U.S. women’s soccer team falls flat in 0-0 tie with Portugal, drops to second in its group

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The U.S. women’s soccer team advanced to the World Cup’s round of 16 on Tuesday, but in a thoroughly unsatisfying way.

It was a scoreless tie with Portugal, marked by 14 shots but a woeful 63% pass completion rate. Meanwhile, the Netherlands overtook the U.S. for first place in Group E with a 7-0 rout of Vietnam.

Now instead of facing the second-place team from Group G, the U.S. is on track to meet perennial nemesis Sweden in Melbourne, Australia, in the round of 16. That game will kick off at 5 a.m. ET on Sunday (Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock).

Sweden’s end of the bargain should be finished on Wednesday when it meets Argentina (3 a.m. ET, Fox29, Telemundo 62, Peacock). Though Italy can match Sweden on points, Sweden has a plus-6 goal difference to Italy’s minus-4. Argentina has just one point so far, earned in a tie with South Africa.

» READ MORE: Women’s World Cup TV schedule, live streaming, kickoff times on Fox and Telemundo

After leaving Lynn Williams on the bench for almost all of the first two games, U.S. manager Vlatko Andonovski finally turned to her to start this one. She started at right wing, with Alex Morgan central and Sophia Smith on the left.

Rose Lavelle made her first start of this World Cup, too, at her usual attacking midfield spot. Both players got big cheers from those of the 42,958 fans who were in their seats when the starting lineup was announced. And they were active from the start: Lavelle took the Americans’ first corner kick of the game in the fourth minute, and Williams got to it to put a header straight at Portugal goalkeeper Inês Pereira.

It took just eight minutes for the Netherlands to score the night’s first goal, cutting the Americans’ goal-difference edge to one. It took barely three minutes more for the margin to be gone entirely, and, by the 19th minute, the Dutch were up in two ways: 3-0 on Vietnam and plus-4 to plus-3 in goal difference on the U.S.

Five minutes later, it was 4-0, and the U.S. seemed all but destined to land in second place in the group instead of first. By halftime, it was 5-0, meaning the U.S. needed to score at least three goals to get back to first.

The U.S. mustered four shots in the first 15 minutes and seven in the half. Four were on target. But none went in the net, and, as ever, that was all that mattered.

Lavelle deservedly drew a yellow card for a hard tackle on Portugal’s Dolores Silva in the 39th minute. It was Lavelle’s second booking of the tournament, which means she’ll miss the round of 16 game. Any time a player receives two yellows over all games before the semifinals, that player is suspended for the next one.

At halftime, there was an alarm going off on the concourse behind the press seating. And there had better have been alarm bells in the U.S. locker room. A tie was enough to secure passage to the round of 16, but to do it like this was a long way from the Americans’ standard.

Two minutes into the second half, the fire alarm went off in the stadium seating bowl, with an announcement that fans should evacuate the stadium. Few people left, and no stadium officials said anything in person.

It turned out to be a false alarm caused by a malfunctioning sprinkler. But it added another layer of discomfort to what was happening on the field.

» READ MORE: Andi Sullivan knew the USWNT needs to run up the score vs. Portugal

In the 52nd minute, Smith joined Lavelle in the book. Two minutes after that, Morgan finally broke past Portugal’s defense, set free by Lindsey Horan. But Morgan’s shot toward the open net was blocked out at the last second, and the ensuing corner kick came to nothing.

Three minutes later, Morgan was taken down just outside the 18-yard box, and the U.S got a free kick. Lavelle served it well, but Morgan couldn’t get her header on frame.

Then the Netherlands scored their sixth goal of the night.

Andonovski made his first substitutions of the night in the 61st minute, sending in Megan Rapinoe for Smith. She immediately put a ball on a platter for Morgan that led to a U.S. corner kick, though, once again, the Americans were unable to make use of it.

This time, it wasn’t Andonovski’s only substitution. In the 83rd minute, Trinity Rodman replaced Williams, and Emily Sonnett replaced Horan — a surprising removal of the U.S.’ captain and key midfield connector.

As they entered, the Netherlands scored their seventh.

And as stoppage time began, an even worse nightmare nearly unfolded for the Americans. Late Portuguese substitute Ana Capeta broke free and smashed a shot off the post and out by inches. Had it gone in, the U.S. would have been out of the World Cup in the group stage for the first time in team history.

In fact, for almost all of the eight minutes of stoppage time, Portugal looked the better team. Two token American substitutions, Kelley O’Hara for Crystal Dunn at left back and Alyssa Thompson for Morgan on the front line, barely mattered.

When the final whistle blew, the U.S. was still alive, but only barely. At the rate things are going, the two-time reigning champs might not be alive for much longer.

» READ MORE: Covering a World Cup is a privilege, but it’s also a month-long grind

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