USWNT ‘knows what’s on the line’ against Portugal

FIFA Women’s World Cup

Updated Jul. 29, 2023 5:55 a.m. ET

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — The mission is simple enough.

After securing four points from its first two games at this World Cup, the U.S. women’s national team knows that a convincing, multiple-goal victory over Portugal on Tuesday (coverage begins at 1 a.m. ET, with kickoff at 3 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app) will be enough to reach the knockout stage and should edge out the Netherlands atop Group E.

The defending champions also understand as well as anyone that they haven’t been all that convincing Down Under. Not in the 3-0 victory over Vietnam. Not in the 1-1 tie with the Dutch.

Given the truckload of scoring chances the Americans squandered against both foes — they fired a total of 46 shots toward goal but only scored four times — the U.S. locker room has been discussing ways to be more efficient almost as much as fans and media members.

“The conversation began after the [Netherlands] game for us when we kind of debrief as a team: We’re gonna need to play fast and score a lot of goals” versus Portugal, midfielder Andi Sullivan told reporters after the U.S. trained Saturday morning local time in Auckland. “We know we have more to give, especially in putting goals up.”

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Make no mistake: The U.S. almost certainly needs a lopsided victory over the Portuguese to claim the group title and avoid a probable round-of-16 match with a Sweden team that beat the Americans at each of the last two Olympics.

With the Dutch facing the already eliminated Vietnamese in a contest that will be played simultaneously with its own match, the USWNT can’t afford to leave anything to chance.

The U.S. currently sits on top of the group with a +3 goal difference, the first tiebreaker. Still, spending too much time worrying about all the different potential scenarios could be counterproductive. Playing as well as their peerless roster is capable of ought to be the lone objective. Do that, the thinking goes, and the rest will take care of itself.

Savannah DeMelo discusses her connections to Portugal

Beginning the game with the urgency the moment demands is imperative, though. That desperation — to say nothing of the execution — wasn’t there against the Dutch until well into the second half.

“I think we went in halftime talking about all those things,” said playmaker Savannah DeMelo, who started the first two games but could be replaced by Rose Lavelle in the third. Lavelle subbed in for DeMelo and played the final 45 minutes versus the Dutch, delivering the assist on co-captain Lindsey Horan’s crucial equalizer.

Hard conversations were had among the U.S. players both at halftime and after the final whistle.

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“We are a very, very close team, so we really lean on each other and we’re going to be honest with each other,” DeMelo said. “I don’t think we were very happy with our last performance. And we’re okay with that.

“But we’re very hopeful,” she added. “And we know that we’re going to get the job done. And I think that’s where everyone’s at right now.”

That unwavering confidence is well-earned, of course. It’s ingrained in a program that has won twice as many World Cups as any other nation, one aiming for a historic third consecutive crown and fifth overall.

Can the USWNT get knocked out by Portugal?

That doesn’t mean they’re underestimating Tuesday’s opposition. Winning the group would be great, sure. But that starts with winning the match.

“They’re a strong team,” Sullivan said of Portugal. “It’s going to be a tough game. We know what’s on the line. So, we know we need to bring our best, and that they’re gonna bring their best.”

Like any squad, the U.S. is at its best when it plays together. That has been an issue so far, too. For all of their ungodly talent, the Americans haven’t quite been on the same page during this tournament, even if the second half against the Dutch was better.

“We had a lot of great moments during the Netherlands game, and I just think we want to build off those and make those more consistent and bring that to the Portugal game,” Sullivan said.

Whatever didn’t work isn’t the focus. After all, it doesn’t really matter anymore.

Should USWNT fans have faith in Vlatko Andonovski getting it right against Portugal?

“The Netherlands game is over now, and now it’s the Portugal game,” DeMelo said.

“The objective is to win the game and get out of the group and hopefully win the group,” Sullivan said. “It’s just survive and move on.

“We know where we want to go,” she added. “And we know that we don’t have a lot of time to do it.”

Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports. Before joining FOX Sports in 2021, he was a staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports and he has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at multiple FIFA World Cups. Follow him on Twitter at @ByDougMcIntyre.

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