U.S. women enter World Cup knockout stage
Aug. 3—Despite two draws and a single win, the United States Women's National Team is headed to the knockout rounds of World Cup soccer, and as much as I hate to say it, I'm not feeling hopeful.
The USNWT opened its bid for a historic third straight World Cup title with a 3-0 win over Vietnam, which was making its debut at the Cup. That's about as good as it got for the U.S. women.
What followed was a 1-1 draw to the Netherlands, which later dismantled Vietnam 7-0. In its final group stage match, the USNWT struggled in a 0-0 draw with Portugal, another first-time Cup team. In prior matchups with Portugal, the U.S. women have dominated, going undefeated in its 10 matches and outscoring Portugal 39-0.
Not so much early Tuesday morning.
The U.S, women were lucky to have eked out a draw in the match and were close to defeat as a Portugal goal attempt late in the match hit the post, just inches from going into the net.
Four total U.S. goals in this year's group stage pale in comparison with the USNWT's offensive output in 2019, when team members logged 18 goals, and the single win against Vietnam this year is the first time in Cup history that the USNWT has failed to win at least two matches.
There's an investment fans make by getting up to watch a 2 a.m. match, and the U.S. women's poor performance Tuesday morning sits a little worse, I'll admit, because of the sleep deprivation involved.
Now, I will need to decide if getting up to watch the U.S. battle the third-ranked team in the world — Sweden — at 4 a.m. Sunday is worth the loss of sleep. I'm pretty sure I will watch. I'm just not feeling very confident after what I saw in the group stage.
The unimpressive U.S. performance in the group stage drew the ire and criticism of the FOX commentators — especially former USNWT's Carli Lloyd, who said there was an appearance of arrogance among the U.S. players.
Lloyd, one of the most prolific U.S. players ever, was dismayed by the USNWT's celebration after the game despite the 0-0 draw.
"I've never witnessed something like that," Lloyd said in postgame comments. "There's a difference between being respectful of the fans and saying hello to your family, but to be dancing and smiling?"
Lloyd's harsh criticism surely comes from the sweat equity she has put into U.S. women's soccer and the legacy she has helped build. That legacy is clearly threatened this year, and Lloyd appears to be rightfully defensive of that legacy.
Perhaps it was cockiness or the fact that 14 players on the roster have never been to a World Cup, but their postgame behavior didn't sit well with Lloyd. At the time, I thought Lloyd was too harsh on the team, but as I thought about all the work she put in to help build this U.S. dynasty, I began to understand where she was coming from.
I probably will set my alarm Sunday morning, hoping that the U.S. team can flip the switch and find its mojo again.
But as Lloyd asked after Tuesday's game, will there be any electricity when that switch is flipped?
That remains to be seen.
