WELLINGTON, New Zealand — From the moment the draw for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup came out last October, there was one match among the group stage games that stood out: The U.S. vs. the Netherlands.
The match, the second for both teams in Group E of this competition, is a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, in which the U.S. prevailed 2-0. From the kickoff that day in Paris, the final had an air of inevitability about it. The U.S. had looked to be the best team in the tournament up to that point, and it proved it in the final. The Dutch never really got going, and a pair of goals eight minutes apart from Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle put an exclamation mark on what had been a stellar run to the title for the Americans.
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Lavelle, who confirmed that she’s available for selection after coming off the bench in the tournament opener against Vietnam, recalls that the game was “fun,” but “really competitive, physical.” She added, “I think it’s a fun memory, but I think we have a new mindset for this game. I think we know every time we play Netherlands, it’s going to be a great game.”
The focus on the present makes sense for a host of reasons. Whichever team prevails in this match will likely top Group E and face one of Italy, Argentina or South Africa if Sweden tops Group G.
More pragmatically, four years is an eternity in the international game. Players, coaches and tactics can all change. Such is the case this time, with Andries Jonker now in charge of the Dutch and Vlatko Andonovski taking over the U.S. job back in 2019. Fourteen players from the U.S. are taking part in the first World Cup, while the Netherlands has moved to a 3-4-3 format, better to take advantage of its talent in midfield. Those aspects should make for an intriguing encounter.
“I’m sure it’s going to be a challenge,” said Andonovski about the upcoming match. “They’re a great team — a very organized, very disciplined team — and we saw in their first game that they can threaten. But at the same time, I want to say that we’re ready for it. We’ve trained a lot for this tournament and especially for this game.”
