And – breathe.
After a pulsating 90 minutes of football, by far the highest intensity match witnessed at the tournament so far, the United States emerged victorious in Lyon to secure a spot in the final.
There were spills, thrills and screaming goals from both sides in an entertaining end-to-end encounter.
The United States opened the scoring early, with Christen Press – an unexpected starter in the place of Megan Rapinoe – firing home in the 10th minute.
England star Ellen White bagged an equaliser and the golden boot lead nine minutes later, before Alex Morgan re-joined her at the top of the goal scoring tally with a superb header.
Morgan’s 31st minute strike gave the Americans an advantage once again, which they took into the half-time break.
White looked to have again brought the Lionesses equal early in the second half, only for the goal to be chalked off by VAR for offside.
But English views on the merits of the technology quickly reversed, when it awarded them a penalty for a soft touch on White by Becky Sauerbrunn.
Captain Steph Houghton was unable to convert the spot-kick, and England’s woes were compounded not long after when Millie Bright was sent off after receiving a second yellow card.
The Americans then held firm in the dying minutes, to book their place in the World Cup final on Sunday– where they will face either the Netherlands or Sweden.
Here are the key things we observed in Lyon.
1. No Rapinoe, no worries
Rapinoe was on a roll.
She scored two against Spain in the round of 16, and then secured another brace to lift the Americans over France in the quarters.
She had even got the better of United States President Donald Trump in their social media feud.
And then, unexpectedly, she wasn’t in the United States’ starting XI.
“Megan’s got a slight strain to her hamstring, so she wasn’t available today,” coach Jill Ellis explained following the match – after the Americans had previously been silent about why Rapinoe didn’t start.
Had the USA struggled to penetrate, her injury-induced omission would have been the topic on everyone’s lips.
But within 10 minutes her replacement in the starting line-up, Press, had opened the scoring. Rapinoe’s absence was quickly forgotten.
“We have a deep bench of players to call upon and I thought they did a fantastic job,” said Ellis.
While the English may have been spared the threat of Rapinoe, the winner of the second semi-final is unlikely to enjoy the same luck.
"My hamstring is day-to-day, but I feel like I'll be ready for the final,” Rapinoe told FOX after the match.
2. Morgan breaks her drought – but the golden boot remains in the balance
With Rapinoe absent, her usual strike partner Morgan needed to step up.
The Orlando Pride star had opened the tournament with five goals against Thailand, but had not scored since.
She ended that drought in Lyon, finding the winner with a superlative-defying header.
The goal gave Morgan the unusual distinction of being the first player to ever score in the Women’s World Cup on her birthday; she turned 30 on Tuesday.
It also kept her in line with England’s White at the top of the golden boot tally – unless either player scores in the final and third place match respectively, they will share the honour.
But perhaps Morgan’s most talked about contribution to the semi-final was her goal celebration – she mimicked sipping a cup of tea, pinkie finger raised.
Some interpreted this as a dig at English culture, but the forward downplayed its significance in the post-match press conference.
“I wanted to keep it interesting,” offered Morgan.
“I know Megan Rapinoe has the best celebration so I had to step up this game.”
3. Another fast start from the Americans
The United States have scored within 12 minutes of every match at this tournament.
Somewhat ironically, it was Thailand who held them out for longest – before conceding 13 goals.
This fast start trend continued in Lyon, with Press heading home after just 10 minutes.
“Every coach wants an early goal,” said United States manager Ellis.
“Our intent is to attack for 90 minutes.
“We’ve come out and started very strong. But you have to be able to play 90 plus minutes.”
While the Americans showed that they are quick off the mark, they also display vulnerability in Lyon.
They may be the best team at this tournament, but the United States are not unbeatable.
Dutch and Swedish staff will have watched the match with interest.
4. Another penalty nightmare for England
English fans have long known to dread penalties.
The men’s team have only won one of their past seven shoot-outs in major tournaments.
While Wednesday morning’s (AEST) semi-final did not go to spot-kicks, the penalty hoodoo was back – Steph Houghton hitting the ball straight at American custodian Alyssa Naeher, who had no problems holding it.
With the save, England’s hopes of triumph were all but extinguished.
“She was the best penalty taker on the pitch,” said English coach Phil Neville afterwards, revealing that his coaching staff had undertaken an exhaustive analysis of penalty taking over the past six months.
But it wasn’t enough.
Naeher’s save made her the first American goalkeeper to save a penalty in Women’s World Cup history.
5. The dreaded third-place match
Hopes of a first-ever World Cup trophy for England may be over, but the Lionesses’ tournament does not end here.
They must now travel to Nice for the third-place playoff match on Sunday morning (AEST), against the loser of Thursday morning’s second semi-final between the Netherlands and Sweden.
“We’ll have to allow 28-48 hours to let the disappointment sink in,” said Neville afterwards.
“No words I can say to them tonight will make them feel better.”
“But on Saturday in Nice we need to go out there and produce a performance – that’s elite sport.”
“They won’t let me down – because they never have.”
This English side’s male counterparts found themselves in the same position 12 months ago, losing to Belgium in the bronze medal match after their semi-final exit.
Can the women go one better? That thought may provide some motivation, but after the heart-break in Lyon the team would probably rather head home.
Kieran Pender is covering the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup for The World Game. Follow him on Twitter:
