The United States The women’s national team kicked off their 2023 campaign with a Blowout 4-0 win against New Zealand on tuesday. The lopsided four-goal victory was a mixed result of two halves as the USWNT nabbed all four goals in the second half of play. The team will close out the two-game series against New Zealand on Friday in Auckland at Eden Park.
The game presented a bit of preseason rust for the USWNT in the first half, but substitutions later in the game provided some much-needed energy to get the win. Let’s take a look at the biggest questions facing this team:
Can they avoid the slow starts?
Whether it’s a failure to execute the game plan, finding solutions for players in various positions on the pitch, or just plain offseason form — the team were no strangers to slow starts during 2022. The first game out the gate for 2023 proved no different. until strong individual performances snapped the slow tempo. The individual talent among the team has still paved the way for important victories in the build up to the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
Unfortunately, the lack of urgency in games has become a common trend for the team under head coach Vlatko Andonovski. The ever-present 4-3-3 formation often finds the USWNT needing time to develop a meaningful attack, and with New Zealand organized in their 4-4-2, the team failed to generate much in the middle even with the majority of possession. . Thankfully a mutual lack of attacking play on New Zealand’s part kept things scoreless in the first half.
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What can be done in the middle?
In an attempt to find solutions in the middle third, the coaching staff slotted Taylor Kornieck into the defensive mid role against New Zealand. Andonovski referred to the change on a pregame segment with HBO MAX as “an opportunity for us to try something different,” although the concept of sticking your tallest player in the role isn’t exactly a unique answer.
It’s been a long glaring hole in the system in an attempt to replace Julie Ertz, the former no. 6 who has been out with injury and then on maternity leave. The unanswered question has now trickled into the long absence of Sam Mewis in the no. 8 roles for the team. The constant rotation of the defensive midfielder position is also perhaps a disservice to those who have since been asked to fill the position. Andy Sullivan has been a frequent player in the role but the coaching staff has utilized Kristie Mewis and Lindsey Horanamong others.
Kornieck’s strengths lie in her value higher up on the pitch. We have seen the evolution of her moving away from a lower role with Orlando Pride to that of an attacking mid in head coach Casey Stoney’s system with San Diego Wave FC. A disjointed first half against New Zealand against an organized opposition led to very different touch maps for Kornieck and Sullivan.
Can the coach get the game-changers full of confidence?
Trinity Rodman has been involved with the senior national team pool ever since her rookie season in NWSL back in 2021. The winger has very slowly been incorporated into matches and has primarily featured in an off-the-bench role, mainly when the team is in need of a spark. The opportunities have been few and far in between, with two goals in 11 appearances with the team, but her presence has often provided a fresh set of legs with rapid touches at her feet. Her second-half substitution against New Zealand led to two assists, on both the opening goal and closing goal of the game.
Ashley SanchezRodman’s teammate with the Washington Spirit, has also been brought on for the team as a late-game option over the last year. Sanchez has the ability to be a linking player within a strong counter-press for the team who can break lines with the quickest of touches. Both skills have been an asset but haven’t been utilized over 90-minute spans often, so perhaps that changes for the team with six months left to prepare for the World Cup.
If Rodman and Sanchez remain as options off the bench, perhaps they are potential “locks” for the national team as possible game-changers with the World Cup on the horizon. As more players make their return from injuries, more players will be rotated out, but Rodman and Sanchez will make those roster decisions difficult with their impact on games, especially if they continue along this current path.
Lynn Williams‘Return to the team after a 10-month absence due to surgery on her hamstring is already an early example in 2023 of long-time players reclaiming their roles. Williams will still need time to reacclimate into playing a full 90 minutes but is already on her way after scoring against New Zealand on Tuesday. With the SheBelieves Cup set to kick off in February, there’s a possibility that more injured players could make returns, making a crowded player pool more narrow.
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