Team continuing a pattern of falling short under Vlatko Andonovski but go into last-16 Sweden tie with a point to prove
The ninth edition of the Women’s World Cup has been an axiomatic affair, evincing the marked growth of women’s football throughout the world. The competition has been fierce. The newcomers have contended. The heavyweights held off, while presumed underdogs shine. Two juggernauts of the knockout rounds have been knocked off-kilter in the group stage; Canada were cast aside by ascendant Matildas and Brazil guarded from glory by Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz.
In the shake-up, headlining the melee, are the four-time world champions looking fallen from grace. After a 3-0 victory over debutantes Vietnam, USA drew with the Netherlands 1-1 in a shaky rematch of the 2019 final, then scraped by against the newcomers Portugal 0-0, the grace of a goalpost keeping their sheet somehow clean.
