That was the least inspiring/assuring 3-1 semifinal victory in the history of soccer. The United States was outplayed by France (!) for about 70 minutes, showing no imagination, an inability to hold the ball for three consecutive passes and almost zero tactical awareness as the French cut up their defense … but the Yanks got one goal early and two late to move ahead to the final.

The end justified the means?

Well, sure, that’s our story and we’re sticking with it.

The issues?

Same ol. same ol’, pretty much. Except a bit more so.

If you saw France beat England in the quarterfinals, you know they are solid, technically. Louisa Necib is their slickest player, but as a group they can hold the ball, move it around, see the diagonal runs and make the appropriate passes. Their passes tend to go where they intend them to go … meaning they don’t knock them willy-nilly (like, towards opponents) nor do they kick them out of bounds.

The U.S., meanwhile, does very little of any of that. It’s really astounding. How can that team be ranked No. 1 in the world? How can a nation of 20 million little girls playing soccer not be able to find 11 who can string together passes or make an incisive feed?

This was a team that saw their No. 1 playmaker, Carli Lloyd taken off in the 65th minute because she was doing almost nothing of any use. Yeah. Couldn’t win it, couldn’t hold it. Almost invisible, just like her running mate Shannon Boxx.

Lloyd did have one moment.  Nine minutes in. When she made a sort of back-heel pass to Heather O’Reilly, who was charging up the left touchline. O’Reilly got to the corner and crossed it towards Lauren Cheney, who pushed it into the goal.

The U.S. milked that into the second half, though it was ugly to watch, all the giveaways, the inability to turn a high ball into a trapped ball at their feet, a huge problem anticipating where high balls might land (take the whole team to a softball field and hit pop flies to them for a month) and a shocking problem being able to anticipate the diagonal pass from the French, who had someone running 1-on-0 towards Hope Solo about a dozen times.

France got even on a pass from their left back, Sonia Bompastor. It was intended for Gaetane Thiney, running down the middle of the field, and Thiney tried to head it, but missed, and the ball traveled on … and caught the inside of the far post and went in.  Solo had been to her right, preparing to parry Thiney’s header-that-didn’t-happen, and it was 1-1 in the 55th minute.

The Yanks hung on after that. France’s time of possession crept up towards 56, 57 percent, which is just not acceptable for a good team, and finally the Yanks got something going when Megan Rapinoe came on for Lloyd.

Rapinoe is quick and clever, perhaps the only middle-of-the-field player on the U.S. side who actually sees the play before it happens, and she really ought to be on the pitch longer. I suppose the only explanation is that the U.S. would prefer to have her fresh as a second-half sub … but don’t they risk being down 2-0 before Rapinoe can get on the field and be like an injection of adrenalin into the heart of the U.S. team?

The Yanks were not at all “in control” when they won a corner, and Cheney lofted a nice ball toward the far post, where Abby Wambach, the only American an opponent really has to make sure does not get a clear path to the goal on a restart, was waiting, having jogged past Laure LePailleur and gotten a clean look at the goal as the ball arrived … and bang, 2-1 U.S.

It was Rapinoe who made the excellent little tap with an outstretched toe that sprang Alex Morgan for the third goal, and that was that, in the 82nd minute.

At the moment I am watching Japan and Sweden, and they are tied at 1-1 just before half, and either one of these teams will give the No. 1 Yanks trouble. Sweden defeated the U.S. in group play, and Japan has an entire team of high-skill dribblers and passers, the kind of small, quick players the lumbering and clumsy Americans will have trouble marking or eluding.

The Yanks will be heavy favorites in the final Sunday. But it should be no surprise, whatsoever, if they lose. They are just not very good.  That they are in the final is fairly astounding.