USWNT defense shuts out, scores two against Colombia

By Laken Litman
FOX Sports activities Soccer Author

SANDY, Utah – And now it’s onto qualifying.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Group beat Colombia 2-0 at Rio Tinto Stadium, sweeping this two-game pleasant collection. Now the workforce will to the CONCACAF W Championship match in Monterrey, Mexico, which doubles as qualifying for each the 2023 World Cup and 2024 Olympics.

Each targets from Tuesday night time’s victory got here from USWNT proper backs. Within the twenty second minute, Sofia Huerta compelled an personal purpose when her cross — which was supposed for Megan Rapinoe — was redirected into the again of the web by Colombia’s Manuela Vanegas.

The U.S. didn’t rating once more till after a late-game climate delay when Kelley O’Hara stepped up and hammered house a rocket of a shot within the 77th minute. This was O’Hara’s third profession purpose for the nationwide workforce. Her first got here throughout the 2015 World Cup semifinal match towards Germany and her most up-to-date up till Tuesday was in a 2016 Olympic qualifying match.

Earlier than O’Hara clinched the win, the U.S. let Colombia cling round. A lot in order that early within the second half, that they had a number of beauty within the field, forcing goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to make essential saves.

Whereas issues practically acquired a bit too spicy for the U.S., coach Vlatko Andonovski discovered positives in his workforce’s efficiency.

“The most important takeaways are that we’ve got an excellent workforce and we discovered a technique to rating targets in numerous methods,” Andonovski mentioned. “Though immediately I might say it was not our greatest efficiency, we nonetheless managed to attain targets and get off the sector efficiently.”

Listed below are three takeaways from the match.

Questions on ending?

Heading into this recreation, Andonovski mentioned his workforce’s foremost focus could be attacking within the remaining third, discovering house and executing. In Saturday’s 3-0 win over Colombia, the U.S. began sluggish, however scored three targets within the second half. Tuesday, an analogous theme unfolded and in the end, two targets got here from two defenders, Huerta and O’Hara.

Given the quantity of expertise battling for taking part in time at ahead, does the U.S. should be involved with their lack of ending throughout these friendlies?

“I really like defender targets,” Alex Morgan joked after the sport. “Greater than my very own targets.”

Morgan, who leads the NWSL with 11 targets in 10 video games, had a number of probabilities, together with on the ultimate play within the first half when she tried to complete a stupendous cross by Huerta. She acquired her foot on the ball, nevertheless it hit the crossbar. 

“We had been simply lacking a bit little bit of that remaining go, a bit little bit of that remaining contact on purpose,” Morgan mentioned. “It is going to come. 

“In any other case, I felt like we broke them down at instances and we acquired damaged down at instances, however by no means did we not really feel accountable for the sport. So I feel that was crucial factor and I feel we developed a bit bit extra and needed to face various things as that they had 5 backs or a sweeper or actually got here to the ball with quite a lot of numbers. Having the ability to resolve that on the sector with out a water break or halftime is necessary for this group.”

With qualifying shortly approaching, Andonovski gave Sophia Smith the night time off after she scored two targets and performed a full 90 minutes on Saturday. Morgan, Rapinoe and Margaret Purce began up prime whereas Mallory Pugh, Trinity Rodman and Ashley Hatch got here off the bench.

Andonovski isn’t involved with the dearth of scoring from his forwards. No less than not but. This can be a newer group that’s nonetheless gelling.

“In a recreation like this when the forwards are surrounded with 4 or 5 gamers at a time, it’s onerous to search out them,” Andonovski mentioned. “The truth that Alex got here into purpose scoring alternative and performed a pleasant ball to Sophia [in the first game] for the primary purpose, I imply that’s optimistic. These are little issues that we’re taking a look at — particular person performances in sure conditions. 

“It’s onerous to guage [a player] in 90 minutes. Now we have to have a look at particular moments and the way we will replicate these moments within the subsequent recreation.”

Dealing with physicality will solely assist in CONCACAF

Andonovski mentioned probably the most useful issues from these two video games towards Colombia was the physicality. That is the kind of model the U.S. will see from CONCACAF opponents, so scheduling Colombia proper earlier than the match was one of the best factor they might have carried out. 

“It was an excellent studying alternative for us,” Andonovski mentioned.

After the sport, Andonovski spoke with just a few gamers one-on-one to shortly get their ideas on how issues performed out. He spent a minimum of 10 minutes on the sector with Rapinoe, speaking X’s and O’s. Andonovski has mentioned a number of instances how necessary Rapinoe is for this workforce and that he enjoys bouncing concepts off of her. 

“It appears all of us agree that that is the kind of recreation we might face in CONCACAF,” Andonovski mentioned. “It was nice for us to see what we may have carried out otherwise and what we may have carried out that might have gotten us success even simpler. That’s why we picked this opponent, as a result of we felt prefer it was going to current an image of what we’re gonna see and we will’t be pissed off about it as a result of we knew what we had been going to face coming into it.

“Each recreation is a studying alternative till we go to the match, after which within the match, it is must-win.”

Issues acquired a bit chippy Tuesday on just a few completely different events. Within the first half, Morgan was pushed down within the field however the referee didn’t name a foul, then on the finish of the match, a combat practically broke out between just a few Colombia gamers and Ashley Hatch and Kristie Mewis.

“It was bodily and really, very tight,” Andonovski mentioned. “And it’s good for us to arrange for it.”

What’s subsequent?

The U.S. will head on to Monterrey on Wednesday and begin making ready for the CONCACAF W Championship, which runs from July 4-18. Andonovski mentioned Tuesday he just about is aware of who the beginning XI will probably be throughout the match.

“It’s not onerous to foretell who’s going to be on the sector,” he mentioned.

Right here is every thing that’s at stake:

This match serves as computerized qualifying for the 2023 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the 2024 Paris Olympics and the inaugural 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.

The USWNT are the reigning champions and had been drawn into Group A. They face Haiti on Monday, July 4 at 7 p.m. ET, Jamaica on Thursday, July 6 at 7 p.m. ET and Mexico on Monday, July 11 at 10 p.m. ET. On the opposite facet of the bracket in Group B are Canada, Costa Rica, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.

The highest two finishers from every group after round-robin play will advance to the semifinals and earn World Cup berths. The third-place finisher in every group will play in a 10-team inter-confederation playoff match in February 2023 and the highest three finishers from there’ll qualify for the just lately expanded 32-team World Cup.   

The winner of the Concacaf W Championship can even mechanically qualify for the 2024 Olympics and 2024 Gold Cup, whereas the second and third place finishers will head to a playoff in September 2023 to earn their spots in each of these respective tournaments.

Laken Litman covers school soccer, school basketball and soccer for FOX Sports activities. She beforehand lined school soccer, school basketball, the U.S. Girls’s Nationwide Soccer Group and the Olympics at Sports activities Illustrated, USA In the present day and The Indianapolis Star. Her first e book, written in partnership with Rizzoli and Sports activities Illustrated and titled “Robust Like a Lady,” was printed in spring 2022 marking the fiftieth anniversary of Title IX.
 

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