The U.S. could clinch a spot in the next round of the World Cup with a win tonight against the Netherlands. All eyes will be on young U.S. star Sophie Smith.
The U.S. women’s national soccer team could punch their ticket to the next round of the World Cup as soon as tonight, when they take on the Netherlands in their most challenging matchup in the group stage.
If they defeat the Netherlands, all it would take for the U.S. to advance to the Round of 16 would be for Vietnam to either win or draw against Portugal. That game is scheduled to kickoff early Thursday morning at 3 a.m. Eastern.
The U.S. women’s team has a lot of history against the Netherlands. The Americans defeated the Dutch 2-0 in the 2019 World Cup final, earning their second straight trophy. The U.S. also defeated the Netherlands in a shootout in the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Overall, the U.S. has defeated the Netherlands in nine of their 10 matches, only losing in their first contest in 1991.
Like the U.S., which is coming off a 3-0 victory over Vietnam, the Netherlands also won their Group E opener, defeating Portugal 1-0. So tonight’s match could very well end up deciding who sits atop the Group E standings at the end of the first round of the World Cup.
All eyes will be on Sophia Smith, the young American forward who scored two goals and an assist last week in the win over Vietnam — becoming the youngest U.S. women’s player to score multiple goals in her World Cup debut.
“I was feeling all the emotions going into it, not really knowing what to expect,” Smith said after the game. “So to start off on a good note, it feels good, and it makes me just more excited for the next game.”
Here’s everything you need to know to watch today’s United States-Netherlands World Cup match:
The U.S. women’s team’s match against the Netherlands is scheduled to begin tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern on Fox. The game will be played at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, known to some locals as “The Cake Tin.”
Calling the game will be JP Dellacamera, the former Philadelphia Union TV voice who is broadcasting his 17th World Cup. Alongside him in the booth will be former U.S. star Aly Wagner. Reporting from Wellington Regional Stadium will be Jenny Taft and Tom Rinaldi.
United States-Netherlands will also air in Spanish on Telemundo, with play-by-play voice Andrés Cantor joined by analysts Natalia Astrain and Manuel Sol.
United States-Netherlands and every other World Cup match is available to stream on the Fox Sports app, though it’s only available to those with a cable subscription.
The game will also stream on any so-called skinny bundle that carries Fox, including fuboTV, YouTube TV, Hulu + Live TV, Sling TV, and DirecTV Stream. Most offer a free trial.
If you’re looking to stream the game for free and you live in or around Philadelphia, your best option is using a digital antenna, since all the U.S. games will air on broadcast television.
Want to stream the game in Spanish? Telemundo’s live streaming is available on the network’s website if you have a cable subscription. Otherwise it’s available on Peacock, NBC’s streaming platform, though you’ll have to pay for the premium tier to get all the games.
While Philadelphia is not impacted (Fox Corp. owns Fox29), viewers in 42 markets aren’t able to watch the World Cup on Fox on DirecTV or DirecTV Stream due to a carriage dispute with Nexstar, which owns the local stations. It includes some major cities, including Denver, Cleveland, St. Louis, and Charlotte.
This year’s women’s World Cup is cohosted by New Zealand and Australia, becoming the seventh and eighth countries to host the event.
The tournament will be played across 10 stadiums in nine cities. The United States is scheduled to play its remaining group matches in two New Zealand stadiums — Eden Park in Auckland and Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington.
This year’s World Cup final will be held in Stadium Australia (known locally as Accor Stadium) in Sydney, built to host the 2000 Summer Olympics, with a capacity of more than 80,000.
Pregame coverage ahead of U.S.-Netherlands will begin at 7 p.m. on Fox.
Hosting Fox’s studio coverage will be Rob Stone. He is joined by a cast of analysts headlined by retired U.S. soccer star and Delran native Carli Lloyd, who is making her women’s World Cup debut.
Other studio analysts include Alexi Lalas, former Philadelphia Independence and Canada goalkeeper Karina LeBlanc, former U.S. star Heather O’Reilly, Kate Gill, Ariane Hingst, and Stu Holden.
Over on ESPN2, the network will air ESPN FC: Women’s Soccer Special at 7 p.m. Dan Thomas and Kay Murray are sharing hosting duties, and a rotating casts of analysts includes former U.S. soccer star Ali Krieger, Alejandro Moreno, Craig Burley, Shaka Hislop, and Steve Nicol.
The U.S. women’s team is competing in Group E, which also includes Vietnam, Netherlands, and Portugal. Like Vietnam, Portugal is making its World Cup debut.
The American women have been successful in the group stage, with an all-time record of 21 wins, three draws, and just one loss. Heading into tonight’s match against the Netherlands, the U.S. has won its last seven group stage games.
The two teams with the most points will advance to the knockout stage. Teams receive three points for a win, one for a tie, and zero for a loss. Overall, it will take seven wins to take home the World Cup trophy.
Here are the standings heading into Wednesday:
Here’s the full U.S. women’s schedule for the 2023 World Cup:
Group play
United States 3, Vietnam 0
U.S.-Netherlands: Wednesday, July 26, 9 p.m. (Fox, Telemundo)
U.S.-Portugal: Tuesday, Aug. 1, 3 a.m. (Fox, Telemundo)
Round of 16: Aug. 5 to 8
Quarterfinals: Aug. 10 to 12
Semifinals: Aug. 15 to 16
Third-place match: Aug. 19, 4 a.m. (Fox, Telemundo)
World Cup final: Aug. 20, 6 a.m. (Fox, Telemundo)
Jonathan Tannenwald, The Inquirer’s soccer reporter, is in New Zealand and Australia covering all the World Cup action. Here are some of his recent stories, and you can follow all our coverage at Inquirer.com/soccer:
Sophia Smith’s family revels in watching the USWNT’s World Cup breakout star
There’s a cheesesteak place in New Zealand, and our reporter at the World Cup tried it
Julie Ertz steps up, Sophia Smith steps out, and U.S. team flexes its depth to start the World Cup
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