instant reax: uswnt v. japan

Blessings come in all forms, and with Korbin Albert reposting herself to a spot on the bench (though not for the entire game), Lindsey Horan filling a deeper role left room for Jaedyn Shaw to finally playas a number 10. Further facilitating the possibility was the return of Mallory Swanson, who would reclaim her left forward position after injury kept her out for 364 days.

When the lineup dropped I may or may not have squealed.

USWNT (4231)
Naeher; Nighswonger, Davidson, Girma, Fox; Coffey, Horan; Swanson, Shaw, Rodman; Morgan

Japan (4231)
Yamashita; Moriya, Minami, Kumagai, Shimizu; Nagano, Tanikawa; Fujino, Hasegawa, Seike; Ueki

All the hype, and hilariously the air from a stadium filled with 50,644 people (a record), when Japan scored after abooooooout thirty-one seconds lmao.

1’ GOAL - Kiko Seike

Japan showed the world how incredible they can be, with or without the ball, and are capable of punishing any mistake. A heavy early touch from Swanson allowed Japan to swarm her and take possession.

But there were plenty errors after that. The USWNT clearly had a gameplan to push high and press Japan to disrupt their in-possession game, and had their entire backline with their toes near the halfway line. Two quick passes away from pressure allowed Momoko Tanikawa and Kiko Seike to link up.

One pass over the top exploited space between and behind Jenna Nighswonger and Tierna Davidson and Seike hit a sweet shot that smacked the inside of the far post and went in. Playing a high line with high pressure is dangerous, especially if everyone isn’t at full concentration. More robust counterpressure, and more awareness of runners in behind by Nighswonger and Davidson could have snuffed that chance out before it came to Naeher.

Or, ya know, you could just call up Sarah Gorden who has a history of erasing mistakes that lead to attacking players breaking through the backline.

Luckily for the USWNT, the old ‘scored too early’ clause applied and they weren’t forced to change their gameplan. Which limited Japan’s buildup and chances for the majority of the game.

And then…

21’ GOAL - Jaedyn MF’n Shaw

Jaedyn Shaw is just a tremendously smart and skilled player. Whomst strikes a central shot from outside of the box that flummoxes a keeper so much that they don’t even move. Jaedyn MF’n Shaw, that’s whomst.

This goal also happens because of Sam Coffey, who had yet another excellent game. She anticipates an opportunity to rush in from behind and steal possession high and does so cleanly. As she dribbles forward she drifts centrally and collapsing defenders leave a gap that both she and Shaw read.

This is a perfect example of why pressing should be a key component for the USWNT. Let’s not hide from who we are, these are mostly NWSL players, they want to run and they want to be physical. Pressing frees them and places them in a gameplan that is a) familiar, and b) hell to cope with.

Postgame, Japan coach Futoshi Ikeda noted that the high pressure pushed them away from their plans A and B, and noted how difficult it made progressing the ball out of defense.

Halftime 1-1

46’ SUBS - Japan
Kiko Seike, Miyabi Moriya, Momoko Tanikawa OFF
Toko Koga, Hina Sugita, Maika Hamano ON

While the USWNT made no subs, Japan brought on Hina Sugita and Maika Hamamo, which is yet another reason why I love watching them so much. They are deeply committed to the sauce, a team after my own heart.

There were some nice combinations with Shaw at the center, who was now being targeted for pressure and kicks by Japan. She was still effective and moving the ball quickly set up a shot for Horan. Rodman also got behind the line for a 1v1 chance via a ball over the top by Horan, but the shot was saved by an outstretched leg from Yamashita.

63’ SUBS - USWNT
Emily Fox, Trinity Rodman, Jaedyn Shaw OFF
Soph Smith, Emily Sonnett, Casey Krueger ON

Soph Smith came into the game turnt up to a million. She was reclaiming possession with her press and doing her Soph thing of scaring the hall out of defenders by dribbling directly toward the box.

69’ SUBS - Japan
Riko Ueki OFF
Mina Tanaka ON

76’ PENALTY - USWNT

It didn’t take long for Soph to cause Japan a serious problem. In the 76th minute she split two defenders on the dribble and was dragged down very close to the box. If this competition had VAR there’s a chance they would’ve spotted this outside of the box, but it wasn’t available, the referee pointed straight to the spot and that was that.

77’ GOAL - Lindsey Horan

Soph Smith created, Lindsey Horan dispatched.

79’ SUBS - USWNT
Sam Coffey, Jenna Nighswonger, Alex Morgan OFF
Korbin Albert, Crystal Dunn, Catarina Macario ON

They very much snuck these subs on in the aftermath of the penalty, which seemed intentional and was a shame because Catarina Macário deserved a moment unmarred by Korbin Albert stepping onto the pitch at the same time. When the subs were finally bellowed to the crowd by the PA announcer, minutes later, Albert got about a half and half smattering of boos and applause. Such is this country.

87’ SUBS - Japan
Aoba Fujino OFF
Hinata Miyazawa ON

The USWNT actually ended the match with an interesting lineup as they tried to deflate the game and make it to the final whistle without incident.

But things didn’t quite go that smoothly. Japan was able to get possession to stick higher up the pitch and their movement in the final third made for some nervy moments. Alyssa Naeher made sure she claimed every ball into the box and eventually the final whistle came after five minutes of stoppage time.

FULL TIME: 2-1, USWNT

Japan are a very dangerous team to play, as eventual World Cup champions Spain found out in the group stages (a game that I was at and will always bring up at every opportunity). For the USWNT to stick to their gameplan and press them off their game for the majority of 90 minutes is impressive.

The ability to fight back from a goal down that early is impressive as well. Despite the uncertainty of where the foul actually occurred, it would be hard to argue that they didn’t deserve a second goal.

However, that’s not always how games go, and creating and finishing from sequences in open play is important. There were opportunities not only to take the lead prior to the 77th minute penalty, but to even add another goal or two. Some shots were rushed, and some opportunities to make a critical pass went begging. A bit more patience in the final third will help, which a player like Catarina Macário might fix once she’s 90 minutes fit.

All in all, it was a dope game though. There were several Trin Spins™, all of which delighted the crowd, returns to the pitch for Mallory Swanson (who looked like the Mal we all remembered) and Macário.

The only massive blemish was the sneaking on of Korbin Albert, who has seemingly had zero consequences for her reposting of harmful homophobic and transphobic rhetoric, and her liking of a post that wished injury on Megan Rapinoe. It’s difficult to know what’s happening internally, but there was enough there that contradicted not only what this team has represented to the world, but also directly targeted – in multiple ways – a former legend of the team.

Seeing her take to the pitch in the next available game is a disappointing message from Twila Kilgore and U.S. Soccer.