SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
Barely, just barely, the United States made it into the round of 16 in the Women’s World Soccer Cup.
That’s right, it was a goal post that saved the day, kept the red, white and blue playing after the scoreless tie with Portugal in Group E of the opening round in Auckland, New Zealand, in the early morning Tuesday hours.
The Americans were fortunate. Their performance was mediocre, they couldn’t find the net and Portugal almost did, for in the count down of storage time, Ana Capeta almost scored, but her shot hit the left post and the U.S.A. escaped with an uninspiring draw.
And so the United States, runners-up in the group behind the Netherlands, now head for Melbourne, Australia, to play Sweden, the winner of Group G, and the Dutch will face second place Italy in Sydney, Australia, in Sunday matches.
Just barely to the knockout round went the U.S. It won only one game in group play for the first time in tournament history, scoring just four goals over three games.
“We should have put some in the back of the net and we didn’t,” said veteran midfielder Alex Morgan. “We own that and 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 championships, 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”, said 38-year-old ready to retire Megan Rapinoe, who came into the match in the second half as a substitute, “we wanted to play great and score a lot of goals, and we didn’t do that. Ultimately, we’re on to the next round.”
The United States picked up one point for the draw and had five in all, but the Dutch had seven, plus it also outscored the Americans, 11-5, after pounding the Vietnamese, 7-0.
Portugal’s players sobbed on the field after the final whistle after having come oh-so-close to upsetting the mighty United States. Capeta’s shot about two minutes into stoppage time looked oh-so-good that her coaches started celebrating on bench and jumped to their feet.
Said Portugal head coach Francisco Neto: “I truly believed that the goal would be in that moment and I was starting to think, ‘What can I tell my players if we’re winning 1-0.’ “Still, I was very proud of the girls.”
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 smothered it. While the Americans controlled possession and had the better chances, the red, white and blue could not finish and it was scoreless at the break.
In the 38th minute, Rose Lavelle picked up a yellow card, her second of the group stage, and won’t be available for the team’s next round.
The frustration of the U.S. fans at Eden Park was evident at halftime when there was 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 a malfunctioning sprinkler.
In the 57th minutes the United States had a free kick from a dangerous spot, but Morgan’s header popped up well over the goal and the 13th-year veteran put her hands to her face in exasperation.
Lovelle said, “I think we just need a little bit of ruthlessness in front of the net. I think we’re getting the chances, but it’s that final bit of ruthlessness of just putting it away.”
Rapinoe came in as a sob in the 61st minute, but the Golden Boot winner at the 2019 World Cup couldn’t find that elusive goal, but she does get to have another turn on the pitch.
U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski tweaked his starting lineup and started Williams and Lavelle over Trinity Rodman at forward and Savannah DeMelo in the midfield.
But the energy just wasn’t there and the Americans seemed lost and unorganized for most the match. In a post-game huddle, Kelley O’Hara, one of their veterans, shouted at her teammates.
“Look,” she said, “we did what we had to do. We’re moving on, the group stage is done, this is over, it’s in the rearview and we have our next game in front of us and that’s the only one that matters.”
The Americans last lost in the third and final group stage to Sweden at the 2011 World Cup, but still advanced to the final match before losing on penalties to champion Japan.
The U.S. has not needed the third and final group stage match to learn its tournament fate since 2007 when there was only a slim chance for elimination. A loss Tuesday to Portugal could have ended the tournament for it.
Going into this match, the United States sat atop its group on points, but the Netherlands erased that advantage and took the group lead with the decisive 7-0 shellacking of Vietnam in a match played simultaneously in New Zealand’s Dunedin.
It was a time for the red, white and blue. It looked confidence behind play began, but when it ended, it was a rather unhappy squad representing the Americans.
Any good news? Yes, the proud United States is still playing, the rest is up to it.
