The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) and the Netherlands, two of the best teams in the world, drew 1-1 in a hard-fought encounter and rematch of the 2019 World Cup final on Thursday.
The team’s second match of the tournament against the Netherlands was met with chants of “U-S-A, U-S-A!” but they quickly subsided after the Dutch established an early lead.
In the 17th minute, midfielder Jill Roord gave the Netherlands the lead by scoring past USWNT custodian Alyssa Naeher.
The USWNT has not trailed in a Women’s World Cup game since the quarterfinal against Brazil in 2011. The US had never trailed in 17 straight games before to Thursday, the greatest streak of any team in tournament history.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands was out for blood following their 2019 World Cup loss to the US by a score of 2-0.
The USWNT outshot the Netherlands 9-2 in the first half despite trailing at the break, and all of their goal chances materialised in the 62nd minute.
With a thunderous header from a corner kick, US captain Lindsey Horan equalised the score, sparking wild celebrations in the crowd.
A few minutes later, the USWNT thought they had taken the lead when striker Alex Morgan scored, but the goal was overturned because of offsides.
By the time the game’s final whistle blew, neither team had managed to outperform the other despite the addition of five minutes of stoppage time.
The USWNT’s unbeaten run at the World Cup now stands at 19 games, which is the longest streak in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Horan referred to the team’s ability to recover and score the equaliser to prevent a loss in the group stage as “unbelievable” after the game.
Horan claimed, “I felt the momentum the entire time. We may have been a touch underwhelming in the first half, but I believe we immediately made improvements. So proud of the team and their response given the strain we were under and the numerous chances and opportunities that resulted from it.