USWNT head coach Jill Ellis will need to figure out how to get more goals out of her team.
by Debby von Winckelmann
The U.S. women’s national team won the 2018 SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday night, with a 1-0 victory against England at Orlando City Stadium in Florida.
And, although people often say: “A win is a win” – this really wasn’t one. This was a gift. It was a victory claimed because a cross by Megan Rapinoe deflected off of England defender Millie Bright and then goalkeeper Karen Bardsley for an own goal in the 58th minute of the game.
U.S. head coach Jill Ellis made a few changes to the lineup due to some nagging injuries to starters from earlier games. Most notably, Crystal Dunn started at outside back on the left, a position she played years ago, before moving to the front line, while Emily Sonnet started at outside back on the right, and Allie Long started in the midfield.
The U.S. did a good job of keeping possession for the better part of the game, but their performance in the final third fell short. In the 43rd minute, Rapinoe crossed the ball into the box, but Carli Lloyd just couldn’t get to it. Mallory Pugh had an impressive run just before halftime, getting past England’s Demi Stokes and then across the top of the box, but sent her shot wide left.
Defensively, center backs Tierna Davidson and Abby Dahlkemper passed the ball back and forth to each other, and back to goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, as England applied pressure. There were a few times when they held the ball a bit longer than necessary and it felt like they were on the edge of disaster, barely getting a pass off before an English foot could disrupt it.
There wasn’t much going on in the midfield and nothing coming through it. Several times, Dahlkemper sent long balls over the top to the forward line, but those didn’t result in chances or goals.
The best chance for England came in the 87th minute on a set piece, when Ellen White’s header hit the inside of the post and was cleared out of danger.
England finished the match without a shot on goal.
Despite a young and inexperienced back line, and an inconsistent goalkeeper, the Americans allowed only one goal in this tournament. The defense was certainly of concern, heading into this tournament, and yet, they held tight.
Meanwhile the U.S. managed to get off eight shots in the final match, but only two of those were on frame. This raises the familiar question: With all of the incredible talent on this team, why aren’t they scoring goals?
The Americans managed to raise the SheBelieves trophy after scoring just two goals in the tournament – the same amount as Germany, who came in last place, and the same amount of own goals that England scored. And still, that was good enough to win a tournament that featured four of the top six teams in the world.
But, is that good enough moving forward as teams prepare for the World Cup? For Ellis and the women’s national team, the question has to be: How does the U.S. improve before the rest of the world does?
