Is the USWNT World Cup Ready?
In short: no.
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St. Louis, MO (PSF) - Tuesday night, the USWNT played their last match before the World Cup roster is announced. They finished with a pair of friendlies against the Republic of Ireland, the first of which took place Saturday in Austin, Texas. The US won both games, 2-0 on Saturday and 1-0 last night. However, nothing went to plan for the team.
Saturday, things started out okay, but quickly turned when Mallory Swanson got in a major collision with Ireland goalie, Courtney Brosnan. Swanson was cleared in concussion protocol and kept playing. Manager Vlatko Andonovski should have subbed her out. This close to the World Cup, managers should not be taking any risks, especially in terms of head injuries and concussion protocol. Even if Swanson had said she was okay to play, he got the final say and should have taken her out. If Andonovski had subbed her out, things would not have gotten worse for Swanson and the team. In the 41st minute, Swanson went down with a major knee injury. Swanson tore her patellar tendon, and is out indefinitely.
Swanson was at the absolute top of her game, scoring in every other USWNT match in 2023. She had fought her way back after being left off the 2020 Olympic roster. She was playing incredibly for her club team, the Chicago Red Stars. Swanson was at the peak of her career and now she’s out. The USWNT is definitely going to have to re-evaluate their WC strategy now. Andonovski admitted he had built the strategy around Swanson and forward Sophia Smith. They are absolutely going to miss Swanson’s attacking presence.
With Swanson out, young gun Alyssa Thompson was called up to replace her. Thompson is only eighteen, but has been demonstrating her talent for NWSL club, Angel City FC, as well as the youth national teams. She also received her first senior team cap in October against England.
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On Tuesday, Thompson played the entire game, and she played well. She connected well with Alex Morgan and Sophia Smith; However, did not have the best connections with subs Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman. The US midfield also struggled. Starters Ashley Sanchez, Andi Sullivan, and Lindsay Horan looked awkward together. This seems to be a common issue with the team, and was the same on Saturday (with Rose Lavelle getting the start over Sanchez). Even with the return of Julie Ertz, things are not meshing well in the midfield. The US has the midfield talent, but they struggle to work together. They are definitely missing the talents of Sam Mewis, who has been out for over a year, with no timeline for return, because of a lingering knee injury.
There is some glimmer of hope for the team, the backline. Naomi Girma, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alana Cook, Emily Fox, and Sofia Huerta have all proven themselves. They are working great with goalies Alyssa Naeher and Casey Murphy. With the return of Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger, the backline could be pretty impenetrable. Emily Fox and Alana Cook booked their first USWNT goals, with Cook’s coming on her 26th birthday!
Overall, the USWNT is not in a position to head to Australia overly confident. Andonovski needs to seriously consider how he is going to fill the gap left by Swanson’s injury. The answer is not to find a 1-1 replacement for her. Rather, he needs to find a balance among the forwards, to establish that press. He has been set on the same midfield for far too long, and there is little hope for it to be changed. This makes the attack even more important. Thankfully, the backline can be relied on, but if the US can’t score, they are going to struggle to win.
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