The U.S. Women’s National Team made it into the knockout stages of the World Cup by the skin of their teeth — or better put, by a few inches of woodwork.
This is what it looks like when the world catches up.
And yes, this is what it looks like when Secretariat stumbles.
The U.S. Women’s National Team made it into the knockout stages of the World Cup by the skin of their teeth — or better put, by a few inches of woodwork — early Tuesday morning via a 0-0 draw against Portugal, but after three straight games in which they’ve played below par, you would be hard-pressed to still call them the favorites in this tournament.
There is no longer a margin for error with Sweden likely waiting in the Round of 16, and the U.S. looks like a team that very much needs one. They spent 90 minutes against Portugal playing an indecisive game, lacking confidence and looking out-of-sync against the kind of opponent that, in past tournaments, they would have overwhelmed by force of personality.
But not in this World Cup, and not this USWNT.
“It’s not like we played well, by any means,” coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters in Auckland, New Zealand, and the alarming part was that it could have applied to all 270 minutes his team has played so far in New Zealand.
In a seven-game World Cup, that is not a small sample size you can scoff at — it is nearly half the tournament, and a veritable trend.
Everything you need to know about the 2023 Women’s World Cup including schedule, scores and news
Some of the reasons behind it are beyond anything this coach and this roster can control.
