U.S. takes on France at 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup

The USA’s dramatic victory over Brazil in a penalty kick shootout during Sunday’s quarterfinal match in Dresden, Germany, sent the Americans to the Women’s World Cup semifinals for the sixth consecutive time, making the USA the only country to advance to the final four in every FIFA Women’s World Cup ever contested. The match at Borussia Park Stadium will kick off at 12 p.m. ET

FIRST-EVER MEETING WITH FRANCE IN THE WOMEN’S WORLD CUP: The USA has played France 12 times in its history, but just four times since the turn of the century. The teams last met in 2006 when they played twice, a 0-0 tie at the Four Nations Tournament in January in Guangzhou, China, and a 4-1 U.S. victory at the Algarve Cup in Portugal. France has been one of the revelations of the tournament, playing some excellent soccer while finishing second in Group A behind Germany. The French started their run with a 1-0 victory over Nigeria, sent Canada out of the tournament with a 4-0 victory and then rebounded from a 4-2 loss to Germany in their group finale with a dramatic penalty kick victory over England in the quarterfinal after equalizing with just minutes left in regulation.