The FIFA Women’s World Cup is in full swing. The USWNT just faced the Netherlands and the game ended in a draw. Heading into the tournament, the team has been touted to achieve a historic three-peat. Even though they beat Vietnam in their first fixture, fans weren’t too pleased with their performance. To many, the second game against the Dutch turned out to be even worse than the first game.
Many fans constantly complained and called out the US for being unable to string passes together. While they fought back hard in the second half, failure to retain possession for long spells and not converting half chances ended up costing them 2 precious points.
USWNT failed to capitalize on chances, the game ends in a draw
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After the first half, the score surely wasn’t what many expected. The Netherlands surprisingly dominated possession and maintained a narrow one-goal lead after the first half. The USWNT couldn’t capitalize on the few chances that they had created. Interestingly, it was the first time they’ve been behind in a World Cup game since 2011. It eventually got better in the second half for the US.
Lindsey Horan managed to bang in a header and level the scoresheet. But that was it. Trinity Rodman missed out on a dangerously close chance in the end. Apart from the disappointing gameplay, the fanbase criticized the manager too for making just one substitution! In the end, the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Fans were thoroughly disappointed and here’s how they reacted.
For sure, an extremely positive outlook after today’s game.
I don’t like this but at least it’s not an L https://t.co/IWJ8FjYPEO
— Ess 🩷 (@Essence__A) July 27, 2023
The USWNT did start the game poorly with a 39% possession rate in the first half. A fan considers this result to be a satisfactory one considering the cold first half.
I’ll take it given how we started the game https://t.co/zHHkaAgsHD
— Kyle Conrad (@kyle_conrad) July 27, 2023
The fanbase held the head coach equally responsible for this result. He just made a single substitution throughout the match, despite having one of the best benches in the competition.
I’m glad everyone has now seen that Vlatko had absolutely no idea what he’s doing.
And also, this ref should not officiate another match in this tournament. Period. https://t.co/bxOc52xK2A
— Bailey Jones (@BaileyJay_) July 27, 2023
PLEASE GET A NEW COACH HOLY SHIT https://t.co/CihTKDPiu0
— 🕶️ (@blackoonblack) July 27, 2023
The next game is against Portugal and the USWNT fans are expecting their team to win!
Still on top of the group. Just take care of business against Portugal and it’s all good https://t.co/5EtBYVeOGG
— Xiish (@Xiish) July 27, 2023
All-in-all the reactions after this game were ‘disappointing’ ones too. The criticism from the fanbase wasn’t starkly different from the first game. It seems to be the same gameplay problems that they haven’t bettered yet. The USWNT plays Portugal next and the fans have no other expectations except hoping that the US wins it!
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USWNT’s three-peat dream, how achievable is it?
Since the beginning, all eyes have been on the USWNT. Despite the win, the fans weren’t quite happy with the team’s performance in the first game. They were unconvinced because the US couldn’t hold on to the ball for longer periods of time and kept on losing possession. Alex Morgan ended up missing a penalty too. The performance in the second game has caused fans’ hopes to dwindle further.
However, the star squad does hold the capability of achieving their glorious World Cup hat trick. Youngsters like Trinity Rodman will surely take the team to the next level. But the players in the squad will need to gel together. While they are favorites, countries like Spain and England also have a fair shot at winning the World Cup. Teams like Australia and Colombia also have a lot to prove. For sure, this World Cup journey won’t be the easiest for the US.
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