Coming into the World Cup as the two-time defending champion, the U.S. was seen as a favorite again.

Even without the recently retired Carli Lloyd and injured center back Becky Sauerbrunn, the U.S. team is loaded with talent, especially on the forward line. The veteran Morgan, 34, leads a new “Three-Edged Sword” alongside World Cup debutants Sophia Smith, 22, and Trinity Rodman, 21, with the 38-year-old Megan Rapinoe, the reigning World Cup Golden Ball and Golden Boot winner, coming off the bench.

However, the U.S. has also faced some challenges in recent years, including an uneven performance at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 — which still ended with a bronze medal — and a three-game losing streak in 2022. The last time that had happened was in 1993.

Both the talent, and the struggles, have shown so far in this World Cup.

Opening the tournament on July 22 against Vietnam, Smith scored a pair of first-half goals, and co-captain Lindsey Horan added another in the second half, to secure an easy win over the world’s 32nd ranked team in Auckland.

The second game, against the Netherlands in a rematch of the 2019 final, proved more difficult. The Dutch, ranked No. 9 and missing star forward Vivianne Miedema, nonetheless looked like contenders again in the July 27 game in Wellington, New Zealand.

Following a chippy start, Jill Roord put the Netherlands up 1-0 with a long-range strike in the 17th minute. It took a hard hit on Horan from her club teammate, Danielle van de Donk, to get the U.S. back into the game. Horan, still fuming after the second-half confrontation, responded by heading in Rose Lavelle’s corner kick just moments later. The U.S. then held on to draw 1-1.

That result sent the U.S. and the Netherlands into Tuesday’s Group E finales even on points, though with the U.S. in first place due to goal differential. But with the Netherlands wrapping up against already eliminated Vietnam, the U.S. was likely needing a multi-goal win over Portugal to maintain that top position. The games were played simultaneously.

The Dutch did their job, scoring four goals in the first 23 minutes en route to a 7-0 win. Things didn’t go so smoothly for the Americans. Portugal, playing in its first Women’s World Cup and able to advance with a win, locked the USWNT up from the start.

Unable to hold possession and generate quality chances, the U.S. gradually went from hoping to win the group to just trying to stay alive in the tournament. With help from the goal post, the USWNT did just enough to survive.

The USWNT Heads Into World Cup Knockout Round Facing Rare Adversity

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