Women's Soccer

PERTH — Debutants Morocco stunned Colombia 1-0 in their final group match in Perth on Thursday to reach the last 16 of the Women's World Cup at the first attempt along with their opponents.

The 72nd ranked Moroccans scored through Anissa Lahmari's toe-poke after a saved penalty at the end of the first half but their passage was only secured after South Korea held twice champions Germany to a 1-1 draw in the other Group H match.

The greatest story at the 2023 Women's World Cup belongs to South Africa after Banyana Banyana (The Girls), ranked 54th in the world, shocked 16th-ranked Italy, quarterfinalists back in 2019, to reach the Round of 16 for the first time ever.

South Africa entered the match having only just earned their first-ever World Cup point in a 2-2 draw with Argentina, but anything less than a victory over Italy would've condemned Banyana Banyana to group stage elimination.

United States women’s national team legend Carli Lloyd has become one of the big talking points of the USWNT’s 0-0 draw vs. Portugal on Tuesday.

Lloyd was not enthused to see her former teammates dancing and celebrating after the lackluster performance and went on a mini rant.

The USWNT's 0-0 draw with Portugal was a cry for help. If there's one thing we can say with 100 percent certainty, it's that Vlatko Andonovski's previous call for patience and simply more of the same is entirely without warrant. Recurrent issues have been plaguing the team for almost two years and they aren't working themselves out — there's something wrong with the system.

As a regular U.S. soccer fan, it’s typically my duty to disagree with polarizing FOX pundit Alexi Lalas. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case this Tuesday morning as the USWNT pathetically got a 0-0 draw vs. Portugal to finish second in Group E and advance to the Round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup.

There isn’t much to discuss about the USWNT’s draw. They were slapdash on the attack and lucky not to concede on defense. Portugal were inches away from sending the USWNT home but rattled the post late in the game.

The United States women's national team is still heavily favored to move on to the knockout rounds, but a small chink in the armor of the two-time defending Women's World Cup champions has caused a ripple effect at sportsbooks.

The USWNT needs to earn at least a point against Portugal at Auckland, New Zealand, early Tuesday (3 a.m. ET) to guarantee it advances out of Group E.

BRISBANE - Nigeria advanced to the Women's World Cup knockout stages for the third time in their history after a 0-0 draw with Ireland in their final Group B match on Monday, with the African side finishing second in the group behind hosts Australia.

AUCKLAND - Holders United States arrived at the Women's World Cup as favorites to win an unprecedented third straight title but their place in the tournament will be on the line when they take on Portugal in Tuesday's Group E showdown in Auckland.

The Americans, who have never been eliminated from the group stage in World Cup history, have not yet hit peak form. They beat minnows Vietnam 3-0, and a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands left both teams locked on four points.

MELBOURNE - Hayley Raso scored a first half brace and Mary Fowler struck after the break as Australia crushed Canada 4-0 on Monday to storm into the last 16 of the Women's World Cup and send the Olympic champions spinning out of the tournament.

In front of a febrile crowd at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Raso struck in the ninth minute with a low, right-footed shot and doubled down in the 39th from a goalmouth scramble as unused captain Sam Kerr cheered by the touchline.