Victoria Pelova of the Netherlands and Crystal Dunn of the USA compete for the ball. Photo / Photosport
Victoria Pelova of the Netherlands and Crystal Dunn of the USA compete for the ball. Photo / Photosport
Lindsey Horan, angry over being knocked down minutes earlier by Danielle van de Donk, scored a revenge goal minutes later in the second half to help the United States squeeze out a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands at the Women’s World Cup in Wellington.
The Dutch struck first with a goal from Jill Roord in the first half to surprise the Americans, who remained unbeaten in 19 consecutive matches with Horan’s second-half score.
Horan’s goal on a header off a corner from Rose Lavelle in the 62nd minute followed several minutes of jawing between the two teams: Horan was angry after she was knocked off her feet and even cursed in the direction of van de Donk — her teammate for Lyon.
“Dan is that type of player that, when she’s on my team, it’s incredible because she’s going to fight to the last second to win the game, and go into that last tackle, and that’s what she did,” Horan said. “Unfortunately, I did not take it in a good way, I got a little heated, and she got to hear it.”
Horan, who already had a yellow card from the previous match, was calmed by American defender Julie Ertz. “She was like, ‘Linds, don’t get another yellow card, just score this goal to shut everyone up’,” Horan said.
She did just that with her 29th international goal, fourth in the World Cup, and second in this tournament. Horan got the ball from Lavelle and before it even crossed the goal line, Horan’s expression showed she knew she was on target.
“Heat of the moment I got a little pissed at her,” Horan said of van de Donk. “But, Rose put in an absolute dime and I got on the end of it. I’m happy for the goal.”
“She got a bit feisty and she came over, we just had a little talk,” van de Donk said. “The referee came in between, it wasn’t very necessary. We just played football again after that.”
Lindsey Horan of the USA celebrates after scoring her goal. Photo / Photosport
With the draw, neither team secured a spot in the knockout round yet, with one group match remaining. Both the Americans and the Dutch sit atop the Group E standings with a win and a draw, but the US have the edge for the lead with more goals.
The United States play Portugal in their group finale on Tuesday night in Auckland, while the Netherlands face Vietnam at the same time in Dunedin.
The game was a rematch of the 2019 World Cup final, a 2-0 win for the Americans. It was the Americans’ second straight trophy in the tournament, and fourth overall.
Roord’s strike from atop the box went through Horan’s legs to put the Dutch ahead in the 17th minute. Dominique Janssen had a good chance from distance in the 29th minute, but the ball skirted above the crossbar. Horan’s header off a cross in the 36th minute went wide left as the pace became more frenzied with halftime looming.
The Netherlands went into halftime with that single goal lead. It was just the sixth time the United States had trailed at the half in 52 World Cup matches, and first time since trailing Sweden at the break in the opening round in 2011.
“The first half, we feel a little bit disappointed in how we played but I think we fixed things right away, the pressure that we got on, and the amount of chances and opportunities that came from it,” Horan said. “Proud of the team and the response.”
“Very happy with mentality, very happy with the belief, especially from the young ones to mimic the older, experienced ones. Looking forward to the next one,” US coach Vlatko Andonovski said.
The Americans, vying for a record third consecutive World Cup title, defeated Vietnam 3-0 in their tournament opener. Andonovski used the same lineup for the Dutch that he used against Vietnam. He’s turned to Ertz, normally a midfielder, to play at centre back in the absence of veteran Becky Sauerbrunn, who injured her foot and was not able to play in the World Cup.
Megan Rapinoe, the American star who came in as a substitute in the opening game against Vietnam for her 200th appearance with the team, was not used in Thursday’s match. Rapinoe has announced this is her final World Cup and she will retire at the end of the season.
The Dutch were without forward Lineth Beerensteyn, who was hurt early in her team’s 1-0 victory over Portugal to open the tournament.
The top finisher in the group opens the knockout round in Sydney against the second-place finisher in Group G, which includes Sweden, South Africa, Italy and Argentina. The second-place finisher heads to Melbourne against the top Group G team.
