USA vs Portugal live score, updates, highlights from USWNT final Women’s World Cup 2023 group match

By | August 1, 2023
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The U.S. women’s national team will have its knockout fate determined in its Group E finale against Portugal on Tuesday in New Zealand.

With the game kicking off in the early morning hours back home in the USA, the USWNT will look to keep their perfect knockout qualification record alive, having reached the knockout stage of every single Women’s World Cup to date, winning their group on all but one occasion.

It will require only a point to achieve that goal, but victory against Portugal will still be of critical importance, knowing that anything less will likely see them finish behind the Netherlands in the final Group E standings, handing the U.S. a much tougher route to the World Cup final.

Portugal need victory to escape the group in their first-ever Women’s World Cup appearance, and such a massive accomplishment will require a massive upset. Defeat for the U.S. will almost certainly leave them on the outside looking in, unless the Dutch are also similarly stunned by Vietnam.

MORE: All scenarios for the USWNT to reach the knockout stage of the 2023 Women’s World Cup

The Sporting News is following the USA vs Portugal match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen.

USA vs Portugal live score

  Score Goal scorers
USA — —
Portugal — —

Starting lineups:

USA (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Naeher (GK) — 23. Fox, 8. Ertz, 4. Girma, 19. Dunn — 16. Lavelle, 17. Sullivan, 10. Horan — 20. Rodman, 13. Morgan, 11. S. Smith.

Portugal (3-4-3, right to left): 12. Morais (GK) — 9. Borges, 15. C. Costa, 17. Seica — 3. L. Alves, 6. Jacinto, 11. T. Pinto, 5. Marchao — 10. J. Silva, 20. Nazareth, 23. Encarnacao.

USA vs Portugal live updates, highlights, commentary

1 hour 15 mins to kick: The USWNT lineup is out early. Rose Lavelle is IN the starting lineup, and while it’s unknown whether she is match fit for a full 90 minute performance, she will almost surely go at least 60 unless this is a blowout at halftime.

The biggest surprise is that Lynn Williams starts in place of Trinity Rodman, who was wasteful against the Netherlands. Julie Ertz remains at center-back, with Alana Cook still on the sidelines. Ertz was billed as an emergency CB option coming into the tournament, but has started all three group stage games.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Portugal playmaker Dolores Silva, who is the key individual for the U.S. to stop if they wish to keep the Europeans out of the net, is taking the World Cup head on, but remembers to appreciate how important this experience is for her country no matter the result.

Unlike many of her international teammates, who are with either Benfica or Sporting, Silva plays for domestic club Braga after a long journey playing in Germany and Spain. She’s as experienced and battle-tested as they come.

Silva was benched against Vietnam after a poor 65 minutes against the Netherlands, but could return here with Portugal knowing they must get goals to reach the knockout stage.

1 hour 45 mins to kick: Alex Morgan is a USWNT legend, but she is not the same player she once was. She has provided very solid hold-up play through the first two U.S. matches at this 2023 Women’s World Cup, but her threat to score has diminished significantly.

It’s no guarantee she starts tonight, or the rest of the tournament. If Vlatko Andonovski wishes for a more pacey, vertical attack, he could decide to bench Alex Morgan and start Lynn Williams, moving Sophia Smith to CF. He could also decide to sit Trinity Rodman as well, with Williams entering. Carli Lloyd believes Lynn Williams should be getting more minutes moving forward.

2 hours to kick: The U.S. women have left the team hotel and are on their way to Eden Park! It’s roughly 5 p.m. local time in Auckland currently.

2 hours 15 mins to kick: World Cup behind-the-scenes content always hits. Here’s the latest from U.S. Soccer, as they get ready to take on Portugal in Auckland.

2 hours 30 mins to kick: English referee Rebecca Welch is in charge of this match between the U.S. and Portugal. It will be her second game at the 2023 Women’s World Cup, having officiated the 2-0 win for Colombia against South Korea in the first round of Group H play.

