Coach faces key choices as U.S. women take on Germany

MONTREAL - Jill Ellis has made a lot of high-profile decisions in her 14 months as the head coach of the U.S. women's soccer team and in her 27 years as a head or assistant coach at many levels of the sport.

None has come anywhere close to the pressure of the decisions she faces as she picks her lineup for the team's World Cup semifinal Tuesday against No. 1-ranked Germany.

Two questions stand out: Will Carli Lloyd once again be deployed in a truly attacking role, and will superstar forward Abby Wambach once again begin the game on the bench?

Ellis gave little away Monday night when she met with reporters. That was no surprise, of course. Too much honesty comes at the risk of tipping one's hand to the opposition.

But she did discuss a key factor in the 1-0 quarterfinal win over China: the team's high-pressure defense, which came in part because Ellis benched Wambach for Amy Rodriguez.

"We decided to come out and press, and I think this team gets energized when they press," Ellis said.

Germany showed in its quarterfinal win over France that it is susceptible to an opponent with pace and flair. Even though the French lost in a penalty shootout, they sent a message and Ellis took note.

"We do have a very athletic team," she said, "but it can't just be about pushing the ball down the field and hoping we run on the end of it."

Yet the Americans often have done exactly that during this World Cup. A change in style could require more than a few tweaks to the lineup.

Specifically, it could require finding a way to free Lloyd and Lauren Holiday of having to do too much defensive work. Ellis was asked about that specifically and offered a very coy answer.

"Yeah, let's hope so - we'll figure that out," said Ellis, who then winked at the reporter who asked the question. "It's picking and choosing the moments, because Germany is obviously a tremendous transition team. It's that measure and balance, but I think, yeah, we'd like to get them as involved with the attack as possible."

It was a news conference performance that resembled Andy Reid's time with the Eagles. German coach Silvia Neid, meanwhile, might be akin to Chip Kelly - although Kelly doesn't have two World Cups and three European Championships on his resumé. Neid is confident, occasionally brash, and isn't afraid to take a few shots when she's in front of a microphone.

"I know that the United States would like to be number one, but we are still number one," Neid said. "And we will try to show that it's our position to keep."

Expect that line to be in the American locker room before kickoff - and certainly on the minds of what will be a huge, pro-American crowd at Olympic Stadium. More than 46,000 tickets were sold at the start of the week and the final attendance could easily clear 50,000. Montreal's streets have been awash in red, white, and blue, as has been the case in every Canadian city where the United States has played.

But when the teams take the field, the Americans will still deservedly be the underdogs. The burden of proof is on them - and especially Ellis - to show they can beat the best.

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Tuesday at 7 p.m., Olympic Stadium, Montreal.

TV: Fox29.

Keys for the United States: How much freedom will Carli Lloyd have to lead the offense? Against China, coach Jill Ellis gave Lloyd the ability to go forward at will, and that paid off with Lloyd scoring the winning goal. But that's easier to do against a team like China that sits back. . . . Julie Johnston and Becky Sauerbrunn will get their biggest tests yet marshaling the defense. It's likely that Hope Solo will have more work to do than she has in the last few games.

Scouting Report

Germany's FIFA ranking: 1.

Past World Cups: 6.

Players to watch: Celia Sasic and Anja Mittag are a lethal duo, with 11 goals and three asissts combined. Sasic's role as the striker will be even more crucial with fellow forward Dzsenifer Marozsan's status in doubt because of a hyperextended left ankle. . . . Goalkeeper and captain Nadine Angerer is teammates with Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath on the National Women's Soccer League's Portland Thorns.

- Jonathan Tannenwald

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