There are going to be some very sleep deprived U.S. women’s national team fans come Tuesday morning.
After relatively reasonable kickoff times of 9 p.m. ET for the team’s first two World Cup matches, the USWNT will face Portugal in a vital Group E finale on Tuesday at 3 a.m. ET.
For fans brave enough to watch live, they’ll witness a match that sees the USWNT with their backs to the wall.
After beating Vietnam 3-0 to open the tournament, the U.S. only managed a 1-1 draw against the Netherlands in their second match. That leaves the U.S. in first place in Group E, level with the Dutch on four points and with a two-goal advantage on goal differential.
There is now a huge degree of importance on the match with Portugal, which enters on three points after losing to the Netherlands and beating Vietnam.
A loss would almost certainly see the USWNT shockingly eliminated at the group stage, while a draw would likely only be good enough for second place and a more difficult path in the knockout round.
Even a narrow win over Portugal may not be enough for first place if the Dutch beat Vietnam by enough goals.
With so much on the line, there may be even more fans who reject sleep to watch the USWNT live in the wee hours of Tuesday morning.
USWNT vs. Portugal
- When: Tuesday, August 1
- Where: Eden Park, Auckland, NZ
- Time: 3 a.m. ET
- Channel/streaming: Fox, Telemundo, Peacock
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