Angel City's World Cup delegation had mixed results in their final group stage game: a draw leading to elimination for Ali Riley's Aotearoa New Zealand, a thudding scoreless affair for the USA's Julie Ertz and Alyssa Thompson, and a masterful 4–0 win for Jun Endo and Japan.
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A disappointing final group-stage game led to a disappointing exit from the tournament for co-hosts New Zealand. The Football Ferns were likely counting on a result against the Philippines in game two—which they lost 0–1 to the debutants—and if they'd gotten it, a draw in this game would have been enough, but despite posting 12 shots, they couldn't get the job done against Switzerland.
Regardless, 2023 was still a historic tournament for ACFC captain Ali Riley's side, as the team earned their first-ever World Cup win against Norway in the opener. Because they consistently make major tournaments, it's easy to forget that New Zealand is a small nation where soccer isn't the most popular sport—though the three sellout crowds in the Football Ferns' three matches hint at the possible legacy this tournament could leave.
Japan continued their perfect tournament against Group C favorites Spain, demonstrating in thrilling fashion that they're a serious contender. With 11 goals scored and zero conceded, they enter the knockout rounds with the best goal differential in the tournament.
This was a masterclass in low blocking by the Nadeshiko, who locked down tight while out of possession—and that's where they sat most of the game, having controlled the ball just 23% of the time by the final whistle.
When they did have the ball, they were ruthlessly efficient, scoring four goals in transition against a La Roja defense that hardly knew what hit them. Angel City forward Jun Endo assisted the opening goal in the 12th minute, curling a gorgeous long pass into the space left open by Spanish right back Ona Batlle and behind their defensive line, where forward Hinata Miyazawa confidently hammered it past goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez.
Goals two and three, both in the first half, were similar, with Miyazawa assisting forward Riko Ueki in the 29th minute and putting away a second of her own, this time assisted by Ueki, in the 40th minute. Spain fared better defensively in the second half, but couldn't break down Japan's tight block, and conceded a fourth to forward Mina Tanaka (again assisted by Ueki) in the 82nd minute.
Endo's team goes on to play Norway in the round of 16 this Saturday, August 5, at 1:00 a.m.
An uninspiring scoreless draw let the reigning champs squeak out of Group E in second place.
There's not much to say about this one. Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski made some changes to the starting lineup, including bringing in forward Lynn Williams, a move he was criticized for not making against the Netherlands. The team got lucky in the dying minutes when a chance on transition by Portugal forward Ana Capeta hit the post. Sixteen shots for the US amounted to a whole lot of nothing.
One could pick any number of moments from the game to sum it up, but a play by Alex Morgan in the 74th minute did it perfectly: after tracking down and intercepting a pass by defender Diana Gomes, she turned toward goal, saw an open Megan Rapinoe to her left, and instead chose to hoof the ball over the Portuguese defense to... absolutely no one. That's not to lay the blame on Morgan; when almost the whole team looks this sloppy and uninspired, it's obvious the problem is the system, not the players.
The gals have earned ugly points in the group stage before—see Sweden in 2015 or Spain in 2019—but the malaise didn't feel quite this acute in either tournament. None of this inspires much confidence in their chances against perpetual bugbear Sweden in the Round of 16.
The group stage doesn't wrap up until Thursday, with groups F, G, and H still TBD. In group F, the big question mark is Jamaica–Brazil, tomorrow at 3:00 a.m. A win or draw for Jamaica would mean their first-ever trip to the knockout rounds.
Sweden has the top spot in Group G clenched, with Italy, South Africa, and Argentina all still in contention for second place.
Group H is technically still fully up for grabs, but it would take some fairly shocking results to upset the current ranking with Colombia and Germany in first and second. Morocco would need a win against a red-hot Colombia team sitting in first place, while South Korea would most likely need a Morocco loss plus a win against Germany by five or more goals.