Tag: Tournament of Nations

USWNT v Japan: One Last Chance to Save Face

Posted on by RJ Allen

The USWNT’s final Tournament of Nations match will pit them against a familiar rival on August 3rd: Japan, the #7-ranked team in the world. The match will take place at 10pm ET on August 3 at the StubHub Center in Carson City, CA, where the US last faced Romania in November 2016 and netted an exciting 5-0 win. Fans can catch the game on ESPN2.

The Lineups

Jill Ellis has called up an interesting mix of veteran and new players for the Tournament. While she’s said that GK Alyssa Naeher will start all three matches, it might be nice to get Jane Campbell some minutes in a high-pressure game like this, especially as it seems like she’s being groomed for the #2 spot.

  • Goalkeepers: Alyssa Naeher, Jane Campbell, Abby Smith
  • Defenders: Becky Sauerbrunn, Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara, Julie Ertz, Abby Dahlkemper, Casey Short, Taylor Smith.
  • Midfielders: Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Morgan Brian, Allie Long, Samantha Mewis, Margaret Purce.
  • Forwards: Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Christen Press, Sydney Leroux, Mallory Pugh, Lindsey Horan, Lynn Williams.

Players who were not called up due to injury or other reasons include: Tobin Heath (back), Meghan Klingenberg (other), Rose Lavelle (hamstring), Ashlyn Harris (quadriceps).

Japan is a little bit of an unknown entity right now, which could work in the US’s favor as easily as it could work against them. They had a rough 2016, losing several long-term players and failing to qualify for the Olympics. But Coach Asako Takakura (hired in 2016) is confident in her team, especially in the four players who could potentially earn their first cap in this tournament: GK Saitoh, DF Sakamoto, MF Haji, and FW Tomari. “This time,” she said, “I want the matches to have two different main things: broaden the team’s capacity and improving the team’s strengths.” If Japan manages to succeed, they’ll be a formidable opponent, for sure.

  • Goalkeepers: Ayaka Saitoh, Sakiko Ikeda, Ayaka Yamashita
  • Defenders: Aya Sameshima, Miho Manya, Riho Sakamoto, Hikari Takagi, Ayumi Oya, Hikaru Kitagawa, Nana Ichise
  • Midfielders: Mizuho Sakaguchi, Madoka Haji, Rumi Utsugi, Emi Nakajima, Hikaru Naomoto, Yu Nakasato, Rin Sumida, Yui Hasegawa
  • Forwards: Shiho Tomari, Yuika Sugasawa, Kumi Yokoyama, Mina Tanaka, Yuka Momiki

Notable players out due to injury: Kaede Nakamura

The History

In the past five years, Japan has played a major role in the US’s drive for excellence, facing them in three major tournament finals: 2011’s WWC in Germany, 2012’s Summer Olympics in London, and the unforgettable 2015 WWC final in Canada, where Carli Lloyd dashed Japanese hopes of back-to-back World Cup victories in just sixteen short minutes. Overall, the US is 26-1-7 against Nadeshiko Japan and has scored 97 goals to Japan’s 25 against them. 

The last time the US played the Japanese women was in June 2016, as they geared up for Rio. The Japanese did not qualify for the tournament but traveled to the United States for two summer friendlies in the last month before the US team headed down to Brazil. It was the first time they’d played each other since the WWC final in 2015, and Japan was eager to show that their absence from the Olympics was a fluke, and not due to a talent vacuum in the wake of several retirements. The teams drew 3-3 in the first of two friendlies, but just three days later in Cleveland, OH, the USWNT defeated Japan with a 2-0 victory.

The Match

The United States need to win this match–and win with a high goal differential–in order to have a chance at coming in on top in their home tournament. And even then, they’ll need Australia to lose to Brazil. Luckily for them, they’ll be coming in on a high note after a fabulous nine-minute and three-goal drive at the end of their match against Brazil. Unfortunately for them, however, coach Jill Ellis has continued to experiment with formations, and neither Japan nor the fans will have any idea what to expect when the Starting XI is announced on Thursday. (Becky Sauerbrunn at Defensive Mid? Really?) In order for the US to find any sort of rhythm in this game, they’re going to need to play fluidly and intelligently. And they’re going to need to get on the scoreboard as early as possible while keeping a tight defensive line. Both of these things have proven complicated for the team in their first two games of this tournament, so we’ll see how well they can adapt and regroup for their final match-up.

