Yes, that's why I give them a lot of credit for how improved they looked in Australia and New Zealand during the World Cup where they hit the post against the United States and also knocked them out.
FBref USWNT vs Portugal (FIFA WWC2023) USWNT 2.1 xG - Portugal 0.4 xG; USWNT 17 shots/5 SOT - Portugal 6 shots/0 SOT (Naeher - no saves, Pereira - 5 saves) What a performance by the better team. More possession/nice buildup doesn't necessarily make you the better team and unlucky not to advance. Both teams had sub 70% passing accuracy; it was not exactly a great match from either team.
I remember that the American press was extremely critical of the US performance in that game. Also, Portugal had the best chance in the game when they hit the post in the 91th minute following a great build-up attack. Had that ball gone in, the US would have been knocked out of the tournament and Portugal would have gone through in second place ahead of them. The Portugal team from Euro 2022 would have lost 3-0 against that US team.
Yeah, and a lot of the criticism was fair. That doesn't mean Portugal were the better team though. According to FBref, both Morgans and Williams had better xG chances than that late Portugal chance. The US got very lucky there, but Portugal didn't outplay them.
I never said Portugal outplayed them, I just pointed out that they had the best chance in that game and that had that shot in the 91th minute gone in, the United States would have been knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage.
You said Portugal were the better team and were unlucky to advance to the knockouts. I don't think that's different from saying they outplayed the US, but alright. It wasn't the best chance in my opinion; it just stood out the most.
Why were former USWNT players and the press ('US survives late scare', 'US narrowly advances', 'USA's narrow escape') so critical of the US team then?
Because the US didn't play well; that doesn't mean Portugal were good either. Better teams don't earn 0.4 xG while their opponent earned 2.1 xG, better teams don't have 6 shots while their opponent had 17 shots, and better teams don't have no shots on target while their opponent had 5 shots on target.
Did you see the US' "shots" on target in that game? Portugal literally had the best goal-scoring opportunity in the game.
No, they didn't. I specifically recall a sequence where Williams had two consecutive point blank chances, which were both better chances than Portugal's late one. (Edit: I don't think the ball went fully out of play. If Williams had scored and the goal been disallowed, I'm assuming VAR would have potentially overturned the call.) I didn't know one great chance late in a match qualifies a team as being the better team. Edit: If you want to say Portugal were the better team in terms of performing up to expectations, that's fair and true. They absolutely were not the better team on an absolute scale though in my opinion.
I'm not counting that Williams chance precisely because the ball had gone out AND it wasn't reviewed by VAR as a potential wrong referee decision. I don't know what you mean by 'absolute scale' but Portugal has improved massively in many ways since 2022. If they had played against the USWNT like they played at Euro 2022, they would have lost 3-0.
Of course, it wasn’t reviewed; Williams didn’t score. That ball didn’t look fully out (like that one Japan goal on the men’s side). Absolute scale as in not using preconceived expectations. Have Portugal take 17 shots (5 on target) and 2.1 xG, and have the US take 6 shots (none on target) and 0.4 xG with that late chance. We would not be talking about the US being the better team and being unlucky. We would be talking about how they shouldn’t have had to rely on a late scoring chance. I think we would actually be talking about how well Portugal did and how they were a bit unlucky not to win. You can disagree, but I’m pretty confident about this.
EURO 2025 Qualifiers - League A groups with my current ratings Group A Netherlands 83.5 Italy 79 Norway 78.5 Finland 70 Group B Spain 92 Denmark 79.5 Belgium 76 Czechia 65 Group C France 86.5 England 89.5 Sweden 88.5 Ireland 72.5 Group D Germany 84.5 Austria 77 Iceland 75.5 Poland 73
Group A4 Iceland 3 - 0 Poland Mesjasz 42'(og.), Zomers 43', Jonsdottir 66' Austria 2 - 3 Germany Campbell 9' 17' --- Buhl 39' 49', Gwinn 63'(p.)
Yeah.. Poland has good attacking options upfront with Pajor, Kamczyk, Grabowska and Padilla-Bidas, unfortunatelly it's all for naught when first choice playmaking duo Pawollek and Achcińska are both injuried (coach Patalon is searching for DM atm) and almost all defense players were injuried during various points of last year which forced Poland to play different setup at the back each time. This team is seriously lacking cohesivness when playing from the back and the long ball has it limits.
To be honest, 3-0 looked like a severe defeat compared to how they play. It should have ended 3-2 for Iceland maybe.
If anyone wants to see all the goals on the first matchday, I can recommend this channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Yonathan_Osvaldo2/videos
Group A4 Germany ----- 2m ----- 6p ----- 6-3 Austria -------- 2m ----- 3p ----- 5-4 Iceland ------- 2m ----- 3p ----- 4-3 Poland ------- 2m ----- 0p ----- 1-6 Poland 1 - 3 Austria Kamczyk 55' --- Puntigam 15', Purtscheller 66', Campbell 90'+2 Germany 3 - 1 Iceland Schuller 4', 34', Oberdorf 45'+3 --- Eriksdottir 23'
There's something I don't understand especially about Austria and Germany, why do they close entire stands at their home stadiums for competitive games? I went to see Austria-Norway in Sankt Polten back in December and only 2 stands out of 4 were open to the public. Now I find out that it will be a similar situation against Iceland in May despite both games being played at stadiums below 10,000 in terms of capacity.
Irish player impresses with stunning long throw-in 20:57, Apr. 10 2024 Ireland's women's national team, like the men's team, has been leaving the field as losers most of the time lately. Still, player Megan Campbell made quite an impression this week with... a frighteningly long throw-in. Campbell showcased her specialty in the Girls in Green's European Championship qualifying match with England. She took a short run and hurled the toy into the enemy penalty area. It didn't result in a chance, but broadcaster ITV calculated afterwards that her throw had been no less than 38 meters far. Ireland nevertheless lost to the English, just as the French team had already been too strong.