The USNWT drew Portugal 0-0 in a horrible display that barely saw them advance
The U.S. women’s national team may have achieved the bare minimum in the World Cup group stage — advancement — but it doesn’t appear this team is capable of doing much more.
The USWNT went into Tuesday’s group stage finale against Portugal with a decent chance of finishing atop Group E. They ended the game thanking their lucky stars that Portugal’s Ana Capeta could only hit the post in stoppage time to avoid the biggest shock in women’s soccer history.
In one of the worst World Cup performances in recent U.S. history, Vlatko Andonovski’s team only managed a 0-0 draw that saw it reach the last 16 with a second-place finish in Group E.
While the U.S. was struggling against the Portuguese, the Netherlands hammered Vietnam 7-0 to lock down first place in the group.
For the USWNT, it was a limp, disconnected, uninspired display, which will likely now be rewarded with a matchup against old nemesis Sweden in the round of 16 on Sunday.
As the U.S. started slowly against Portugal at Eden Park, news of Netherlands goals against Vietnam kept coming. And coming. And coming. Each goal made it less likely the USWNT would top the group, and each drove home the USWNT’s failure to run up the score on Vietnam.
But as the match wore on it became clear that whatever was going on in the group’s other game was the least of the USWNT’s concerns.
Portugal, like the Netherlands, dropped an extra attacker into midfield when the U.S. had possession, which completely stifled the team’s build-up. Even when they did bypass midfield, the U.S. seemed to have few options other than hoofing crosses into the box or praying for a moment of individual brilliance.
The USWNT had six shots on target but shockingly few real dangerous opportunities. Alex Morgan being played in by Lindsey Horan and rounding the goalkeeper early in the second half, only to see her shot blocked, may somehow qualify as the best scoring chance of the night.
There were very few positive individual performances but the USWNT fell stunningly short as a collective. That will result in some difficult questions for Andonovski.
In one of the more telling moments of a dismal evening, Andonovski subbed in defender Emily Sonnett for Horan in the 84th minute. In a game his team was expected to win handily, the coach opted to park the bus to scrape out a draw and progression to the last 16.
That move almost backfired spectacularly. Capeta was headed in behind the U.S. defense and her shot rang off the post, narrowly avoiding a true doomsday scenario for the USWNT.
Portugal nearly eliminated the U.S. on Tuesday but unless something changes drastically soon, this team will be exiting the World Cup sooner rather than later.
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