Welch was the first woman to officiate a men’s English Football League match in 2021, and shortly thereafter became the first woman to officiate a men’s FA Cup match. She is a Women’s Super League mainstay, regularly taking charge of big matches, including her appointment of a Manchester derby last season as well as three games involving title-winners Chelsea.

2 hours 45 mins to kick: Here’s the situation for knockout stage qualification, simplified: The U.S. are through with a win or draw, no questions asked. Lose, and they are out unless the Netherlands are upset by Vietnam, then Portugal win the group, and it will come down to goal differential between the U.S. and Dutch for second place.

Should the U.S. advance, they must beat the Netherlands result to win the group. If they equal the Dutch result, it comes down to goal differential (where they currently hold a +2 advantage) for the top spot. If the Dutch best the U.S. result, they win the group.

For Portugal, they MUST win to advance, and that’s it — if they win, they’re in, if they don’t, they’re out. Nothing else matters.

3 hours to kick: There are many questions about the USWNT lineup tonight after Vlatko Andonovski surprised everyone with his Starting XI against the Netherlands last time out, but there’s no bigger situation looming than Rose Lavelle’s status.

Lavelle is coming off a knee injury that kept her out for three months, and now requires build-up to full match fitness. She was rated for 45 minutes against the Netherlands, and thus came on at halftime, changing the game in favor of the U.S. If she’s now rated for even 60 minutes, she will likely start tonight, but the U.S. coaching staff has been very tight-lipped on her fitness availability all tournament.

3 hours 15 mins to kick: The United States women know that goal differential could come into play as Group E finishes up, and they will want to grab as many as they can against Portugal. If the U.S. beat Portugal and the Netherlands beat Vietnam, goal differential will decide the group winner. The USWNT hold a 2-goal differential advantage currently, but with the Dutch playing Vietnam, that will come under fire.

3 hours 30 mins to kick: Portugal captain Ana Borges, the most-capped player in Portuguese women’s history with 151 appearances, is a winger converted to full-back, and even sometimes she can dropping further into defense. She is leading her nation in their first Women’s World Cup appearance, and while they have no illusions about the mountain they must climb, needing a win against the No. 1 team in the world to qualify for the knockout stage, they’re not backing down.

“We want to make history and leave the two-time world champions out,” Borges said before the match. Aim high — this is why they play the games, after all.

3 hours 45 mins to kick: Megan Rapinoe had an interesting perspective on the relatively disappointing performances through the opening two matches of the 2023 Women’s World Cup. She says that when you’re ranked No. 1 in the world, it’s almost impossible to live up to expectations, and the pressure of holding that mantle means perfection is expected even when unrealistic.

She’s right…to a point. The cold-hard truth is the USWNT hasn’t been great so far, and that’s worrying relative to what fans know they’re capable of. Rapinoe played that off as the U.S. “building into the tournament.” Which…sure, fine. Most top teams (think England, France, Germany) have struggled to live up to expectations early, but others, like Spain and Sweden, have. So the expectations for top teams aren’t unrealistic, as Rapinoe seems to suggest — just very, very high.

4 hours to kickoff: The United States women have a pristine record against Portugal, winning all 10 meetings by a combined 39-0 scoreline. Yet this is not the same Portugal side they’ve played in the past. The Europeans, in their first-ever Women’s World Cup showing, boast good talent in the prime of their careers.

Here’s the number you should pay more attention to: the United States have won all 11 Women’s World Cup matches against debutants in the competition. While the talent across the globe is spreading, experience is one thing today’s opponents lack, and that could play a big role.

USA vs Portugal lineups, team news

The U.S. forwards struggled mightily against the Netherlands in their last Group E match, so it felt inevitable that manager Vlatko Andonovski would make changes up front, and he does. Lynn Williams is rotated in, while Trinity Rodman sits on the bench after a wasteful performance against the Dutch.

