World Cup favorites the United States cruised into the semi-finals with a 3-0 victory yesterday over England.
The US will meet the winner of today's quarter-final between Brazil and Australia in a semi-final on Thursday in Hangzhou.
Second-half goals by Abby Wambach, Shannon Boxx and Kristine Lilly in Tianjin put the Americans through after a tight first half.
The US scored three goals in 12 minutes and improved their unbeaten run to 51 games dating back almost three years.
Wambach banged in a header in the 48th, directing home a corner from Lilly before a small crowd of about 18,000 at the 60,000-seat Olympic Center Stadium.
Midfielder Boxx made it 2-0 in the 57th. She stripped a ball near midfield from England's Jill Scott and scored on a long-range shot, the ball going in off the fingertips of England keeper Rachel Brown.
In the 60th, US captain Lilly broke through with her first goal of this tournament -- and her eighth in World Cup play. A long ball from across midfield bounced high and fooled Brown, who was far off her line. She leaped and could only tip it, with Lilly running in behind to knock it home.
Although England had more possession and frustrated the US with their pressing defense in the first half, they failed to muster any serious chances.
The US are seeking their third World Cup to go with titles in 1991 and 1999.
The Americans have never failed to reach the semi-finals. Four years ago they lost to eventual champions Germany 3-0.
The final of the 16-team tournament is Sept. 30 in Shanghai.
Taiwan’s men’s table tennis team won bronze on Saturday at this year’s International Table Tennis Federation World Team Table Tennis Championships in London, matching the country’s best-ever finish at the regular tournament. Consisting of Lin Yun-ju, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7, Feng Yi-hsin, Kuo Guan-hong, Hong Jing-kai and Hsu Hsien-chia, the team won bronze after losing 0-3 to Japan in the semifinals. In the opening match, 24-year-old Lin played the first game against world No. 3 Tomokazu Harimoto 11-5, but ultimately lost the next three closely contested games 9-11, 10-12 and 10-12. Feng then faced world No. 8 Sora Matsushima in
Lin Yun-ju on Thursday handed Taiwan two key victories as they advanced to the semi-finals of the ITTF World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals in London. The Taiwan men’s table tennis team beat Sweden 3-2 in five singles matches. The 24-year-old Lin, Taiwan’s top-ranked player at world No. 7 and nicknamed the “Silent Assassin,” opened the tie by defeating world No. 2 Truls Moregard 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 13-11) before clinching the deciding fifth match with a 3-0 (11-8, 11-9, 11-5) win over Anton Kallberg to hand his team the overall victory. Kuo Guan-hong put Taiwan up 2-0 with a 3-2 (4-11, 11-8, 8-11,
Taiwanese fire dancer Yang Li-wei advanced to the final of Britain’s Got Talent this weekend after receiving a Golden Buzzer during her live semi-final performance. Yang, a member of Taiwan’s Coming True Fire Group, awed judges and audiences with a high-intensity fire performance featuring flaming umbrellas, fire swallowing and spinning metal structures balanced with her legs. Judge Simon Cowell praised Yang as a star, while guest judge KSI reacted with amazement before pressing the Golden Buzzer, sending her to the finals. The dance group wrote on social media that the Golden Buzzer was “the highest honor” on the talent show, adding: “Twenty-three years
As Super Rugby fast approaches its playoff season it finds itself racing toward a reckoning with many issues that threaten the southern hemisphere tournament. A group of stakeholders met in the New Zealand city of Christchurch late last month to address problems that are making the future of the 31-year-old competition increasingly tenuous. The discussion was made more urgent by the decision by the owners of Moana Pasifika to fold the Auckland-based club for financial reasons. That followed the closure of the Melbourne Rebels at the end of the 2024 season, likewise because of financial difficulties. Problems addressed included player retention as more
RSS