Tag: Vlatko Andonovski

Don’t expect to see Mia Fishel with the USWNT anytime soon

Vlatko Andonovski has admitted he isn’t in touch with the Tigres star

Vlatko Andonovski doesn’t sound like a man who is close to giving Mia Fishel a U.S. women’s national team call-up.

The USWNT head coach was asked about the Tigres star after naming his 23-player roster for his team’s September friendlies against Nigeria.

Andonovski was blunt when he said he hadn’t been in contact with her, adding his belief that there are players in the NWSL who are performing better than the Liga MX Femenil striker.

“I have not had a conversation with Mia,” Andonovski told reporters on Monday. “We do follow her form and her performances. But I also have to say that there are a lot of players in NWSL that are performing as good or maybe better than Mia that we’re very happy to see.

“Ultimately, that’s what raises the level of play for everybody, for the whole [NWSL], and helps the players that are in our camp, that are in our environment perform or prepare even better.”

Fishel’s move to Mexico

Fishel made a surprising decision in January when she opted to join Tigres instead of the Orlando Pride, who had selected her fifth overall in the NWSL draft.

It was an unprecedented step for a player considered one of the top prospects in the U.S. system, and one who had been called into the senior national team while still a star at UCLA.

The 21-year-old has adapted quickly to life in Mexico, scoring eight goals in the regular season and four in playoffs in her first season.

This season Fishel has picked up right where she left off, tallying seven goals and three assists in eight appearances in the Apertura.

Though she has scored throughout her time in Mexico, Andonovski said he was still looking for more consistency from the forward.

“Going back to Mia, like I said, we have not been in contact and she does need to continue playing well and show consistency and for more than two or three games — a consistent 10-15 games, to prove that she belongs on the best team in the world,” the coach said.

“Other than that, no player who’s playing at a high level for their club, whether that’s in the NWSL or anywhere outside of the NWSL, is out of the picture for selection for camps or matches.”

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USWNT pleased with Costa Rica win, focused on getting sharper in CONCACAF W Championship final

It was an easy USWNT win, but the team sees room for improvement

What could have been a potentially difficult night ended up being rather pedestrian for the U.S. women’s national team, who had little to worry about in a 3-0 win over Costa Rica that sent them to Thursday’s CONCACAF W Championship final.

Goals from Emily Sonnett and Mallory Pugh late in the first half, after some big misses and a shot off the post from Alex Morgan, allowed the USWNT to preserve some energy in the second half, with Ashley Sanchez firing home a third just before the final whistle to put an exclamation point on the victory.

Despite the ease of the win, though, post-game reactions were a bit reserved, as the team expressed a focus on wanting to cut down on mistakes.

“I feel like we made too many technical mistakes that are a byproduct of our mental preparation,” Vlatko Andonovski said bluntly on the CBS Sports Network’s broadcast of the game.

In the press conference following the match, Andonovski expanded on that assertion. “I thought that we made too many technical errors. Too many for the players that were on the field, because we know that they’re technical,” said the USWNT head coach. “We know they can settle the ball and pass and execute different technical demands, even under a lot more pressure in pressing moments. But today, for some reason, we made like I said, a little too many (mistakes), and that’s something that we’re gonna look into, to see what it is.”

That’s not to say that the USWNT’s performance was poor, with a relentless counter-press effectively rendering the first half an offense vs. defense exercise. Getting into halftime with a two-goal advantage gave them a vital advantage going into the final: a less demanding second half.

“We went with the game plan from the defensive standpoint that I thought that we executed well when it comes down to reading the moments, and when we want to press and when we want to drop off a little bit and allow them to connect (a) few passes,” said Andonovski. “So as we’re playing this game, where the result goes in our way, we actually started changing a little bit on how we defend, and allowed them just slightly more touches on the ball, which was for us moreso ‘let’s not waste any any extra energy that we have to to win the ball back.'”

Facing an unfamiliar Costa Rica, who came out having rotated key starters in Raquel Rodríguez and Melissa Herrera and playing a 5-4-1 formation, Andonovski detailed aspects of his game plan that helped the U.S. make the game easier on themselves.

“We knew that we’re going to have to, per se, ‘borrow’ a player from the back to overload their backline, and we knew that it’s not going to be easy to execute, because we haven’t had an opportunity to work on that,” said Andonovski, alluding to a back four that saw Sofia Huerta often joining the attack while Sonnett stayed home. “We offset the build up a little bit, with the fullbacks, and build a little different way. But overall, I still think it worked well, because especially early on, we were able to create opportunities, we were able to score goals.”

Andonovski credited that back four—who helped keep Casey Murphy from facing any shots on goal, and only one shot at all—for remaining focused throughout, even as their job largely became about possession and tempo-setting with the ball.

