While it was a rocky and often painstaking group stage, the U.S. women’s national team is through to the knockout stage at the 2023 Women’s World Cup.
The path to the Aug. 20 final in Sydney became much more difficult after the USWNT finished with its lowest point total in a World Cup group stage. The second-place finish behind the Netherlands means that instead of meeting the Group G runner-up (most likely between Italy, South Africa and Argentina), all signs point to a round-of-16 showdown with Sweden.
Sweden, ranked third in the world according to FIFA rankings, currently sits atop Group G with six points after a 5–0 thrashing of Italy. The chances of Sweden not winning the group are minuscule; Sweden would need to lose against Argentina in the final group game Wednesday while Italy would need a win against South Africa and would have to erase a goal-differential divide that currently stands at 10 goals (Sweden +4, Italy -6). A 6–0 Italy win and a 5–0 Sweden loss would just barely do the trick.
