U.S. slips into Round of 16 of Women's World Cup after scoreless draw with Portugal
Americans held to 1 win in group play for 1st time; Denmark also advances
A goal post saved the United States from elimination at the Women's World Cup.
Ana Capeta nearly scored for Portugal in stoppage time but her shot hit the left post and the United States escaped with a uninspiring 0-0 draw Tuesday night that got them, barely, to the knockout round.
The U.S. won only one game in group play for the first time in tournament history, scoring just four goals over three games. With the scoreless draw, the United States fell to second in the group behind the Netherlands and will head to Melbourne, Australia, for a Round of 16 match on Sunday.
"We should have put some in the back of the net and we didn't. We own that," Alex Morgan said. "We're not happy with the performance we put out there. But at the same time, we're moving on."
The Americans, the most successful team ever at the World Cup with four titles, have never been eliminated in the tournament's group stage. But they looked shaky against the Portuguese, who were playing in their first World Cup.
"Obviously we want to play great and score a lot of goals, and we didn't do that. We know that it can be better, and has to be better, moving forward," said Megan Rapinoe, who came into the match in the second half as a substitute. "But ultimately, we're on to the next round."
Portuguese players sobbed
The Portuguese players sobbed on the field after the final whistle after having come oh-so-so close to upsetting the mighty United States. Capeta's shot about two minutes into stoppage time looked so good that her coaches started celebrating and the players on the bench jumped to their feet.
"I truly believed that the goal would be in that moment and I was starting to think, 'What can I do to help my players if we're winning 1-0?"' coach Francisco Neto said. "What I said to the girls, I was very proud. Of course, they are very sad because we have huge expectations of ourselves."
Lynn Williams, who started for the U.S. for the first time in the tournament, had a chance on a header in the 14th minute but Portugal goalkeeper Ines Pereira smothered it. While the U.S. controlled possession and had the better chances, the team could not finish and the game was scoreless at the break.
Rose Lavelle picked up a yellow card in the 38th minute, her second of the group stage, and she won't be available for the team's Round of 16 match.
The frustration of the U.S. fans at Eden Park was evident at the break, when there were scattered boos among the crowd as the teams headed for the tunnel. Early in the second half, a fire alarm went off in the stadium but it turned out to be a malfunctioning sprinkler.
The United States had a free kick from a dangerous spot in the 57th minute, but Morgan's header popped up well over the goal. She put her hands to her face in exasperation.
Rapinoe came in as a sub in the 61st minute, but the Golden Boot winner at the 2019 World Cup couldn't find that elusive goal.
U.S. coach tweaks starting lineup
U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski tweaked his starting lineup for the match and started both Williams and Lavelle for the first time at this World Cup. He had started Trinity Rodman at forward and Savannah DeMelo in the midfield for the team's first two games.
But the energy just wasn't there against Portugal and the Americans seemed lost and unorganized for most of the match. In a post-game huddle, defender Kelley O'Hara, one of the veterans, shouted at her teammates.
The Americans have not needed the third and final group-stage match to learn their tournament fate since 2007, when there was only a slim chance for elimination. A loss to Portugal on Tuesday could have ended the tournament for the Americans.
Going into the match, the United States sat atop Group E even on points with the Netherlands but holding an edge on goal differential. But the Netherlands erased that advantage and took the group lead with a decisive 7-0 victory over Vietnam, in a match played simultaneously in Dunedin.
The Netherlands now heads to Sydney to face the second-place team from Group G, which includes Sweden, South Africa, Italy and Argentina. The United States plays the group's top team — likely Sweden.
Denmark 2, Haiti 0
Denmark advanced to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1995 after beating Haiti 2-0 in Perth, Australia in its last group-stage match. Next is a battle versus the tournament co-host Aussies in Sydney next Monday.
Denmark's goals came courtesy of a penalty kick by Pernille Harder in the 21st minute and a calm finish by Sanne Troelsgaard in stoppage time. Haiti exits the tournament without any goals or points to show for its World Cup debut despite pushing Group D winner England all the way in its opener.
With the win, Denmark, making its first World Cup appearance since 2007, placed second to England in Group D and booked its place in the knockout stage.
A handball from Haiti's Dayana Pierre-Louis led to a penalty kick for Denmark in the 21st minute. Star forward Pernille Harder sent the keeper the wrong way to score her 71st career international goal.
Sanne Troelsgaard put the game out of reach in the 10th minute of stoppage time with a composed finish after a Danish counterattack.
Despite its efforts, Haiti was unable to create many scoring opportunities and is out of the tournament after finishing last in Group D.
Denmark limited Haiti to two shots on target, earning its second shutout of the group stage.
England 6, China 1
With two goals and three assists, Lauren James made a big impact in Sydney as England advanced to the knockout stage.
The Chelsea forward scored her second and third goals of the tournament with two wonderful strikes as the European champions finished atop Group D with three straight wins.
Alessia Russo, Lauren Hemp, substitute Chloe Kelly and Rachel Daly also added goals at Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium, and China's Wang Shuang pulled one back from the penalty spot.
China's worst-ever loss at the tournament means it failed to advance from the group stage for the first time at a Women's World Cup.
England next plays Nigeria in the Round of 16 in Brisbane, Australia, three hours before Denmark plays Australia in Sydney.
The Lionesses matched their biggest-ever World Cup win, matching the margin against Argentina in 2007.
England also set a World Cup record by scoring in 16 consecutive games at the tournament.
Even with an unbeaten start, there had still been questions over England's performances, while a knee injury for Keira Walsh raised concerns about how coach Sarina Wiegman would replace one of her key players.
The emergence of James has made her one of the stars so far in the tournament.
After her brilliant winner against Denmark, she narrowly missed a hat trick against China. A VAR ruling deprived her of a goal just before halftime.
James was the provider as Alessia Russo got England off to a flying start in the fourth minute. With her first goal of the tournament, Russo controlled James's header and fired low past goalkeeper Zhu Yu.
Hemp scored England's second in the 26th, with James the provider again after swift counterattack.
James struck from the edge of the box in the 41st and, after Wang scored from the spot in the 57th, she provided the moment of match with a left-foot volley into the top corner. James was the provider again with a perfectly-weighted pass beyond China's defence for Kelly to score England's fifth in the 77th. Daley rounded off the scoring in the 84th.