“(Costa Rica) were playing so low and because they were bringing numbers a lot centrally, it was hard for them to transition out,” explained Andonovski. “It looked a little bit easy for our backline, but sometimes this is even a little bit harder, because they were only called out to defend in two or three instances. So they have to maintain 100% focus throughout the whole game, and I think that they executed defensively everything well.”

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Young USWNT readies for Costa Rica challenge at CONCACAF W Championship

Vlatko Andonovski and Andi Sullivan say the USWNT is ready for Costa Rica

The U.S. women’s national team, having won their CONCACAF W Championship group without conceding a goal, is completing their preparations to face Costa Rica on Thursday (7:00pm Eastern, CBS Sports Network and Paramount +) in a match that has major Olympic qualifying implications.

With the W Championship’s structure, winning your semifinal means a shot at an automatic berth in the 2024 Olympics in Paris, while the defeated team will play in Monday’s third-place game needing to win just to maintain hope of qualifying via a playoff over a year from now.

The USWNT has not conceded a goal in the tournament, and has historically bossed matches against Costa Rica, but speaking to media today in a pre-match press conference, head coach Vlatko Andonovski and midfielder Andi Sullivan had nothing but respect for Amelia Valverde’s side.

On the top of their list? A focus on reducing the impact of Portland Thorns midfielder Raquel Rodríguez.

Sullivan said she’s “looking forward to that matchup,” one that will be pretty common throughout given Rodríguez’s status as Costa Rica’s creative hub and Sullivan being the USWNT’s starting defensive midfielder in 2022. “I play against Rocky in the league a lot, and she’s a fantastic player.”

Andonovski also highlighted Rodríguez, but had a long list of players he’s concerned about. Bordeaux winger Melissa Herrera, veteran midfielder Shirley Cruz, and young striker María Paula Salas were all emphasized.

“They do have some weapons that they can hurt teams, and this is something that we’re very well aware of, and we’re very familiar with,” said Andonovski. “Now, it’s up to us to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”

While he was willing to discuss the difficulties of playing one of CONCACAF’s top teams, Andonovski was less ready to tip his hand as far as the USWNT’s goalkeeping situation. Alyssa Naeher, the longtime No. 1, only played in the 5-0 win over Jamaica, while Casey Murphy started the USWNT’s first match of the tournament. After saying the coaching staff would discuss the situation going into the Mexico game, Murphy somewhat surprisingly got the nod.

Still, Andonovski indicated that the position is not a settled issue.

“It is a little bit up in the air,” said Andonovski. “As a staff, we’ve talked a lot about it and who’s going to be in the goal in the next game, and also how we want to approach hopefully the following game. But I’m not at liberty to discuss that right now.”

Youth movement

His choice in goal may remain a secret for another day, but Andonovski was up for talking about how this much younger version of the USWNT is handling the responsibility that comes with being on a team where the standard is to win every game.

Coming off of an Olympic tournament that saw the team lean heavily towards one more go for the generation that won the 2019 World Cup only to come home with a bronze medal, there has been a pronounced shift. Murphy is the youngest goalkeeper in camp, while the team’s two best performers in the group stage were arguably 21-year-old forward Sophia Smith and NWSL rookie Naomi Girma.

There’s a generational shift elsewhere, with Sullivan and Mallory Pugh more firmly ensconced in the squad than ever, and Emily Fox (whose status after being placed in Covid-19 protocols remains unclear) the only natural left back on the roster.

“We trust these young players a lot, and we’re very happy with where they’re at in the development stage of their career,” said Andonovski. “It was good for them to also learn some things on their own. I mean, the game against Mexico was tremendous… It was a little bit stressful. It was a little hostile. The team that we faced was a good team, very well-coached. And they were motivated. They were intense, all together. It was a great opportunity.”

The change in tournament phases has come with a roster adjustment, and the USWNT continued their youth movement. Ashley Hatch’s injury against Jamaica required a replacement being added to the team, but rather than bring another striker in, or call up a veteran, Andonovski went with yet another younger player in uncapped defensive midfielder Sam Coffey.

“We did go a little bit unbalanced in this tournament in terms of how many forwards and how many midfielders we had, but we did that with a plan in mind,” said Andonovski. “When Ashley got injured, we felt like it was a good moment to balance the team back again, and bring Sam in,” before adding that he didn’t want to go outside of the group called in for pre-tournament preparation matches in order to preserve the environment and camaraderie built over the last three weeks.

Sullivan said that on a team where the hunger to win every game is heightened no matter the competition, there’s no real adjustment to make going from the group stage’s World Cup qualification aspect over to the knockout rounds and the built-in pressure of Olympic places being up for grabs.

