Women's World Cup: USWNT's nil-nil draw with Portugal shows the rest of the world has caught up with the Americans
A reliance on the NWSL to produce world-class players is causing the USWNT to fall behind
Being unable to finish chances has characterised the United States Women’s national team’s 2023 FIFA World Cup tournament. The team’s inability to score against Portugal on Tuesday nearly saw them eliminated from the competition.
The Yanks tallied 17 shots against Portugal but failed to score. It was the first time since 2015 that the USWNT failed to score in a World Cup group stage match. Sweden were the last team to hold the Americans scoreless in a group-stage match.
On Tuesday in Auckland, Portugal were the team more likely to score goals. The Americans needed the post to save their World Cup, as Portugal struck the woodwork in second-half stoppage time. The defence was woeful for the USWNT down the stretch. Portugal played balls over the top for the forwards to run onto, taking advantage of naive defending from the Americans.
Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher’s gaff, charging out to take charge of a free-kick into the box in stoppage time, nearly gifted a goal to the Portuguese. Her error showed the nerves were jangling throughout the squad.
If the USWNT go on to win the World Cup, the subsequent documentary will look at this being the pivotal moment for the States. It will be seen as the team's 'come to God meeting.' Yet, the USWNT's showcase against Portugal was from a team that looked past its shelf life.
Despite plenty of young players in the squad, including Trinity Rodman (Dennis Rodman’s daughter) and Sophia Smith, USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski still needed 38-year-old Megan Rapinoe to come off the bench and provide a spark.
Rapinoe provided the spark needed and was by far the Americans' best player on the pitch despite playing just 29 minutes. She played an exquisite through ball to Alex Morgan at one point, but the forward couldn't finish. Rapinoe was playing passes into spaces behind the Portuguese defence but didn’t have a striker to finish them.
In a team of underperforming players, Morgan is the guiltiest of them all for being out of form. Morgan was woeful against Portugal and wasn’t much better in the previous matches.
She got into decent positions and teammates picked her out with passes to run onto, yet Morgan looked like a player out of her depth for once. This is a player who has won trophy after trophy for club and country. But Morgan, like Rapinoe, is no spring chicken. She just turned 34 years old in July. This is a player that has crushed it for San Diego Wave in the NWSL over the past 18 months. But Morgan’s domestic form is a sign of a bigger problem for the USWNT.
The biggest problem with the American team is one area that is being overlooked. Only one player from the World Cup squad plays their club football in Europe. Midfielder Lindsey Horan plays for Lyon, one of the top women's football teams in the world.
The rest of the squad plays domestically in the NWSL. While the American collegiate and professional leagues have produced world-class female soccer players in the past, the rest of the world has caught up. Clubs around Europe are producing better female soccer players than in the past. Like the men's game, Europe is home to the best women's clubs.
The NWSL is a closed league. There is no promotion or relegation, and teams attempt to qualify for the playoffs. The intensity is not as high as in the women's leagues in Europe. The same arguments made about Major League Soccer and its lack of competitiveness can now be made about the NWSL. The lack of competitiveness creates complacency, and this complacency is seen in the national team. The NWSL's recent scandals and internal problems haven't helped the players picked for the USWNT this summer either.
In Morgan's post-match interview, she said the team came close to scoring but just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net against Portugal. The team tallied 17 shots in the match. Not scoring goals was the problem the team experienced throughout the group stage.
Despite defeating Vietnam 3-0, the Americans tallied 28 shots and against the Netherlands, the USWNT recorded 18 shots. The Netherlands’ 7-0 win over Vietnam helped them move ahead of the USWNT to win Group E. The Americans are creating chances, but Morgan isn't finishing them. She is yet to score in the tournament, but Horan, who plays in Europe, has two goals from midfield.
The States will likely play Sweden in the round of 16. The Swedes currently lead Group G and need a draw at the very least to reach the next phase as the group winner. If the USWNT win against Sweden, they would face either Japan or Norway. The Japanese look like the best team at the World Cup, while Norway are a crap shoot. The Norwegians only qualified for the round of 16 thanks to a 6-0 win over the Philippines in their final group game. Goal difference sent them into the knockout phase ahead of New Zealand.
According to Bet365, in the minutes after the USWNT's nil-nil draw with Portugal, the Americans were still the favourite to win the World Cup at odds of 4.00. The odds could shift by the time the knockout stage begins. For now, bookmakers believe the Americans will sort themselves out. Everyone else should be incredibly worried about the Americans’ ability to win the World Cup.