Better conditions are expected this time around after a waterlogged pitch marred the teams’ last meeting.
The U.S. women’s national team is set for another big match against Canada and this time, it won’t be played in a swimming pool.
The two sides met just one month ago in the W Gold Cup semifinal, a game that was marred by unplayable conditions after a downpour in San Diego.
The USWNT defeated Canada in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw through 120 minutes, going on to win the Gold Cup with a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the final.
This time around, we should get a better idea of where these teams stand against one another as they meet for the second time in 35 days.
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The USWNT reached the final by defeating Japan 2-1 in the semifinal on Saturday, as Jaedyn Shaw and Lindsey Horan found the net. Canada, meanwhile, advanced past Brazil in a shootout after a 1-1 draw over 90 minutes.
USWNT defender Naomi Girma is a doubt for this match after picking up a thigh injury against Japan, but midfielder Sam Coffey is recovered following her removal from the game with a possible head injury.
This will be the 66th all-time meeting between the USWNT and Canada, with the U.S. holding a 53W-8D-4L record against its rival to the north.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
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It appears Girma has avoided the worst-case scenarios when it comes to her thigh injury
It appears U.S. women’s national team defender Naomi Girma has avoided the worst-case scenarios when it comes to her thigh injury.
Girma was removed from Saturday’s SheBelieves Cup win over Japan in the first half, as she pulled up while running and was unable to continue after receiving treatment on the pitch.
Speaking to the media ahead of the SheBelieves Cup final against Canada on Tuesday, interim head coach Twila Kilgore indicated that the 23-year-old hadn’t suffered a serious injury.
“Naomi had a thigh strain and is day to day right now,” Kilgore said, without offering an indication whether Girma would be available for the Canada game.
Even if she is unavailable for the match against the Reds in Columbus, it appears that Girma won’t miss an extended period — a major relief for club and country.
The San Diego Wave star has become one of the first names on the team sheet for the USWNT, winning the 2023 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year after a standout year for the national team.
Girma has also been named the NWSL Defender of the Year in both of her pro seasons thus far, helping the Wave win the NWSL Shield last season.
The USWNT and San Diego Wave could have a real concern on their hands
The U.S. women’s national team and San Diego Wave could have a serious injury concern on their hands.
Naomi Girma was forced off in the first half of the USWNT’s SheBelieves Cup match against Japan on Saturday, as the team’s standout defender suffered a reported thigh injury.
In the 16th minute, Girma was chasing a long ball in behind and pulled up with what appeared to be a muscle injury. The center back immediately signaled to the bench that she required treatment.
Girma was treated on the pitch, but was unable to continue and was replaced in the 18th minute by Abby Dahlkemper, her teammate for club and country.
On the TNT broadcast, sideline reporter Melissa Ortiz said Girma was being evaluated for a right thigh injury.
Following the match, U.S. coach Twila Kilgore confirmed that, telling reporters that Girma was “being evaluated for a right thigh injury, and we’ll know more shortly.”
Should Girma be forced to miss a significant amount of time, it would be a major blow for club and country. The 23-year-old was named the 2023 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year after establishing herself as the USWNT’s most important defender. At the club level, Girma was named NWSL Defender of the Year for the second straight season.
The USWNT midfielder has been in a firestorm over anti-LGBTQ+ social media activity
U.S. women’s national team interim head coach Twila Kilgore reiterated the team’s disappointment over Korbin Albert’s social media activity, but would not answer whether her removal from the SheBelieves Cup roster was ever an option.
Albert has found herself in a firestorm over her anti-LGBTQ+ activity on social media, with several USWNT players past and present calling the 20-year-old out for her actions.
The PSG midfielder apologized after fans uncovered a series of offensive posts, which transpired just days after the USWNT had named her to its roster for the SheBelieves Cup.
Kilgore spoke to the press on Friday, a day ahead of the tournament opener against Japan. She began her remarks with a prepared statement that echoed the words of Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan two days prior.