“We take every game so seriously,” explained Sullivan. “I don’t think it’s that much of (an) adjustment to focus now more specifically on winning the tournament and qualifying for the Olympics.”

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USWNT grateful for a test in 1-0 CONCACAF W Championship win over Mexico

“We really wanted some adversity, and we got it.”

The U.S. women’s national team completed an unblemished run through the CONCACAF W Championship’s group stage, defeating a hard-working Mexico side 1-0 on a late Kristie Mewis goal.

Heading into the game, the USWNT made plenty about wanting this particular game, with a larger and louder crowd on hand to back Mexico, to be a good test of the team’s mentality. While the performance—largely untroubled at the back, but also impatient and predictable going forward—left something to be desired, the theme of the night for the team was that the test will help going forward.

“We knew that if we don’t score early in in the first quarter of the game, that the game will be difficult and we saw at the end, it became a really good atmosphere,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski explained to reporters after the game. “I was coaching a big part of the game with a smile on my face, because to some degree we want that. We wanted to see that.”

“We really wanted some adversity, and we got it,” team captain Becky Sauerbrunn told the Paramount + broadcast after the match. “It’s not very often we get to play in front of a crowd like this. They really came out to support the home (team), and so it was good. It was adversity.”

The crowd at Estadio Universitario did bring the noise, booing USWNT corner kicks and roaring Mexican attacks. While the pattern of play meant many more boos than cheers on a night where the home team was credited with just three shot attempts, Andonovski did admit that the crowd eventually threw the USWNT out of their rhythm.

“As the atmosphere was getting fired up, our team started losing the focus of the tempo. We actually had very good control of the tempo until the atmosphere started getting rattled a little bit, and then our players started starting falling into the trap,” said Andonovski.

That trap was a too-direct approach on the ball that seemed destined to see the U.S., even playing with a numerical advantage after Jacqueline Ovalle was given a 73rd minute red card, end the night with a frustrating scoreless draw against the sort of conservative tactical approach they have spent plenty of time working on breaking down.

However, a moment of inspiration from an old hand changed the game, with Megan Rapinoe’s quickly-taken short corner kick catching Mexico off guard, and eventually ending in a scramble that Kristie Mewis bundled over the line in the 89th minute.

The goal survived a VAR check after some still angles raised major questions over whether Emily Sonnett had been offside before heading on goal moments before Mewis finished the play, but for a younger group learning some old-school USWNT resourcefulness, there’s value in finally breaking through in gritty fashion.

Sauerbrunn, who has seen plenty of big USWNT wins come via that sort of scrappy play, underlined the benefit of a new group showing that trait. “I think that’s what makes the U.S. really special, is that identity of relentlessness, never say die, really will (a goal) in.”

“I was very happy to see at the end that we still found a way,” said Andonovski. “It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t nice, but in order to win big tournaments, we know that sometimes you’re just gonna have to find a way, and we were able to do that.”

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USWNT ‘very excited’ for Mexico challenge in CONCACAF W Championship group finale

The USWNT is fully focused on a desperate Mexico side that must win to keep any World Cup hope alive

The U.S. women’s national team has already secured its place at the 2023 World Cup, and only a very strange pair of outcomes on Monday night would keep them from winning their CONCACAF W Championship group.

Still, facing a Mexico side that must win in front of their home fans to keep any chance of getting into a World Cup playoff later this year alive, the USWNT is embracing the opportunity for a younger squad to learn how to navigate a charged atmosphere.

“We’re very happy to be qualified. Obviously, that was the first box that we wanted to check, but our job is not done yet,” head coach Vlatko Andonovski told reporters on Sunday, just before his side’s final training session before they play Mexico at the historic Estadio Universitario. “In this next game, we are actually very excited to go into, because to some degree, this is the game that we were looking forward to, because we expect a lot of fans to come, to show up, create a little hostile environment for younger players that haven’t been in a situation like this before.”

The USWNT has defeated Haiti and Jamaica without conceding a goal thus far, but the crowds at both games have not been a factor. Mexico, meanwhile, didn’t recover from losing a somewhat even game against Jamaica, collapsing in a 3-0 loss to Haiti on Thursday that eliminated the home side from Olympic qualifying and cut their chances of moving on to the World Cup playoff in September down to the merest glimmer of hope. On top of that, starting defenders Rebeca Bernal (injury) and Greta Espinoza (red card) are both unavailable to face the USWNT.

Despite Mexico’s troubles, Andonovski has not changed his tune, having circled this game from the moment the tournament draw came out. “We’re gonna have a good opponent ahead of us,” said the USWNT boss on Mexico. “We’re gonna have to be very sophisticated, very precise in the way we play.”

