Women’s World Cup Day 13: Teams Narrowly, and Not So Narrowly, Move On

With Group D and Group E playing their last games, five groups are now finalized for the knockout stage. In the new 32-team system, only the top two teams advance, leaving less room for surprises in who advances.

The teams who advanced from Group D and Group E were exactly who were expected on paper: the United States, the Netherlands, Denmark and England. However, many of those wins didn’t come easy.

Groups F, G and H will play their last games over the next two days to wrap up the group stage, leaving room for more surprises.

United States 0, Portugal 0

The United States came to a scoreless draw with Portugal behind a passionless performance from the USWNT, who advanced (just barely) to the knockout round with five group stage points.

For more on that match, check out the recap here.

Netherlands 7, Vietnam 0

The Netherlands entered the match just behind the U.S. in Group E based on goal differential and quickly changed that.

The Dutch scored five goals in the first half alone, starting in the eighth minute with a shot from Lieke Martens that went up and over Vietnamese keeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh.

The other six goals were scored by Katja Snoeijs (11’), Esmee Brugts (18’, 57’), Jill Roord (23’, 83’) and Daniëlle van de Donk (45’), ending with five different goal scorers and braces for Roord and 20-year-old Brugts.

The Netherlands dominated the ball with 73% of the possession, leading to 42 shots, with 17 on goal.

Vietnam, which was eliminated from the knockout round with a loss to Portugal last week, could do nothing to stop the Dutch attack. Vietnam went as far as to sub out goalkeeper Kim Thanh after halftime.

Despite the final scores against her, Kim Thanh has played well all tournament, but Vietnam evidently hoped a change in goal could slow the Netherlands’ offense. (It didn’t do much, as the Netherlands scored two more goals in the second half.)

While the USWNT’s performance left fans frustrated, the Netherlands showed offensive dominance. The Netherlands will play the runner-up in Group G (Italy, as it stands, although South Africa and Argentina have a chance to surprise) on Saturday.

Denmark 2, Haiti 0

Denmark’s chances to move on to the knockout round were jeopardized by a loss to England last week. The team was further threatened by China’s win over Haiti, and the prospect of facing a Haitian side that would not go quietly. But in the end, Denmark prevailed.

After a Haitian handball, Denmark was awarded a penalty kick in the 21st minute. Danish captain Pernille Harder took the penalty, taking a lazy step before sending the ball past Haitian goalkeeper Kerly Théus.

The Danes had two goals, in the third and 45th minutes, called back because of offsides. Another, in the 83rd minute, was also called back after Signe Bruun’s studs-forward collision with Théus was retroactively called a foul.

Théus also had an incredible save in the 92nd minute. The 24-year-old goalkeeper, who is only 5’4”, has played incredibly well this tournament in Haiti’s World Cup debut, recording 13 saves.

But, after repeated attempts, Denmark finally brought the score to 2-0 with a goal from Sanne Troelsgaard Nielsen deep in stoppage time.

Haiti, who was eliminated from the knockout round with 1-0 losses to England and China, played with passion and energy. Still, it’s a tough end for Haiti, who exit the tournament with three losses and without a goal.

Denmark, meanwhile, advances as runner-up of Group D, and will play Australia on Monday.

England 6, China 1

England, who came into this tournament ranked fourth overall, have been relatively quiet so far, limited to 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark. Against China on Tuesday, though, they went off, scoring three goals in each half.

After two games with wasted chances on offense, England finally broke past the back line to score. Alessia Russo opened the scoring in the fourth minute, followed by Lauren Hemp in the 26th. Lauren James scored with a powerful strike from just outside the box in the 41st minute (she scored the game-winning goal against Denmark in a similar fashion).

The second half started with a few close chances for China, who were eventually awarded a penalty kick in the 57th minute after an England handball. Wang Shuang stepped up to take the penalty, and scored it easily. It’s Wang’s second penalty scored in a row, as her PK was the game-winning goal against Haiti; however, this time it was not enough to put China back in the game.

James scored again in the 65th minute off a beautiful cross by Jess Carter, followed by goals from Chloe Kelly (77’) and Rachel Daly (84’).

Although England won the group and advanced, the real story of this game was Lauren James. James not only scored two goals (and nearly a third, discounted in first half stoppage time because of offsides), but also recorded three assists. The 21-year-old forward has been a breakout on a hugely talented England team, and will be someone to keep an eye out for as England moves on.

England joins Japan as the only other team to win all three games in the group stage, ending with nine points and the chance to play Nigeria on Monday.

Next on the slate:

Argentina vs. Sweden, 3 a.m. ET

South Africa vs. Italy, 3 a.m. ET

Panama vs. France, 6 a.m. ET

Jamaica vs. Brazil, 6 a.m. ET