US women's soccer staffers make controversial visit to England's hotel ahead of Women’s World Cup semifinal
Staff members of the U.S. women’s soccer team have been criticized for visiting England's hotel before their head-to-head match in the Women's World Cup on Tuesday. U.S. women's national soccer team head coach Jill Ellis defended the controversial visit as part of normal staff planning and preparation.
The U.S. and England on Tuesday made pivotal changes to their lineups ahead of their Women’s World Cup semifinal match.
The U.S. plans to start Christen Press in place of Megan Rapinoe. FOX Sports reported Rapinoe was out with a hamstring injury. It was initially believed that U.S. coach Jill Ellis decided to leave Rapinoe on the bench purely out of strategy.
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Rapinoe is tied with teammate Alex Morgan for most goals in the tournament this year.
Rapinoe told FOX Sports after the match she had a minor tweak and expected to be ready for the final.
On the English side, Karen Bardsley was replaced in goal for Carly Telford after picking up a hamstring injury. England is also putting Toni Duggan and Fran Kirby on the bench to start the match.
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The match between the U.S. and England kicked off at 3 p.m. ET and can be seen on local FOX stations.