The United States took on Portugal for their final match in the group stage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023. The United States was 1-1-0 in the tournament going into this game. The United States drew the Netherlands 1-1 in their previous match. The United States was leading Group E going into the game. Portugal were 1-0-1. Portugal beat Vietnam 2-0 in their last match. They were third in Group E going into this game. The United states had an all time record of 10-0-0 against Portugal prior to this match. Their last match was on August 29th, 2019. The United States won that match 4-0.
The United States had their backs against a wall. They desperately needed a win. They have not been finishing on their chances as well as they should be. They had been sloppy in their passing. At several points they seem not to be on the same page. I was pretty confident the Netherlands were going to beat Vietnam. That meant the United States had to get a win. A loss here and it would be over for the United States. There was a tremendous amount of pressure on this match. That being said I did think that the United States can beat Portugal. The United States had not lost a match against Portugal. Despite their faults so far the United Staes has still shown the ability to score and win. I was optimistic yet nervous about this match. I was optimistic and hopeful but not super confident in the United States ability after their first two matches. Yes they beat Vietnam but they did not play up to the level they should have. The draw with the Netherlands was largely disappointing as again the problems from their game with Vietnam carried over. One of the things that was concerning was Portugal kept the Netherlands to one goal like the United States did. Another concern was that Portugal only scored one less goal against Vietnam than the United states did.
If the United States won they would move on to the Round of 16. If the United States lose and the Netherlands beat Vietnam, the United States would be eliminated. If the United States loses and Vietnam wins, it would come down to tie breakers between the United States and the Netherlands. If the United States drew against Portugal, the United States would advance.
According to Optus Sports This was the largest crowd for any soccer game in New Zealand history at 42,958 fans.
#16 Rose Lavelle of the United States got a yellow card in the 39′ minute. Neither side was able to score in the first half. The score was 0-0 halftime. There were good chances on both sides but nothing went through.
#11 Sophia Smith of the United States got a yellow card in the 52′ minute. #15 Carole Costa of Portugal got a yellow card in the 56′ minute. #19 Dianna Gomes of Portugal got a yellow card in the 82′ minute. #4 Naomi Girma of the United States got a yellow card in the 81′ minute. #2 Catarina Amado of Portugal got a yellow card in the 85′ minute. The game ended in a 0-0 draw. Both teams did have some really good chances and it did look like Portugal was going to score late in the game at least twice.
The United States has not been kept from scoring since they lost 2-0 to Spain on October 11, 2022. The United States has not been a 0-0 draw since the 2022 SheBelieves Cup where they drew 0-0 with the Czech Republic on February 17, 2022. The problems are still there. It was really bad in this match. The passing wasn’t hitting their targets. They were passing the ball to areas with no one there. Shots were not getting on net. Communication also still seems to be an issue. From about the 61′ minute onward the left wing of the United States was absolutely useless. That sucked because from about the 80′ minute or 85′ minute onward the United States really was not playing the ball to the right side of the pitch. It also seemed like there was a lot of long shots. It seemed like they were just aimlessly putting their foot through the ball without direction. They were taking long low percentage shots instead of finding a better play or resetting. Something has to change for the United States moving forward.
The United States did get a somewhat positive result though. They needed a win or draw to advance and they got that. Winning the group was’t going to happen though. At halftime The United States had not scored and the Netherlands were up 5-0 over Vietnam. At that point the United States needed to beat Portugal by four goals without the Netherlands scoring again. That wasn’t going to happen.
The United States had plenty of shots and chances. They just couldn’t break the tie for one reason or another.
The Netherlands beat Vietnam 7-0. With that result they won Group E. The United States came in second so they will be advancing. Portugal is now eliminated. Vietnam was already eliminated. Vietnam also finish the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 having not scored a goal.
The United States have advanced from the Group Stage in every FIFA Women’s World cup so far. The United States are still waiting on results from Group G to see who their Round of 16 opponent will be. They will end up playing Sweden or Italy. Whichever one wins Group G. Their round of 16 match will be on Sunday, August 6th, at 2:00am.
Zac Electrifly 
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