Sections SEARCH Skip to content Skip to site index Sports Subscribe Log In Log In Today’s Paper Sports | On Eve of World Cup Semifinal, Clock Is Already Ticking on U.S. Advertisement Supported by On Soccer Europe’s rise as a women’s soccer power has been on full display in France. Its teams are not going away. ByRory Smith July 1, 2019 PARIS — Even in the first flush of victory, Megan Rapinoe could see the warning signs. The United States had made it to the World Cup semifinals, edging past France only a few minutes before. The American team, women’s soccer’s great hegemon, had seen off the host, the team identified as the biggest threat to its hopes of retaining its world championship, the one side that has seemed, in recent years, to be a match for the Americans. The victory was yet further proof of the tremendous psychological strength of Rapinoe and her teammates, their inner resolve, their unyielding confidence. And yet it offered another lesson, too, one that — even in the hubbub of America’s celebrations — came through loud and clear. “It is no secret we have to get better on the ball,” Rapinoe said. “Playing better…