Triumph of Equality 2023 Women’s World Cup: Live scores, schedules, standings, and leading scorers

In the 2019 Women’s World Cup final and in the matches leading up to it, the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and the Netherlands – two top teams in the world – drew 1-1 in the 2023 Women’s World Cup on Thursday.

Amidst chants of “USA, USA!” when the team was facing the Netherlands in their second match of the tournament, the cheers from Dutch fans around the Wellington Regional Stadium quickly disappeared after taking an early lead.

Midfielder Jill Roord put the Netherlands on the scoreboard by scoring against the USWNT’s goalkeeper, Alyssa Naeher, in the 17th minute.

This was the first time that the USWNT had fallen behind in a Women’s World Cup match since the quarterfinals against Brazil in 2011. Prior to The United States had been in the lead for none of its previous 17 victories, the greatest winning run-in tournament history.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands was eager to seek revenge after their 2-0 loss to the United States in the 2019 World Cup.

Despite falling behind in the first half, the USWNT dominated the Netherlands 9-2 and managed to equalize the score in the 62nd minute with a fantastic header from the American captain, Lindsey Horan.

For several minutes after the equalizer, both teams were unable to perform better than each other, leading to a draw.

With this draw, the USWNT extended their unbeaten streak in the World Cup to 19 matches – the longest in the history of both men’s and women’s editions of the tournament.

After the match, Horan described it as “incredible” that the team was able to come back from a trailing position and achieve a draw.

I felt the momentum the entire time, Horan claimed. I felt the momentum the entire time, Horan claimed.  I think we could have been a little disappointed with the way we played in the first half, but I think we adjusted things immediately. The pressure that we had, the chances we had, and the response from the team, I’m really proud.”

Despite the recent history between the two teams, Horan also praised the Dutch side as a formidable opponent. She said, “It’s really a good match-up against a really competitive team, and we saw what they did in the last World Cup. So, for us, it’s going down a goal and coming back and equalizing… We keep moving forward.”

In another match between two other teams in the companion group E, Portugal defeated Vietnam 2-0 in Hamilton, New Zealand, on Thursday.

Portugal took an early lead with a goal from Telma Encarnação in the first 10 minutes, followed by two more goals from Francisca Nazareth to secure an important three points as they aimed to reach the knockout stages of the Women’s World Cup for the first time.

With two consecutive losses, Vietnam has been eliminated from the tournament.

The defending champions, the United States, will face Portugal on August 1, while the Netherlands will take on Vietnam on the same day.

On August 3, the group stage matches will come to an end, and the competition will then move on to the knockout round with the remaining 16 teams.