It wasn’t always the prettiest view in soccer, but it hardly mattered by the time the final whistle blew. The U.S. got the result it needed, got the draw and got the group.
The U.S. U20 WNT drew Ghana 1-1 on Monday at the U20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea, securing Group C over second-place France on the seventh FIFA tiebreaker after both finished even on points, goal difference, goals, and points, goals and goal difference in their shared game. The U.S. had fewer yellow cards, given that it had zero and France had one. And so it avoids the collective might of Japan and Germany until the final.
Ghana did its best to provide the spoiler, at times outplaying the U.S. and pushing the athletic American side onto its collective back heel over the final 20 minutes. Ghana ultimately finished with more substantive chances on goal, but it couldn’t find the goals it needed to advance. As a result, the U.S. won the group on a pair of draws and a win.
Here’s a glimpse into the inner-workings of Monday’s 1-1 draw from the American perspective. The U.S. is moving on, but it wasn’t exactly a perfect afternoon.
