The United States WNT came into the World Cup as the favourites to go all the way, hoping to secure their third consecutive victory in the tournament.
Despite some question marks hanging over the squad, after some major changes since the 2019 edition in France, they were still expected to top their group and progress to the last 16 without too many questions.
Ahead of the tournament, many would have expected 2019 runners-up the Netherlands to be the sternest test ahead of the USA, and it initially seemed as though that would be the case. After a 2-0 win over Vietnam in their opening game, the US could only manage a draw against the side they beat in the 2019 decider, meaning that they only needed a draw in their final game against Portugal to ensure progression to the last 16.
However, World Cup debutants Portugal made life far more difficult for the States than expected, and the width of the post was all that saved the defending world champions from a shock early elimination from the tournament.
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The US media reaction has largely been one of shock and disbelief at the underperformance of the leading nation in women's football, and a past hero of the team spoke about the issues surrounding the team on US TV coverage.
Two-time World Cup winner Carli Lloyd appeared on FOX's live coverage of the World Cup, and thoroughly slammed the approach to the World Cup from the USWNT, fearing that they had veered over the line into "arrogance" rather than confidence.
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World Cup 2023: USWNT have near miss with early elimination
Portugal knew on Tuesday that, should the Netherlands beat Vietnam, a victory for them against the USWNT would see them through to the knockout stages of the World Cup on their first ever appearance in the tournament.
With the Dutch running out 7-0 winners, the game between the US and Portugal was on a knife-edge in the closing stages, before Ana Capeta hit the post deep in injury time, in a massive scare for the States.
Ana Capeta hits the post in the 90th minute as Portugal looked for a famous win but the USA held on for a 0-0 draw and so advance to the round of 16 #wwc2023 #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/tmj5ld1t9K
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) August 1, 2023
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Ultimately the US would hold on to progress as group runners-up, but they came closer to an early elimination than most pundits could have foreseen ahead of the tournament.
Given they have never failed to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, an early US exit would have been unthinkable for this tournament, and WNT legend Carli Lloyd broke down the issues she felt had led to the States' underperformance.
Lloyd - who was the top scorer and player of the tournament when the USA won the 2015 World Cup - said on FOX Sports' coverage on Tuesday:
I made some comments when I retired in 2021, that I felt there was a shift within this team, within the federation, within the culture, the mentality. The importance and meaning of winning has changed.
What has come from winning has become more important. You can never take any situation for granted. Every time you step out on that pitch, it's not a guarantee you're going to win, it's not a guarantee you're going to win a World Cup.
Today was simply uninspiring, disappointing. They don't look fit, they're playing as individuals, and the tactics are just too predictable.
There's a difference between playing to win and playing to not lose. Portugal played to win, and they almost did.
There's a lot of off-the-field things that are happening...you put on that jersey and you want to give it everything you have, for the people that came before you, for the people that are going to come after you. I'm just not seeing that passion.
We saw before the game, the dancing. There's a difference between confidence and arrogance. I think that that's a fine line - where is the direction going with that? It's okay to be confident, but you never want to cross that line of being arrogant. This is exactly what can come and bite you.
Though the USWNT have survived this early scare, they have made life unnecessarily difficult for themselves in the last 16.
They are now likely to face Sweden, placed third in the world rankings, who have blitzed Group G thus far. Sweden need only a point from their final game against Argentina to secure top spot in the group.
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