Category: USWNT

Andonovski on Portugal game: ‘The performance was crap’

The coach knows his side needs to improve a whole lot heading into the knockouts

U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has evaluated his team’s display against Portugal in succinct fashion, saying bluntly: “The performance was crap.”

Andonovski’s side struggled in its Group E finale against the World Cup debutants, as it was pushed all the way in a nerve-shredding 0-0 draw that barely secured qualification to the knockout round.

The USWNT failed to generate many scoring opportunities against the underdogs, and was nearly sent home when Ana Capeta hit the post deep into stoppage time.

The match against Portugal was the latest underwhelming display as the U.S. set all-time program lows for wins (one) and points (five) in a World Cup group stage.

After beating Vietnam and drawing the Netherlands and Portugal, the USWNT could only manage a second-place finish in Group E, representing just the second time in nine World Cups the team has failed to win its group.

Ahead of a difficult last-16 game against Sweden, Andonovski said he was heartened by his team’s reaction after an admittedly poor display against the Portuguese.

“I think it’s been great actually,” the coach told Fox Sports. “I was a little bit worried after the Portugal game [about] how they’re going to feel and where they stand, but the group has been incredible.

“Some of the more experienced players actually from the get go were very energetic and very positive about the fact that we have [another] game. Nothing changed — like, yes, the performance was crap. We all know that. We have to own it. We have to take accountability. And we have to focus for the next game. Let’s make sure that we don’t have the same performance again.”

Watch Andonovski’s Portugal assessment

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Purce slams Lloyd’s ‘absolutely ludicrous’ criticism of USWNT passion

“I’ve seen these players fall to pieces about this team, about this dream of going to the World Cup”

Midge Purce has said she was “baffled” to hear Carli Lloyd questioning the U.S. women’s national team’s mentality, calling her former teammate’s criticism “ludicrous.”

After a 0-0 draw against Portugal in Tuesday’s World Cup Group E finale, USWNT legend Lloyd laid into her former teammates.

“I’m just not seeing that passion,” Lloyd said on Fox. “I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”

Lloyd’s comments have not gone down well with her former USWNT and NJ/NY Gotham FC teammate, who vehemently defended her teammates’ desire and commitment to the cause.

“I was baffled by the comments,” Purce said on “The 91st” show from Just Women’s Sports.

“I’m all for critiquing the players’ performances, their tactical awareness, their positioning, their quality on the ball, but to diminish their commitment and their discipline, their character — that’s absolutely ludicrous to me,” Purce said.

“These are players who when they got the call that they were going to the World Cup, they were trembling. Their phones were shaking, they couldn’t even hold the cameras straight.

“I’ve seen these players fall to pieces about this team, about this dream of going to the World Cup, and then pick themselves back up and put it all together. They tear their bodies apart so that they can get to this stage, get to this level, and then their passion is questioned.”

USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski was similarly incredulous when asked about Lloyd’s comments, which he called “insane.”

Purce narrowly missed the USWNT World Cup roster, with a torn quad suffered in April damaging her hopes of making the team.

Watch Purce respond to Lloyd comments

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Five stats that show all may not be lost for the USWNT

Was the group stage perhaps not as bad as some made it out to be?

This World Cup has not gone according to plan for the U.S. women’s national team.

The team set program records for its fewest World Cup group-stage wins (one) and points (five) while looking disjointed, disconnected, and a shadow of the side that was considered the pre-tournament favorite.

But amid plenty of criticism, the U.S. has, at least, managed to do what it set out to do: advance to the knockout round.

Its group-stage performance will not inspire confidence in a third straight World Cup title, nor will a treacherous path that will include a last-16 game against Sweden and a potential quarterfinal against Japan.

But like Kelley O’Hara said: “We did what we had to do. We advanced out of our group and this is the World Cup and that’s the name of the game.”

There may actually be some reason for optimism as well. Was the group stage perhaps not quite as bad as some made it out to be? Let’s look into it.

Here we go again: USWNT and Sweden to meet for sixth straight World Cup

Despite all of the previous meetings, the teams have never faced off in the World Cup knockout stage before

The U.S. women’s national team and Sweden can’t seem to get enough of each other in major competitions.

Sweden clinched first place in Group G with a 2-0 win against Argentina on Wednesday, sealing a spot in the last 16 against the USWNT, which finished as runner-up in Group E.

This will be the sixth consecutive World Cup at which the USWNT has faced Sweden, and the seventh out of nine overall. It will also be the first time the two teams have met in the knockout stage.