Japan will be coming in frustrated, held to a 1-1 draw against Brazil and a 2-4 loss to Australia. They set their defensive pressure too high against a volatile Australian offensive–i.e., Sam Kerr–and they paid for it. Kerr destroyed their backline, breaking through time and time again, and capitalizing three times. While the US’s offense hasn’t been as dynamic as Australia’s in this tournament, if Japan leave that much space between their pressure and their keeper, eventually the US will find a way to get behind and make a play for the net. This Japanese team is experiencing the same kind of transition to a new era as the US, and that can be painful. But experimentation can have unexpected (if sometimes irreproducible) results. In the end, all either team will need is a lucky break to build their confidence, and they’ll be off to the races.

US supporters will want to watch for Christen Press. Press has been on a roll for her club, the Chicago Red Stars, and once she came onto the field against Brazil the entire tone of the game changed. She found the net in the 80′ minute, just seconds after Brazil’s final goal of the match, and sparked a nine-minute scoring spree for the US that gave them the unexpected but not unwelcome win. Ideally, I’d like to see Press in the Starting XI, but even if she’s a second-half substitute, the dynamic will shift in the US’s favor the moment her boot hits the pitch. 

Fans of the Seattle Reign will recognize midfielder Rumi Utsugi, of course, who signed with Laura Harvey’s team in 2016. But one player to watch will be veteran Aya Sameshima, who was a member of that 2011 Women’s World Cup winning team and scored a goal in the 2015 WWC in a match against Cameroon. Sameshima’s talent on the backline could spell disaster for a US attack that has struggled to find the net against upper-level opponents in recent memory. Combine that with the scoring potential of Japan’s Kumi Yokoyama, who’s scored 11 goals in 20 appearances for her national team, and the US’s final match could be their most difficult. 

USWNT struggle again, Australia take full advantage

Posted on by RJ Allen

You know that saying “it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish?” Well that certainly was the case for the United States against Australia on Thursday night in Seattle in front of a cool 15,748 people. The first 15 minutes were solid from the Americans, showing wave after wave of pressure on the Matildas, with veteran midfielder Megan Rapinoe leading the effort.

The next 60 minutes, however, were a different story.

I will admit, I thought Australia put out a better lineup and they had the right personnel on the field. And though the Americans are ranked #1 in the world, their performance was far from it. Every position was make-shift; starting with the defense consisting of Becky Sauerbrunn, Abby Dahlkemper, Casey Short, and newcomer Taylor Smith. While they were solid for most of the night, the eventual game winner to Tameka Butt for the Aussies was from two poor attempts at clearing the ball. Mishaps we don’t often see from a United States backline.

I noticed we were passing it back to keeper Alyssa Naeher quite a bit. Several passing combinations between the keeper and the backline had fans gasping for a breath with the uncertainty if it was going to cost us a goal or not. Luckily it did not, but it could’ve easily produced a goal or two with how close the always-dangerous Aussie Sam Kerr was getting.

The midfield was an area that really struggled to find cohesion and rhythm all night. The lone bright spot was Rapinoe, who was racing up and down the flanks, creating opportunities for herself and the team alike and pressuring when she thought necessary. It was a relief in my eyes to see her bring her NWSL form to the National team after a spell away. Her fellow mids sprayed a few passes here and there but for long periods of time I forgot who was on the field in the midfield. Sam Mewis, Allie Long, and Mallory had a few quality moments throughout but for the majority it was disappointing.

Up top for the USWNT were Christen Press and Lindsey Horan, two players who are playing quite well for their respective NWSL clubs, Chicago and Portland. But they couldn’t find the right chemistry and when they did, Australian keeper Lydia Williams was up for the task.

Watching this American team on Thursday night, it was no secret there was some disconnect but Jill Ellis is still in her experimenting stage so in the future it could be something that works. I don’t want to take one game and use that as the sample size because that would not be fair. But at some point, when do we figure it out? I thought that point would be the SheBelieves Cup back in March, but here we are at the end of July and once again, we’re on the bottom of the table.

When Jill Ellis started bringing on the substitutes, I thought maybe our tactics would change, (you know, building an attack from the back, putting more players in the box) but I was wrong. Now in the last 10 minutes, sure, we showed some serious quality in our movement but that was due to being down and having that dreaded sense of urgency on home soil. Carli Lloyd, Kelley O’Hara, Morgan Brian, Crystal Dunn, and Alex Morgan all arrived later in the second half. Lloyd almost found an equalizer but once again Williams stood tall in goal against her Houston Dash teammate. Morgan and Dunn made their presence felt, pressuring the backline and pushing the ball forward with great pace but nothing to show for either.

