It was the game everyone had circled on their calendars since the draw for the 2023 Women’s World Cup came out in the fall. After months of hype for a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, the U.S. and the Netherlands battled it out in a 1–1 draw.
It was a tale of two halves for the U.S., who struggled to get into any kind of rhythm to start. The Netherlands struck first when Jill Roord fired it into the bottom corner of the net in the 17th minute. The Dutch stayed dominant until halftime, as the U.S. struggled in the midfield and failed to push against the Netherlands’ back line.
Coach Vlatko Andnovski, who went with the same starting lineup from the Vietnam match, used his only sub of the game to begin the second half when Rose Lavelle came in for Savannah DeMelo. While the game was physical, the USWNT settled down a bit in the second half and found some momentum. Captain Lindsey Horan, who was battling Lyon teammate Daniëlle van de Donk for much of the game, scored the equalizer for the U.S. with a header off a corner kick in the 62nd minute. The draw extends the Americans' unbeaten streak to 19 Women's World Cup games.
