AUCKLAND, New Zealand â The U.S. ladies have a wealth of skill on their bench.
Utilize it.
The pre- World Cup criticism of coach Vlatko Andonovski’s lineups and replacements was restored after Thursday’s frustrating draw with the Netherlands And not mistakenly. Andonovski made one alternative â one! â in the video game, and he left Lynn Williams on the bench when her offending opportunism and protective perseverance might have been the difference-maker as the USWNT went after an objective over the last thirty minutes.
Now the two-time protecting champs are dealing with a must-win video game â OK, a tie works, too, however a win would be much better â versus Portugal in Tuesday’s group-stage ending.
” I believed we had control of the video game, and I believed that we were knocking on the door of scoring an objective,” Andonovski stated. “We were around the objective the entire time and I simply didn’t wish to interfere with the rhythm at that point. Since in some cases a replacement can be found in and it may take a minute or 2 to enter into a rhythm and we simply didn’t wish to endanger that.”
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This isn’t a travel group competition. It’s the World Cup, and the Americans have a few of the very best gamers worldwide If they’re not prepared to come in and make an instant effect, then why are they even here in the very first location?
Plus, you believe seeing a Williams or a Megan Rapinoe or an Alyssa Thompson would not have flustered the Dutch?
Netherlands coach Andries Jonker might have been getting a little ahead of himself when he questioned the Americans’ physical fitness in an interview with ESPN ahead of the video game and asked, “What is left of their supremacy? Let’s see about that.” However when Andonovski has actually spoken about the space closing on the USWNT, he’s stated that occurred long earlier. That the USWNT won the 2015 and 2019 World Cups and 2012 Olympic title due to the fact that Jill Ellis and Pia Sundhage had the ability to discover methods to separate the Americans simply the smallest bit from everybody else.
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” They discovered a method to press this group and get the requirements a bit greater and press them that 1 additional percent to get them on the top or keep them on top,” Andonovski stated last month. “It is our duty to do the exact same now in this competition, push this group for the additional 1 percent to be the very best or to remain the very best.”
And?
It was something for the USWNT to look stodgy in the leadup to this World Cup. The Americans remain in the middle of a generational shift, and Andonovski required to try out lineups and various gamers to see what would work and what would not.
The USWNT likewise needed to rush to fill holes left by injuries to leading scorer Mallory Swanson (knee) and center back stalwart Becky Sauerbrunn (foot).
However unforeseen injuries occur. The Americans sure aren’t going to get much compassion from England, which lacks 3 of its finest gamers. Or Australia, which saw star Sam Kerr dismissed for a minimum of 2 video games at the start of the competition. Or France, which lost Amandine Henry after it was currently down Marie-Antoinette Katoto and Delphine Cascarino. Or … you understand.
It is Andonovski’s task to discover the very best puzzle pieces and the proper way to configure them, and if it’s not working, to make modifications.
Like other USWNT coaches have.
Ellis may be among just 2 coaches to win 2 World Cup titles, however fans growled about her tactical options at the 2015 competition up until yellow-card build-ups required her to change for the quarterfinals. The USWNT discovered its groove and, 3 video games later on, was raising its very first World Cup prize given that 1999.
Andonovski has actually revealed he can adjusting. He returned Julie Ertz to center back after Sauerbrunn’s injury, despite the fact that Ertz had not played the position on a constant basis given that 2017 and had actually been out for more than a year and a half after the Tokyo Olympics. He made Williams a starter for 2 video games in Tokyo after she had actually been an alternate on the initial lineup.
He is all however particular to return Rose Lavelle to the beginning lineup as quickly as the medical personnel raises her minutes limitations.
However when Andonovski required to make strong relocations versus the Netherlands, he played it safe. That’s not the method to win a World Cup.
It’s a method to get beat.
Follow U.S.A. TODAY Sports writer Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour.