U.S. Women's National Team
Rapinoe, Press Lead U.S. to 4-1 Win Over Switzerland
Two late goals created a lopsided scoreline and could give the impression that everything is hunky dory with Jill Ellis' side. That's not necessarily the case, says ASN's John D. Halloran.
THE UNITED STATES women's national team defeated Switzerland 4-1 in Cary, North Carolina on Wednesday evening in the first-ever match-up between the two clubs.
The U.S. opened the scoring in the third minute of play on a goal by Megan Rapinoe and increased the lead to 2-0 shortly into the second half with a Carli Lloyd penalty kick. Switzerland eventually got one back in the 70th minute on a penalty of its own taken by Ana-Maria Cmogorcevic. Cmogorcevic's goal also ended Hope Solo's attempt for the U.S. all-time shutout record, still held by Briana Scurry.
In the final 15 minutes of play, the U.S. pulled away on goals by Christen Press and the contest's third tally from the penalty spot, this one from Abby Wambach.
Here are three things we learned from the match.
Rapinoe's creative flair, excellent long-passing game, outstanding vision, and goal-scoring ability seem to make her a perfect fit for the No. 10 role. However, she also gave the ball away in the middle of the field on multiple occasions—something the 19th-ranked Swiss were unable to take advantage of. If those same mistakes had happened against teams like Germany and Japan, the teams the U.S. will likely need to beat to win a World Cup next summer, it is likely the U.S. would have given up several goals.
Rapinoe tends to take too many touches on the ball, something that gets her into trouble in the middle, and was sloppy with many of her short passes. Former Coach Pia Sundhage had tried Rapinoe in the No. 10 role when she moved the U.S. to a 4-2-3-1 between the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympic qualification. In that short-lived experiment, Rapinoe suffered from the same problem. Eventually, the emergence of Morgan as a partner for Wambach up top pushed the U.S. back into a 4-4-2 and the 4-2-3-1 was abandoned.
The match against Switzerland also revealed several other familiar themes with the U.S. in a 4-3-3. In the first few minutes against the Swiss, the U.S. dominated play with high pressure and a frenzied pace. However, once that initial energy wore off, the gaps in the U.S. formation opened up and Switzerland was able to find better spells of possession. For much of the first half, Morgan also seemed isolated as the U.S.'s central striker, although she did waste several opportunities with some uncharacteristic poor touches.
Crystal Dunn, who manned the left side of the U.S.'s defense on Wednesday, also repeatedly found herself trying to pick up two attackers. While Leroux did come back to help, it's unlikely that the U.S.'s wide forwards can track that far back over 90 minutes and still be expected to contribute to the attack. Dunn is one of the most athletic players in the entire U.S. player pool and if she can't handle playing on an island in a 4-3-3 without midfield help, it's doubtful the system can be made to work against top-notch competition.
At the half, Wambach came on for Leroux and the U.S. seemed to switch back to a 4-4-2 with Wambach and Morgan playing centrally with Press on the right and Rapinoe on the left (where she was, admittedly, much less involved). When Morgan came off in the 66th minute, Heather O'Reilly took up the space on the right and Press moved into the middle.
In the final 15 minutes of play, the U.S. pulled away on goals by Christen Press and the contest's third tally from the penalty spot, this one from Abby Wambach.
Here are three things we learned from the match.
A New Variation of the 4-3-3; Similar Problems
Against Switzerland, the U.S. came out in a 4-3-3 with Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd deployed as the holding midfielders and Rapinoe playing as the No. 10 underneath center forward Alex Morgan. The U.S.'s switch to a three-forward formation earlier this year has been a major source of debate among U.S. fans and, despite the flattering scoreline against Switzerland, many of the same problems continued. U.S. fans got a chance to see the best and worst of Rapinoe in the attacking midfield role. Early in the first half she was on fire, tearing apart the Swiss defense. In the third minute of play, she switched the point of attack with a pass to Leroux, who then fed the ball back to Rapinoe for the U.S.'s opening goal. In the fifth minute, Rapinoe put Morgan in behind the Swiss back line with a superb through ball and then, in the seventh minute, Rapinoe made an outstanding overlapping run on the right flank to get off a dangerous serve into the box.
Rapinoe's creative flair, excellent long-passing game, outstanding vision, and goal-scoring ability seem to make her a perfect fit for the No. 10 role. However, she also gave the ball away in the middle of the field on multiple occasions—something the 19th-ranked Swiss were unable to take advantage of. If those same mistakes had happened against teams like Germany and Japan, the teams the U.S. will likely need to beat to win a World Cup next summer, it is likely the U.S. would have given up several goals.
Rapinoe tends to take too many touches on the ball, something that gets her into trouble in the middle, and was sloppy with many of her short passes. Former Coach Pia Sundhage had tried Rapinoe in the No. 10 role when she moved the U.S. to a 4-2-3-1 between the 2011 World Cup and 2012 Olympic qualification. In that short-lived experiment, Rapinoe suffered from the same problem. Eventually, the emergence of Morgan as a partner for Wambach up top pushed the U.S. back into a 4-4-2 and the 4-2-3-1 was abandoned.
The match against Switzerland also revealed several other familiar themes with the U.S. in a 4-3-3. In the first few minutes against the Swiss, the U.S. dominated play with high pressure and a frenzied pace. However, once that initial energy wore off, the gaps in the U.S. formation opened up and Switzerland was able to find better spells of possession. For much of the first half, Morgan also seemed isolated as the U.S.'s central striker, although she did waste several opportunities with some uncharacteristic poor touches.
Crystal Dunn, who manned the left side of the U.S.'s defense on Wednesday, also repeatedly found herself trying to pick up two attackers. While Leroux did come back to help, it's unlikely that the U.S.'s wide forwards can track that far back over 90 minutes and still be expected to contribute to the attack. Dunn is one of the most athletic players in the entire U.S. player pool and if she can't handle playing on an island in a 4-3-3 without midfield help, it's doubtful the system can be made to work against top-notch competition.
At the half, Wambach came on for Leroux and the U.S. seemed to switch back to a 4-4-2 with Wambach and Morgan playing centrally with Press on the right and Rapinoe on the left (where she was, admittedly, much less involved). When Morgan came off in the 66th minute, Heather O'Reilly took up the space on the right and Press moved into the middle.
