Andi Sullivan, Savannah DeMelo vow to improve USWNT performance after Netherlands draw - ESPN - ESPN

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  Caitlin Murray, ESPNJul 29, 2023, 12:48 AM ET

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  Caitlin Murray is a general editor for ESPN.com. She has reported on and written about soccer for The New York Times, The Guardian, Yahoo Sports, Fox Sports, the Associated Press, and others.

  She authored a book about the history of the U.S. women's national team called "The National Team: The Inside Story of the Women Who Changed Soccer," which made "best of" lists in Vanity Fair, The Financial Times, NPR and The Los Angeles Times. On Twitter and Instagram, she's @caitlinmurr.

AUCKLAND, New Zealand -- Players on the United States women's national team believe their performance against the Netherlands wasn't good enough, but they expect to improve as the Women's World Cup continues.

That was the message from USWNT midfielders Savannah DeMelo and Andi Sullivan, who spoke to the media on Saturday after having two days to reflect on their 1-1 draw to the Dutch.

After a win and a draw in the first two games of the World Cup, the USWNT goes into the final match of the group stage Tuesday against Portugal not assured of a place in the knockout rounds.

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"I think the team is in a very good spot," DeMelo said. "I think we are a very close team, so we really lean on each other and we're going to be honest with each other.

"I don't think we were very happy with our last performance and we're OK with that -- I think we're just an honest group but we're very hopeful and we know we're going to get the job done."

The Netherlands scored in the 17th minute of the match when Jill Roord finished in transition, and the Dutch dominated possessions until a Lindsey Horan equalizer off a corner kick in the 60th minute.

Sullivan acknowledged that the USWNT wasn't coordinated in the way it pressed the Netherlands, which created gaps on the field, particularly in the first half.

"It's always a chicken-egg situation," she said. "If you don't step high enough, then it's hard for people behind you to read. If people behind you aren't reading it, then it's hard for you to go.

"I think we weren't in sync. That happens, and we were able to adjust and respond. Hopefully, we can do that earlier in the future. And I think that's also a great strength of this team -- we have lots of different ways we can do that together.

"Of course sometimes when you adjust, it's going to take a second to get on the same page. We have full confidence in each other that no matter what we do, we will figure it out."

Savannah DeMelo and Andi Sullivan are two of the 14 players on the United States squad making their World Cup debuts in Australia and New Zealand. Jenna Watson/USA Today Sports

The starting lineup rolled out by coach Vlatko Andonovski in both games had never played together in a match prior to the World Cup.

DeMelo was named to the USWNT roster despite having no international caps, and she has gone on to start both of the USWNT's games in the tournament. DeMelo came out in the Netherlands match at halftime to make way for Rose Lavelle, and she revealed on Saturday that she wasn't told beforehand that was the plan.

Sullivan acknowledged the lack of playing time together as a group ahead of the World Cup could be one reason the team hasn't been in sync. "That's definitely a challenge that we're going through: We just kind of came together," she said.

Sullivan hinted that despite the lack of familiarity with each other, there has been no apprehension to call out needed changes.

"The way we get in sync is we watch a lot of stuff together. We communicate constantly," she said. "We're very direct when something's not going the way that we want it to go -- you have to be direct and clear and honest and loud."

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Andi Sullivan, Savannah DeMelo vow to improve USWNT performance after Netherlands draw - ESPN - ESPN
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