2023 Women’s World Cup: USA 1-1 Netherlands: Wasteful US could see major upset
USA captain Lindsey Horan rescued the defending champions at the 2023 Women’s World Cup as the Netherlands threatens an upset.
New Manchester City signing Jill Roord gave the Dutch hope with goal from the edge of the box in the 17th minute
Despite a 13-match winning streak on the world stage, the US struggled against a solid Netherlands defence until Horan’s crucial header from a corner in the second half.
USA tops Group E with four points, the same amount as the Netherlands but sit at the top on goal difference.
With Portugal’s 2-0 win over Vietnam today, it’s set up interesting final games for the Group. Portugal face USA next, and if they can provide a major upset – they could see themselves, along with the Netherlands progressing out of the group stages.
Portugal face USA on Tuesday 08:00 BST, whilst the Netherlands will face Vietman (already confirmed out of the World Cup) at the same time.
Whilst it’ll be a big ask for Portugal to beat the USA, World Cups are all about major upsets. If the European team held the US to a draw it could see the Netherlands top the group.
‘You have to be happy with 1-1’
“We performed brilliantly and at times it was really fantastic,” said Netherlands coach Andries Jonker. “You have to be happy with 1-1.
“These games are battles from the first second to the last. The only thing you can say is that women’s football has evolved incredibly.
“We’re there, along with the US, and I’m very satisfied with that.”
‘Electric atmosphere’
An electric atmosphere filled Wellington as fans celebrated a thrilling match in front of 27,312 spectators.
This highly anticipated clash between the USA and the Netherlands lived up to its billing as the biggest fixture of the group games.
Despite the USA being strong favourites with many new players, the Netherlands put on an impressive display, and their late lead looked promising until Horan’s equaliser.
The Netherlands’ journey to the World Cup wasn’t easy, but they’ve shown their potential even without influential forward Vivianne Miedema, suggesting they could go far in the tournament once again.
USA criticised for wastefulness
Vlatko Andonovski’s team wasted a fair few chances during their 3-0 win over debutants Vietnam. The same can be said for their game against the Netherlands.
“In the first half, we allowed them to take control of the tempo and slow down the tempo a lot more than we wanted,” said the USA coach.
“It was a difficult match and even though it didn’t finish the way we wanted it to finish, I thought it was a very good match.”
“I think the first half, we could be a little disappointed in how we played but I think we fixed things right away,” said captain and goalscorer Horan.
“The pressure that we got on, the amount of chances and opportunities that came from it – I’m so proud of the team and their response.”
