After the U.S. Women's National Team defeated England 2-1 in the Women's World Cup semi-final Tuesday, Utah Royals FC assistant coach Scott Parkinson sat down with Fox 13's Jeff Rhineer to discuss the intense match.
"One of the best games I've seen in a long, long time," Parkinson said. "It just had everything — goals, excitement, referee decisions, VAR, absolutely everything."
Although Parkinson — from Liverpool — had to watch his home country lose, he was thrilled for URFC forward Christen Press, who started for the U.S. and scored the first goal of the match. Making the local connection even sweeter, the cross for Press' header came from fellow Utah Royal Kelley O'Hara.
"The minute that ball hit the back of the net, my eyes just welled up," Parkinson said, "To see them connect like that together was just brilliant."
England's Ellen White equalized the score just minutes later.
But Alex Morgan — on her 30th birthday — scored what proved to be the winning goal before halftime.
England nearly tied the score in the second half twice — one goal taken back by a virtual assistant referee (VAR) offside call, then a penalty kick saved by U.S. keeper Alyssa Naeher in the final 10 minutes.
Very late in the game, England's Millie Bright was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
This semifinal between the No.1 and No.3 ranked teams in the world certainly lived up to its promise of an exciting match.
On Sunday, the U.S. will take on the winner of Wednesday's semi-final between Netherlands and Sweden.
