The SheBelieves Cup is an annual tournament hosted by the U.S. Soccer Federation. The U.S. Women’s National Team and three other international teams compete in different U.S. cities in late February or early March. This year, the U.S. hosted the Czech Republic, New Zealand, and Iceland.
The head coach of the USWNT, Vlatko Andonovski, made it very clear that this tournament would serve as an opportunity for him to get a look at all of the younger talent that could possibly be included in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup Roster. This meant many of the big names that have previously been on his rosters were left off.
For their first game, the U.S. faced off against the Czech Republic in Carson, California. Although the United States held a majority of the possession and created more chances than the Czech Republic, they came away with a 0-0 draw. Their opponent packed numbers back into the box on defense, a tactic that has become very common when playing the high-scoring U.S. side. The U.S. has struggled lately to find the back of the net, and this game was no exception. With a lot of bodies in the box, it is understandable, but the lack of creativity going forward was disappointing. Rather than trying to figure out ways to attack the center of the goal and break down the Czech defense, the women seemed content to continually attack the end line and cross the ball into a packed box where it was easily cleared or collected by the goalkeeper. The substitutes in this game were also somewhat disappointing. Usually the subs brought in for the USWNT immediately make an impact on the game by bringing fresh energy to the pitch. However, in this game, the insanely talented forwards and midfielders brought on to try to solve the opponent’s defense defaulted to crossing the ball from the outside, to no avail.
Despite being a relatively disappointing game to watch as a U.S. fan, it was very promising to see such a young team starting to click. As previously mentioned, many starters and big names were left off of this roster, and the Czech team played with very organized team defense. The young team handled their counterattacks and any Czech attempts at scoring with composure. Veterans Kelley O’Hara and Becky Sauerbrunn organized a team meeting after this game to talk through some of the team’s problems and address what needed to happen in the next game in order to have better results.
The U.S.’s second match against New Zealand brought about all of the scoring that was missed in the first game. After a perfect hat-trick of own goals by Meikayla Moore forced by Sophia Smith, Sofia Huerta, and Midge Purce, it seemed the U.S. scoring ways were back. Ashley Hatch and Mallory Pugh would also record goals after coming off the bench. Although the own goals were heartbreaking to watch, this game was very encouraging. It seemed that the U.S. really corrected many of the issues they had against the Czech Republic. Although some of the team’s better chances still came off of crossing balls into the box, they were doing so from different angles in order to give their own players a chance to get on the end of the services. They also worked to create combination plays that broke down the New Zealand defense and allowed for better shots from inside. Although New Zealand didn’t play quite as compact as the Czech team, they were still organized defensively. This shows promise in the young team’s ability to solve other teams’ defenses on the field.
The other really encouraging thing to see was substitutes that came into the game bringing the energy that was needed to continue to create chances. This is what makes the U.S. so dangerous; even their substitutes can be huge playmakers. They came in to be game-changers, and they did so by scoring two goals. Not that the substitutes were head and shoulders better than the subs brought on in the Czech game, but it seemed that the whole team’s mentality was better in this game.
The U.S.’s last game against Iceland was the icing on the cake. The USWNT put on a dominating showing, winning 5-0. This time, there were no own goals, so all of the goals recorded were direct strikes from the U.S. There wasn’t much to say after this game. The team that was out on the field put together a full 90 minutes of play. Although the teams faced in this cup weren’t perhaps the caliber of teams that the U.S. will face in the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, I think many of the young players have made a case for themselves. It will be interesting to see who Vlatko Andonovski decides to take to Australia and New Zealand for this tournament and which names will be left off his roster. Whatever the case may be, it seems that the future is bright for this team.
Pictured above: U.S. midfielder Catarina Marcario during the U.S. vs. Iceland game