Americans One Win Away From Women's World Cup Soccer Championship

After the group stage game against Nigeria, U.S. coach Jill Ellis met with Carli Lloyd. The midfielder and the rest of the attack didn't seem quite themselves in the Americans' first three World Cup games. The approach was conservative.

It seemed like a situation ripe for tension between player and coach. Yet there were no ultimatums from Lloyd asking to be given more freedom. There were no critical comments from Ellis. Instead, the U.S. manager provided reassurance to one of her most important players.

"She was like, 'Don't stress it. We're going to find a way to get you going,'" Lloyd recalled.

Ellis has proved true to her word, and the flexibility the U.S. manager has shown in the past two games has the Americans one win away from their third Women's World Cup crown after a 2-0 victory over Germany on Tuesday.

Against China, with Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe suspended due to yellow-card accumulation, Lloyd played an advanced midfield role ahead of Morgan Brian, and the United States looked much sharper in attack. Heading into the Germany game, with Holiday and Rapinoe back in the fold, it was unclear if Ellis would head in that tactical direction. So Ellis once again sat down with Lloyd to get some feedback on her plans.

"Jill just was wrapping her brain around some things after the China game and knew that Germany was obviously a really tough team and we would have to be very tight defensively," Lloyd said. " We have a very open, [respectful] relationship, and she met with me again, showed me some film and said, 'This is where I'm at.'"

Ellis wanted to take more risks, opting for an adventurous switch to a 4-2-3-1 that had Holiday and Brian sitting deep in midfield while Lloyd took up advanced positions in support of lone striker Alex Morgan. The move worked out about as well as anyone connected with the U.S. team dared hope. The Americans created better chances, and should have been a goal or two up at half time. They did plenty to stifle the German attack as well, and ultimately the switch from a 4-4-2 proved critical in obtaining the win.