“I just wanted to quickly address Korbin’s social media interactions,” Kilgore began. “It is disappointing when somebody falls short of the very high standards that we set within this team. This team has always been a beacon of respect, inclusion, and demonstrated great allyship through actions for underrepresented and marginalized groups including the LGBTQ+ community. And we will continue to do so.
“As Lindsey and Alex mentioned, this team has never shied away from hard conversations. And today we’re here continuing to work on getting better, continuing to work on preparing ourselves to make ourselves proud, make our fans proud and put ourselves in the best position to continue to look towards success as we start this tournament.”
Kilgore would later be asked if removing Albert from the SheBelieves Cup was ever an option, or if her playing time could be affected due to the controversy.
“There’s been several internal conversations about this that will remain internal,” she responded to the first question.
“In terms of talking about lineup and playing time and things like that, I think as you’ve probably gathered watching from my interim time here, I don’t typically talk at all about who will be playing and who won’t be playing. And Korbin is available for this tournament.”
The U.S. will get a major test in front of a huge crowd in Atlanta
The U.S. women’s national team will face two big tests in its final two matches before the Emma Hayes era begins.
Twila Kilgore will coach her final two games as an interim in the SheBelieves Cup, before returning to her previous assistant coach role under Hayes.
The USWNT will first face off against Japan in front of a huge crowd in Atlanta on Saturday, and will then face either Brazil or Canada on Tuesday in Columbus.
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Coming off a W Gold Cup title run that didn’t always see them at their best, the USWNT will look for an improved performance against seventh-ranked Japan on Saturday.
The USWNT will be able to welcome back two vital attackers, with Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario set to make their first national team appearances in one year and two years, respectively, following knee injuries.
Like the USWNT, Japan has qualified for the 2024 Olympics. The Nadeshiko have been drawn into a tough Group C alongside Spain, Brazil and Nigeria or South Africa.
The USWNT and Japan have met 39 times before, with the U.S. holding a 30W-1L-8D record. Most recently, the U.S. defeated Japan 1-0 in the 2023 SheBelieves Cup.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the match.
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The playmaker returned from the W Gold Cup carrying a leg injury
Rose Lavelle was omitted from the U.S. women’s national team SheBelieves Cup roster due to injury, interim head coach Twila Kilgore said.
Lavelle appeared in all six of the USWNT’s games at the W Gold Cup, starting three times. The playmaker returned from the competition with an injury, however, and has missed out on the Challenge Cup and the first regular season game with NJ/NY Gotham FC.
The NWSL’s availability report lists Lavelle as suffering from a lower leg injury.
In a call with the media after the roster was released on Tuesday, Kilgore indicated that the injury was minor and Lavelle’s absence is precautionary.
“Rose was left off the roster due to injury, she’s not available,” Kilgore said. “Rose is somebody that has played a major role with the team in the past and is capable of continuing to play a major role for us in the future.
“Her minutes were limited at Gold Cup due to health and safety concerns for her and the team — most players being in preseason and things like that. We just hope that she has a speedy recovery, which I’m sure she will. This is mostly a preventative measure in terms of taking care of her health, which is exciting because we do anticipate that she would be available later for selections.”
Lavelle struggled with injury for most of 2023, as she played just four regular season games with OL Reign and eight times for the USWNT. She did recover in time to be fit for the 2023 World Cup as well as the 2023 NWSL playoffs, where she helped OL Reign reach the final.
Swanson and the counter-press? Great! Facing a high press? Not so much
At the moment, the U.S. women’s national team is a cliché glass of water.
If you see a team that has now won six straight games and just beat three strong sides in Canada, Japan, and Brazil en route to yet another SheBelieves Cup title, you’re looking at a half-full glass. They have a key player in extraordinary form, injured regulars are approaching full fitness, and they gave up just one goal in what is effectively a preseason tournament while facing sides whose players are in many cases closer to 100%.
