Topline
The U.S. National Women’s Team survived a major scare against Portugal, with the team’s final first-round game at the 2023 Women’s World Cup ending in a 0-0 tie Tuesday, as the world’s top-ranked Women’s soccer team will now enter the tournament’s “Round of 16” with a campaign that has so far failed to kick into high gear.
Key Facts
The USWNT—which was placed in Group E along with Portugal, Netherlands and Vietnam—finished the first leg of the tournament ranked second in the group.
The Dutch women’s team finished on top of the group after crushing Vietnam 7-0 in their final first-round game.
This is the first time that the USWNT has not topped their group in the first round of a World Cup since 2011.
The USWNT were nearly knocked out of the tournament in the dying minutes of the game as a strike from Portugal’s Ana Capeta found the goal post.
Crucial Quote
Speaking after the game USWNT striker Alex Morgan said: “It’s tough to be second. We wanted to go through [in] first [place]. This team gave everything; we just didn’t put the ball in the back of the net…We just had to get the result and move on and now we look forward.”
