U.S. women’s national team player Alex Morgan expressed disappointment after a 0-0 draw against Australia to end the group stage of the Tokyo Olympics, but claims that the quarter-finals are where the tournament really begins.
The Americans recorded a win, a draw and a loss to finish second in the group and qualify for the next round. The reigning World Cup champions seemed apart on the pitch once again after failing to build the momentum gained during their victory over New Zealand.
“It was a tactical decision by coach Vlatko Andonovski to move defensively, a little more conservatively, and really let them be impatient, play along and give back to us,” said Morgan.
We meet again! ?? mot ??
#USWNT meets the Netherlands on Friday at 07.00 ET in the quarterfinals # Tokyo2020 pic.twitter.com/83W6pF6962
– US Soccer WNT (@USWNT) July 27, 2021
Eventually it feels like both teams were on and it became a matter of playing a professional game and moving on. It sees how Vlatko wants us to stand up to it [next] team. Tactically, we had a small shift in this game, we are experienced enough and professional enough to be able to do it and meet a team in a way that places us on top and really plays to our strengths. “
Morgan appeared to score a goal during Monday’s match against Australia before the referee reviewed VAR and marked it as offside. Despite the points and recent appearances on the pitch, Morgan is not worried about the past.
“This knockout phase is when the tournament starts,” she said emphatically.
The USA women’s national team will meet the Netherlands on Friday for a place in the semifinals.
Andonovski matched Morgan’s energy during the post – match conference and accepted the feeling of failure while remaining positive on the road ahead.
“When we came into this game, we came up with the idea that the first goal was to win the match, and the second goal was to put in a good professional performance and not get points,” he said.
“Of course we did not achieve the first but we did the second, which was very important because it ultimately placed us in second place.
“I would say that it was actually a good opportunity for me to see if the team is ready to take on the information that was given and carry it out, which I was very happy with. Almost all the players on the team had a specific role, and they did very well. “