If you’re thinking that Canada was a shadow of itself due to off-field issues with its federation, or that Japan worried the USWNT throughout their match, or are picturing Brazil’s near-misses from Kerolin or Adriana, you’re Team Half-Empty. You saw the USWNT struggle with two very different pressing set-ups, and are expecting things to go awry in the first game where the U.S. doesn’t bury their first great look at goal.
Well friends, guess what? You’re both making great points. Let’s get into the positives and negatives of the USWNT’s showing at the SheBelieves Cup.
Swanson’s show
Mallory Swanson is unstoppable at the moment, scoring in all three SheBelieves Cup matches for the USWNT and in seven straight games overall. The list of attacking players anywhere sharing this sort of stratospheric form consists of maybe Sam Kerr, and that’s it.
Under Vlatko Andonovski, there was a Christen Press phase before the pandemic like this, and Catarina Macario and Sophia Smith have spent time as the seemingly inevitable source of goals and assists on this team. Swanson is indisputably having her time under the spotlight right now.
One remarkable thing about this run is that it’s not happening with a particularly stable attacking group around her. The following is a list of what other attacking players were on the field when Swanson scored on this run:
Morgan, Smith, Lavelle
Morgan, Rodman, Lavelle
Hatch, Rodman, Sanchez
Morgan, Williams, Sanchez
Morgan, Rodman, Sanchez
Morgan, Williams, Lavelle
With Smith absent for both camps this year due to a foot injury, and Rose Lavelle missing two SheBelieves Cup games for precautionary reasons, Vlatko Andonovski has toggled between plenty of groups on offense, and Swanson seems to work just as well alongside any of them. We also saw Swanson look very comfortable playing off of Macario in 2021 and the early part of 2022, leaving little worry if the USWNT ends up going back to more of a false No. 9 look come the World Cup.
What’s been very impressive from Swanson is that she’s using her off-ball movement to create the kinds of chances she thrives in: running a channel, receiving the ball just as she breaks in behind the defense. Teams know the USWNT is looking for it. Right-sided defensive players know that’s where she’s going to end up, and still — whether in counter-pressing moments, long balls from the back, passes from midfield, or combination play — they can’t stop her from getting there anyway.
In the months ahead, any team that’s serious about winning the World Cup or that finds itself in Group E is going to be intently studying how to either prevent Swanson from finding these openings, or to cut off her supply from the rest of the group.
It’s vital for the USWNT that they keep opponents guessing, because at the moment, this doesn’t seem like a team that is going to imperiously march through seven games to a trophy. Much like these last two games in particular, the USWNT is on course for some very tight knockout round games in which one player being decisive is the difference.
The good news? The roster is deep with that kind of player, and Swanson in particular is arguably the decisive player in women’s soccer right now. If the team can maintain that — and especially if they add to it — their chances of a third straight World Cup victory are stronger than people seem to think right now.
Pressing problems
That said, there is a reason your social media timeline of choice seems full of doubt. It boils down to some clear issues the USWNT has had facing a high press. To be fair, any organized high press attempted by fast players is by its nature difficult to play through. To their credit, the USWNT has used friendlies to actually work on this rather than simply playing it safe in hopes of an exhibition victory.
However, it’s fair to say this is very much a work in progress, and come the World Cup, we may see them have to adopt some safety-first tactics to get through the opening stages of games. Generally speaking, that’s how high-pressing teams operate: you press for 15-20 minutes trying to get a lead or at least throw your opponent into disarray, then spend some time defending out of a more defined block so you don’t have a team full of exhausted players.
The USWNT, after simply overwhelming a Canada side that had been through so much coming into game one, found themselves on the other side of the coin against both Japan and Brazil. These games weren’t equal — Japan’s press was more organized and dangerous, whereas a tired-looking U.S. gave Brazil an assist by offering up some uncharacteristically sloppy play — but the outcome was close enough to the same that it should be a concern.