Andonovski wanted more of the same from the USWNT on the ball, but stressed that focus is a must against a Mexico team with NWSL attackers, name-checking Houston Dash winger Maria Sánchez and North Carolina Courage striker Diana Ordoñez as players the USWNT wants to limit. Despite Monica Vergara’s side struggling to create openings and being too reliant on crosses, Andonovski made his respect for their capabilities clear.

“Out of possession, we have to stay focused throughout the whole game, throughout 90 minutes, because they have very good strikers, very good attacking players,” said Andonovski. “I mean, someone like (Maria) Sánchez and (Diana) Ordoñez now, players that can punish you if you give them a little time and space.”

“The fact that Mexico has something to play for is something that makes us excited, because we want them to come out in the strongest and best fashion, and create the toughest possible environment for us,” added Andonovski, who pointed out that next year’s World Cup being so far away from the U.S. will likely mean the USWNT won’t have the vociferous support their home-heavy typical schedule comes with.

On the game itself, defender Naomi Girma—speaking to reporters days after an outstanding performance against Jamaica—said a key for the USWNT was to take their time on the ball and cajole openings in Mexico’s shape rather than thinking every pass had to open the game up.

“We talked about just being patient out of the back, playing what’s on, not trying to force the ball in if Jamaica was sitting low on us,” said Girma on the Jamaica win. “So I think it just took us communicating, and finding the right moment to go and attack and get our goals.”

While Andonovski was willing to mention some specific lineup changes before the Jamaica match, he stopped short of actually naming starters for Monday night’s game.

“We’re fortunate enough to have a really good roster and every player that is on the roster is capable and able to to play well and contribute for our success. We believe in our team,” said Anvonovski. “So for the next game, I’m sure we’ll see a couple of new faces from the previous game.”

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USWNT readies for a challenge against Bunny Shaw, Jamaica

The USWNT is looking to sharpen up vs. Bunny Shaw & Jamaica

Coming off of a 3-0 win over Haiti that was perhaps not as straightforward as fans expected, the U.S. women’s national team have focused on some areas to sharpen while also noting their respect for Jamaica, a potentially tricky foe coming up on Thursday (7:00pm Eastern, Paramount + and ViX).

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, head coach Vlatko Andonovski and defender Emily Fox both highlighted star Manchester City striker Khadija “Bunny” Shaw as a major threat.

“They have a great No. 9, Bunny (Shaw),” said Fox, who connected Shaw’s skillset to how Haiti was able to pick out their wingers on the break against the USWNT. “Her being able to hold up the ball and then distribute it to the wide players is something that I think Haiti also did a good job of.”

Andonovski praised Haitian trio Melchie Dumornay, Nérilia Mondésir, and Roselord Borgella, calling them “world-class” before pointing out that Jamaica has players of equivalent stature. “We will be facing world-class players in this tournament,” said Andonovski. “We go against Bunny Shaw, we go against (Jody) Brown, I mean, they’re amazing players.”

Still, the USWNT sees Jamaica as posing a different sort of threat, as so much of their attack goes through Shaw, a target forward whose ability to playmake with her back to goal has troubled top teams for years.

“There are some similarities with Jamaica and Haiti, but I think that Bunny Shaw is just a little bit more powerful when she holds the ball, and obviously she’s got incredible abilities to distribute the ball,” said Andonovski, who added that he expected the same 4-2-3-1 formation Jamaica used in upsetting Mexico 1-0 on Monday. “We do expect them to create challenges.”

“Another thing which I think they’re very dangerous, is the set plays. They showed that they can score a goal and win a game on set plays, so that’s something that we’ve talked about,” said Andonovski, who saw Haiti barely miss scoring on a free kick that had similarities to the one Jamaica used to get past Mexico.

For Fox, there was a clear list of priorities to take care of to keep Shaw and the Jamaican attack bottled up. “I think for us, being physical, communicating, working as a team defensively and also just winning the first ball and making sure that we can eliminate their threats early,” said the Racing Louisville left back.

The USWNT also seems to have found some clarity in its lineup going forward. Andonovski said all 23 players are available to play Thursday night, and tipped his hand on at least two starters—Alyssa Naeher and Lindsey Horan—for this upcoming match against the Reggae Girlz.

Naeher has largely been first choice for the USWNT going back to the last two years of Jill Ellis’ tenure, to such an extent that this was Murphy’s first cap in a consequential USWNT game. However, Andonovski left the door open to a possible competition for the job, rather than simply giving Murphy one game and then moving back to Naeher for the long haul.

“We have three very good goalkeepers, two of whom we’re going to see in this tournament,” said Andonovski, who gave Casey Murphy the start against Haiti. “We felt like it’s important for Casey to get a game in, and part of the reason why is also because, just looking back in our Olympic games. Alyssa got injured and we had to play a goalkeeper in two of our most important games who did not play one second before.”

