US survives late scare to reach Women's World Cup

The US almost avoided going home from the Women’s World Cup at the group stage, but they overcame a scare late in the game to draw 0-0 with Portugal and go to the round of 16.

When the outcome of the match was on the line, replacement Ana Capeta had a wonderful opportunity to give Portugal a historic victory, but her shot struck the post and left goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher absolutely useless.

US in Women’s World Cup

The US team’s participation in the competition would have ended in defeat because they were going for a third straight global championship.

After defeating Vietnam 7-0, the Netherlands finished Group E first with seven points, two more than the US squad, which will now probably play Sweden next on Sunday. The US has won just one group stage game for the first time in the competition’s history.

A 0-0 stalemate against the twice-defending champion would have been enough for celebration for the World Cup rookie on virtually any other occasion, but at full time, many of Portugal’s players dropped on their knees in tears as the realization of their elimination set in.

For the US, though, the team’s performances in the group rounds may raise significant concerns.

14 members of the squad are making their Women’s World Cup debuts, and the revamped group has had trouble gelling as a unit throughout the competition. The team appeared the least cohesive throughout the game versus Portugal.

Alex Morgan to FIFA

After this match in Women’s World Cup, US forward Alex Morgan told FIFA that it was difficult to finish second. “We wished to enter first. This team gave everything they had, but we were unable to score.

We simply had to maintain pressure in the waning moments in order to obtain the outcome and continue.

In Australia and New Zealand, Morgan acknowledged that the squad had not performed to its highest potential. “But we’re looking forward to working on the improvements that we need to make and looking at the next round,” she added.

The underdogs surpassing expectations has been the tournament’s recurring theme. In the four years after the last Women’s World Cup, the gap between the top-ranked teams and the rest has drastically shrunk.

Portugal coach Francisco Neto told reporters, “What this Women’s World Cup shows now is that the women’s game is growing significantly and because of that you have these kinds of results that before the Women’s World Cup nobody believed would happen.”

Jessica Silva of Portugal broke down in tears as she told reporters, “I think we deserve much more. We were quite near. It’s true that this was our first time participating, but I’m confident in our team’s accomplishments anyway.

On the verge

There were a lot of expectations for the game, and hundreds of US supporters marched towards Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, before kickoff.

As other fans danced in the ticket lines to a jazz band, chants and songs of “America the Beautiful,” “Oh When the Saints,” and “U-S-A” filled the air.

The American players, though, lacked the same zeal on the field. The first exchanges provided a preview of how the game would proceed. The opening opportunity of the game was generated by Portugal, but Silva, who was at the center of their attack, pulled her shot wide of the far post.

Portugal’s players were doing a fantastic job of upsetting the US, launching into challenges and giving them little any time to become comfortable with the ball. The finest opportunity for the US in the first half was created by Morgan, who wriggled free on the touchline to pass the ball to Lynn Williams. Williams took two shots at the ball but pushed her second attempt over the crossbar.

The US players were undoubtedly aware that the Netherlands had a 5-0 lead over Vietnam at the break, moving them up to first position in Group E.

The US was able to gain greater control of the game as the second half went on, but they were still unable to create any clear-cut chances to score. Morgan and Williams each had a chance, but Portugal was able to easily clear the ball.

Even as the match neared its final minutes, Portugal appeared just as likely to snatch a late victory as the US—if not more so.

As the game entered stoppage time

As the game entered stoppage time, some shaky defending in the US back line let Capeta in behind, but to the delight of Americans everywhere, her shot struck the foot of the post and rebounded out to safety.

“We had our Women’s World Cup on the line,” Megan Rapinoe, a seasoned player who was substituted in for the second half, said afterward. “Those are going to be intense moments, of course.

“We’re ecstatic to go to the next phase. In the end, having another game was precisely what we desired from this one. The round of 16 is next, and we are eager to see who we face.

With a perfect record in Group D, England advanced after thrashing China 6-1 in what was arguably the team’s best Women’s World Cup performance.

Denmark and England

At the break, England had a commanding 3-0 lead with to goals from Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, and Lauren James. In the second half, Wang Shuang subsequently gave China a point from the penalty spot, but James’ magnificent volley gave England back a three-goal advantage.

Following such a dominant performance, England head coach Sarina Wiegman will probably feel much more optimistic about her team’s chances in Australia. Goals from Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly sealed the rout.

Pernille Harder and Sanne Troelsgaard scored for Denmark in a 2-0 victory over Haiti to advance them alongside England to the round of 16.

Along with China, Haiti, another underdog that has performed well at this Women’s World Cup, has also been eliminated.

In the round of 16, England will now play Nigeria on Monday, and Denmark will play co-host Australia later in the day.

Read more from our Sports section for latest news and updates.

You may also like:

Arsenal vs Manchester United score today: 2 – 0 in pre-season friendly match

Womens World Cup 2023: Hurray! New Zealand stuns Norway

USA vs Panama: Awesome! GOLD CUP SEMIFINAL 2023

Inter Miami beat Atlanta 2023:Lionel Messi scores two goals with a 4-0 win