Portuguese dreams dashed as USA eke out goalless draw to progress

“Football, you’re screwed” said Kika Nazareth in an Instagram post; Phil Walter/Getty Images

Auckland, NZ: The beautiful game showed its harsh side on Tuesday, as defending champions survived utter disaster and denied debutants Portugal a dream qualification in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup knockout rounds, as they clung onto a 0-0 draw at Eden Park, Auckland. US forwards Alex Morgan and Lynn Williams had close calls on goal, along with Portugal's Ana Capeta's strike hitting the post in the second minute of stoppage time. Further salt to the wound for the USA came in the way of Rose Lavelle having to miss the round of 16 match, as a result of earning her second yellow card of the tournament, 

What was an underwhelming end to the USA's group stage campaign, threatened to turn into embarrassment—Portugal, participating in their first World Cup, defied expectations and were literal inches away from creating football history by eliminating the reigning champions from the group stage, something never witnessed before.

"It's tough to be second," said US striker Alex Morgan, who would rue herself given the chances left squandered. "This team gave everything, we just didn't put the ball in the back of the net. And then in the last few minutes, we just had to hold it down, we had to get the result and move on, now we move forward."

Prior to the match, two out of three nations in the USA, Netherlands and Portugal were in for a shout to progress through. Portugal, stepped foot in Auckland knowing that a single point would prove sufficient if Vietnam beat Netherlands; an improbable scenario which the Dutch removed from the equation swiftly by scoring four within the first half itself. 

It was one dream pitted against another; Portugal, twenty places below USA in the FIFA rankings, had to pull off the most incredible of upsets to topple the incumbent champions–chasing their own dreams of a historical three-peat–out of the round of 16. With the quality provided on the pitch, Portugal looked to be in the box seat to do just that.

A mercurial Jessica Silva (in red) thrived in USA’s defensive lapses; Jan Kruger/Getty Images

While their American opponents attempted to intimidate them with great intensity and a near-claustrophobic press, Portugal were bold, navigating their way through with slick short passing and fluid, stylish football. 

“I don’t think that was a good performance all together,” said USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski. "We knew today we were gonna face a tough opponent."

Kika Nazareth was the puppeteer in the midfield, her extraordinary vision only matched by her incisive passing. This was paired with Jessica Silva, who was at the receiving end of Nazareth's through balls, terrorising the US backline on numerous occasions; her shot in the 14th minute rolling just wide of the far post.

USA seemed to have enjoyed a lion's share of chances created, but were plagued with a lack of clinical finishing, a familiar issue; Lynn Williams received Morgan's cut back in close range, blasting the ball well over the bar in the 28th minute. Another close range opportunity near halftime would knock at William's door, her shot aimed straight at Portuguese goalie Ines Pereira.

Williams (in white) was at the end of most chances, but couldn’t finish; Fiona Goodall/Getty Images

To make matters worse heading into halftime, Lavelle, in an attempt to put a hold on the relentless attacking stride of the Portuguese, overstepped her challenge and received a booking a few minutes before William's miss. 

Lavelle’s (in middle) suspension might throw a spanner in the works for US; Ulrik Pedersen/Getty Images

“I’m disappointed I can’t help my team out on the field [in the] next game," said Lavelle. "I think there’s still a lot of ways that I can help the team off the field, so I guess that’s where my energy will be now.”

The second half was a marginally better showing from the USA, as they asserted more dominance in the midfield, with skipper Lindsey Horan and Lavelle forcing numerous turnovers and winning fouls. Portugal's sheen began to dull, their ball progression tinged with haste, desperation and a lack of composure, affording USA the luxury of a litany of wasted chances. Morgan's recent lacklustre form continued, after a beautiful throughball from Horan saw Morgan dance around Pereira, only for her shot at open goal getting intercepted at the last moment in the 55th minute.

Frayed nerves were apparent with the arrival of stoppage time, and a last ray of hope appeared in Ana Capeta, who found herself on a blistering run through an exposed American defence a mere minutes after coming off the bench. Ears desperate to hear the rattling of the net were met with the cold, brutal sound of iron. The ball had hit the post in the 92nd minute. 

Cold, unforgiving metal; Robin Alam/Getty Images

"Honestly, I end[ed] up not even seeing my shot, because I fell to the ground and all I saw was the ball bouncing off the post," said Capeta. "I confess that I dreamed in those milliseconds when I hit the ground. I dreamed that we could be making history and eliminating the United States for the first time in a group stage."

As the fulltime whistle rang, there didn't seem to be any joy on the pitch. The victors in the USA stood dejected, as if inspecting a trainwreck; their opponents crushed and inconsolable. 

Rapinoe (right) with an attempt at consoling J. Silva (left); Saeed Khan/Getty Images

"We lacked that bit of luck. I'm really sad about this result," said a tearful Jessica Silva. "I'm also very proud of what we did. Don't forget us, keep holding our hand because this team is incredible."

As American media is rife with disappointment and doubts in wake of the "miracle of the pole", a serious debriefing is expected for the reigning champions. With Sweden being generally assumed to be their next opponents, an even tougher test follows from a side who demolished Italy 5-0 on the 29th. 

For Portugal, despite losing out on the knockout stages by a single point, they leave with their heads held high. Having made their way into the tournament after a gritty qualification performance— playing 10 group games and three play-off matches— the "dream" seemed to have been already achieved. 

"We were united, we weren't afraid of anyone, we did what we had to do. We were very competitive," said Portuguese head coach Francisco Neto. "Me, as a coach, and all Portuguese people just have to be proud of these players."

Fearless they were, as Publico, a Portuguese daily, agreed with that sentiment—"you no longer need to be afraid to make eye contact with anyone."