USWNT-Netherlands’ rivalry renewed in 2003 World Cup Group E

After a chalk first set of games in Group E, here comes a matchup with that rare quality of making chalk shrug.

The U.S. Women’s National Team is a slight favorite to beat the Netherlands on Wednesday night in a rematch of a 2019 final that vaulted it atop the world, but where an opening game against Vietnam came predetermined, this one truly could go either way.

The Dutch came into New Zealand ranked ninth in the world after a shocking quarterfinal loss to France in the European championships last summer.

They are part of an ever-growing portion of the World Cup field that can reasonably expect to compete with the United States over 90 minutes, having done so in that 2-0 loss four years ago and again in a 2021 Olympics quarterfinal that required penalty kicks to settle a 2-2 draw.

Even compared to the 22 players who lined up in Yokohama, Japan, two summers ago, these lineups will look different.

The United States that day started Sam Mewis, Becky Sauerbrunn, Tobin Heath and Carli Lloyd, none of whom are in Wellington due to injuries, retirements and an overall younger roster.

The Netherlands started four different players in its starting 11 in a 1-0 win against Portugal, and are missing star striker Vivianne Miedema, out with an ACL tear.

For both sides, this is a chance to benchmark themselves against high-level opposition early on in a World Cup that promises to get tough in the knockout stages — particularly for the loser on Wednesday, as the second-place team in Group E will likely end up in a much tougher side of the bracket.

“They’re incredibly organized,” striker Alex Morgan told reporters of the Dutch team. “They have a very expansive shape in the attack. They don’t give you much space at all to receive and turn and get on the dribble. They’re very quick to close down space.

“Their midfielders, [Jackie] Groenen, [Danielle] van de Donk, [Sherida] Spitse — who maybe is playing in the back line now — are just very aggressive players. And they transition very quickly as well. Their defenders are very physical, very aggressive in pressing what’s in front of them, so I know I’m gonna have a lot of pressure on my back.”

Both teams played similar openers, dominating the chances while converting fewer than they would have liked.

Stefanie van der Gragt’s header off a 13th-minute corner kick proved enough for the Netherlands to get by Portugal, while Sophia Smith contributed a pair of goals and an assist for the USWNT.

“We’re not afraid of America,” Dutch coach Andries Jonker told reporters. “We respect them. We have no fear.”

For all the pedigree inherent in the USWNT’s program, it is not yet clear whether there is something to fear inherent in this specific team, at least for another potential contender.

This is not four years ago, when the World Cup functioned as a four-week coronation. The U.S. is older on one end and younger on the other, lacking the Goldilocks quality that most winning teams have.

With a few days of reflection on the Vietnam game, Morgan admitted, “We weren’t always clicking on the field. “I feel like some of the plays we had were a little forced or rushed,” she said. “I think it’s having a little more patience, switching [the field] a little bit more, having our movements be a little more patient.”

Vietnam was not capable of punishing those errors.

The Netherlands might be a different story.

“It comes down to our team chemistry and what we have to bring,” Morgan said. “The style that we’ve been working on the last year or two under [coach] Vlatko [Andonovski]. We’re feeling really good coming into this match.”