It was expected that Rose Lavelle would start last time out against the Netherlands, but that was not the case, with Andonovski indicating that she was limited to 45 minutes of action. She came on at halftime and made a huge impact, and finally does earn her first start of the 2023 tournament here today.

There are also questions about where Julie Ertz will play with Andi Sullivan struggling mightily at the No. 6 spot, but Ertz remains at center-back, leaving Alana Cook stuck on the bench and Sullivan in midfield.

Injuries hit the U.S. hard before the tournament, leaving Mallory Swanson, Becky Sauerbrunn, Christen Press, and Catarina Macario all unable to prove fit for World Cup duty.

USA starting lineup (4-3-3): Naeher (GK) — Fox, Ertz, Girma, Dunn — Lavelle, Sullivan, Horan — Rodman, Morgan, S. Smith.

USA subs (12): Murphy (GK), Kingsbury (GK), Cook, Sonnett, Huerta, O’Hara, Mewis, Sanchez, DeMelo, Thompson, Rapinoe, Rodman.

Portugal head coach Francisco Neto made big changes to his lineup from the first to the second game, so it remains to be seen if he sticks with those who entered against Vietnam or switches back to others who played in the narrow loss to the Netherlands.

Playmaker Andreia Norton of Benfica started the opener at the No. 10 spot, but was an incredible 2-of-22 on ground duels, and was one of those replaced for the next game. In her place stepped in her Benfica teammate Kika Nazareth, who picked up a goal against Vietnam, and created three chances for her teammates.

Three Portugal players are on yellow card suspensions, meaning another booking for Jessica Silva, Diana Gomes, or captain Ana Borges would see them banned for a potential Round of 16 game should they qualify.

Portugal projected starting lineup (3-4-3): 12. Morais (GK) — 9. Borges, 15. C. Costa, 17. Seica — 3. L. Alves, 6. Jacinto, 11. T. Pinto, 5. Marchao — 10. J. Silva, 20. Nazareth, 23. Encarnacao.

Portugal subs (12): (Lineups released one hour prior to kickoff)

How to watch USA vs Portugal

  TV channel Streaming
USA Fox, Telemundo Fubo, Fox Sports site/app,
Peacock (Spanish),
Telemundo Deportes site/app
UK IVT1, STV Scotland ITVX, STV Player
Australia  — Optus Sport
Canada TSN1, TSN4,
TSN5		 TSN+,
TSN site/app,
RDS site/app
India DD Sports FanCode
New Zealand Sky Sport 1 NZ Prime TV, Sky Sport NOW
Singapore FIFA WWC CH01 StarHub TV+, meWATCH
Hong Kong Now TV Viu TV
Malaysia  — FIFA+

Fans in select regions of the world can stream the Women’s World Cup live on FIFA+, including in Japan, Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand. 

USA vs Portugal betting odds

The United States are the clear favorites in this match, but their poor attacking performances have muted expectations somewhat coming into this Group E finale.

Between the two sides failing to produce significant attacking pressure so far, and the knowledge that the U.S. need just a draw to advance into the knockout stage, the odds clearly favor limited scoring in this game.

MORE: Full betting preview for USA vs. Portugal in Group E finale at 2023 Women’s World Cup

  USA
win		 Draw Portugal
win		 Both teams
to score Y / N		 Over / Under
2.5 goals		 USA
-1.5		 POR
+1.5
BetMGM
(USA)		 -375 +450 +1000 +140 / -200 -135 / -105 -130 -110
Sports
Interaction
(Canada)		 -400 +440 +1000 +131 / -208 -132 / -101 -127 -104
SkyBet
(UK)		 2/9 9/2 11/1 6/4, 1/2 4/5, 10/11 — —
Unibet
(Australia)		 1.28 5.80 9.50 2.65 / 1.46 1.85 / 1.91 1.86 1.98
Dafabet
(India)		 1.24 5.10 10.00 2.50 / 1.47 1.80 / 1.90 1.79 1.91

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