Women’s World Cup Day 8: U.S. Draw; Vietnam Eliminated; Nigeria Comes Up Big

After a sluggish start, things are finally getting interesting in this Women’s World Cup.

United States 1, Netherlands 1

Thursday's rematch of the 2019 World Cup final proved to be a competitive, hard-fought match. The U.S. fell behind early after a goal by the Netherlands’ Jill Roord, but equalized off a corner kick in the 62nd minute, a perfectly-placed header from Lindsey Horan. The 1-1 draw gave both teams a point; they are tied atop of Group E with four points, with the U.S. currently holding the goal-differential tiebreaker.

For more on this game, check out the recap here.

Portugal 2, Vietnam 0

Group E is the only group with two teams making their World Cup debut; as a result, we had our first (and possibly only) debutante-vs.-debutante game of the tournament.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t much of a contest. In the seventh minute, striker Telma Encarnação took beat Vietnamese goalkeeper Trần Thị Kim Thanh for Portugal's first goal. After a few more chances, in the 21st minute Encarnação threaded a pass to midfielder Francisca Nazareth, who broke away from Vietnamese defenders to score.

The margin could have been larger: Portugal had 29 shots, with 9 on goal, while Vietnam only had five (one on target). Much of that is due to the play of 5' 5" goalie Kim Thanh, who has shined in Vietnam's two games.

Unfortunately, with its second loss, Vietnam is officially eliminated from knockout-stage contention. Portugal, meanwhile, still has a chance to move on when they host the heavily-favored U.S. on Tuesday.

Nigeria 3, Australia 2

There’s nothing like a good old-fashioned upset.

Thursday night in Brisbane, co-host Australia, 10th in FIFA's world rankings, took on 40th-ranked Nigeria. It was a crucial match in the chaotic Group B: With a win, Australia would clinch a spot in the knockout round.

Neither team was at full strength: Australia played not only without captain Sam Kerr, who has missed the past two games, but were also missing forward Mary Fowler and midfielder Aivi Luik, who were injured in training this week. Nigeria, meanwhile, played without midfielder Deborah Abiodun, who received a red card late in stoppage time in Nigeria’s 0-0 tie with Canada.

The first half was controlled by Australia, which had multiple chances. The Matildas also opened the scoring: Early in first half stoppage time, Caitlin Foord sent a cross to striker Emily van Egmond, who slid the ball right past Nigerian goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie.

But Nigeria answered quickly: Midfielder Uchenna Kanu's shot, off an Australian block, in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time trickled into the bottom right of the goal.

In the second half, Nigeria had two goals within 10 minutes. First, a header by defender Osinachi Ohale in the 65th minute after the ball was bobbled around off a corner kick. Then, in the 72nd minute, Australian goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold came off her line to aid defender Alanna Kennedy; Nigerian striker Asisat Oshoala made them regret it, gaining control of the ball and skillfully sending it across and into the left side netting.

In the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time, Australia pulled out all of the stops for a corner kick, bringing up keeper Arnold to assist in the opposite box. The bit was a success: Alanna Kennedy got her head on the ball to bring the score to 3-2. (Australia had a whopping 15 corner kicks, but only scored on the last.) They tried to equalize, but no luck.

It’s a somewhat surprising win, but oft-underestimated Nigeria has a history of strong showings at World Cups. It has beaten and tied powerhouse teams like Sweden and Canada in the group stage; it advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2019 World Cup, where it lost to Germany.

Group B has made the most compelling case so far for the “group of death” at this World Cup, with four strong teams and the most chaos of the tournament so far. However, only two can advance to the knockout stage. Nigeria and Canada now sit atop the group, with Australia-Canada on Monday setting up to be an all-timer.

Next on the slate:

Argentina vs. South Africa, 8 p.m. ET
England vs. Denmark, 4:30 a.m. ET
China vs. Haiti, 7 a.m. ET