The U.S. is staring down potential elimination at the group stage of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup after a stunning 3-0 defeat to the Netherlands on Sunday.
After the Americans opened the tournament in Costa Rica with a routine win over Ghana, they were comprehensively beaten by a well-drilled Dutch side in their second match.
The USWNT will now likely need a win from its final match against Japan to have a shot at reaching the quarterfinals. That will be no easy feat after the Japanese started the tournament with two straight wins.
The Netherlands took advantage of a corner kick to open the scoring in the first half, before Dana Foederer unleashed a stunning strike from long distance that doubled her side’s lead 10 minutes into the second half.
OH MY GOODNESS 😳
This BEAUTIFUL strike from Foederer gives the Netherlands a 2-0 lead 🇳🇱 pic.twitter.com/1a1b9044Ep
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) August 15, 2022
A penalty kick just minutes later sealed the win for the Netherlands, who went into second place in Group D, level on points with the USWNT but with a two-goal advantage on goal differential.
That advantage could prove vital going into the final set of games on Wednesday. The USWNT will need to better the Netherlands’ result against Ghana, or win and overturn its goal differential disadvantage if the Netherlands also wins. If not, they will be heading home.
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