Women’s World Cup::
(AFP) Wellington – At the Women’s World Cup on Thursday, hosts the United States rallied from behind to tie 1-1 with the Netherlands in a repeat of the 2019 final between the two sides. Captain Lindsey Horan scored the equaliser in the second half.
Jill Roord, a Dutch midfielder, scored the game’s opening goal in the first half in Wellington to put the Group E match on the line. The Americans retained their perfect record at the World Cup after losing the 2011 final to Japan on penalties, but US captain Horan answered in the second half.
The most anticipated match of the tournament’s group stage was very different from the championship game in France four years prior, when the US easily won 2-0 to retain their title.
This time, the Dutch controlled the first half and exposed weaknesses that also showed during the United States’ opening 3-0 victory over Vietnam.
Despite controlling the contest’s dying moments, the Americans were unable to secure a victory. Their inconsistent play ended their streak of 13 straight World Cup match victories and raised some questions about their chances of retaining the cup.
The ninth-ranked Dutch were poised to duplicate their opening-game victory over Portugal by a score of 1-0 until Roord’s skillful goal in the 17th minute.
The newly acquired Manchester City player, who played four years ago off the bench in the Lyon final, finished with a low shot from the edge of the box to hush thousands of visiting US fans in a crowd of 27,312.
It took the Americans until the latter third of the game to realise their offensive flair, seemingly shaken by a chilly, whirling wind. Horan, who scored the second goal in the 2019 championship game, had room in the area to head in a Rose Lavelle corner in the 62nd minute.
Horan had just received medical attention after being knocked to the ground by Danielle van de Donk when it happened. The US then made a strong comeback and twice came extremely close to winning.
The jubilation of goal scorer Alex Morgan were cut short by the offside flag, and Sophia Smith’s rocket shot was stopped by Lieke Martens’ goal-line clearance.
As of next Tuesday, when the US plays Portugal and the Netherlands takes on Vietnam, neither side has a definite place in the knockout round.
Read more::>>>
Karachi CAA employees demonstrate against airport outsourcing
MDCAT will take place simultaneously in August across all centres.
PCF officials congratulate Hamza Khan, the new world junior squash champion.
