Naomi Girma (R) of the United States battles with Savannah Demelo of the Netherlands during their group E match at the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand, July 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Guo Lei)
In a repeat of the 2019 Women's World Cup final, the USA clawed a goal back to draw 1-1 with the Netherlands on the second matchday of Group E in the 2023 edition.
WELLINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- A rematch between the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup finalists ended 1-1 here on Thursday, as Lindsey Horan's header canceled out the Netherlands' opener in a highly-anticipated Group E game.
This is the second time the U.S. and the Netherlands have faced off at the World Cup, and the first since the 2019 World Cup final in France, which saw goals from Rose Lavelle and Megan Rapinoe gift the U.S. a 2-0 victory.
The matchup also marked the first time in Women's World Cup history that the two finalists from the previous tournament met in the group stage.
The U.S. was unbeaten in a record 18 successive matches in the finals (excluding penalty shootouts) before Thursday's game, winning each of the last 13. The four-time champions started their campaign with a 3-0 victory over Vietnam, while the Netherlands squeezed past Portugal 1-0.
Sophia Smith, who scored two and set up another in the Vietnam match, started in a three-forward line spearheaded by Alex Morgan, while Jill Roord took the field for the Netherlands.
Lindsey Horan (R) of the United States goes for the ball against Damaris Egurrola of the Netherlands during their group E match at the FIFA Women's World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023 in Wellington, New Zealand, July 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Qin Lang)
The U.S. was aggressive from the start, but they found themselves on the back foot when Lieke Martens dribbled forward through the middle and spread the play down the right, and Victoria Pelova assisted Roord to drill home.
The defending champions responded quickly afterward as Trinity Rodman's stunner was parried away by Daphne Van Domselaar, while at the other end, Dominique Janssen blasted over the bar.
The U.S. dominated the second half and found the equalizer in the 62nd minute when Lavelle's corner found Horan, who beat Van Domselaar with a twisting header.
The Netherlands could hardly string together a run of play, and the U.S. started to besiege the goal, but Morgan's goal was ruled offside before Smith's attempt was cleared off the line.
The U.S. meets Portugal next Tuesday, while the Netherlands takes on Vietnam. ■
