The Concacaf W Gold Cup ended with the USWNT lifting the trophy after a 1-0 win over Brazil. Outside observers may ho-hum at another USWNT triumph in Concacaf, but there was a lot more to this competition than that. Now that it’s done, let’s look at what was and wasn’t accomplished by the USWNT in this tournament.

Like any list of quick tips to providing constructive criticism one might find on the internet, I’m going to use the compliment sandwich method. Which, honestly, is poorly named. I’m a big fan of most breads but have never had a sandwich in which the star wasn’t what’s in between. To be honest this clear of an error removes credibility from the purveyor of nonsensical metaphors or untrustworthy sandwich reviewer that came up with this.

Anyway, while I contemplate that, here are USWNT thoughts for you.

uh, they won

Spend any time around the average American sports fan and you’ll quickly hear that winning is the only thing that matters. By that measurement, job done for the USWNT. But it goes deeper, exorcisms were performed and much needed moments of catharsis were experienced.

What happened with the USWNT at the 2023 World Cup was the final – and loudest – collision of a slow moving train wreck that had been flinging shrapnel since the previous Olympics. By the time all pieces had been scattered, the U.S. managed their worst ever finish to a World Cup, and a lot of players had to pick up pieces of their confidence (some, not with the team at this tournament, still are).

This W Gold Cup wasn’t your typical Concacaf tournament because 1) big name CONMEBOL teams were invited to the party, and 2) Mexico is finally legit on more than just paper, and gave the U.S. their only loss of the tournament. So rather than the U.S. coming to Concacaf to heal their wounds, the structure of this competition made it a viable setting to begin building toward a narrative of redemption.

In addition, there were also the chaotic occurrences along the USWNT’s path, like the battle royale with Colombia and the remake of Waterworld against Canada in a semifinal.

In this tournament, Alex Morgan equaled her USWNT goal tally from all of 2023, Lindsey Horan scored the winning goal in the final, Sophia Smith scored against Canada and dropped to her knees in relief, and Rodman’s on-pitch energy kept the xDawg high at requisite levels at all times.

Smith also took and scored per penalty while Naeher scored (again) and made three definitive saves in their first shootout since the phantom millimeter that ended their World Cup run against Sweden in the round of 16. My issue with ‘winning is the only thing’ is that it ignores context, with context wins can be meaningful beyond the story a hunk of metal sitting in a cabinet can tell.

attack still needs a software update

Mia Fishel’s ACL tear is the sad occurrence that underpins this entire section, which truly does suck. Still, USWNT decision makers had options. Bringing in Alex Morgan was the most obvious decision, but it didn’t have to automatically coincide with a reversion to old tactics that didn’t fit the rest of the attacking unit, or overall squad.

By tournament’s end, Morgan had started four of six matches, including every knockout round game. This resulted in a downshift in what was previously expected from a fresh unit full of young players, and often left the USWNT attack struggling to find cohesion between incongruent styles and speeds of play.

This was starkly noticeable in the final against Brazil, where their high line and high not-quite-wingbacks wingbacks left lots of space that a speedy, aggressive attack would feast on. Instead, Alex Morgan, with Lindsey Horan often alongside her as more of a second striker than no. 10, played as central targets to holdup the ball or win headers.

In the sequence above the USWNT forced a high turnover with Lavelle gaining possession in a dangerous area, and with plenty of space for the U.S. to exploit. Except their two highest and primary attacking threats, Morgan and Horan, didn’t move. Instead, Lavelle was forced to hold the ball for six entire seconds before finally being dispossessed by Brazil. When she was dispossessed, Horan and Morgan were still standing in exactly the same position.

The U.S. finally made it work, with Horan nodding in a looping 30+ yard cross from Emily Fox for the game’s only goal, but that is not an easily replicable pattern of play, and horrible plan A.

With the attacking talent available we can, and should, be trying to do so much better. As much as it pains me to type, an ACL injury is not a short-term injury, so the process of prioritizing a style of play more conducive to the team’s young forwards must begin prior to Fishel’s return. And one opportunity has already been missed.

a new midfield appears

Members of the Sam Coffey Hive finally got what they wanted and the shirt-tuck menace delivered. It took until the knockout rounds for Kilgore to try it, but once the Coffey-Albert double pivot started cooked against Colombia, there was no reason to change.