Overall at the World Cup, the USWNT has won four, lost one and drawn one out of its six previous matchups against the Swedes.

The history between the USWNT and Sweden extends well beyond the World Cup, though, as the teams have met at the past two Olympics — with disastrous results for the USA.

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Sweden stunned the USWNT in the quarterfinals on penalties, ensuring the U.S. would end the Olympics without a medal for the first time. Five years later in Japan, the U.S. would be thrashed 3-0 by Sweden in their opener. Vlatko Andonovski’s side never seemed to fully recover from that humbling defeat, and would go on to take home a bronze medal.

USWNT-Sweden at 2023 World Cup

After very different group stage outcomes for the two teams, the Swedes may actually go into the last-16 matchup as slight favorites.

Sweden dominated an admittedly weak Group G, winning all three of its games while scoring nine goals and conceding just one.

The USWNT, meanwhile, struggled through Group E, turning in some uncharacteristically limp performances on the way to just one win and two draws. It was the first time in the team’s history that it failed to win at least two group games at a World Cup, and its total of five points was also an all-time low.

The two teams will kick off at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

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USWNT World Cup kickoff times are a nightmare from here on out

The USWNT’s path to the final is filled with inopportune kickoff times

The U.S. women’s national team notched several unwanted achievements during a subpar World Cup group stage.

With five group-stage points, the U.S. tallied its lowest total ever at a World Cup, failing to win at least two group games for the first time ever. For only the second time in nine women’s World Cups, the USWNT failed to finish atop its group.

By finishing second, the USWNT also suffered a blow to its chances of building some buzz back home. Because now, in contrast to a first-place finish, the USWNT’s kickoff times in the United States for the rest of the World Cup are going to be brutal.

Had the USWNT finished in first place in Group E, its round of 16 match would have started at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday, with a possible quarterfinal at 9 p.m. ET on August 10.

But that path will now be traveled by the Netherlands, who topped Group E. By contrast, the USWNT’s last-16 game is now on Sunday at 5 a.m. ET, likely against Sweden. Should they win — and with the way they’ve played, that’s far from certain — their quarterfinal would be August 11 at 3:30 a.m. ET.

Both the USWNT and the Netherlands would have the same kickoff times for the last two games: a semifinal at 4 a.m. ET on August 15 (a game that could see the two teams meet again), and the final at 6 a.m. ET on August 20.

Needless to say, the U.S. finishing second in Group E is a major blow to Fox Sports, which could have banked on big ratings for primetime round of 16 and quarterfinal matches involving the USWNT.

Instead of the huge watch parties we saw across the U.S. for the first two USWNT games of the World Cup, which kicked off at 9 p.m. ET, bars will be filled mostly by bleary-eyed die-hards in the wee hours of the morning.

With a tougher path to another World Cup title and to building momentum back home, the USWNT’s group performance may prove costly.

Netherlands path to final

Round of 16: August 5 — 10 p.m. ET

Quarterfinal: August 10 — 9 p.m. ET

Semifinal: August 15 — 4 a.m. ET

Final: August 20 — 6 a.m. ET

USWNT path to final

Round of 16: August 6 — 5 a.m. ET

Quarterfinal: August 11 — 3:30 a.m. ET

Semifinal: August 15 — 4 a.m. ET

Final: August 20 — 6 a.m. ET

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2023 Women’s World Cup Day 13 Recap: USWNT barely scrapes by

The USWNT barely made it through after a lackluster draw against Portugal

On Day 13 of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there were four games, all of which were crucial in determining which teams would be making it through to the knockout stage. The Netherlands took on Vietnam, Portugal faced off against the USA, Haiti played Denmark, and China battled it out against England.

But before we discuss the games, here is your daily reminder that you can follow the World Cup right here at Pro Soccer Wire! You can find the full TV/streaming schedule, an updated list of the group stage standings, and the rankings in this year’s race for the Golden Boot.

Let’s check out what happened on Day 13.

Andonovski hits back at ‘insane’ Lloyd criticism of USWNT mentality

The USWNT head coach wasn’t having any of his former player’s criticism

U.S. women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski has hit back at Carli Lloyd, saying his former player questioning his team’s mentality is “insane.”

Andonovski’s side only managed a 0-0 draw with Portugal on Tuesday, advancing to the World Cup knockout stage as the Group E runner-up after a disappointing performance.