(AP Photo/Mark Zaleski)
We’ve seen some other top teams unsettle the USWNT like this over the past few years. Sweden did it at the Olympics, and both Germany and Spain showed that they were paying attention to the trend late in 2022.
As was already covered here, to some extent any press that is executed at a reasonable level is going to make the team in possession look uncomfortable. There seems to be an expectation among fans that can’t be reconciled: many teams are improving worldwide and deserve more respect, but also, the USWNT should be able to beat anyone anywhere with ease, so that discomfort must be an indicator that the team is falling off a cliff.
The sky is not falling for the USWNT, who as a reminder just beat three higher-end teams despite fielding a squad that is (Lindsey Horan aside) in preseason. But it is time for the fanbase to come to grips with a reality that, as high-pressing tactics have become more and more a regular thing in the women’s game, USWNT games might look a little rough around the edges.
It also must be said that the USWNT showed its preseason status in these two games. Some fundamental elements — first touch, body shape when receiving the ball, how often they checked their shoulders, and how early they made their move to be an option for the next pass — were lacking. By contrast, Japan and Brazil both seemed to be closer to top gear. That shouldn’t be the case at the World Cup.
However, here’s where the worried USWNT fan might want to start looking when they consider issues with the team: in this tournament, both Japan and Brazil pressed the way you’d expect them to. Japan’s 3-4-2-1 is not an unknown quantity, and Pia Sundhage’s 4-4-2 with Brazil is something everyone should be very familiar with by now.
Why, then, did these pressing structures seem to come as such a surprise? It’s one thing to enter a game knowing that it’ll be a bit scruffy because both teams are pressing. It’s another to see the USWNT seemingly not prepared to find the angles needed to play around those differing shapes. Every press gives up openings to gain certain things, but the U.S. had to find those spaces rather than knowing where they would be from the jump.
Japan and Brazil both seemed to catch the USWNT off guard, and while the players and coaching staff both did solid work sorting things out on the fly, it’s a bit alarming that they were having to find their way mid-game, and that’s not a completely new issue. Last year’s three-game losing streak saw a similar dynamic play out.
The pressure right now on the coaching staff should be on making sure more games resemble the Canada match rather than a worrisome scramble to get through the first 20 minutes without conceding. Higher-end teams are no longer going to hold off on taking the big tactical risk pressing is against the USWNT, and as we saw last year, there are teams out there good enough to turn a worrying phase for the USWNT into actual goals.
Pressing solutions
The flip side to the USWNT’s issues when facing a press is that they remain an absolute nightmare of a counter-pressing team. That’s down to both the work of the coaching staff — Andonovski’s teams, going back to FC Kansas City and the former Seattle Reign, have largely been counter-pressing experts — and the individual players.
Swanson’s goal came from counter-pressure that ended with Lynn Williams forcing a turnover and getting the ball to Lavelle in space. The USWNT counter-pressed Brazil into a giveaway on Alex Morgan’s goal that wasn’t (a shame, since Andi Sullivan’s first-time through ball was the best pass either team played on Wednesday), and seized on another chaotic situation when Morgan scored a goal that actually counted a few moments later.
Williams is comfortably the best counter-pressing forward on the planet, and last month we were talking about how strong her claim is for a World Cup roster spot despite losing 2022 to injury. This is ultimately why the talk about her not being the most clinical finisher has always missed the point: the USWNT will score more goals with her in games, because they’ll get more chances, because no team and no individual is better at counter-pressing.
It’s not just Williams, though. Anyone who has watched Trinity Rodman in NWSL has seen her — even in mid-block systems, which the Washington Spirit have largely played during her first two seasons — force turnovers by combining a clear understanding of when to jump on an opposing player with her obvious athletic gifts. Rodman’s ability on that front already seems top-tier, and we’ve only really seen the tip of the iceberg. In Mark Parsons’ system this year — expect more high pressure and more counter-pressing — she’s going to improve rapidly.
