World Cup, Day 8 Analysis
Co-hosts Australia get a shock from Nigeria and 2019 finalists play out a thrilling draw in the most exciting day of action yet...
US-A game of two halves
Much of the hype around the World Cup group stage has centred around the repeat of the 2019 World Cup final between USA and Netherlands.
Albeit both now under different coaches and different looking squads to go with them, it was the first match of the tournament to see two top 10 ranked sides go head to head, and it didn't disappoint.
It did though offer some positives and negatives for both sides. Netherlands were on top in the first half, passed the ball well and really limited USA's attacking threat with their control of possession.
For the USA, this game showed some of their limitations. They are missing key players in several areas which isn't helping Vlatko Andonovski, but with Julie Ertz again utilised in defence, they missed her physicality and tenacity in the middle of the park.
USA's midfield struggled for any foothold until Rose Lavelle came on at half-time, and the OL Reign star who put Netherlands to the sword four years ago made a big impact, constantly getting on the ball and whipping in the corner for Lindsey Horan's equaliser.
USA was a lot more fluent after the break and dominated shots on goal, and despite plenty of pressure from their opposition, Netherlands' goal was their only shot on target all game.
Things fell down though in the final third as both Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman endured sub-par games, largely in thanks to the performances of wing-back duo Victoria Pelova and Esmee Brugts.
Andonovski decided not to turn to his bench bar Lavelle and despite a poor first half will think his team could have won the match. This game definitely showed the USA are not the all-conquering side they used to be, but it also offered a warning of the determined beast they can be when up against it, and it shouldn't be forgotten they put a very good team under immense pressure for the second 45 minutes.
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Battling draw shows Netherlands intricacies
Netherlands head coach Andries Jonker was pretty punchy coming into their clash with the double world champions, and he talked the talk in the first half for certain as his side out-thought and out-fight Andonovski's USA.
Roord's goal was their only shot on target of the game, but that doesn't tell the story of an accomplished tactical performance, in the first half certainly.
Firstly, it was good to see Roord pop up where she is best after having a quiet game playing deeper against Portugal, but Netherlands were able to show how effective their 3-5-2 system is in this game which was more about both attack and defence than just attack.
Pelova and Brugts, both natural attacking players, were very impressive defensively at wing-back and as mentioned more often than not nullified the attacking threats of Smith and Rodman.
But Netherlands also did well to always ensure they had a player up against the USA's midfield three, which didn't look strong enough until Lavelle's introduction at the break.
On the ball, centre-back and natural midfielder Sherida Spitse would push up, similar to how Philippines utilised Jessika Cowart against New Zealand, before dropping back into a back three off the ball. When the USA had the ball, Lieke Martens quickly dropped in to ensure they remained four vs three in the middle, albeit it left without the outlet they'd have wanted up front with Lineth Beerensteyn's pace missing through injury.
Netherlands needed some strong performances off the back of Euro 2022 and this was one of their strongest yet on a big stage since Sarina Wiegman's departure. With just Vietnam to come, a few goals could even see them progress as group winners ahead of the number one ranked side.
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