AUCKLAND, New Zealand — 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. — Nancy Armour
When do the USWNT play next?
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. Get the coffee ready. (With its 7-0 shellacking of Vietnam, the Netherlands finished first in Group E.)
US-Sweden game: Will we see it in Round of 16?
The USWNT’s next opponent won’t be set in stone until Wednesday morning, but it’s likely to be a team the Americans have plenty of history with: Sweden.
As 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.
Next USWNT game? Americans must fix lack of urgency
What the U.S. women are saying publicly better not be what they’re feeling privately.
The reaction to yet another lackluster World Cup performance, with similar mistakes to the previous two, was largely unbothered. They’re into the knockout rounds. How they got there, and how it looked, seemed beside the point.
If that isn’t a masterful acting job by the USWNT, if this is what they really think, then this team is irrationally confident.
“Because I know this team and I know what we’re capable of,” Alex Morgan said when asked after Tuesday’s scoreless draw with Portugal why she expects anything different going forward. “Just because it hasn’t clicked every moment on the field and we’re not putting the goals in the back of the net doesn’t mean these aren’t the right players for the job. The confidence is there. Now we just have to prove it out on the field.”
Well, yeah. Unless the USWNT finds a way to turn things around – fast – they’re making a very different kind of history than they came here intending. — Nancy Armour
USWNT vs. Portugal score, highlights
Although there were no goals in USWNT vs. Portugal, check out the highlights here.
Women’s World Cup groups, standings
Here are the complete standings for the tournament.
Group E standings
Here are the Group E World Cup standings.
USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski responds to Carli Lloyd
Here’s what U.S. women’s national team coach Vlatko Andonovski said in response to criticism from former captain Carli Lloyd:
“One thing I want to say is this team wanted to win this game more than anything else. They put everything they could into the preparation for this tournament. To question mentality of this team, to question their willingness to win, to compete, I think it’s insane. I’ve never seen this team step on the field and not try hard, not to compete. Everyone is entitled to opinion. They can say whatever they want. But I know how this team feels.
“We owned it. We know it’s not good enough. We’re not happy with our performance. We qualified for the next round. We’re moving on.” — Nancy Armour
USWNT vs. Portugal replay
You can replay any match in full here. In addition, Fox Sports is airing a replay at 5 p.m. ET Tuesday.
USWNT starting lineup vs. Portugal
There were some lineup changes for USWNT vs. Portugal. Most notably, Rose Lavelle, the breakout star of the 2019 World Cup, started in the midfield. Lavelle has been hampered by a knee injury the last couple months but her play against the Netherlands in Game 2 last week was crucial. Also, Lynn Williams started at forward instead of Trinity Rodman. Here was the full lineup:
- Goalkeeper: Alyssa Naeher
- Defenders: Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Naomi Girma, Emily Fox
- Midfielders: Lindsey Horan, Andi Sullivan, Rose Lavelle
- Forwards: Sophia Smith, Alex Morgan, Lynn Williams
USWNT vs. Portugal stats
Here’s a look at the team stats from the 0-0 draw.
| Stat | USA | Portugal |
| Possession | 43.80% | 56.20% |
| Possession lost in defensive half | 34 | 53 |
| Possession lost in middle third | 94 | 102 |
| Duels | 125 | 126 |
| Duels success rate | 54.40% | 45.20% |
| Aerial duels | 38 | 38 |
| Aerial duels won | 52.60% | 47.40% |
| Successful dribbles | 10 | 8 |
| Fouls won | 12 | 14 |
| Offsides | 0 | 0 |
| Corner awarded | 6 | 1 |
USA vs. Portugal player ratings
The stats may show the USWNT holding a 17-6 shot advantage over Portugal, and this is another game in which a U.S. opponent were held without a shot on goal. However, anyone that watched the match would be able to tell you that the Portuguese troubled the U.S. from start to finish, seeing the game’s best chance end with Ana Capeta hitting the post deep in stoppage time.
It was a dispiriting and disappointing showing in which no player really looked like they’d been given a platform to be their best. If the USWNT is to go on and make history as the first team to win three consecutive World Cups, this has to be by far their worst performance of the tournament.
Here’s a player ratings breakdown from a game in which no one looked particularly good.
— Jason Anderson, ProSoccerWire
Rose Lavelle yellow card
Rose Lavelle was given a yellow card in the 39th minute for tripping Portugal’s Dolores Silva. Lavelle will miss the round of 16 game for yellow card accumulation. She also got a yellow against the Netherlands.
USWNT yellow cards
Also receving yellow cards for the U.S. against Portugal: Forward Sophia Smith (52nd minute) and defender Naomi Girma (81st minute). Smith’s came after a high knee from the forward bonked the head of a Portugal player. It is her first yellow card of the tournament.
