Womens World Cup: USWNT hopes in the balance? letters

The 29-year-old picked up her second booking of the tournament during Monday's 2-0 over Colombia, ruling her out of a last-eight tie with China.

A scorer of two goals in a group stage win over Australia, the Californian will now sit out Friday's match alongside Lauren Holiday, who also picked up her second caution of the competition.

Rapinoe has so far been the U.S.'s most dangerous player at the World Cup, shouldering the vast majority of the team's creative responsibility.



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'Yeah, it totally sucks,' lamented Rapinoe in an interview with Fox Sport. 'I mean, I knew that [I was a booking away from suspension] coming in and knew that that was part of it.

'It's not going to change the way I play. I have to come out and play hard.

'I felt it was a little undeserving, I think Cheney [Holiday] would feel the same way -- hers even more than mine -- but that's the way it is.'

News of Rapinoe's suspension will disappoint her brother Brian.

His little sister's biggest fan, Brian -- who has struggled with drug problems -- is following the World Cup from prison, where he is serving the final eight months of his sentence.

He watches her matches from the top of a stack of books he has constructed in his cell so he can see the TV set 50 yards away from his cell.

'She's so awesome. I love it,' he told U.S. Soccer's website ahead of the team's second group match against Nigeria. 'I just wish I was watching from out there instead of in here.'

Heavy favorites heading into the game, the Americans were largely stifled by a Colombia side that played with intent and flair.

It took until two minutes into the second half for them to muster a chance of any real note and it came from the penalty spot.

Colombia 'keeper Catalina Perez was adjudged to have tripped Alex Morgan and French referee Stephanie Frappart awarded a contentious penalty before handing Perez a red card.

Abby Wambach skewed the ensuing penalty wide of the post, but it was a matter of when -- not if -- the U.S. would take the lead.

With a player advantage, the U.S. began to dominate and it took just five minutes for them to capitalize.

Morgan fired in a shot towards the near post and the ball somehow found its way into the roof of the net after third-choice 'keeper Stefany Castaño was only able to get a hand to it.

The result was sealed 25 minutes from the end when Rapinoe was fouled by Angela Clavijo in the box and Frappart awarded the U.S. its second penalty of the match.

Carli Lloyd shouldered the responsibility this time and didn't repeat Wambach's mistake.

'We have tons of good people on the bench ready for China in Ottawa, and we'll just cheer our hearts out and hopefully be ready for the semifinal,' added Rapinoe, looking ahead to Friday's quarterfinal.

Scorer of the second penalty and player of the match, Lloyd was pleased with the improvement they showed from the first half and believes it was as well as they've played in the tournament so far.

'I think we found our groove, we came out strong and hard in the second half,' she said. 'It was one of our better performances. We knew we had to put them away and that's what we did in the second half.'

Coach Jill Ellis knew the game would be a lot harder than the 3-0 victory they recorded against their South American rivals at the 2012 Olympic Games, a fiery encounter that saw Colombian Lady Andrade handed a two-match ban for a clash with Wambach.

'We knew we would have a challenging game because Colombia are a very good opponent,' she told FIFA.com. 'I thought we controlled most of the ball and I had faith that at some point we would breakthough and we are happy to advance.

'I know that the players that come in [for suspended players] will be confident of stepping in and doing well. I have upmost (sic) confidence in the players we have.'

Read: Women's World Cup 2015: Is Canada set to win top prize?

Read: Hope Solo: The U.S.'s new 'Secretary of Defense'

Carli Lloyd shouldered the responsibility this time and didn't repeat Wambach's mistake. With a player advantage, the U.S. began to dominate and it took just five minutes for them to capitalize. A scorer of two goals in a group stage win over Australia, the Californian will now sit out Friday's match alongside Lauren Holiday, who also picked up her second caution of the competition. His little sister's biggest fan, Brian -- who has struggled with drug problems -- is following the World Cup from prison, where he is serving the final eight months of his sentence. Carli Lloyd shouldered the responsibility this time and didn't repeat Wambach's mistake. News of Rapinoe's suspension will disappoint her brother Brian. 'She's so awesome. I love it,' he told U.S. Soccer's website ahead of the team's second group match against Nigeria. 'I just wish I was watching from out there instead of in here.'

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