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USA women blending experience and youth in march to World Cup quarters
The passing of the baton from the older generation to the young upstarts appears at first glance to be going smoothly for the U.S. women's national team.
Jul 4, 2011 12:07:00 AM
By Nick Rosano
Joern Pollex
This year’s Women’s World Cup has been arguably the most evenly contested in history, but that hasn’t stopped the United States women from strutting their stuff once more on the world stage. Already qualified for the quarterfinals and going into the final game of the group stage, the U.S. has progressively ratcheted up its level of play in first two games of the tournament, thanks in large part to the poise it has shown in midfield.
After a comfortable 2-0 win over North Korea featuring an efficient, skillful midfield, the team went one better Saturday morning, cruising past an overmatched Colombia side by a scoreline of 3-0. With more veteran hands in Lori Lindsey and Carli Lloyd steadying the midfield, Lauren Cheney and Heather O’Reilly are free to pester the Colombians with their incisive runs and accurate passing, opening up plenty of space.
“I’ve got a squad with real experience, but it also contains some younger players who’ve put in some great performances and made just the right decisions when called upon,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage, after the encounter with Colombia.
While both experience and youth are represented on the U.S. roster, the lineup Saturday leaned heavily on experience, with only Ali Krieger and Lori Lindsey having earned fewer than 40 caps for their country. What those worried about the future should take to heart, though, is that most of the young players that featured looked every bit as capable, if not more so.
The passing and creativity out of midfield looked crisp and organized, with some of the younger players providing plenty of energy to keep the Colombians pinned back in their own half for a significant part of the proceedings. The U.S.’s final total of 27 shots on goal (a tournament high) was a fairly accurate reflection of the team’s dominance and drew praise from Sundhage, who further remarked after the game, “I’m especially happy that we were able to create so many chances for ourselves.”
In addition to serving as another stage for younger players to show their worth, the game also served as a reminder that experience isn’t the magic formula for pushing your team over the top. Take veteran forward Abby Wambach, whose 118 goals for the national team should leave no doubt about her innate goalscoring ability.
Wambach was guilty of some particularly wasteful finishing on the day, missing some good chances in both halves, and hitting the post with what would have been a fourth goal for the U.S.
“Although it just wasn’t Abby Wambach’s day today, I’ve no doubt she’ll start knocking in a few goals soon,” said Sundhage.
It must be said, Wambach’s less experienced counterpart up top, Amy Rodriguez, did not have a particularly effective game either, missing some good chances to put the U.S. up early and being replaced at halftime by Megan Rapinoe. That move worked out to perfection, with Rapinoe rifling home a second goal for the U.S. as a newer generation of players helped to take control of the second half.
It may be a little too easy to get ahead of ourselves, though, and it would be a good thing for the team to remember, too. The U.S. has only played two matches, and will face its toughest opponent in Group C, Sweden, in the final round of group play. That match will serve as a much better benchmark and could truly expose the severity of some of the flaws that have started to pop up in the transition to a younger cycle.
For now, though, the team can take heart from what it has accomplished so far and knowing that even in the highest-pressure environments, youth can still be served.
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After a comfortable 2-0 win over North Korea featuring an efficient, skillful midfield, the team went one better Saturday morning, cruising past an overmatched Colombia side by a scoreline of 3-0. With more veteran hands in Lori Lindsey and Carli Lloyd steadying the midfield, Lauren Cheney and Heather O’Reilly are free to pester the Colombians with their incisive runs and accurate passing, opening up plenty of space.
“I’ve got a squad with real experience, but it also contains some younger players who’ve put in some great performances and made just the right decisions when called upon,” said U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage, after the encounter with Colombia.
While both experience and youth are represented on the U.S. roster, the lineup Saturday leaned heavily on experience, with only Ali Krieger and Lori Lindsey having earned fewer than 40 caps for their country. What those worried about the future should take to heart, though, is that most of the young players that featured looked every bit as capable, if not more so.
The passing and creativity out of midfield looked crisp and organized, with some of the younger players providing plenty of energy to keep the Colombians pinned back in their own half for a significant part of the proceedings. The U.S.’s final total of 27 shots on goal (a tournament high) was a fairly accurate reflection of the team’s dominance and drew praise from Sundhage, who further remarked after the game, “I’m especially happy that we were able to create so many chances for ourselves.”
Lloyd and Lindsay | Provide the midfield steel for the U.S.
In addition to serving as another stage for younger players to show their worth, the game also served as a reminder that experience isn’t the magic formula for pushing your team over the top. Take veteran forward Abby Wambach, whose 118 goals for the national team should leave no doubt about her innate goalscoring ability.
Wambach was guilty of some particularly wasteful finishing on the day, missing some good chances in both halves, and hitting the post with what would have been a fourth goal for the U.S.
“Although it just wasn’t Abby Wambach’s day today, I’ve no doubt she’ll start knocking in a few goals soon,” said Sundhage.
It must be said, Wambach’s less experienced counterpart up top, Amy Rodriguez, did not have a particularly effective game either, missing some good chances to put the U.S. up early and being replaced at halftime by Megan Rapinoe. That move worked out to perfection, with Rapinoe rifling home a second goal for the U.S. as a newer generation of players helped to take control of the second half.
It may be a little too easy to get ahead of ourselves, though, and it would be a good thing for the team to remember, too. The U.S. has only played two matches, and will face its toughest opponent in Group C, Sweden, in the final round of group play. That match will serve as a much better benchmark and could truly expose the severity of some of the flaws that have started to pop up in the transition to a younger cycle.
For now, though, the team can take heart from what it has accomplished so far and knowing that even in the highest-pressure environments, youth can still be served.
Follow Nick Rosano on
Follow Goal.com on
to get the latest soccer news directly. Check out Goal.com's page; be part of the best soccer fan community in the world!
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