Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Unfortunately, finishing second in the group means the U.S. is going to play more early-morning World Cup games.
In today’s SI:AM:
🇺🇸 The U.S. squeaks into the next round
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An uneasy sigh of relief
Let’s start with the good news: The U.S. women’s national team advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup this morning. But there’s also some bad news.
The U.S. came into the game against Portugal needing only a draw to advance, and that’s what it got, grinding out a 0–0 draw. But this morning’s result doesn’t bode well for the rest of the tournament, both in terms of how the team looked and what the U.S.’s second-place finish in the group means for its knockout-round matchups.
The biggest concern for the U.S. thus far at the tournament has been its stagnant offense. The Americans had just six shots on target (out of 27 overall) in the opening 3–0 against Vietnam, then escaped with a 1–1 draw against the Netherlands. Today, they had 13 shots and four on target, while Portugal held the majority of possession. Everyone knew the U.S. would not be as unstoppable in this World Cup as it had been in previous tournaments, but a scoreless draw against the 21st-ranked team in the world is a troubling result.
U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski made a couple of changes to the starting lineup against Portugal. Midfielder Rose Lavelle, who had come off the bench in the first two games as she continues to work her way back from a knee injury, got the start in favor of Savannah DeMelo. Forward Lynn Williams also got the start after not appearing in the first two games. She replaced Trinity Rodman. The changes didn’t solve the team’s offensive woes, but after Andonovski used the same starting lineup in the first two games and was criticized for using just a single substitute in the game against the Dutch, his willingness to mix things up—and use all five of his subs—was nice to see.
In the other game in Group E, the Netherlands stomped Vietnam, 7–0. With the win, the Dutch claimed the top spot in the group, while the U.S. had to settle for second. Finishing second in the group means the U.S. will face a more challenging path through the knockout stages than if it had won. As Andrew Gastelum explains, the Americans’ round-of-16 opponent is likely to be Sweden, the No. 3 team in the world, rather than Italy (No. 16), Argentina (No. 28) or South Africa (No. 54).
Frankly, the U.S. doesn’t look like a team that’s capable of defeating Sweden right now. Clare Brennan called this morning’s showing “jarringly haphazard” as the U.S. looked disjointed in several aspects. The Americans came dangerously close to losing the game and crashing out of the World Cup in the group stage for the first time. They salvaged a draw only when a Portuguese shot clanged off the post in stoppage time. A few inches to the left and the U.S. would be on a plane headed home.
The U.S. will need to get its act together quickly if it wants to win its next game (again, all but assuredly against Sweden on Sunday at 5 a.m. ET). The Americans have struggled thus far against teams that are inferior to the Swedes and will be shorthanded in Sunday’s game with Rose Lavelle suspended after picking up a yellow card in today’s match. Lavelle has been excellent at this World Cup, even in limited minutes in the first two games. The U.S. midfield has struggled up to this point, and now the team will go into its toughest game yet missing one of its best players at that position.
Given how women’s soccer has grown in the rest of the world, no one expected this World Cup to be an easy one for the USWNT. But who would have thought that it would be this difficult?
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Denny Simmons / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The top five...
… defensive plays in baseball last night:
5. DJ LeMahieu’s sliding stop at third.
4. Mark Leiter Jr.’s catch on a comebacker.
3. J.P. Crawford’s diving snag for the final out of the Mariners’ win.
2. Austin Hays’s diving catch.
1. Michael Harris II’s leaping catch to rob Shohei Ohtani of his 40th homer of the season.
SIQ
On this day in 1998, Bronswell Patrick became the first pitcher in nearly 30 years to hit a home run for which franchise? (It might seem random, but I think you can easily get it if you think about it.)
- Yankees
- Brewers
- Astros
- Expos
Yesterday’s SIQ: On this day in 2007, the Timberwolves traded Kevin Garnett to the Celtics in exchange for seven players, in what was at the time the largest draft haul for one single player in NBA history. A decade later, which player was traded in exchange for a record eight players?
- Kevin Durant
- James Harden
- Chris Paul
- Kawhi Leonard
Garnett’s 12-year run in Minnesota came to an end when he was traded to Boston in exchange for Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Al Jefferson, Theo Ratliff, Sebastian Telfair and two 2009 first-round picks (used to select Wayne Ellington and, infamously, Jonny Flynn).
