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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