USWNT's path to a World Cup three-peat comes into focus

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By Laken Litman
FOX Sports Soccer Writer

The road to a Women's World Cup three-peat has become clearer for the United States Women's National Team.

And it looks like the U.S. could be on a collision course to meet England in the final, after losing to them earlier this month.

The 2023 World Cup draw took place on Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand, and the Americans are set to face Vietnam (on July 22 in Auckland), the Netherlands (July 27 in Wellington) and the winner of a playoff (either Portugal, Thailand or Cameroon on Aug. 1 in Auckland) in Group E next summer. The World Cup runs from July 20-Aug. 20 across 10 stadiums in Australia and New Zealand. 

"I’m excited about our draw because this is where the real preparation starts," USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski said in a statement. "Now, it’s about getting ready for the actual opponents." 

This will be the largest Women’s World Cup in history with the field expanded to 32 teams. This gives more nations an opportunity to compete, but that also means there could be some more lopsided results, at least in the group stage. In Group E, for example, the U.S. and the Netherlands are expected to advance without issue. 

[10 must-see matches set after Women's World Cup draw]

Vietnam, ranked No. 34 in the world, will make its World Cup debut and is a team the U.S. has never played. As far as what this matchup will look like, this gives off U.S. beating Thailand 13-0 vibes (a nod to the group stage in 2019) — and Thailand could also be in this group should it advance in the playoff next February.

The USWNT’s second match against the No. 8 Netherlands will be a rematch of both the 2019 World Cup final and the 2021 Olympics quarterfinal. The U.S. won both games, but the second came down to penalties after ending regulation in a 2-2 tie. The meeting will actually be the first time in Women’s World Cup history that the two finalists from the previous tournament were drawn into the same group.

"The Netherlands is a team we know well, so it’s two quality teams in the second match of the group stage, and it’s going to be a fun, exciting game," Andonovski said. 

The Netherlands has 26-year-old forward Vivianne Miedema, who is one of the best players in the world. The Arsenal striker leads her country with a remarkable 95 goals in 115 caps, which includes both goals against the U.S. in the Olympics (however, she did miss her penalty kick).

While this will be a tougher early test for the U.S., the Dutch are going through a time of transition right now having just hired coach Andries Jonker in August. He succeeded Mark Parsons, who parted ways with the team after the Netherlands was knocked out by France in the Euro quarterfinals this summer.

Assuming the U.S. wins Group E, it would advance to the Round of 16 and play the runner-up from Group G (Sweden, Italy, South Africa and Argentina). Then looking ahead, there are potential matchups against Norway (where 2018 Ballon d’Or winner Ada Hegerberg is playing in her first World Cup since 2015 and will be the centerpiece of a talented team), Sweden (which knocked the U.S. out of the Olympics last year) and maybe even a rematch with England (who beat the U.S. at Wembley earlier this month) in the final.  

The big question looming here: Can the USWNT, which is still the top-ranked team in the world, win its fifth World Cup title? The Americans hope to become the first team in the men’s and women’s game to win three straight World Cups. 

There’s the popular narrative that the rest of the world is catching up to the U.S., but as Megan Rapinoe said before the England match in October, that storyline has really come and gone. The teams have caught up.

"I feel like there isn’t really a huge gap anymore, and I don’t think there has been for a long time," Rapinoe said. "Teams are just so good. We obviously saw that in the World Cup, you saw it in the Euros, you saw it in the Champions League. The level of football right now is just insane.  

"And we’re happy to be right in the mix at the top." 

The U.S. won the CONCACAF W Championship earlier this summer, then followed that up with poor performances against England and Spain. In the more recent matches, the USWNT was without more than a handful of players who could potentially be on the roster next summer, including Catarina Macario, Sam Mewis, Julie Ertz and Tierna Davidson. Alex Morgan missed those games with a knee injury and Mallory Pugh had a family conflict back home. So while the U.S. has struggled recently, they also haven’t been at full strength. 

[Mallory Pugh and Sophia Smith are the future of the USWNT]

Other nations to keep an eye on include England, who beat Germany in the Euro final and could face Australia in the round of 16 should they win Group D (which includes China, Denmark and the playoff winner of Chile/Senegal/Haiti). Additionally, New Zealand faces Norway in the tournament's opening match, Australia plays Canada in Group B, France plays Brazil in Group F and Sweden gets Italy in Group G.

While this will be the most competitive tournament ever, the U.S. is still expected to play in the final on Aug. 20 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

"It doesn’t matter how you slice it, the U.S. squad-wise, skill-wise and player-wise still has the most depth in the world," Jamaican national team coach Lorne Donaldson told FOX Sports recently. "If the U.S. is healthy and does what they do well, they’ll be there at the end."

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.