Swanson and Smith may not force as many turnovers, but they’re both vital cogs in this machine due to how quickly they choose and make the correct run after the turnover comes. Going back to Swanson always managing to get stereotypical Swanson chances even though every opponent wants to prevent them, this is often where they come from. She (and Smith) see the turnover coming, and make the most dangerous run early. The USWNT player picking up the loose ball doesn’t have to cycle through options or take an extra touch to wait for the opening. The ball pops loose, and the pass in behind to a world-class attacker is already on.
Probably not a game that will be known for its attacking brilliance, but w/ USA only getting off 5 shots to Japan's 15, the chances that USA had *on average* were far better than the opponent.
The Japan game was a perfect example. Japan’s expected goals were higher, as even a casual viewer would have guessed. However, since they also out-shot the USWNT by nine, their xG per shot was quite low. The USWNT didn’t create a lot, but the chances they carved out were good ones, and with their forwards, the higher xG chances tend to become actual goals.
All of this is to say that counter-pressing, and the avenue towards higher-leverage openings, is how the USWNT has been winning games that seem more even on a surface level. They put teams into terrible positions just when they believe they’ve dealt with the threat and start to open up their shape, and they have a range of forwards and midfielders (it must be mentioned that Lavelle is more or less an ideal No. 10 to receive the ball in a counter-pressing situation) built to thrive in exactly these moments.
More than any other thing, this is the path towards a USWNT World Cup win this summer.
Morgan now has 14 goals since giving birth to her daughter Charlie in 2020
Alex Morgan set a new U.S. women’s national team record on Wednesday night, as her tremendous goal against Brazil saw her become the team’s all-time top scoring mom.
Morgan fired home an unstoppable effort from the top of the box in the first half, as the USWNT clinched the SheBelieves Cup with a 2-1 win over Brazil.
It was Morgan’s 14th national team goal since she gave birth to her daughter Charlie in 2020, passing Joy Fawcett atop the USWNT mom scoring charts.
In the post-game press conference, Morgan’s strike partner Mallory Swanson paid tribute to her teammate.
“It’s very inspiring,” Swanson said. “Obviously I knew Alex and looked up to her before she had Charlie. But seeing her as a mother and what motherhood brings, she’s just a completely different person. It’s just super inspiring that not only off the field she’s a great mom, but on the field, she’s still able to do what she has always done and score goals, and basically be Alex Morgan.”
“Coaching Alex now for three years, all I can say is she’s a true winner,” U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski said. “She’s a great leader, and she always comes through when you need her as a player but also as a mom. It’s very inspiring for a lot of females that want to have kids and want to come back and play. Obviously she’s not the first one, but for her to model that and continue doing that is great.”
Morgan is one of three moms currently with the USWNT, along with Crystal Dunn and AD Franch. All three brought their children along with them for the SheBelieves Cup, adding plenty of excitement to the national team environment.
“And last thing, we enjoy having Charlie and all the other [kids] in the [USWNT] environment. It certainly gets busy at times, but it’s fun.”
The USWNT may need to improve against a press, but their counter-press is looking sharp
Much has been made of the U.S. women’s national team’s issues against high-pressing foes of late, but they showed they can dish it out better than anyone at the SheBelieves Cup.
The USWNT defeated Brazil 2-1 Wednesday night, with counter-pressure leading to goals from Alex Morgan and Mallory Swanson and helping generate much of the U.S. attack during an even contest. Brazil pulled a very late goal back thanks to Ludmila, but ultimately came up just short as the USWNT lifted the trophy in this tournament for the fourth straight time.
Still, it has to be said that Brazil gave them a real test. As was the case in their win over Japan, the USWNT struggled with a foe implementing a high press in the early minutes. It would be unfair to say they were in as much trouble on Wednesday as they were against the Japanese — Crystal Dunn hit the post in the fourth minute, and many USWNT turnovers were totally self-inflicted — but the team still has a clear issue to work on with the World Cup looming this summer.
