The reigning World Cup champions are about to play a World Cup quarterfinal against a host team populated with the planet’s greatest professional players.
The buzz surrounding today’s USA-France match is so frenzied you’d think it was a final. This mere quarterfinal has been dubbed, Le Crash. Nancy Armour of USA Today called it “the biggest match in women’s soccer history.” Business Insider reports that cheap seats to the game are going for around $425 and the most expensive for $11K.
According to US Soccer, the US is 17-3-3 all time against France. Still, this match ought to be a stretch for the US. Team USA is 0-1-2 in their last three meetings with France, all friendlies, but still, no recent wins. And the teams are set to play in a sweltering Paris. As always in summer, the French capital is overrun with American tourists, however, the venue should provide the French with decent home-side advantage. A big deal since France rarely loses at home. They are 21-0-3 on home soil.
Everyone with wifi has posted a prediction about the match. The probability site FiveThirtyEight.com has US chances slightly ahead of France, but this match truly is a toss-up. Whatever the result, both teams field fantastic players who are a pleasure to watch. Five players in particular have been thrilling in the tournament. All five played crucial roles in their teams’ advancement to the quarters. Expect them to perform big if they want their team to make the semifinal against England. Scroll through to get to know these five impressive players.