USA 2-1 Netherlands (December 3, 2024) Match analysis

Lynn Williams scored the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute and Alyssa Naeher made six saves in her final game as the United States beat the Netherlands 2-1 in The Hague on Tuesday.

Williams, who came into the game at the start of the second half, made a well-timed run to touch on Yazmeen Ryan’s cross in the middle of the penalty area, breaking the 1-1 tie.

Her 21st international goal came two minutes after Naeher Daniëlle van de Donk made a great save with her right leg.

It was the last international match for Naeher, who wore the captain’s armband in her 115th appearance. She made her debut on December 18, 2014 against Argentina.

She is a two-time world champion (2015 and 2019) and 2024 Olympic champion. She defeated the Netherlands in the final of the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

Despite losing 23-5, the U.S. finished 2024 with an 18-1-4 record and a 20-game unbeaten streak.

Emma Hayes has coached the last 15 games since her debut in June (13-0-2), including winning the gold medal game at the Paris Olympics.

The Americans had nothing to do with a 1-1 draw at halftime after being thoroughly outplayed, with the Dutch having advantages in possession (62%), shots (14-1) and shots on goal (3-3). 1) had.

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The shots were the most the U.S. faced in a half since France fired 14 shots in the second half of the 2019 World Cup quarterfinals.

But in a strange first half, 18-year-old Dutch center back Veerle Buurman scored her first international goal in the 15th minute and gave the US equalizer with an own goal in the 44th minute.

The Netherlands, ranked 11th in the world, had three early chances before Buurman got her header from Jill Roord’s corner kick.

For the equalizer, Tierna Davidson sent a long free kick into the center of the penalty area, the ball flying off the back of Buurman’s head.

Lily Yohannes came on as a substitute in the second half. Yohannes, who has dual citizenship, chose to play for the United States instead of the Netherlands last month. She plays professionally for Dutch club Ajax.

The U.S. finished the year without the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith, who were left out of the squad for the final two games to rest and heal nagging injuries.

The U.S. hasn’t lost a game under coach Emma Hayes, who took over in May after a standout career with Chelsea in the Women’s Super League.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this story.