Even when the USWNT had started to find better angles and more precision to break that press, the Brazilian counter-attack remained a major threat. Kerolin rolled a shot just wide after an incisive break forward after Brazil broke out just as the U.S. had pushed seven players into the attack.
The USWNT finally gave Brazil a taste of their own medicine in the final seconds of the half, with a counter-press ending with Lindsey Horan jarring the ball loose. Andi Sullivan immediately seized the chance, playing a 35-yard pass to send Alex Morgan in alone.
Morgan finished with clinical ease, but an offside flag interrupted her celebrations.
Alex Morgan put the ball in the back of the net but she was called offside.
Morgan may have been disappointed, but she didn’t have to wait long to get on the scoresheet. In the final seconds of the half, Brazil hesitated, expecting a foul call after Rose Lavelle was tripped up. Referee Marie-Soleil Beaudoin let the USWNT carry on with their attack, and Horan immediately played a similar ball to Sullivan’s through for Swanson.
Swanson has been in such good form that it was fair to expect her to finish against four Brazil defenders, but with her shot being blocked, Morgan was on hand to pick up the pieces. The San Diego Wave striker took a touch before bending a sublime 24-yard shot around the traffic in the box and into the far corner.
Brazil didn’t let the goal get them down, with winger Adriana lining up a shot moments into the second half that beat Alyssa Naeher but clanked off the crossbar.
Still, the USWNT had their chances as well: Morgan nearly scored one of the least orthodox goals of her career, while seconds later both Becky Sauerbrunn and Sullivan both had point-blank shots blocked in a scrum following a corner kick.
Brazil was starting to look a little unsure about how to progress the ball against the USWNT, and the counter-press factored in yet again as they padded their lead through — who else? — Swanson.
Lynn Williams, mere seconds after entering the fray, won a tackle at midfield, gifting Lavelle possession between the lines. The OL Reign star surged forward against a retreating defense, but once Rafaelle decided at last to step to the ball, Lavelle immediately fed Swanson for a pinpoint low finish.
We should pause to consider Swanson’s form, which remains unreal: seven goals in 2023, and eight in her last six USWNT appearances.
Brazil weren’t offering much in terms of a comeback, but almost out of nowhere, snagged a goal that won’t go over very well when the USWNT reviews this match. NJ/NY Gotham FC fullback Bruninha lofted a cross to the back post, and despite the presence of Naeher, Emily Fox, and Naomi Girma, Ludmila somehow managed to win the header and tuck the ball away by guiding it back across goal.
The same duo nearly combined again as Brazil suddenly showed some life, with Girma having to get her header exactly right under pressure from Ludmila, but from that moment on, the USWNT settled down and saw themselves through to yet another SheBelieves Cup victory.
The U.S. women’s national team clinched the 2023 SheBelieves Cup with a 2-1 win over Brazil at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Wednesday.
Alex Morgan scored just before halftime to give the U.S. the lead before Mallory Swanson — the tournament’s top scorer with four goals in three games — found the net in the second half. Ludmila scored a late consolation for Brazil with a 90th-minute header.
The win gave the USWNT a perfect record in the tournament, having defeated Canada 2-0 in the tournament opener before beating Japan 1-0 in the second match.
Japan finished second, with Brazil third and Canada fourth. All three teams finished the tournament with one win and two defeats.
This year’s SheBelieves Cup was vital for the U.S. as it looks to secure an unprecedented third consecutive World Cup title this summer in Australia and New Zealand. The tournament represented the team’s last chance for world-class opposition ahead of the World Cup, as reported friendlies against Ireland in April will be followed by a send-off game in July.
It was the fourth straight SheBelieves Cup the U.S. has won and the sixth out of eight since the inaugural four-team event in 2016.
Only France in 2017 and England in 2019 have managed to wrest away the trophy from the USWNT, which has lost just two games out of 24 in the tournament all time.
