USA and Netherlands tie in closely-matched Ladies’s World Cup match

Wellington, New Zealand
CNN
 — 

In a closely-fought battle and rematch of the 2019 World Cup remaining, the United States Ladies’s Nationwide Crew (USWNT) and the Netherlands – two of the world’s prime groups – got here to a 1-1 draw on Thursday on the 2023 Ladies’s World Cup.

Chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A!” reverberating across the Wellington Regional Stadium because the group confronted the Netherlands of their second match of the match quickly dissipated after the Dutch took an early lead.

Midfielder Jill Roord put the Netherlands on the board within the seventeenth minute, discovering the again of the web previous USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.

It was the primary time the USWNT trailed in a Ladies’s World Cup match since 2011 within the quarterfinal towards Brazil. Previous to Thursday, the US had gone 17 straight matches with out trailing – the longest streak by any group within the match’s historical past.

The Netherlands, in the meantime, was hungry for revenge after their 2-0 loss to the US within the 2019 World Cup.

Regardless of trailing on the half, the USWNT outshot the Netherlands 9-2 within the first half – and all their scoring probabilities lastly got here to fruition within the 62nd minute.

US captain Lindsey Horan scored the equalizer with a thumping header from a nook kick, prompting ecstatic celebrations within the stands.

Just some minutes later, the USWNT thought they’d gone forward after ahead Alex Morgan discovered the again of the web – however she was offside and the aim was disallowed.

Regardless of 5 minutes of added stoppage time, each groups weren’t in a position to greatest one another by the point the ultimate whistle blew.

With the draw, the USWNT extends their unbeaten streak to 19 matches on the World Cup – the longest in match historical past for each males’s and girls’s editions.

Talking after the match, Horan known as it “unbelievable” that the group was in a position to come again and rating the equalizer to keep away from a loss within the group stage.

“I felt the momentum the entire time,” Horan stated. “I feel the primary half we may very well be a bit dissatisfied in how we performed however I feel we fastened issues straight away. The stress that we acquired on, the quantity of probabilities and alternatives that got here from it – so pleased with the group and their response.”

Horan was additionally complimentary of the Dutch facet, following the latest historical past between the 2 groups.

“It’s towards a extremely good opponent. Very aggressive group and one which we noticed final World Cup do such good issues. So for us, it’s taking place a aim and developing and getting in a position to tie … we hold transferring ahead,” Horan added.

Dutch goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar additionally praised her group’s efficiency after the match, saying they’d “labored actually onerous” and been in frequent possession of the ball.

“I feel we have been very calm, particularly the primary half,” she stated. “The second half, they dominated extra of the sport they usually had extra probabilities. However in any case, we will be very pleased with ourselves.”

In a while Thursday in a conflict of fellow Group E contestants and two World Cup debutants, Portugal beat Vietnam 2-0 within the New Zealand metropolis of Hamilton.

Telma Encarnação opened the scoring within the opening 10 minutes earlier than Francisca Nazareth gave Portugal a well-deserved two-goal cushion.

Regardless of fixed Portuguese stress, the European facet was unable to increase its lead additional however picks up an important three factors because it seeks to achieve the knockout levels of the Ladies’s World Cup for the primary time ever.

Again-to-back defending champions USA are subsequent scheduled to face Portugal on August 1, whereas the Netherlands goes towards Vietnam that very same day.

The group matches conclude after August 3, with the match then transferring into the knockout stage with the 16 remaining groups.