At last the long-awaited preview for the group that will have all eyeballs watching: Group E. Not only does it contain two debutant teams in Vietnam and Portugal, but it contains two title contenders. One of them is looking for its three-peat and the path of the USWNT toward that title will not be easy to achieve. What is challenging for the United States women’s national team’s chances is that it has a significant target on its back. Therefore, everyone has a game plan to knock them out of Australia and New Zealand. It was a similar strategy in 2019 and it didn’t work well.
But Group E, while easy to predict who will get through the knockout stages, the battle for the top spot will be tougher to call than expected. The highest-ranked team from the playoff to get into the tournament, Portugal, the team the USWNT beat in the last World Cup Final in the Netherlands, and an upstart Vietnam squad will be choppy tides.
It’d be a shocker if the USWNT doesn’t win at least one knockout-stage game but in the World Cup, upsets can happen.
The United States comes into the tournament with question marks despite having an incredibly stacked team. There is also a stacked resume to boot: eight previous appearances, four World Cup titles (1991, 1999, 2015, 2019), four Olympic golds (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012), and nine CONCACAF Championships. No one, neither men’s nor women’s, has managed to win three in a row. Needless it goes without saying that head coach Vlatko Andonovski and Co. are going to do their best.
Andonovski has guided the USWNT to a couple of titles, including the SheBelieves Cup, but could only manage to win the bronze at the last Olympics. He’s got a preference for a 4-3-3 system on play and he’s got an abundance of talent. Washington Spirit darling Trinity Rodman and captains Lindsay Horan and Alex Morgan are ready to play an intense brand of football reliant on pressing and quick attacks. Naomi Girma will be key in controlling the backline. Add in (soon-to-retire) Megan Rapinoe, Portland Thorns’ Crystal Dunn, and Julie Ertz, there is a likelihood they’re going to add a fifth star to their crest.
Yet there are pitfalls and concerns to be sure. The injured list includes usual captain Becky Sauerbrunn, central midfielder Catarina Macario and forward Mallory Swanson. For the USWNT, they might have a tough time finding defensive solutions and who will staff the midfield yet one name will help for the forwards at the World Cup.
All eyes are going to be on USWNT’s 23-year-old Sophia Smith. Take a look at this:
She is in the form of her life, having played 13 games in the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League season. Smith is the league’s top scorer with 10 goals and to put it bluntly, she has been making defenders look silly all around the country at this World Cup.
The USWNT will make it to the knockout stage but winning it might be a whole other beast. They have a tough path in this tournament and likely will be the hardest campaign that the USWNT has faced in two decades.
The other half of the potential Group E winner is the Netherlands. They might sound familiar as they were runners-up in 2019 after, you guessed it, the United States. This is their second World Cup appearance and they have a Euro title from back in 2017. For them, the revenge match comes nice and early in the tournament.
Things have gone a bit downhill since the turn of 2020 especially during head coach Mark Parsons’ time at the helm. He was released from his duties and Dutchman Andries Jonker was chosen to succeed him. Having been an assistant at Barcelona, Jonker plays a more 5-3-2 system and uses intense pressure that can cause issues from any side of the ball.
As with the USWNT, the Dutch are going to be without their best player. Arsenal’s Vivianne Miedema is still nursing an ACL injury but thankfully, Lieke Martens, Jill Roord, and Daniëlle van de Donk will be tough attackers to fill the void. Roord especially is a key part of their plan. She’s got 21 goals in 86 international caps and will be relied on to use her aggression and technique on the ball to create plays as well at this World Cup.
For an example of what she can do:
As one of the two debutantes in the tournament, Vietnam found itself in a tough group. Up against group winner favorites in the United States and the Netherlands, it’ll be good for them to put up a good showing. They have three AFF Championships in 2006, 2012, and 2019. Yet it’s going to be nearly impossible to make the knockouts of this World Cup so all they should focus on is giving a good account of themselves.
Vietnam will be defending their lives at this tournament, especially in their matches against the USWNT and the Netherlands. They actually made the World Cup by winning the playoffs after they bowed out of the Asian Cup quarterfinals after a loss to China. Vietnam is going to find itself managed by head coach Mai Đức Chung, who is quite an interesting one.
At 70 years old, he actually wanted to leave the team after they qualified but no one yet has been named to replace him. He’s got some talent on his roster, mainly Vietnam’s best player in captain Huỳnh Như. Not to mention she plays professionally in Portugal. She has netted 67 goals in 72 appearances for her country.
Most of the Vietnamese roster plays domestically, which is a trend with teams in the tournament, compared to how many people play abroad in the men’s tournament.
Vietnam is going to potentially cause some upsets if the defenders can’t stop Như. If they can, Vietnam will be happy to at least get one win. If they can’t, upset alert begins.
The other half of the Debutante Duo is Portugal. Yet they don’t come in as newbies as they played in the last two Euros and have experience against tougher offenses. Their path for how they got here was also a challenge. Portugal played 13 games before defeating Belgium and Iceland in European playoffs before Carole Costa’s penalty in extra time against Cameroon secured their spot.
They’re in good hands under the guidance of head coach Francisco Neto. He became the manager in 2014 and has guided the squad to two Euros and now the biggest stage: the World Cup. Neto has a more compact style of playing than other teams. He prefers a 4-3-1-2 or a 4-3-3 and against Vietnam, that will be an advantage. Against the USWNT and the Netherlands, they’re going to need experience, and lucky for them they’ve got it.
Tatiana Pinto is one of the most experienced players in this Portugal squad and one of the best. Pinto is one of just six players who play their club football away from their homeland, something not typically seen in the women’s game. As Neto focuses more on the midfield, the 30-year-old will be front and center in his system.
Can Portugal make it to the knockouts? Probably not. But they will give the Dutch and the USWNT a run for their money and could be someone else to watch for an upset.
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D
Tim Lovenguth | Regina Ham | Paul Frenzel | Jimmy King | Liam Jenkins
Mandatory Credit: AP Photo/Francisco Seco, AP Photo/LM Otero, AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, & AP Photo/Emmanual Yogini
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