USA vs. Portugal live updates: USWNT advances to knockout rounds with scoreless draw - USA Trending Blog
USA vs. Portugal live updates: USWNT advances to knockout rounds with scoreless draw - USA Trending Blog
The U.S. women are still alive at the World Cup.
Barely.
Needing a win or tie to avoid being eliminated in the group stage for the first time ever at a World Cup or Olympics, the four-time World Cup champions squeaked through with a scoreless draw against Portugal, a team it had beaten in each of its previous 10 meetings. It was a far closer game than it should have been, but the tie was enough for the USWNT to finish second in Group E and go through.
That’s the good news. The bad news is the USWNT is likely to face old nemesis Sweden in the round of 16.
And they’re not playing like a team built for a deep run. In fact, if not for the near post, they’d be going home. Portugal's Ana Capeta unleashed a corker early in second-half stoppage time and it ricocheted off the post, saving the USWNT to play another day.
Despite Rose Lavelle starting for the first time and Lynn Williams replacing Trinity Rodman, the USWNT had barely any spark. Instead, they were as lackluster as they’d been in the first two games, turning the ball over, making passes into empty spaces and not finishing the chances they did have.
When a fire alarm sounded early in the second half at Eden Park, it seemed like a metaphor for this USWNT squad.
When does the USWNT play next?
Get the coffee ready, because by finishing second in Group E, the USWNT is due for more middle-of-the-night games. With its 7-0 shellacking of Vietnam, the Netherlands finished first in Group E. (Also of note: that 7-0 win for the Dutch is the most lopsided result of the tournament so far.)
The Americans advance to the knockout stage of the World Cup with their 0-0 draw vs. Portugal, which means they’ll take the second seed out of Group E. That means their next game likely against Sweden, a familiar foe will kickoff at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 6.
Who does the USWNT play next in Round of 16?
The USWNT’s next opponent won’t be set in stone for another 24 hours, but it’s likely to be a team the Americans have plenty of history with: Sweden.
s the runner-up for Group E, the USWNT will play the winner of Group G at 5 a.m. ET Sunday. Sweden currently leads group G and will close out group play Wednesday against Italy, which is second in the group.
Sweden is a frequent opponent of the USWNT. At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the teams met in the opening game, the ninth time they’d played each other in a major world championship. The USWNT was embarrassed that match, losing 3-0.
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