Women's World Cup: England thrash China; Netherlands top group Group E after lacklustre United States performance

Two more groups concluded on day 13 of the 2023 Women's Word Cup, with England, the United States and Netherlands among the teams in action for the third time.

England needed just a point from their game against 1999 finalists China to progress to the knockout rounds and to also finish top of Group D. Denmark, meanwhile, needed to better China's result in their simultaneous clash with Haiti.

Meanwhile, the United States were tasked with avoiding defeat to a well-drilled Portugal and faced enormous competition from Netherlands to finish first in Group E.

China 1-6 England - Group D

Lauren James delivered a breathtaking individual performance as England put on a dazzling show to defeat China and secure their place as group D winners.

Demonstrating their status as European champions, England dominated the match with James stealing the spotlight by scoring two sensational goals and providing three assists.

James showcased her brilliance from the outset, setting up Alessia Russo for the opening goal and later assisting Lauren Hemp to coolly slot the ball into the bottom corner.

England continued to dominate, and James struck a stunning shot from the edge of the box into the corner, making it 3-0. Another impressive finish by James was disallowed by VAR due to an offside call in the buildup.

China knew they had to respond to avoid elimination, and they came out more aggressively in the second half. They managed to unsettle England slightly, and Shuang Wang scored from the penalty spot after VAR detected a handball by defender Lucy Bronze, a decision she wasn't pleased about.

But James wasn't finished yet; she volleyed Jess Carter's deep cross into the net for England's fourth goal, before substitute Chloe Kelly and left wing-back Rachel Daly also got in on the action.

England will now face Group B runner-up Nigeria in the last 16 next Monday.

As for China, their journey in the competition came to an early end - the first time they have ever failed to progress from the group stage at their eighth World Cup.

England manager Sarina Wiegman's tactical decisions paid off, and the team's attacking prowess overwhelmed China, who struggled to match their intensity and physicality.

Portugal 0-0 United States - Group E

The USWNT are through to the next round, but their performances have been far from convincing, with the side qualifing with their lowest-ever points total of five.

The defending champions had a nerve-wracking encounter against newcomers Portugal, with the team yet to showcase their full potential in the tournament, leading to doubts about their chances of securing an unprecedented third consecutive title.

Portugal nearly caused a historic upset with Ana Capeta's 91st minute shot hitting the post.

The United States once again struggled to break down Portugal's resilient defence, with keeper Ines Pereira making two crucial saves to deny Lynn Williams, who was brought back into the lineup.

To add more insult to injury, key midfielder Rose Lavelle received a booking and will have to miss the next game after accumulating her second caution of the tournament.

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski is now under more fire than ever after a lacklustre group stage, and with him not using his squad to the best of their abilities.

"One thing that I want to say is that this team wanted to win this game more than anything else, and they did everything they could in preparation for this tournament and in every game," Andonovski said after the match.

"And it’s not like we played well, but we own it. We know it’s not good enough. We know we’re not happy with our performance, but it’s, you know, we qualified for the next round. We’re moving on."

Due to finishing second in the group, the Americans will likely come up against regular foes Sweden, unless their is an improbable 10-goal swing in Group G's final matches.

Sweden are the last team to have beaten the USWNT in a 90-minute game at a World Cup, and the two sides have historically met each other quite frequently during the major tournament. Though this may be the first time the Swedes may be favourite based on how they've fared in their group.

Portugal's journey in the competition concludes with their heads held high, as they came incredibly close to causing a major upset despite finishing third in the group.

They had to play 13 matches, including 10 group games and three playoff matches, to make it to their first-ever World Cup.

The team's performance throughout the tournament showed progress, as they entered the third group game with a chance of qualifying for the knockout stage.

Facing the United States, they displayed a strong defensive performance and were quick on the counter-attack. Jessica Silva had a great chance in the first half, and Francisca Nazareth also came close to scoring before substitute Capeta hit the post in the additional time.

"When Ana shot I was thinking it was a goal," said manager Francisco Neto. "What I said to the girls is that I was very proud. Of course they are very sad because we are going home tomorrow.

"What this World Cup shows now is the women's game is growing a lot and all the teams are amazing. Because of that you have this kind of result.

"Before the World Cup nobody believed this kind of result would come."

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Vietnam 0-7 Netherlands - Group E

The Netherlands topped Group E, securing an impressive 7-0 victory over Vietnam.

Esmee Brugts showcased her brilliance with two stunning, almost identical curling goals on either side of the halftime break. Jill Roord also scored twice, while Lieke Martens, Katja Snoeijs, and Danielle van de Donk added a goal each to the Dutch tally in what was the biggest margin of victory of the whole tournament so far.

The 2019 runners-up are now set to face the runners-up from Group G in the last 16 on Sunday.

Before the match, the Netherlands started in second place behind the United States on goal difference, while Vietnam had already been eliminated after losing to fellow debutants Portugal in their previous match.

Vietnam began brightly in their quest for their first-ever World Cup goal, but their momentum was short-lived with Martens chesting down Dominique Janssen's ball and executing a lob over the Vietnam defence to open the scoring after eight minutes.

The floodgates opened, with Snoeijs quickly adding a second goal, and then Brugts beautifully curled a shot from outside the box to extend the lead to 3-0 after 18 minutes.

Roord's tap-in for the fourth goal prompted Vietnam boss Mai Duc Chung to make a double substitution after just 28 minutes. However, the changes couldn't prevent Van de Donk from grabbing the fifth goal shortly before halftime.

In the second half, Vietnam made a goalkeeper change, but Esmee Brugts struck again with a magnificent goal that mirrored her first one.

The Netherlands completed the biggest winning margin of the tournament thus far when Stefanie van der Gragt's header set up Roord for an easy finish.

"From the beginning of our preparations we were quite convinced we can beat every opponent in this tournament," said Andries Jonker after the victory.

"Of course it helps if you qualify first when the United States is in your group, you win 7-0 and you make wonderful goals. So I think we can rightfully state that we will be able to win against anybody, but we have to make it happen."

Haiti 0-2 Denmark - Group D

Denmark secured their spot in the last 16 with a 2-0 victory over Haiti, finishing second in Group D behind England.

This is Denmark's first World Cup knockout match in 28 years since their quarter-final loss to eventual champions Norway way back in the 1995 tournament.

Ranked 13th in the world, the Danish team secured a knockout place with a victory and a better outcome than China's result against England in the other group match. While Haiti's hopes of reaching the last 16 hinged on a victory and England beating China.

Denmark had a strong start in Perth, but a goal from Simone Boye was disallowed after a VAR review showed an offside.

Haiti then faced their third consecutive penalty downfall after VAR favoured Denmark when Dayana Pierre-Louis' arm was struck by the ball in the box, leading to Pernille Harder's penalty in the 21st minute, marking the 100th goal of this year's tournament.

Harder's performance throughout the match was impressive, and she found the net two more times, but both goals were ruled out - the first for offside and the second after a VAR review following Signe Bruun's challenge on Kerly Theus.

Haiti's Melchie Dumornay, who had shown promise in previous matches, remained their main attacking threat. However, their late push for a historic World Cup goal allowed Denmark to capitalize on counter-attacks, resulting in Sanne Troelsgaard calmly slotting home the second goal during a one-on-one with Theus.

Next, Denmark will face the co-hosts Australia, winners of Group B on Monday.