Andonovski added that “we’ll decide how we’re going to move forward” after watching Naeher’s performance against Jamaica.

Horan, meanwhile, appeared to wince after contact multiple times against Haiti, and has been playing for some time now with supportive tape around her knee. Andonovski pronounced her “medically, 100 percent,” and said that the choice to substitute her in the 68th minute comes down to building her back up after her club season in Europe ended on June 1.

“We were trying to manage her properly and not overload her, but build her up to her (normal) minutes,” explained Andonovski. “She’s going to start this game as well. And we’re going to continue building her so she’s properly ready for the upcoming games.”

Still, Naeher’s return will not be the only change to the USWNT lineup on Thursday. “There were some predetermined rotations before the tournament, and it’s not because we want to change certain players based on performance,” said Andonovski, who said that despite U.S. attempts to prepare for the hot Mexican summer, the weather has still been “a little bit of a shock” for the team.

“We actually did some extra running when it was not necessary. Going into second game, that’s something that has been on our mind, in terms of not just winning the game, but also managing the physical output and the load of the players in the game,” added Andonovski.

Nonetheless, that rotation is probably going to be just a one-off for Jamaica. Mexico, at home and with a possible World Cup spot on the line, figures to require a best available eleven, while the knockout rounds are qualifying for the 2024 Olympics.

“The starting lineup against Haiti for the last game, that’s probably the lineup that is going to play majority of the minutes in this tournament,” declared Andonovski.

In terms of improvement, Andonovski gave strong backing to his defenders, saying “I truly believe that we have the capability to stop any attack, any player in the world.” However, with Haiti creating multiple serious threats—particularly a flurry late in the first half where Murphy produced a top save on Dumornay and then saw a Borgella penalty smack off the post— Andonovski admitted “there were moments in the game that we could have done a better job.”

“We did make our job a little bit harder, and the moments that were critical for us was actually some of the simple passes that we did not connect,” said Andonovski, who underlined the fact that these mistakes can be dangerous both in terms of giving up a threat to the USWNT goal, and from a longer-term fatigue perspective.

“Those were the ones usually that put you in trouble, because that automatically triggers long recovery runs and big transition in some way,” said Andonovski. “Haiti was set up for those transitional moments, where we were a little more comfortable thinking that those are easy passes that we should connect, and no transition will be necessary.”

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USWNT vs. Colombia in three moments (part two)

Lessons hopefully learned in Utah, so they don’t have to be learned next week at the W Championship

As Tuesday night’s U.S. women’s national team friendly against Colombia became Wednesday morning’s 2-0 win, things got weird. The goals both came from the USWNT’s right backs, a late storm delayed the game by nearly an hour, and of all people Ashley Hatch ended up in a shoving match.

Amid all of that, the USWNT faced a slightly different, more open version of Colombia than they did in Saturday’s first meeting, and the game was a tougher task. Alyssa Naeher, starting in the second game, had a few moments to worry in a way that game one starter Casey Murphy didn’t, and while the USWNT were worthy winners, it wasn’t exactly a smooth path.

That path can be summed up in three moments, so let’s dig into what we saw Tuesday night:

Tactical gambits?

Vlatko Andonovski caught Colombia out with two really interesting experiments in the first game: going with two No. 10s from halftime on by bringing Ashley Sanchez in, and a late move to try Kristie Mewis as a No. 6.

The double-ten was put out there from the start in Utah, with Lindsey Horan starting underneath Sanchez and Rose Lavelle, but while the move broke the game open as a halftime adjustment, things weren’t so easy when used from the start.

What was the difference? For one, Colombia simply wasn’t fatigued from defending for 45 minutes, and they got the chance to adjust to the rhythm the U.S. set with two attacking midfielders from kickoff rather than having to figure it out on the fly. With the Colombian line of contention higher, Sanchez and Lavelle had less room to turn and face goal.

Neither played badly, but rather than the revelatory bunker-busting look we saw in Colorado, the USWNT were not quite able to stretch Colombia enough. It was a game of “almost” for the USWNT attack, with Colombia’s center backs frequently doing just enough with their emergency defending to keep true danger at bay.

Mewis, meanwhile, was the subject of some Colombian adjustment to U.S. tactics. Namely, their central midfielders tried to lure her out of her position as the midfield anchor to open up room for counters. Mewis, a natural No. 8 who can play further forward, still has the decision-making instincts of someone who generally plays with one more midfielder staying home. She wanted to step—for good reasons, as winning the ball on a counter-press can create excellent scoring chances—but sometimes stepped into the trap Colombia set for her.

