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By: Grant Salsman
The USWNT had a disappointing draw against the Netherlands on Wednesday. While the U.S. created more chances than the Dutch outshooting them 18-5, they once again failed to put away their chances. They came out in the first half stuttering once again and looked out-hustled and out-worked, going into halftime down 1-0.
Vlatko Andonovski decided to make a second-half change by subbing Rose Lavelle into the midfield. Just like she did in the Vietnam game, she was the x-factor, as the US looked more lively and cohesive with her arrival on the pitch. Lavelle also assisted on Lindsey Horan’s 62nd minute goal. She will be vital moving forward and should slot into the starting line up Tuesday against Portugal.
One thing the U.S. has to work on is its passing; they only completed 68% of their passes which resulted in far too many turnovers. The U.S. will have to correct these things if they want to win the group.
In order to do this, they will need to defeat Portugal since it is likely that the Dutch will topple Vietnam and the U.S. has to keep the goal difference tie-breaker that they possess. The Dutch are currently +1 on goal difference while the US is on +3. A draw will qualify the U.S. onto the knockout rounds, and in a worse case scenario situation, a loss would more than likely eliminate the USWNT from the World Cup.
In order to avoid this fate and to top the group, the US just needs to be more clinical. They need to take advantage of the chances that they are constantly creating and come out on the front foot from the first whistle. I believe that the US will be able to put it all together and top the group with a 3-0 victory over Portugal.
