There was reality in what the US gamers have been saying within the moments after their brush with World Cup infamy. The duty 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.
In fact the U.S. gamers weren’t happy with a scoreless tie. They’d all wished to win the sport. And naturally they wish to be taking part in higher. However the job on Tuesday was to dwell to struggle one other day, and the US wakened on Wednesday figuring out it was nonetheless within the struggle.
“It’s not like everybody’s sitting there like, ‘Wow, that was probably the most superb efficiency we put collectively,’” the veteran defender Crystal Dunn stated. “However that’s the place you need to dig deep. That’s what it takes to win a World Cup. It’s not straightforward to do that.”
It is not going to get simpler from right here. By failing to beat Portugal, the US 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.
Harder 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. However nobody was speaking in regards to the semifinals on Tuesday night time.
“This end result was ok to to place us via to the following spherical,” stated the U.S. co-captain Lindsey Horan, who was substituted as her workforce chased a purpose within the second half. “Nevertheless it’s not ok for us, and we all 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 mistaken that sounded not like an try to persuade others that each one was properly, however a gross sales pitch to persuade themselves that the worst was over.
“Clearly, we wish to win the video games,” Megan Rapinoe stated. “Clearly, we wish to play nice and rating targets, and we didn’t try this. So we all know that may be higher.”
Stated Andonovski: “I’m very assured with the group that we’ve got.”
Confidence, although, is a humorous factor. The opposite day, the People have been assured they might win the group. Assured that their new lineup would discover its footing. Assured that the targets would come.
In opposition to Portugal, they didn’t. And now the one factor coming is a storm, of criticism, of fear, of second-guessing. The USA will hunker down and block that out, they stated. It will not 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.
However saying it and doing it are various things. On Wednesday morning, all of the People had was a second probability. The place it goes from right here, or if it goes any additional than Melbourne on Sunday, is as much as them.
“I do know this workforce, and I do know what we’re able to,” Morgan stated. “And simply because it hasn’t clicked each second on the sector, and we’re not placing the targets behind the online, doesn’t imply these aren’t the appropriate gamers for the job. The arrogance is there. Now we simply should show it out on the sector.”