None of this is to say the USWNT should discard either of these ideas. Sanchez and Lavelle have both developed such defensive engines that they can be deployed in this 4-3-3 formation together without being an irresponsible choice. Mewis’ long-range distribution remains a weapon, and between the lack of true defensive midfield options to give Andi Sullivan a rest and the prospect of some CONCACAF teams not being as savvy as Colombia were on Tuesday, it stands to reason that she will be better in this role if it comes up again in the W Championship.

Gamesmanship test

CONCACAF has a reputation for being a real test for a favorite’s ability to withstand provocation, and the USWNT should expect teams to look to get under their skin. It’s a great way to narrow the gap in terms of talent and experience, and while U.S. fans may not enjoy it, it’s a part of the game the USWNT has to be good at.

You can’t say they were particularly good at it against Colombia, though. Obviously the memes tell the story of the late-game clash between Ashley Hatch and Jorelyn Carabalí, a situation that saw Carabalí shoulder-check Hatch after the ball was gone, shoves exchanged, and eventually Hatch pushing Carabalí away with a hand to the face.

Referee Katja Koroleva gave Hatch a yellow and had no card for Carabalí, which means she didn’t follow the Laws of the Game for either player. In the W Championship, this hands-to-the-face moment could have easily resulted in a red card for Hatch, which is the actual punishment for this infringement.

The thing is, though, that Hatch wasn’t the only player to put a hand on an opponent’s face. Taylor Kornieck did the same in the first half, trying to evade some particularly grabby marking on a corner, a play that drew no attention from the referees at all. Early in the game, ESPN’s cameras focused in on Alex Morgan looking visibly frustrated with some aggressive pre-corner kick contact as well, though to her credit, she kept her hands to herself.

These are big learning experiences for the newer USWNT players, as they’re not going to get the more collegial treatment from defenders that we see in NWSL (where opponents are your former college/YNT teammate on a pretty regular basis). Not falling for the provocation should be a key talking point within the group over the next few days.

Reset button

That aforementioned lightning delay came at a pretty good time for the USWNT, who had only a top-notch Naeher save to thank for the scoreline still being 1-0 at the time. Colombia were finding some promising counter-attacking opportunities, and though the USWNT had somewhat regained their footing from around the 70th minute, their grip on the game had still loosened in the middle portion of the second half.

The USWNT came out from the break looking like they’d sorted everything out. They came back out with a high press that completely threw Colombia off, ramping the tempo up and pinning their opponents back deep. Within around 100 seconds, they put the game to bed with a powerful Kelley O’Hara strike.

For one thing, a quick side note about our first moment: Mewis and Sanchez were a factor here, and that’s a reason for the coaching staff to continue to looking at them for more time in these roles.

But more to our point here, the USWNT wasn’t going to regain their footing in this fashion so easily had that storm cell broken up before hitting Sandy, Utah. It’s a big stretch to say Colombia were definitely going to equalize, but they had gotten a couple of corner kicks and were rounding into a threat, and that’s not what the USWNT wants when 1-0 up in the final 20 minutes of a game.

The good news here is that the break provided a chance to learn in the locker room, and put those ideas into practice soon thereafter. The bottom line? There are some important lessons in a game like this, but it’s vital for the USWNT learned them in Utah rather than still needing to learn them down in Monterrey next week.

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USWNT looking to ‘stay the course’ against Colombia in final CONCACAF W Championship warm-up

“This is just a preparation for what is going to happen in the tournament.”

The U.S. women’s national team faces Colombia Tuesday night in Utah in the second round of a back-to-back set of friendlies designed as preparation for the CONCACAF W Championship.

The USWNT’s 3-0 win offered exactly that, with Colombia offering up a low block and a focus on slowing play down. While the final result—a multi-goal win in which U.S. goalkeeper Casey Murphy faced one shot—was not a surprise, there was a murmur of concern during a first half that saw the USWNT enter the locker room scoreless.

Having looked back on the game, the USWNT seems confident that they’ll be able to score regularly.

“If you look back at that first half, we actually had a lot of opportunities. So I think we were actually exposing (Colombia) pretty well, and we just didn’t finish,” said Sofia Huerta, who came on for the game’s final third. Huerta noted that against an organized lower block, scoring chances may be harder to come by, but that the USWNT had plenty of reason to believe that the goals would come.

“That’s just gonna happen when you’re playing against a team who’s in a low block,” Huerta told reporters in a press conference on Monday. “It is hard to break them down, but I actually think we did, and we didn’t lose any hope that we were going to score.”

Head coach Vlatko Andonovski was very pleased that his team faced a robust challenge of the sort Colombia put forward, where the team’s resolve was tested. In particular, he indicated that watching the USWNT keep their focus against a physical opponent content to stay extremely deep was “tremendous.”

