USWNT head to Paris Olympics with question marks in attack

United States women’s national team boss Emma Hayes said she wanted better decision-making and execution before the goal in the Americans’ final match against Costa Rica before they head to the 2024 Olympics.

Instead, it got a scoreless draw in which the USWNT took 26 shots and had 80% possession. hinges Hayes said after the match that the team played in an ultra-low block – a 4-2-3-1 “Christmas tree” – that blocked channels and demanded accuracy from the Americans that never came.

“Listen, if you play the game of percentages or averages, we’re creating more and more high-quality chances and we’re getting numbers in key areas, we’re getting touches in key areas,” Hayes later said reading Opta Stat about his team’s 67 touches in Costa Rica’s box without scoring.

“The last part is the hardest part. And I’m really patient, because I’ve coached teams that have to break barriers, and that’s the hardest thing in coaching. If we didn’t create the situations tonight, yes, I probably would have. Say something different, but I really liked the intention of the team to keep going with it.”

Despite the statistical dominance, the USWNT scored fewer expected goals against Costa Rica (1.82, according to TruMedia) than it did in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Mexico (1.94), which was the “last game” Hayes was referring to.

Tuesday’s game was played in blistering heat (the heat index at kickoff was 106 degrees Fahrenheit), and it was a farewell match, which can often produce some excellent performances from teams. Still, the lack of end product from the USWNT over the last 180 minutes is a concern, not because of this, but because it’s a reminder of past problems.

The Americans struggled to get into last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, and the issues that arose in the build-up to that tournament came to the fore as the U.S. bowed out in the Round of 16 in its worst performance at a major tournament . That was a different team, with a different coach — and Hayes’ goal is long-term development — but the question of when things will click in front of the net remains fair and pressing a week before the Olympics.

There is plenty of individual talent on the roster, an undeniable truth about the 2023 World Cup squad, and there have been moments of magic brought about by the collective group.

The late-game combination of Trinity Rodman, Mallory Swanson and Sophia Smith moments after the trio entered the field in the June 4 win over South Korea is proof of that. All three of those players have been in MVP-caliber form for their National Women’s Football League clubs.

For the USWNT, the combination game is a work in progress, not only between the front three, but for the collective as well. The USWNT’s best moments in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Mexico came in transition. Developing that ethos will require more time than the USWNT’s four games under Hayes before the Olympics.

“Yeah, we need to be more clinical, I don’t need to state the obvious,” Hayes said. “But I think you’ve done about half a dozen training sessions total since I became your coach, I think it’s a pretty good return so far.”

Midfielder Rose Lavelle was ruled out of the lineup late after warmups on Tuesday by US Soccer due to “foot tightness.” Laval’s creativity was sorely lacking in tight spaces against the opponent’s low block, a timeless statement that applies to many matches in recent years. Lavelle’s rise with the USWNT in 2017 coincided with the USWNT’s inability to solve the low blocks at the 2016 Olympics.

Corbin Albert replaced Lavelle and played in an attacking midfield role alongside Lindsay Horan, and the US made probes but never found success.

Rodman, Smith and Swanson took turns weaving past their defenders to reach the endline within the opening 12 minutes, but found opposing bodies – or goalkeeper Noelia Bermúdez’s hands – in the path of their crosses or shots.

The most cohesive offensive moment of the first half and perhaps the match came in the 37th minute, when a series of USWNT passes from the left ended with defensive midfielder Sam Coffey lofting the ball at the back post for Horan, whose right foot bounced. Make contact only to see the ball bounce slowly off the near post.

It was a rare attack down the left side for the USWNT. Jenna Nigswanger, who has emerged as the team’s starting left full-back, was absent from Tuesday’s match as part of load management ahead of the Olympics. No player has risen to greater prominence in the Hayes era than Nighswonger, whose first call-up to camp came in late November, following Hayes’ appointment (but not official arrival) to the team. She had started eight of 11 USWNT matches this year through Tuesday. In his absence, the USWNT changed its stance.

When she is on the field the Americans often create possession by pushing Nighswanger high to the left in a half-winger role. However, without him on Tuesday, the Americans leaned heavily to the right, so much so that the average position of Swanson – who started the match as a left winger – was well inside Smith’s in the opening 45 minutes.

#USWNT Often favoring buildouts to the left side with Nighswonger, but they are putting so much weight on the right side tonight (without him) that Swanson’s average position is actually so inside Smith’s average position that they have been reversed. This isn’t entirely new, but it’s much more pronounced. pic.twitter.com/KNa414lf9H

– Jeff Kassouf (@JeffKassouf) 17 July 2024

“That’s how it is,” Hayes said to full-back Emily Fox early in the first half, as picked up by TNT’s microphones. Hayes was talking the ball to Rodman in wide areas. It was on, as were other opportunities, but the USWNT’s final product fell short again Tuesday.

Hayes switched to a 3-5-2 in the second half to try to find more pockets in attack, and the USWNT looked lively but still couldn’t find success.

Caution and context are especially needed in send-off games. There is a strange mix of experimentation and injury prevention – against the potential anxiety felt by players before a major tournament – ​​that makes the result almost secondary.

All those unusual circumstances apparently make for more mundane fairs. There have been bad farewell games before, including a scoreless draw with South Korea before the 2015 World Cup. The United States won that tournament, the first of two consecutive World Cups.

The landscape has changed substantially since then, as Hayes regularly reminds the world. The Americans are not favorites at this Olympics and the group of Zambia, Germany and Australia will challenge them every step of the way. There have been plenty of signs of progress under Hayes’ leadership, counting her time overseeing the team from afar in the spring with interim coach Twyla Kilgore. Hayes pointed to the variety of challenges Mexico has faced recently, from individual marking to various defensive blocks.

However, Hayes said again Tuesday: “We have to be patient.”

Tuesday was another exercise in that challenge.

“The low block is the toughest game for any team in football to play against,” he said. “I think the thing for us to keep in mind is that if we keep creating chances in the right areas, keep getting numbers in the box, keep getting as many touches as possible in that area, those goals will come. I’m sure of that. ”