Rematch time: USA and Netherlands to satisfy on the Girls’s World Cup

Sports activities

A rematch of the 2019 World Cup Last will happen on Thursday

United States’ Lynn Williams, left, and Emily Sonnett participate in drills throughout a FIFA Girls’s World Cup staff apply at Bay Metropolis Park in Auckland, New Zealand, Sunday, July 23, 2023. (AP Photograph/Abbie Parr) Abbie Parr/AP Photograph

By ANNE M. PETERSON, Related Press

  • Joan Monfort

    Transfer over, USWNT: 10 international stars to observe within the Girls’s World Cup

  • Watch: How Kristie Mewis came upon she was on the U.S. World Cup roster

AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP) — Now that america ladies have received equal pay with their male counterparts, there’s no want for his or her supporters to once more chant for equity when the Individuals play the Netherlands on Thursday of their rematch of the 2019 Girls’s World Cup ultimate.

The Individuals defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in France for his or her second straight World Cup trophy, and fourth general. They have been within the midst of a lawsuit and a contract battle on the time over pay with U.S. Soccer, and the gamers have been feted with shouts of “Equal Pay!” from the followers.

The staff’s pursuit for equal pay was lastly resolved final 12 months, when a deal was struck that paid the ladies the identical because the U.S. males’s staff and, importantly, evenly break up the event prize cash earned by each groups.

“All the pieces the place we have been in 2019 to the place we are actually is sort of the identical however couldn’t be extra totally different,” Alex Morgan stated. “We have been combating a authorized battle off the sphere and attempting to additionally win over the the world on the sphere.”

So the gang at Wellington on Thursday doesn’t have to struggle for the Individuals to obtain equal therapy. They’ll as an alternative give attention to the rematch and cheer for an additional win over the Dutch.

The sport is the second Group E match for each groups, and each the U.S. and the Netherlands opened the event with wins.

The trophy isn’t on the road for this match because it was in 2019, and each groups are already in good place to advance to the knockout spherical. However the sport stays essential for the ultimate group standings: the winner has a better path to advance within the subsequent stage.

The Netherlands has received simply one among its 10 matches towards america, though solely a kind of matches was in a World Cup — that 2019 ultimate. The one Dutch victory within the collection got here within the first assembly in 1991.

The 2 groups additionally met within the quarterfinals on the Tokyo Olympics, with the Individuals advancing on penalties after a 2-2 draw.

“Tremendous excited for that sport,” ahead Megan Rapinoe stated in looking forward to the matchup. “Clearly we’ve seen them quite a lot of occasions in large tournaments over the previous few years. Prepared for a great one.”

The USA is coming off a 3-0 victory over Vietnam within the staff’s event opener in Auckland. Sophia Smith scored a pair of targets, with captain Lindsey Horan contributing the opposite.

U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski rolled out a considerably stunning lineup for the primary match, shifting midfielder Julie Ertz to heart again and beginning Savannah DeMelo at midfield. She made her first begin in simply her second look with the staff.

Ertz returned to the staff earlier this 12 months after the start of her son. She had not performed for america for greater than 600 days however was in a position to ramp up whereas enjoying for her membership staff, Angel Metropolis.

Whereas Ertz has some expertise on the backline from earlier in her nationwide staff profession, the latest transfer was prompted by the lack of captain Becky Sauerbrunn, who injured her foot and couldn’t play within the World Cup.

“After we knew that Becky was not going to have the ability to make it, that’s one thing that we began trying into even even deeper. We had a dialog with Julie earlier than we tried it, did numerous work earlier than we even bought in camp by way of video evaluation on each side. We have been serving to her out but additionally she wished to get adjusted, dedicated as quickly as doable,” Andonovski stated.

The USA might want to shore up its assault for the Netherlands, which beat Portugal 1-0 in its event opener. Stefanie van der Gragt scored within the thirteenth minute.

“I feel if there’s one factor we have to do higher apart from ending the alternatives, it’s simply how can we assist the gamers which can be within the place to complete these alternatives and provides them a little bit higher service,” Andonovski stated.

At the very least there’s not the drama of the previous impacting the staff’s preparation.

“Any time you are taking your focus off of enjoying, off of what’s in entrance of you and what your job is, after all that’s taking your focus away from what it is advisable be doing, that’s distractions which can be pointless,” Morgan stated. “So not having distractions like that, like having to struggle for equal pay, equal working situations shifting ahead in any respect, ever once more, it feels actually good.

“And I hope that may quickly be the case for the entire gamers world wide on the worldwide stage.”