There was reality in what the United States gamers have been saying within the moments after their brush with World Cup infamy. The process for his or her recreation in opposition to Portugal on Tuesday had been to outlive it and attain the knockout stage, they stated, and that’s exactly what they did.
Of course the U.S. gamers weren’t glad with a scoreless tie. They had all wished to win the sport. And after all they need to be taking part in higher. But the job on Tuesday was to stay to battle one other day, and the United States wakened on Wednesday realizing it was nonetheless within the battle.
“It’s not like everyone’s sitting there like, ‘Wow, that was the most amazing performance we put together,’” the veteran defender Crystal Dunn stated. “But that’s where you have to dig deep. That’s what it takes to win a World Cup. It’s not easy to do this.”
It is not going to get simpler from right here. By failing to beat Portugal, the United States dropped into second place in its group, and meaning a matchup on Sunday in Melbourne in opposition to the winner of Group G, an opponent most count on to be Sweden.
Tougher video games loom after that: a possible quarterfinal in opposition to Japan, and maybe a showdown with Spain or a rematch with the Netherlands within the semifinals. But nobody was speaking concerning the semifinals on Tuesday evening.
“This result was good enough to to put us through to the next round,” stated the U.S. co-captain Lindsey Horan, who was substituted as her staff chased a purpose within the second half. “But it’s not good enough for us, and we know that.”
As participant after participant and even Coach Vlatko Andonovski confronted questions, although, there was a sample to their self-criticisms and their evaluation of all that had gone incorrect that sounded not like an try to persuade others that every one was nicely, however a gross sales pitch to persuade themselves that the worst was over.
“Obviously, we want to win the games,” Megan Rapinoe stated. “Obviously, we want to play great and score goals, and we didn’t do that. So we know that can be better.”
Said Andonovski: “I’m very confident with the group that we have.”
Confidence, although, is a humorous factor. The different day, the Americans have been assured they may win the group. Confident that their new lineup would discover its footing. Confident that the objectives would come.
Against Portugal, they didn’t. And now the one factor coming is a storm, of criticism, of fear, of second-guessing. The United States will hunker down and block that out, they stated. It wouldn’t be unprecedented in her personal profession, Morgan famous, for the U.S. to complete second within the group stage, rediscover its magic and go on a run to the ultimate.
But saying it and doing it are various things. On Wednesday morning, all of the Americans had was a second likelihood. Where it goes from right here, or if it goes any additional than Melbourne on Sunday, is as much as them.
“I know this team, and I know what we’re capable of,” Morgan stated. “And just because it hasn’t clicked every moment on the field, and we’re not putting the goals in the back of the net, doesn’t mean these aren’t the right players for the job. The confidence is there. Now we just have to prove it out on the field.”
Source: www.nytimes.com