The Concacaf W Gold Cup isn’t a World Cup or an Olympics, but it is a new tournament with (thanks to CONMEBOL) potentially new opponents for the USWNT. Emma Hayes is still months away from taking over as coach but there’s a lot of work that still needs to be done between now and then.

Interim manager Twila Kilgore began her tenure by copy/paste-ing the last successful setup for the team: a 4231 that players evidently insisted upon themselves. Since, similar elements have remained but with slight tweaks. This tournament should be a chance to expand even further.

elefante en el cuarto

Some believe the narrative that the problem with the USWNT has been the newer, younger faces on the team who supposedly haven’t “earned” their spots or grasp wind sprint culture. So when Ali Krieger weighed in with comments about Emma Hayes’ upcoming tenure potentially rooting out “entitlement”, some looked toward the group of relative newcomers.

However, my read is that the entitlement comes down to more veteran players. Lindsey Horan, Alex Morgan, Kelley O’Hara, Emily Sonnett and even Megan Rapinoe haven’t had to fight for their place on the team for multiple cycles. I believe if we apply the truth serum hypothetical, it would become quite clear who’s more in favor of full meritocracy.

This isn’t to say that Horan, Morgan and Sonnett don’t have roles to play on the team, but it is to say that they’ve held positions of prominence that their performances haven’t always earned. This is a big part of the reason why the USWNT is, in 2024, still trying to attempt and complete a transition that should have been executed prior to, or after, the 2020 Olympics (played in 2021).

will the midfield midfield

The player-led shift to 4231 worked simply because midfielders were in spaces that midfielders should be. Not every player was in a space most suited to their abilities (thinking of Emily Sonnett spending a lot of time at the top of the box for no reason), but some is better than none.

While that’s better, it’s obviously not good enough. The group of midfielders listed to go to the W Gold Cup are decent, but are thin on the dynamism required to link the midfield to the attack. There are defensive mids (Sam Coffey & Emily Sonnett), probable 8s and/or duals 6s (Lindsey Horan & Korbin Albert), and attacking mids (Rose Lavelle & Olivia Moultrie).

Despite randomly starting multiple games at the World Cup, Savannah DeMelo was only named to the training squad. And this is where my concerns exist. There’s not a lot of creativity among the group, and Rose Lavelle is the only dynamic dribbling threat from midfield, but shouldn’t be expected or relied on to play each 90. Moultrie is a clever passer but without the experience to truly be relied upon, whereas Shaw is a more incisive passer and is primed to take the next step within the team.

It’s broken record time but it remains true, Crystal Dunn and Jaedyn Shaw are midfielders, and each with a profile that is lacking among the group of midfielders. Unless Kilgore surprises me and shifts Shaw or Dunn into midfield I’m not sure the midfield unit has the consistent dynamism they need to consistently unlock defenses in a tournament setting.

Korbin Albert is an intriguing player, and hopefully the idea is to use her a box-to-box midfielder. She’s been playing defensive mid at PSG, which feels like a waste given her shooting ability, but might’ve been a blessing that allows the USWNT to utilize her as an 8 rather than an attacking mid.

Still, some variation in how the midfield operates would be nice to see. The team seems comfortable in the 4231 from a defensive standpoint, but can they add the ability to attack centrally and not just along the wing? Can they find the cohesion to work in the team’s traditional 433? If they go back to a 433, without Sam Mewis and a prime Julie Ertz (or Ertz replacement, which Jaelin Howell could be), how will they divide the roles and responsibilities?

Overall my sense is that the midfield is missing some dynamism and versatility that other selections could have brought, feels like a bit of a missed opportunity. But there are other camps upcoming, including a SheBelieves tournament. How this group performs will likely tell Hayes & Kilgore whether they have a core to build upon, or if they need to expand their search.

defense wins championships … unless you don’t score

Defensively, I’m not terribly worried. The team has a strong defensive presence, particularly with the development of Naomi Girma. There’s still the question of who will claim the spot beside her, but with Alana Cook having to pull out due to minor injury (replaced by MY captain, Becky Sauerbrunn), we probably won’t settle on an answer this tournament.

Sam Staab’s sudden move to Chicago likely meant it would’ve been unfair to pull her away for key weeks with a new team, but the passing range and variation of a Staab-Girma CB pairing is something I hope we get to see soon. As far as the fullbacks, Emily Fox and Casey Krueger are extremely solid options on the right, while Crystal Dunn (who shouldn’t still be playing left back) and Jenna Nighswonger provide lots of unique ability in attack along that flank.

Along the flanks there’s potential for a few fun linkups. Crystal Dunn and Jenna Nighswonger are familiar with playing together, and Casey Krueger and Trinity Rodman were undoubtedly working on their chemistry in Spirit camp prior to joining the national team. I’m kinda hype about the potential of Krueger/Rodman, because Krueger' is defensively solid enough to allow Rodman to remain higher up the pitch, and affords the width to help Rodman receive the ball closer to goal.

With the midfield likely lacking the ingredients or tactical setup to truly cook teams centrally, the fullback/winger/forward combinations will likely be quite important. The good news is that both flanks are strong, and should be one of the most difficult space for opposing teams to defend.

new attack who dis

Despite Alex Morgan scoring twice for the national team all of 2023 and not at all at the World Cup, she has a resumé younger players haven’t had the opportunity to build. Without her in a tournament squad for the first time in quite a long time, there’s likely to be a microscope on the forwards taking over.

I’ve posited for a while that they’re ready, and have been, as long as the style of play complements what they do best.

In the case of Mia Fishel – the only pure center forward in the group – she’s excellent at holding up the ball, and loves playing intricate passes in and around the box. Throughout her young career Sophia Smith has shifted from winger to central striker, which could work brilliantly alongside Fishel.

If Smith functions as an inverted winger/second striker the right flank would be open for Krueger or Fox to bomb forward and get involved. Also, Trinity Rodman or Lynn Williams could be afforded the benefit of preying on spaces vacated by a narrow defense.

Smith will have to shake off her uncharacteristically poor finishing at the World Cup, and I would like to see Rodman not get pinned too deep and to find more favorable angles to shoot, but this attacking group is talented and versatile enough to morph into something that can bother any defense. If the U.S. is forced to build primarily down the wings, forwards will have to consistently convert the low to mid quality chances that come from whipping the ball in from wide areas, as opposed to through balls that allow them to threaten more centrally.

The addition of Colombia and Brazil make this tournament much more intriguing that it would be if it was just Concacaf. However, if Bev Priestman can get Canada back on track, and if Mexico can get Diana Ordóñez scoring consistently, there could be a handful of teams capable of going on a run to win this tournament.

It’s unavoidable to escape focusing on the USWNT in terms of only results, and despite back-to-back poor international tournaments they’ll be favored to lift the trophy March 10. However, in order for this tournament to have the greatest impact, those in charge should focus on growing the tactical approach, and finally being serious about completing the transition that’s waned since 2021.