USWNT Plagued by Familiar Issues in Women’s World Cup Win over Colombia

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: June 23, 2015

commentComment        

The United States advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Colombia on Monday night in Edmonton. It was a third win in four matches for the Americans, but once again the team will have major concerns about its midfield and attacking play.

In addition, progress came at a high cost. Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday both drew their second yellow cards of the tournament and will be suspended in the quarterfinals, where the U.S. will play China on Friday in Ottawa.

That's seriously bad news for the U.S. Rapinoe, a wide midfielder, has been the team's best, most creative attacking player throughout the tournament.



But as Kevin McCauley noted at SB Nation, it could be a positive development as well. Central midfield has been a mess for the Americans in all four games so far, and Holiday's absence will force coach Jill Ellis to consider other options:

Holiday and Rapinoe are great players, but missing them for the quarterfinal against China might be beneficial for the Americans, in two very different ways. In the case of Holiday, coach Jill Ellis might find out that Morgan Brian or Shannon Boxx is a better central midfield option going forward. And in the case of Rapinoe's absence, the U.S. will have to start attacking as a team instead of relying on one player to create everything.

Attacking as a team is something the U.S. simply has not done in this tournament. That was true again Monday night. By now, the pattern is so well worn that the major points could have been predicted before Monday's game.

Build-up play looked disjointed. The midfield failed to fully connect. The flow of play between lines lacked cohesion. Too often the U.S. relied on long balls lumped up top rather than passing patiently and probing for weaknesses.

On the positive side, however, the defense was impenetrable once again, and the Am...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

Latest News


Comments

Comments are closed.

Sponsors

Bruins Tickets The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Red Wings Tickets The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League.

Penguins Tickets The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New York Rangers Tickets play their home games at Madison Square Garden, they are one of the oldest teams in the NHL, having joined in 1926 as an expansion franchise, and are part of the group of teams referred to as the Original Six.

San Jose Sharks Tickets The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California, United States.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

New Jersey Devils Tickets The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

Washington Capitals Tickets The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C.

Buffalo Sabres Tickets The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League. Get the Sabres and all of your NHL Tickets here.

NASCAR season is on of the most attended sports in the world. NASCAR Tickets to the best tracks is a must every year. Some of these tracks are: Talladega Tickets, Lowes Motor Speedway Tickets, Pocono Raceway Tickets, located in Ridgeway Virginia you have Martinsville Speedway Tickets and southern US you have two of the most popular Atlanta Motor Speedway Tickets and Texas Motor Speedway Tickets. Don't miss all the racing events this year!

Boston Red Sox Tickets The Boston Red Sox are a member of the Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Since 1912, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park. This is one of the hottest MLB Tickets sales of any team in the major league.

New York Yankees Tickets The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of the Bronx, in New York City, New York and are a member of Major League Baseball's American League East Division. Get tickets to one of the hottest games of the season Yankees Red Sox Tickets.

Chicago Cubs Tickets The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League.

Phillies Tickets The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883.

Orioles Tickets The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Do you love wrestling? Get your WWE Tickets and WWE Survivor Series Tickets today!