In addition to calling out USWNT players for their over-exuberant post-game celebrations, Lloyd also questioned the team’s mentality, saying on Fox after the game: “I’m just not seeing that passion. I’m just seeing a very lackluster, uninspiring, taking it for granted, where winning and training and doing all that you can to be the best possible individual player is not happening.”

In his post-game press conference, a reporter relayed Lloyd’s criticism to Andonovski. The USWNT coach admitted his side was far from its best against Portugal, but bristled at the notion that it was lacking desire.

“The one thing I want to say is that this team wanted to win this game more than anything else,” Andonovski said. “They’ve put everything they could in preparation for this tournament and every game that they go into, so to question the mentality of this team, to question the willingness to win, to compete, I think it’s insane.

“I’ve never seen this team step on the field and not try hard or not compete. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, they can say whatever they want, but I just know how this team feels.

“It’s not like we played well by any means. We owned it. We know it’s not good enough. We’re not happy with our performance, but we qualified for the next round. We’re moving on.”

Andonovski was named USWNT head coach in 2019, coaching Lloyd for two years before her retirement in 2021.

Upon Lloyd’s retirement announcement, Andonovski said: “Carli Lloyd is a true legend. Her career was unique, and her success on the field is something all current and future national team players should aspire to achieve. The way she approached her everyday training and career as a professional is truly impressive and I’ve been honored to coach her.”

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Carli Lloyd wasn’t having the USWNT’s celebrations after Portugal draw

Seeing her ex-teammates dancing and singing after a dismal performance was too much for Lloyd to take

Carli Lloyd was not pleased to see some U.S. women’s national team players celebrating after scraping a 0-0 draw with Portugal to secure World Cup advancement.

The U.S. reached the round of 16 as Group E runner-up after barely managing to draw in a game it was expected to win handily.

In a subpar performance, the USWNT was very nearly eliminated when Portugal’s Ana Capeta hit the post in second-half stoppage time.

After the game, Fox showed some U.S. players looking jubilant on the pitch, with Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Crystal Dunn among the players briefly shown dancing.

For Lloyd, who now works as a Fox analyst, seeing her ex-teammates dancing and singing after a disappointing performance was too much to take.

“I’m just seeing these images for the first time right now on the desk,” Lloyd said. “I’ve never witnessed something like that. There’s a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing, to be smiling. I mean, the player of the match was that post. You’re lucky to not be going home right now.”

Watch Lloyd’s USWNT comments

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USWNT player ratings: Lack of ideas as U.S. barely survives Portugal

Lots of not-great, and some quite bad!

The U.S. women’s national team, by a margin of about three inches, survived a feisty Portugal side to get through to the knockout round of the World Cup.

That’s about all the good news there is to discuss. The USWNT were totally unable to solve the Portuguese midfield diamond throughout a troubling 0-0 draw, struggling for possession and also lacking chances to break out in transition.

The stats may show the USWNT holding a 17-6 shot advantage, and this is another game in which a U.S. opponent were held without a shot on goal. However, anyone that watched the match would be able to tell you that the Portuguese troubled the U.S. from start to finish, seeing the game’s best chance end with Ana Capeta hitting the post deep in stoppage time.

It was a dispiriting and disappointing showing in which no player really looked like they’d been given a platform to be their best. If the USWNT is to go on and make history as the first team to win three consecutive World Cups, this has to be by far their worst performance of the tournament.

Here’s a breakdown from a game in which no one looked particularly good.

As a reminder, here’s the Pro Soccer Wire player rating scale:

Our scale:

  • 1: Abysmal. Literally any member of our staff would have been been able to play at this level.
  • 6: Adequate. This is our base score.
  • 10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Carli Lloyd vs. Japan in the 2015 final.

‘Vlatko out of his depth’ – USWNT slated for dismal display in Portugal draw

There were plenty of reactions — none of them good! — to the USWNT’s scoreless draw

The U.S. women’s national team has reached the World Cup last 16, but the manner in which they did so should set off major alarm bells.

In one of the worst performances in recent World Cup history, the USWNT had to hold on for a 0-0 draw against underdogs Portugal in their Group E finale.

The result was only good enough for second place in the group, and the performance was even more worrisome. The U.S. was slow, lacking ideas and disconnected, looking like a shadow of the team that entered as World Cup favorites.

Portugal’s Ana Capeta hit the post in second-half stoppage time, narrowly avoiding the biggest shock in recent World Cup history.

There were plenty of reactions — none of them good! — to the USWNT’s scoreless draw against Portugal.