Women's World Cup soccer: USA defeats England 2-1, advances to final

July 2 (UPI) -- The United States Women's National Team advanced to the Women's World Cup final with a 2-1 victory over England on Tuesday in France.

The women's squad won its 11th consecutive Women's World Cup match, moving past the previous all-time record of 10 set by Norway (1995-99).

The U.S. is the first country to reach three straight Women's World Cup finals. The Americans, making their fifth appearance in the final, have reached more Women's World Cup finals than any other country.

The team will play the winner of Wednesday's match between the Netherlands and Sweden in the final Sunday.

"It's just incredible. This was such a great game for us to build on," U.S. star Alex Morgan told reporters. "We made it to the final. This is what we've been waiting on. ... It's incredible just to see these players step up."

The U.S. jumped out to a 2-1 halftime lead after headers from Morgan and Christen Press. The Americans maintained their lead despite multiple scoring threats from England in the second half.

England appeared to equalize the score at two goals apiece midway through the second half, but Ellen White was ruled offside after video review.

The Americans suffered another scare after video review awarded England with a penalty kick in the 84th minute. U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher stopped Stephanie Houghton's right-footed shot in the bottom left corner.

Morgan, who is celebrating her 30th birthday Tuesday, scored her first goal since the Americans' opening game of the tournament against Thailand. She became the first player to score on her birthday in Women's World Cup history.

Morgan gave the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the 31st minute with her sixth goal of the Women's World Cup, tying White, who scored England's lone goal of the match, in the Golden Boot race. Morgan holds the tiebreaker over White with three assists in the tournament.

The scoring sequence began with a long pass to Press on the left touchline. She passed the ball to Lindsey Horan, who sent the ball to Morgan. Morgan finished in the box with a header to put the U.S. in front.

Press, who started in place of Megan Rapinoe, who has a hamstring injury, scored the Americans' first goal with a header in the 10th minute, giving the U.S. an early 1-0 lead. White's goal came in the 19th minute to equalize the score.