Germany and the US are the two most successful teams in the history of the Women's World Cup with both the nations having lifted the title twice each. Germany won in 2003 and 2007, while the US won it in 1991 and 1999.
Germany and the USA are ranked one and two respectively in FIFA ranking. They both topped their respective groups in the ongoing FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada.
So, these two teams should have been in fact playing the finals of the competition, but as it stands, they are set for a spectacular showdown against one another in the semi-finals of the competition at Olympic Stadium in Montreal.
It is one of the biggest matches in world football, irrespective of the competition and with it being the World Cup, the significance of the match is sky high.
The US have done well in the competition, but they have not been able to come up with huge victories as expected. The Germans, on the other hand, have been prolific as they defeated Sweden 4-1 in the round of 16 and won France via penalties in the quarter finals. They have scored goals for fun in the competition including a 10-0 rout of Ivory Coast.
"Pressing teams. What the U.S. does best — and you look back at the history of all the teams — it's pressing," USA Today quoted the US midfielder Carli Lloyd as saying.
Germany might deserve some respect for being ranked number one and for showing some scintillating form in the competition. But, Lloyd does not want to give teams that respect.
"It's putting teams on their heels. We don't want to give teams respect. We don't want to make teams feel that we are nervous. We want to make teams nervous."
Celia Sasic and Anja Mittag have been prolific with their performances in front of goal for Germany and if these players are given the free space to run, they are going to create havoc to the US defenders.
Germany's coach Silvia Neid expects a heated match between the two nations. Apart from the big stage, there is lot of pride to fight for as there are huge expectations from fans of both the both sides to win the title.
"I know the United States would like to be number one but we are still number one and we will try to show tomorrow that it is our position to keep. Both teams will want to make it to the final that is why I expect a very heated match," Eurosport quoted Silva Neid as saying.
Where to Watch Live
FIFA Women's World Cup semi-final clash between the US and Germany is scheduled for 7:00pm local time (4:30am IST, 12am BST, 7pm EST) start. There is no live coverage in India.
Viewers in the US can watch the game live on Fox Network with live streaming on Fox Soccer2 Go.
Those in the UK can catch the action live on British Eurosport1 and BBC Two with live streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Viewers in Germany can watch their home team in action on ORF Sport Plus and can be watched online on ORF TV Live Streaming.