“We talked about that before the game a lot,” said Andonovski. “We talked about it in the halftime, and the fact that we did not waver away from our game plan, and stayed focused on what we’re trying to do, and in fact increased some of the talking points, increased our tempo, increased our intensity, was one of the one of the key moments.”

Andonovski acknowledged the pressure that comes when the USWNT doesn’t score very quickly in a given game. “Everybody, including us, expected to score goal in the first half—which I think that we created enough opportunity to score a goal—but we also know in this game, anything can happen and we didn’t.”

For USWNT opponents, hoping to turn that expectation against the USWNT is generally part of the game plan. Andonovski acknowledged that idea was one they’re probably going to encounter next month.

“Very, very (easily), players can start panicking, and they can start doubting the plan, doubting themselves,” said Andonovski. “I thought that it was very good, the talk that we had in the locker room, but then even the talk that they had among themselves is that this is just a preparation for what is going to happen in the tournament, and we have to stay the course.”

Looking ahead to Tuesday’s rematch, Andonovski indicated there would be plenty of changes. Kelley O’Hara and Andi Sullivan, both of whom started in Colorado, will not start this match, as Andonovski said both are in return-to-play protocol as they overcome injuries that have nagged at them throughout an extraordinarily busy NWSL season with the Washington Spirit.

Andonovski said that Lindsey Horan would play, but as the Lyon midfielder came into camp after some time off, they don’t want to max out her minutes too quickly. On the other hand, NWSL stars like Alana Cook, Emily Fox, and Sophia Smith—who starred against Colombia, scoring two goals—will “probably get some rest in this game as well.”

Andonovski said that one player who isn’t on the W Championship roster—defensive midfielders Sam Coffey and Jaelin Howell, and left back Carson Pickett are the trio in camp that aren’t slated to go to Mexico—will start at Rio Tinto Stadium, but said he couldn’t announce the full starting eleven as he hadn’t told the team yet.

All in all, it seems like the USWNT is ready to apply the lessons from their first meeting to the second, a pattern that will likely play out in Group A next month, as Haiti and Jamaica are not expected to pursue a wide-open game.

“I think it’s just difficult to play teams like that,” said Huerta, summing up what the USWNT can take from these friendlies. “As long as we continue having hope that we’re going to get the goals and not get frustrated, I think obviously, no one can really keep up with us, if we continue to just go at them.”

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USWNT sees Colombia win as ‘good preparation’ for CONCACAF W Championship

The USWNT saw their friendly win as an ideal warm-up for qualifying

The U.S. women’s national team were made to work for a 3-0 win over Colombia Saturday night, overcoming some physical play and strong goalkeeping to eventually finish with a comfortable victory.

Perceptions around the USWNT mean that any 0-0 scoreline at halftime, as was the case at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, is met with a reaction from an expectant fanbase. Within the team, though, the response was to look at the situation as a positive.

“It’s not a secret that they were very much focused to not get scored on,” said head coach Vlatko Andonovski to reporters in a post-game press conference. “The main focus for us is going to be final third, different combinations, creating space and executing the opportunities that we create.”

Speaking to Fox Sports 1 following the game, Alex Morgan—making her first USWNT appearance since October 2021—said that playing Colombia’s low block was a good warm-up for the CONCACAF W Championship, where the expectation in at least the first two group stage games (against Haiti and Jamaica) is to face an opponent prepared to defend deep.

“It’s a good preparation tool for us,” said Morgan. “Them kind of having a five-back and really sitting back and kind of not allowing us to play through them, we might see that (next month), so it’s just a great game for us in preparation.”

Andonovski added that this was a good dry run for what the team will see in Monterrey in a little over a week. “That’s pretty much what we’re going to see going forward, with most of the teams that we’re gonna face in CONCACAF.”

A major story in this match was the goals that weren’t, with the USWNT seeing Catalina Pérez save penalty kicks in both halves, from Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle. Andonovski said that while he’d of course like to see those converted, he’s not too worried.

“Obviously, it’s a penalty kick, probably the best goalscoring opportunity you can have as a team,” said Andonovski. “Give credit to the goalkeeper, she did a great job, two good saves, and we’re definitely going to work on it a little bit more. We still believe that both Lindsey and Rose are very good penalty takers.” Andonovski also pointed out that at last year’s Olympics, he chose Lavelle to shoot first in the quarterfinal against the Netherlands, an attempt that successfully set the USWNT up to advance.

The USWNT coach also highlighted performances off the bench from Ashley Sanchez, Kristie Mewis, and Taylor Kornieck, who scored on her national team debut.

For Andonovski, it started with some halftime changes, including having Sanchez come in and play alongside Lavelle in a “double No. 10” arrangement. Sanchez was involved on the opening goal in combination with Lavelle, and later played the pass that resulted in Lavelle’s penalty kick after Morgan was taken down.

