cup title. “But it’s feeling much better and I expect to be ready for the final.”When asked how confident she was, she replied: “It’s a combination of how it feels and how it looks and what I can do. I expect (with) how it feels now to be ready. As is with these things, you just have to go day by day and see how it is.”Rapinoe watched nervously from the bench as England had an apparent equalizer by its own star forward Ellen White ruled out for offside and, with just a few minutes remaining, watched goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher save a penalty kick by England.There was widespread elation at the end, but for Rapinoe it was torture to watch.“It’s terrible. It’s so stressful,” she said, breaking out into a smile of relief. “It’s hard. You put everything into this game … You have everything invested in it and no way to get rid of your anxiety.”At the final whistle, she jumped into the arms of her teammates https://www.thetopsoccer.com/usa/timothy-weah-jersey , embracing them one by one.When she finally reached goalkeeper Naeher, she bear-hugged her first and then lifted her off her feet.Rapinoe joked that she could have injured her glutes in the process, and then praised her ice-cool teammate.“That was a huge performance from her, to be in that moment,” Rapinoe said. “It’s one thing to take a penalty, it’s another to save one and keep your cool. To make a save like that is just fantastic for her.”Naeher was not the only one making a big impact.Rapinoe’s replacement, Christen Press, opened the scoring in clinical style, heading Kelley O’Hara’s pinpoint cross from the right powerfully into the top left corner after just 10 minutes.“Maybe they don’t need me for the final. Maybe I just got pushed right to the side,” Rapinoe said. “It’s ridiculous, we’ve talked about our depth for a long time now as something we’re going to need throughout this tournament … and it was on full display tonight.”Rapinoe had scored four goals in the past two games Michael Bradley Jersey , and five overall during the tournament.On Sunday night, she would love to cap off an intense tournament in style — a high-profile tournament where she has stood out with her goals, her pinkish-purple hair and also by standing by her opinions.In the days leading up to the quarterfinal against France, video surfaced of her saying she wouldn’t visit the White House if the team won the World Cup — and she accompanied it with an expletive.While the interview was from January, it attracted President Donald Trump’s attention and he tweeted: “Megan should never disrespect our Country, the White House, or our Flag, especially since so much has been done for her & the team.” Trump added that he would invite the team to Washington, win or lose.Rapinoe, who is currently in a relationship with WNBA star Sue Bird, stood by the statement — except for the coarse language she’d used. New season DeAndre Yedlin Jersey , new Inter Milan.Antonio Conte’s reign at Inter got off to an impressive start as the Nerazzurri beat newly-promoted Lecce 4-0 in Serie A on Monday.Inter’s record signing Romelu Lukaku scored on his debut, with the former Manchester United forward making it 3-0 after first-half goals from Marcelo Brozovic and Stefano Sensi.Lecce substitute Diego Farias was sent off 14 minutes from time following a reckless challenge on Nicolò Barella and Antonio Candreva added a spectacular fourth for Inter late on.“There was a spark but now we must become dynamite,” Conte said. “We started well, with the right intensity and desire, respecting the idea of football that I wanted but then when we were 2-0 up I did not like the guys at all too relaxed, we lost intensity in our pressing.”Conte returned to Serie A at the end of May, replacing Luciano Spalletti. The former Juventus and Italy coach had been out of a job since June 2018 after being fired by Premier League club Chelsea.He has been tasked with doing a similar job to what he did at Juventus. When Conte took over the Bianconeri in 2011, the team had finished seventh in each of the previous two seasons. But they went on to win the league title in each of Conte’s three years in charge and have not lost it since.Spalletti led Inter to two straight fourth-place finishes and qualification to the Champions League. But he failed to win any silverware with the club and last season was marked by discord as chief goal scorer, Mauro Icardi, was stripped of the captaincy and dropped from the squad midway through the season.Icardi was expected to leave in the offseason but has yet to be sold.The Argentina forward was not in the squad for Inter’s first match of the season and it was Marcelo Brozovic who scored the first goal of the Conte era in the 21st minute, curling into the right side of the net from just outside the area.Sensi https://www.thetopsoccer.com/usa/matt-miazga-jersey , who is on loan from Sassuolo, doubled Inter’s lead three minutes later with a low shot into the bottom left corner.The loudest cheers were perhaps for Lukaku’s goal on the hour mark, with the Belgium forward firing in a rebound after Lecce goalkeeper Gabriel parried a long-range Lautaro Martinez effort into his path.Lukaku, who was signed at the beginning of the month for around 65 million euros ($73 million) plus up to 13 million euros ($15 million) in bonuses, bowed to the fans.“Lukaku has come into the Inter world in the best possible way, with great humility. He is a gentle giant, a giant with a smile. He’s ready to work for the team,” Conte said.Inter also had a goal ruled out for offside before Candreva capped a successful night for the home side with a stunning, 30-yard strike into the top left corner. |
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