Why Naomi Girma is essential to the USWNT at 2023 World Cup
Despite making her first appearance with the USWNT just 15 months ago, Naomi Girma become indispensable to the defense, and her poise and vision make it seem as if she’s been with the team forever.
“She looked like she had three World Cups behind her,” coach Vlatko Andonovski marveled after Saturday’s World Cup opener, which Girma started and played all 90 minutes. “She was so comfortable.”
Girma disputes that, saying she was nervous before the game began. It was her World Cup debut, after all. Once the opening whistle blew, however, she felt a calm and confidence come over her. The setting might be the World Cup, but it’s still the same game she’s been playing since she was a little girl.
“As an athlete, playing at the highest level is something you always dream of. So for me, it’s a dream come true,” she said. “Then for my parents, seeing their daughter play for the U.S., the country they chose, it fills them with a lot of pride. They’re so happy. We all feel so grateful. — Nancy Armour
Carli Lloyd calls USWNT’s play ‘disappointing, uninspiring’
Two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd had some harsh words for the USWNT after the Americans’ 0-0 draw against Portugal. The tie allows the USWNT to move on to the knockout rounds, though the U.S. will do so as the No. 2 seed, which is a much harder path to the final.
But according to Lloyd, her former team isn’t headed for the championship game anyway.
“Today was uninspiring. Disappointing. They don’t look fit. They’re playing as individuals and the tactics are too predictable,” Lloyd said on FOX Sports postgame show.
She reiterated some criticism she’s leveled at U.S. soccer since retiring in 2021, saying “the winning doesn’t matter as much anymore” as much as “a lot of the off the field things that are happening.”
“It started to shift post 2020,” Lloyd said. “You never want to take anything for granted. You put that jersey on for everyone who came before you and everyone who came after, and give it everything you have. I’m just not seeing the passion. It was lackluster, it was uninspiring.”
She added the U.S. is “playing not to lose versus playing to win — Portugal played to win, and they almost did.”
Pushed for specifics about what off-field events she was referencing, Lloyd mentioned the USWNT’s pregame dancing.
“Winning and training and doing all that you can do to be the best individual player, that’s not happening. We saw the dancing,” she said. “There’s a difference between confident and arrogance. Where is the direction going?”
Tuesday was hardly the first time Lloyd has been critical of the USWNT this World Cup. She ripped into the Americans at halftime of their Netherlands game, which ended in a 1-1 draw, and before kickoff against Portugal, she said star forward Alex Morgan should be benched. — Lindsay Schnell
USWNT World Cup history
The USWNT has won four World Cups overall and are going for their third straight and fifth overall. Here’s a complete history of the tournament.
Former USWNT star Heather O’Reilly weighs in on criticism of Team USA
Here’s what the current Fox Sports analyst had to say about USWNT’s performance in the group stage.
“To remind everybody what happened in 2015: we got a good result in the first game, then we draw in the second game and then we stumble in our third game … There was so much chatter like, ‘are we going out early? Does this team have it?’ – but that doesn’t help. It doesn’t help the players, it doesn’t help the staff, it doesn’t help the football. We need to get behind the team. And in 2015, our backs were against the wall. We fought back, a couple tactical changes were made. We all know Carli Lloyd made history, but this team needs us to get behind them. They are a talented team. They’ve only given up one goal in three games.
“They’re very defensive minded group, Vlatko Andonovski, he’s conservative coach, so we have to embrace that. For us, it’s the next game. And just like this team – they survived and they advanced. They don’t even care who they’re playing. They don’t care if it’s Sweden, they don’t care if they go one or two in the group. They’re going to take care of business with the next opponent, and they have this crazy self-belief that they’re going to move on.”
Watch her comments in full here.
USWNT coach history
Vlatko Andonovski became the 10th head coach of the US women’s national team in October 2019, succeeding Jill Ellis. Here’s a look at how each coach in the past fared.
| Coach | Years | G | W | L | T | Pct. |
| Mike Ryan | 1985 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0.125 |
| Anson Dorrance | 1986-1994 | 92 | 65 | 22 | 5 | 0.734 |
| Tony DiCicco | 1994-99 | 121 | 105 | 8 | 8 | 0.901 |
| Lauren Gregg | 2000 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0.833 |
| April Heinrichs | 2000-04 | 124 | 87 | 17 | 20 | 0.782 |
| Greg Ryan | 2005-07 | 55 | 45 | 1 | 9 | 0.9 |
| Pia Sundhage | 2008-12 | 107 | 91 | 6 | 10 | 0.897 |
| Jill Ellis | 2012 | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0.857 |
| Tom Sermanni | 2012-14 | 24 | 18 | 2 | 4 | 0.833 |
| Jill Ellis | 2014-19 | 125 | 101 | 7 | 17 | 0.876 |
| Vlatko Andonovski | 2019-present | 64 | 51 | 8 | 5 | 0.849 |
Women’s World Cup bracket
Here’s how the bracket for the knockout rounds is shaping up.
