Tasman Trails: Day 13: Not Championship Material
Portugal 0-0 USA
Imagine if you woke up sometime after 4am CT and you found out that the USA had lost to Portugal and was eliminated from the Women’s World Cup. But for the post, that almost became a reality. They did get the minimum required draw to advance as it finished goalless, but because of Netherlands’ 7-0 thrashing of Vietnam, the USA finish second in the group for the first time since 2011 and will likely face Sweden in the Round of 16 in Melbourne on Sunday (4am CT, FOX/Telemundo).
Had Ana Capeta’s shot gone in in the 91st minute, Portugal would have gone through and the USA would have been eliminated. Literally, the width of the post. There was quite a lot in this lot that was not so encouraging from an uncharacteristic 62.3% pass completion to the continues wasteful finishing that we have seen throughout the group stage.
“I don’t think that was a good performance altogether, starting from the back line, midfield forward,” U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski said. “I don’t think we were able to solve the problems that the opponent was presenting. There were moments where we did, and it looked good, but those moments were very few and not enough to be able to walk out of here with several goals. So hopefully we can synchronize and get the lines in sync for the next opponent.”
Barring a loss to Argentina and Italy making up a goal difference margin of 10, that next opponent will be Sweden in the early morning hours in the States rather than the Saturday prime time slot that Netherland will have against the runners-up from Group G in Sydney (9pm CT, FOX/Telemundo).
Vietnam 0-7 Netherlands
It became apparent from the word go, that the Dutch were intent on winning the group and like clockwork (orange), they score four goals in a span of 15 minutes and were in cruise control all the way to Sydney.
For Vietnam, while they played with spirit, they were up against it and were unfortunate not to get even a goal in this tournament while shipping 12.
“We have been playing with the spirit of Vietnam. We have tried our best. But it is clear that we cannot close the gap between us and the Netherlands,” said Vietnam coach Mai Duc Chung.
They now focus on the Olympic Qualifiers starting against Uzbekistan in Tashkent on October 26th.
China 1-6 England
Another set of Lionesses devoured another Asian side in Adelaide. Lauren James scored twice and tallied three assists in England’s 6-1 rout of China to top Group D. Despite the rash of injuries that have threatened to hamper the European Champions’ progress, this was a message win to reinforce the belief that they are still one of the favorites entering the last 16. However, a tricky contest awaits them in Brisbane as Nigeria await on Monday and they are looking for their best World Cup since 1999. In some way, it already has been for the Super Falcons. It should be one of the matches of the second round (2:30am CT, FS1/NBC Universo).
Haiti 0-2 Denmark
The Danes will face Australia at Stadium Australia on Monday (5:30am CT, FS1/NBC Universo) after a workmanlike 2-0 win over Haiti. For Haiti, they too finish without scoring a goal in the tournament after playing tough against the other teams in the group, losing by the odd goal to both England and China. The defense was mostly solid, but lack of scoring opportunities (a penalty overturned by VAR vs. China not withstanding) cost them in the end.
Next up, Groups G and F play their final matches. The big one will be in Melbourne as Jamaica face Brazil with the former actually having a chance to knock the latter out with a draw. It sounds as likely as it is being typed, but Jamaica have been brilliant so far and will look to become the second Concacaf team in the Round of 16.
USWNT