“I think Ashley Sanchez was one of the main reasons why we got a little more sophisticated in the second half, because she was able to eliminate players on the dribble,” explained Andonovski. “She was able to connect well with the players around her, and she also asked different questions from the defenders. (Colombia) had to adjust.”

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USWNT ‘has a plan’ in midfield heading into CONCACAF W Championship

Andonovski endorsed Sullivan, & adds that the USWNT has multiple approaches to defensive midfield

The U.S. women’s national team has begun its most important camp of 2022, with friendlies Saturday and Tuesday against Colombia as their only prep before the CONCACAF W Championship.

For the USWNT, that tournament will have major reverberations, as it serves as the qualifying process for both the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics in Paris. The standard with the USWNT has always been “beat everybody,” but the W Championship format is unforgiving. One slip-up could cost them a place at a major international tournament.

An area of focus since Vlatko Andonovski announced his roster for the camp is the midfield, where Washington Spirit captain Andi Sullivan is the only full-time defensive midfielder in the final group of 23 the USWNT will take to Mexico for the W Championship. Andonovski has called Jaelin Howell (Racing Louisville) and Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns), both of whom play the No. 6 role with their clubs, but they are at this point only available for the Colombia friendlies.

While Sullivan was indispensable as the Spirit won the NWSL championship last season, her campaign this year has been interrupted by injury. While her form has not been a problem—the Spirit are demonstrably better with her in games than on the sidelines—Sullivan has played around one-third of the available minutes in 2022 due to a calf injury.

Heading into the break, Sullivan played 60 minutes against Louisville, with Washington making a planned substitution to make sure she could continue progressing in her comeback from that knock. She has not played a full 90 minutes since a 2-2 Challenge Cup draw against the North Carolina Courage on March 30.

Speaking from Colorado ahead of Saturday’s friendly at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, Andonovski said the USWNT has “a plan going forward” for the base of their midfield.

“We do have a player at (defensive midfield) that we’re very comfortable with, and we feel like is gonna be very good for us, now and in the future,” Andonovski said in endorsing Sullivan, who has been by and large his first-choice midfield anchor over the past eight months. “Andi has been tremendous in camp, performing very well and we’re excited about her.”

Still, between an exhausting NWSL schedule and a W Championship that will require finalists to play five games in 14 days at elevation, it stands to reason that Sullivan will not play 450 straight minutes as the USWNT looks to qualify.

The demands for any defensive midfielder playing solo in the USWNT’s system are very high. Andonovski’s USWNT has high-pressed teams with regularity, which for a holding midfielder means calculating risks while keeping the group connected as they pursue the ball.

That approach was emphasized in Andonovski’s remarks on Friday. “One thing that we say when we’re without the ball is, we want to minimize the opponent’s time on on the ball,” said the third-year USWNT boss when asked about the requirements his playing philosophy comes with. “We have this one saying or term that we use: we attack without the ball. So, we don’t defend for our lives. We don’t defend our goal, we attack and that’s the mentality that we have.”

A pressing style, from a physical perspective, is the most demanding and draining way to play, and with the W Championship taking place in Monterrey (average July high temperature: 94.6 degrees), multiple solutions will be needed no matter how the USWNT wants to slice it.

Andonovski was coy about exactly what his other steps would be, but did make it clear that his team has multiple ideas to deal with the situation.

“We also have players that have had chances to play that position in their club environment in the past,” said Andonovski. Of the players in this camp that are on the final 23-player squad list for the W Championship, players with professional appearances in a defensive midfield role include Lindsey Horan, Emily Sonnett, and uncapped newcomer Taylor Kornieck.

Simply plugging one of those players, all of whom are regular starters elsewhere on the field for their clubs, into the lone No. 6 spot in his customary 4-3-3 formation is not the only solution on Andonovski’s mind.

“It may not be a single six, like in the case when Andi’s playing there,” explained Andonovski. “We might have to play (with a) double six, or something of a hybrid between six and eight, where two players will take the responsibilities.”

That likely points to a 4-2-3-1 formation, which would open up the door to some more natural fits. Horan plays in that set-up with Lyon, while Gotham FC midfielder Kristie Mewis has also had plenty of success as the No. 8 in that formation in the recent past. Sullivan has seen plenty of time in a 4-2-3-1 with the Spirit, while Kornieck is also familiar with the roles involved as the more attack-oriented player in a double-pivot.

Andonovski has shifted his team into a 4-2-3-1 in friendlies this year against Uzbekistan and the Czech Republic, so the groundwork has been laid if that’s the direction he wants to take. While a full-on formation change isn’t expected, there are circumstances—the group stage finale against Mexico on July 11, for example—where an extra player in the engine room may help protect a lead and keep games manageable.

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