Lynn Williams: What to know about USWNT forward
Lynn Williams was out for most of a year with torn hamstring in 2021. She scored and had assist in quarterfinal win over Netherlands at Tokyo Olympics. She won NWSL scoring title, MVP and league title in 2016. She co-hosts “Snacks” podcast with fellow USWNT player Sam Mewis.
- Hometown: Fresno, California
- Club: NJ/NY Gotham FC
- Age: 30
- Height: 5-7
- Caps: 52
- Goals / Assists: 15/12
USWNT press conference
Here is what Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan, Lindsey Horan, Rose Lavelle and Kelley O’Hara had to say about the draw.
USWNT results
The U.S. women’s national team played to one win and two draws in the group stage of the 2023 World Cup. Here’s a look back at all their results so far.
- USWNT 3, Vietnam 0: How Americans soared to victory in 2023 World Cup opener
- USWNT 1, Netherlands 1: Lindsey Horan’s killer header and other must-see moments from draw
- USWNT 0, Portugal 0: How USWNT survived to advance to World Cup knockout rounds
Is Portugal out of the World Cup?
Although the Americans were disappointed in the draw, the Portuguese women were sent home with Tuesday’s final Group E result. Megan Rapinoe consoled Jessica Silva, who was sitting on the field with her head between her knees, distraught by the way things ended after her team fought for the chance to advance. It was Portugal’s World Cup debut.
“I think we were the most competent team, and we leave with a bitter feeling,” Silva said. “… We are really very sad for the result, although proud of what we did, of having played like this against a team who have been world champions twice in a row. Look at us, don’t forget about us, please realize what Portugal has achieved.”
— Roxanna Scott
More late subs for USWNT, including Alyssa Thompson
The youngest player on the roster, Alyssa Thompson, and one of the USWNT’s veterans, Kelley O’Hara, subbed in for the USWNT during stoppage time, replacing Crystal Dunn and Alex Morgan. It is Thompson’s first World Cup, and O’Hara’s fourth.
Trinity Rodman, Emily Sonnett sub in late for USWNT
In the 84th minute, the USWNT finally used some subs.
Trinity Rodman and Emily Sonnett subbed in for the U.S. as Lindsey Horan and Lynn Williams went out.
Naomi Girma hit with yellow card
A rough game for the USWNT got rougher in the 81st minute as defender Naomi Girma was given a yellow card. The U.S. remains tied 0-0 with Portugal.
Megan Rapinoe subs in for USWNT
Megan Rapinoe, one of the most beloved players in U.S. soccer history and the star of the 2019 World Cup, subbed in for the USWNT in the 61st minute, replacing Sophia Smith.
Rapinoe, who plans to retire at the end of this season, is in a different role for the U.S. this World Cup, but she’s dangerous off of set pieces and experienced. This is her 201st appearance for the USWNT.
Yellow card for Sophia Smith
Sophia Smith got hit with a yellow card in the 52nd minute, after a high knee from the forward bonked the head of a Portugal player. It is her first yellow card of the tournament.
False alarm at the 2023 World Cup
Early in the second half, an alarm started sounding in Eden Park stadium — but it turns out, it was a false fire alarm. Play continued, everyone in the stadium ignored the sound and after a few minutes, it stopped.
USAWNT 0, Portugal 0: Instant halftime analysis
Vlatko Andonovski made the two changes fans have been screaming for, starting midfielder Rose Lavelle and inserting Lynn Williams over Trinity Rodman at forward. But aside from a spark at the start, it did little good.
The USWNT was as lackluster as they’ve been the other two games, turning the ball over, making passes to empty spaces and unable to finish the chances they did have.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, Lavelle picked up her second yellow card, meaning she’ll miss the USWNT’s round-of-16 game. If the USWNT has a round-of-16 game.
— Nancy Armour
What happens if USA loses to Portugal?
If the USWNT loses to Portugal Tuesday, its World Cup is done. The Stars and Stripes will not advance to the knockout round with a loss. A tie would get them there, albeit as the second seed from Group E, which is a considerably harder path.
If Portugal upsets the USWNT, it would be historic — and not in a good way for the U.S. The USWNT has never, since the women’s World C