The United States will be playing for an unprecedented three-peat at the Women’s World Cup. It won’t be easy for the No. 1 team in the world.
Co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, the quadrennial tournament for international soccer’s most coveted trophy kicks off July 20 and features an expanded field of 32 teams, up from 24.
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There are 64 matches during the tournament.
That means more competition for the two-time defending World Cup champion U.S., which won the 2015 event in Canada and the 2019 tournament in France. The Americans have won four titles overall, most of any nation.
Here is a brief layout of the USWNT’s group-stage opponents in the FIFA Women’s World Cup:
VIETNAM
Vietnam made team history just by qualifying for the 2023 Women’s World Cup. Vietnam had never qualified for a World Cup, men’s or women’s, in the country’s history.
Vietnam in the FIFA Women’s World Cup
After losing to China in the quarterfinals of the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup, Vietnam was placed in a three-team, round-robin playoff among quarterfinal losers for a World Cup spot. Vietnam defeated both Thailand and Taiwan to qualify.
Midfielder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Dung is the player with the most international appearances with 76. She has scored 54 goals. Captain Huynh Nhu has scored 67 times in 72 international appearances. Vietnam has never played any of the countries in its group.
NETHERLANDS
The team lost its all-time leading scorer, forward Vivianne Miedema, to an ACL injury in 2022. Miedema confirmed earlier this year that she won’t be playing at the World Cup.
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Without her, the Dutch will rely on scoring punches from players such as Jill Roord and Lieke Martens.
Netherlands in the FIFA Women’s World Cup
The Netherlands has a 1-8-1 record against the United States, though only one of those matches was in a World Cup: the 2019 World Cup final, which the Americans won 2-0. The team’s game against the Americans at the Tokyo Olympics ended in a 2-2 draw.
The Netherlands’ only loss to Portugal was in a 2003 World Cup qualifier in 2001. This will be the first meeting with World Cup newcomer Vietnam.
PORTUGAL
Portugal will make its first World Cup appearance after qualifying through the playoff tournament.
Portugal in the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Its second-most experienced player, Carole Costa with 151 national team appearances, scored a stoppage-time penalty against Cameroon to win the final playoff match, 2-1. Portugal made its second appearance in the European Championship last year, exiting in the group stage.
Portugal has lost and been shut out in all 10 of its matches against the United States, losing by a combined 39-0. In three meetings, it has never beaten the Netherlands, losing 3-2 twice (2022, 2014) and 7-0 (2013). Portugal has never played Vietnam.
(with inputs from AP)
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