They were solid defensively and each showcased their pressing and passing abilities to keeping the ball moving forward once it was won. They also proved to be quality complements to one another, each flashing the athleticism and aggression to cover space and frustrate quality opposition. In fact, Lindsey Horan’s aforementioned trophy-winning goal doesn’t happen without Coffey being first to a loose ball and feeding a perfect pass to Rodman.

As for Albert, I wasn’t completely sold on PSG’s idea to play her deep. However, she’s performed well for them and has now transferred that form to the national team. At Notre Dame she was known for scoring absurd long range goals with either foot, and now she’s spending a lot of time on the other side of the halfway line.

But she’s adapted well. She covers a lot of ground, and is growing in her defensive recognition and passing ability. Prior to PSG, Albert seemed destined to join the plethora of players in line to become the attacking midfielder of the team’s next era. Now she has a profile of skills the USWNT need more than another no. 10 getting in line to join the party. Paris St. Germain I must simply thank you for your service.

There’s also, hopefully, much more to come from both. Coffey and Albert spent their college careers playing higher up the pitch so they can probably offer more in possession and attack if given the freedom to do so. Now that Hayes and Kilgore have learned they can trust them defensively, I’m looking forward to seeing their roles expand at SheBelieves.

the no. 10 is still undecided, i hope – nay – pray

In order to preserve the Coffey-Albert double pivot and still have captain Lindsey Horan in the XI, Kilgore shifted her into the CAM role. The concern with this long-term is that there are lots of ultra talented creative number 10s in the player pool (Rose Lavelle, Catarina Macario, Jaedyn Shaw, Ashley Sanchez, Savannah DeMelo, and Olivia Moultrie), and nary a one should be stuck behind Horan.

We’ve already discussed the disconnect in the tempo of play in attack, but it wouldn’t exist if a true central attacking midfielder was in that space instead. Particularly Jaedyn Shaw, who ended up adding to her scoring streak and winning the tournament’s Golden Ball.

It is true that a key part of a team is an ability to control and dictate tempo, but the player tasked with putting their foot on the ball and slowing things down is rarely the central attacking midfielder, for obvious reasons.

While Horan found the perfect time to score her first open play goal of the tournament, it’s tough not to wonder if an attacking unit playing at the same speed would have made the game easier – particularly given the space in behind Brazil were conceding. It’s also worth being honest about the increase in production a true creative midfielder might have had with the same targets throughout the tournament.

girma-davidson for the mf’n win

Prior to the tournament the list of things that needed to be worked on was extensive, but high on it were finding midfield solutions and the right center back partner for Naomi Girma. With respect to The Dahlkemper, who probably caught a stray from the Mexico game, Tierna Davidson seems closest to securing the spot.

A healthy Tierna Davidson is a terrific player to have, and complements Girma’s game in both profile and demeanor. There’s intelligence and a dutiful edge to their play. When the pair are on their game, they can create one hell of a gauntlet for opposition attackers.

In possession they’re qualified passers with solid range, and are comfortable on the ball. Brazil attempted to test Girma’s calm on the ball early, and despite a couple nervy moments, the previously free-flowing and free-scoring finalists ended the match with zero shots on target. In fact, the pair started four games, only gave up one goal (in which Jordyn Huitema dunked on Emily Fox), and only conceded an average of two shots on target per game.

There will be more varied and clinical attacks to corral in the future, but Davdison-Girma performed well enough to be the default pair to face them when they come. Which should be soon. Like, next month. At SheBelieves versus Japan. If they can handle that, we’ll be cookin.

en conclusioné

Personally, I would have liked a stronger commitment to implementing new patterns of play and a reliance on younger players. Prior to Fishel’s injury, that seemed exactly what we were setup to do. These could also simply be the pains of waiting six+ months for a head coach to be hands-on and fully focused on bigger changes.

SheBelieves is next, and while I believe the team learned the valuable lesson of how to navigate matches that are tricky for non-soccer reasons, they didn’t exactly pass the one combination of quality opponent + quality gameplan they faced.

Though I would have preferred a deeper commitment to transitioning attacking play and the forward line, it probably just felt good to bring the joy of winning and sloshing champagne, Truly, or apple cider around in celebration. Sliding stomach-first across a locker room floor doused in various alcoholic beverages is probably a thing a lot of players needed to experience in a national team shirt again.

attackingthird

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