In what was a repeat of the 2019 Women’s World Cup Final, the United States and the Netherlands battled to an enthralling 1-1 draw, which, on the overall balance of play, was probably a fair result.
After their comfortable, yet not all encompassing, 3-0 win over Vietnam, the Dutch represented the first real test for Vlatko Andonovski’s reigning champions.
An early scare for the US
It was a bright start from the Netherlands, who harried and harassed the US with an effective high press, which was rewarded when Jill Roord cracked a low shot, from the edge of the area, into the bottom corner after some tidy work from Victoria Pelova.
t was the Netherlands who took the lead first against reigning world champions the United States! 👀
And what a goal it was as well from Jill Roord… 🤩#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/Daed5EwtPp
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 27, 2023
The US still carried some considerable threat throughout the rest of the game, despite not quite being at their best. Starting with their favoured 4-3-3, Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman both did a great job of pressing the Dutch full-backs, with Alex Morgan occupying the centre backs. All three players were also very effective in terms of intelligently cutting out passing lanes so it was difficult for the Dutch to build out from the back (below).
Alex Morgan and co.
The US forward triumvirate were, as you’d expect, a constant threat going forwards, particularly with their movement, with Rodman and Smith both pulling wide and Morgan running through the centre (below). Despite that, the Netherlands defended excellently overall; the Dutch made 43 clearances, 15 tackles and 7 blocks, outscoring the US in all 3 metrics, despite Andries Jonker’s side having more of the ball (56%). Transition was the aim of the game for the US, and the Netherlands stood up to it very well.
The game plan for the United States, as mentioned, was clearly to hit the Netherlands in transition. The trouble was they were, as with the game against Vietnam, uncharacteristically sloppy with it. After Lindsay Horan hauled them level, with a thumping header from Rose Lavelle’s corner, they improved… But their first half performance will have concerned Andonovski, they had 39% of the possession and an XG of 0.41 (FlashScore) from 9 shots, as they were reduced to long range efforts and low quality shots from within the 18.
The captain stepping up when needed! ©️
Lindsey Horan rose high above the rest to head in the equaliser for the United States! 🙌#FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/LTpGe2uX1b
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 27, 2023
Second half improvement
There was a marked improvement in the second half, although they still only mustered 1 effort on target and posted an XG of 0.58. Still, the US LOOKED more threatening every time they ventured forward, which they did with greater frequency; 94 attacks (entries into the opposing half) and 38 dangerous attacks (entries into the attacking third) in the second half, versus 61 and 26 in the first, according to FlashScore. They were just wasteful at key moments; which is aberrant for a United States side that is gunning for its third straight World Cup triumph. A feat, by the way, that is unprecedented across both the women’s and the men’s formats.
Andonovski spoke of the team’s profligacy in the final third, after the game. The former Reign FC (now OL Reign) head coach told the BBC:
“In the first half, we allowed them to take control of the tempo and slow down the tempo a lot more than we wanted. It was a difficult match and even though it didn’t finish the way we wanted it to finish, I thought it was a very good match.”
More to come
There’s more to come from this USA side, and I’d fear for anyone that catches them on a good day. They possess frightening quality, particularly in the final third.
But they’re not invincible, as this Netherlands squad demonstrated. The US are still the standard bearers for the women’s game, but the gap to the ‘best of the rest’ is closing. We’ve seen the likes of England, the Netherlands and Australia be more than a match for the US over recent years. Jonker, again speaking to the BBC, said:
“We performed brilliantly and at times it was really fantastic. You have to be happy with 1-1.
“These games are battles from the first second to the last. The only thing you can say is that women’s football has evolved incredibly.
“We’re there, along with the US, and I’m very satisfied with that.”
Improvement needed
This was undoubtedly the US’ biggest test in the group. Vietnam provided greater resistance than anyone expected, and the Portuguese won’t roll over, but even they don’t have as much strength as the 2017 European Champions.
The US certainly improved in the second half, but with qualification still not assured, they’ll have to go again when they face Portugal on Tuesday. A win for the Portuguese and a draw for the Dutch would see the reigning Champions eliminated.
Now, that’s very unlikely. As much as the Portuguese have improved, it would take a Herculean effort from Francisco Neto’s side to pull off such a result, but the point still stands. The US have work to do if they’re to advance from the group. And if they can’t re-discover their clinical edge, their iron clad grip on the Women’s World Cup may just be broken.
On the other side of the coin, you cannot write this team off, even if they’re far from the unstoppable force they once were.
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