Ready for gold: Rampant USWNT defeat Mexico in final Olympic tune-up

The U.S. women’s national team is ready for the Olympics. 

Vlatko Andonovski’s side finished their pre-Olympic friendly schedule by defeating Mexico 4-0 on Monday, looking every bit like a team prepared to win gold in Japan.

They will face tougher opposition at the Olympics, but the USWNT has successfully taken on any and every challenger under Andonovski thus far. The coach has won 22 and drawn one of his first 23 games in charge, the best start for a coach in program history. 

The only thing left for Andonovski to prove is how he’ll handle the spotlight of a major tournament. Based on his track record thus far, he’ll be up to the challenge.

Here are three takeaways from the win over Mexico.

USWNT is now fully healthy – outside of Ertz 

Tobin Heath went a long way toward answering questions about her health in Thursday’s game against Mexico, scoring within one minute of her first match since December . Any remaining concerns were squashed on Monday as the forward started and was at her stellar best, providing an outrageous assist on a Christen Press goal that was wrongly called offside before later scoring one of her own. 

Rose Lavelle, meanwhile, was another minor injury concern for the U.S. after she injured her ankle in last month’s friendly win over Jamaica . Lavelle started and played the first half against Mexico on Monday, her first minutes since the Jamaica match.

Crucially, there were also no further injuries in either of the team’s two send-off friendlies with Mexico. Lindsey Horan was seen icing her knee after her withdrawal but Andonovski said after the match it wasn't a concern.

That leaves one major concern remaining: Julie Ertz, who hasn’t played since May due to a knee injury and was unable to play either of this month’s friendlies against Mexico. With just over two weeks to go until the Olympics start, the clock is ticking. 

Andonovski experiments with Horan

With Ertz injured, Horan has been Andonovski’s first choice to deputize at the holding midfield role. On Monday though, the coach took advantage of the low stakes to move one of his most talented and versatile players all over the pitch. 

Horan started out in a forward role alongside Carli Lloyd and that setup paid immediate dividends when Lloyd’s header found Horan for a thumping volley to open the scoring in the sixth minute. 

From that point Horan settled into her No.6 role but was also utilized as a defender when the U.S. was in possession, allowing outside backs Crystal Dunn and Kelley O’Hara to move high up the pitch. 

"She's a total footballer," Andonovski said of Horan after the game. "She understands the game, knows the game. Regardless of what position she plays she's going to do well and she showed that today. She had to change her role in different times in the game in different ways.

On Horan's goal, he added: "That's a next-level finish."

Lloyd continues to find the net

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Alex Morgan appears to be entrenched as the starting striker but Lloyd continues to push her all the way. 

Lloyd scored in both matches against Mexico, netting a first-half header on Monday after a great cross from Crystal Dunn. 

The 38-year-old has successfully reinvented herself as a forward late in her career. She may not start every game in Japan, but Lloyd will be a major factor nonetheless.