Overall it was a lackluster performance from a team that continues to struggle at home, now having lost a total of three matches this year compared to three matches from 2001-2016. While we may be experimenting in nearly every position, it’s not pretty to watch. With this caliber of players, the talent we have in this country, it’s hard to imagine a scenario where we continue to lose in tournaments and something doesn’t give before the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

Tournament of Nations? More like Tournament of What-Ifs for the United States.

Clash of Titans: The USWNT vs AusWNT

Posted on by RJ Allen

The #1-ranked United States Women’s National Team will open the Tournament of Nations against a familiar opponent, Australia (#7). They have a record of 25-0-2 against the Matildas and will be looking to stay undefeated. The match is set for July 27 at 7 pm on ESPN and will be played at CenturyLink Field in Seattle.

 

The Lineups

Head coach Jill Ellis will be experimenting as has become the status quo for the US team. Her call-ups feature plenty of veterans, with a few newer faces and a small sample of youth as well.

  • Goalkeepers: Alyssa Naeher, Jane Campbell, Abby Smith
  • Defenders: Becky Sauerbrunn, Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara, Julie Ertz, Abby Dahlkemper, Casey Short, Taylor Smith.
  • Midfielders: Carli Lloyd, Megan Rapinoe, Morgan Brian, Allie Long, Samantha Mewis, Margaret Purce.
  • Forwards: Alex Morgan, Crystal Dunn, Christen Press, Sydney Leroux, Mallory Pugh, Lindsey Horan, Lynn Williams.

Some notable players are currently unavailable due to injury, including Tobin Heath, Meghan Klingenberg, Rose Lavelle, Ashlyn Harris.

Australia is a dangerous team because they have two things that I love: youth and speed. It’s no secret they have always embraced their young talent Down Under and head coach Alan Stajic has continued to do just that. The Matilda’s ToN roster has an average age of 24, with two 17-year-olds (Ellie Carpenter and Princess Ibini) rounding out the bottom, while the oldest is Lisa De Vanna at 32.

  • Goalkeepers: Lydia Williams, Mackenzie Arnold.
  • Defenders: Clare Polkinghorne, Steph Catley, Laura Alleway, Alanna Kennedy, Caitlin Cooper, Ellie Carpenter, Gema Simon.
  • Midfielders: Katrina Gorry, Tameka Butt, Elise Kellond-Knight, Emily Van Egmond, Chloe Logarzo, Alex Chidiac.
  • Forwards: Sam Kerr, Lisa De Vanna, Hayley Raso, Emily Gielnik, Princess Ibini.

Notable players out due to injury; Kyah Simon, Michelle Heyman.

 

The History

The last time these two powerhouses met was back in 2015 at the opening match of Group D in the Women’s World Cup in Canada. Rapinoe led the Americans to a 3-1 win by scoring a brace while Press also contributed a goal in the second half. The United States would go on to win their third star while the Matildas reached the quarter-finals but would go no further thanks to eventual second-place Japan.

In 2016 the tables turned a bit for both countries in the Olympics. The Americans would crash out of the tournament in the quarterfinals (the earliest exit in history) while Australia took a devastating loss to Brazil (again on penalties) in the quarterfinals as well. Both teams had high expectations but were eliminated from the Games in stunning fashion. 2017–for both teams–has been a year of experimenting and figuring out how to prepare for the next major tournament as the cycle begins again, the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France.

 

The Match

The United States will want to put on a better performance than their last home tournament, the She Believes Cup back in March, where they took fourth behind France, Germany, and England. They made a better showing last month in their first overseas friendlies in years, when they managed 1-0 wins over Norway and Pia Sundhage’s Sweden last month. Australia surely feel the same need to prove something after they finished third in the Algarve Cup in March with a shocking loss to Denmark in penalties.

Players to watch for both U.S and Australia will be Megan Rapinoe and Sam Kerr. Rapinoe has been in remarkable form for her NWSL side Seattle Reign, scoring a league-leading 12 goals, including a hat-trick on July 22 in a thrilling 5-4 in over Sky Blue. Kerr has equally been impressive with Sky Blue, netting 11 goals so far this season. Rapinoe and Kerr will surely give the opposing defense some challenges if they can translate their NWSL club play onto the international stage at this tourney.