US advances to Round of 16 after scoreless draw vs. Portugal

Women’s World Cup: US advances to Round of 16 after scoreless draw vs. Portugal originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

The U.S. women’s national team’s hopes of a historic Women’s World Cup three-peat are still alive.

The Gals picked up a 0-0 draw against Portugal in their final Group E match at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand, on Tuesday.

The scoreless tie, combined with the Netherlands’ dismantling of Vietnam on Tuesday, put the USWNT in second place in the group.

This marks just the second ever time the USWNT did not win its Women’s World Cup group and the first time it only won one group stage game. The only group runner-ups to win the tournament was Japan in 2011, who had done so by beating the U.S. in the final via a penalty shootout.

The USWNT has the right goal post to thank for its survival. Portugal’s Ana Capeta ripped a shot past American goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher in the opening minute of second-half stoppage time, but it rang off the post and back into play to preserve a 0-0 score.

Next up for the USWNT is a Round of 16 match against the Group G winner at 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 6. Sweden currently leads the group with six points and has a +10 goal differential over second-place Italy. Sweden will face Argentina and Italy will battle South Africa in the final Group G contests on Wednesday.

Despite moving on, Vlatko Andonovski’s squad will have plenty to work on ahead of the Round of 16 based on Tuesday’s play.

Through the opening 45 minutes, the U.S. were by far outplayed by a hungrier Portuguese side that deployed fresher legs after manager Francisco Neto rotated the squad for its match against Vietnam.

The lack of a coherent gameplan was also evident. As soon as the U.S. broke out in transition or regained possession in any part of the field, no one knew where to pass to next and Portugal’s press effectively won the ball back.

Lindsey Horan and Morgan, the USWNT captains, combined for an early chance in the second half, but the team was once again kept out of the net. Morgan had another chance in the 84th minute before shooting right into Portuguese goalkeeper Ines Pereira.

Rose Lavelle also picked up a yellow card, which will see her miss the Round of 16 match. Naomi Girma and Sophia Smith also collected yellows in the match.

The Americans brought out Megan Rapinoe to replace Smith in the 61st minute. The team then waited until the waning minutes of the game to make additional substitutions.

As for Portugal, it was an impressive showing to cap off its first ever Women’s World Cup appearance. The team placed third in Group E and finished just one point behind the USWNT.