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Now that all of our heart rates have finally slowed after the excitement of the USA versus Brazil quarterfinal match Sunday, it's time to look ahead to Team USA's semifinal matchup versus France.
This is not at all what anyone expected when we first saw the brackets for the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup.
The US was supposed to be in the semifinals, but playing Germany on the other side of the table, with Brazil waiting in the final.
But the US couldn't close the deal in Group C and had to take out Marta and No. 3 Brazil in the quarters to get here.
They'll be facing a French team that wasn't expected to be here at all.
Christine Sinclair was supposed to lead Canada out of Group A, but France's young stars demolished them to make it out of the group stage for the first time (in only their second World Cup appearance), and after defeating England on penalties, France is in their first-ever semifinal.
This match has all the makings of a thrilling semifinal. The US has been eliminated in the semifinals of the past two World Cups, and France is making their first appearance at this stage in any major tournament.
The US has never lost to France, but France's young and inexperienced stars are playing some inspired football.
118685288_crop_340x234 Friedemann Vogel/Getty Images
With one flaw.
France can't put it in the back of the net.
They scored four goals against Canada, but that was more due to the latter's poor play all over the pitch.
France only beat Nigeria 1-0, missing a host of chances, and the fact that England took France to penalties when France had dominated possession in England's final third was almost entirely due to France's inability to finish their chances.
France plays possession football, but they'll be coming up against their toughest defense yet (Germany was incredibly disappointing in this tournament), and they can't waste their chances this time.
Hope Solo has allowed only four goals so far this tournament, two of which came from the penalty spot and one from a deflected free kick. The fourth was a bit of magic and luck from Marta.
Overall, Solo has been stellar.
France's goalkeeping has not been nearly as solid.
Berangere Sapowicz was untested against Nigeria and Canada, and then she broke down and was sent off for a foolish foul against Germany. Her replacement, Celine Deville, is not all that experienced either.
The fact that France has made it this far is due to their ability to keep the ball, but they won't find it so easy to do against the US.
The US hasn't been hugely impressive so far this World cup, but they're in the semifinals, which is what matters.
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