The USWNT defeated Colombia 2-0 Monday night to secure a spot in the quarterfinals where they will face China on Friday in Ottawa. Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd were the goal scorers on the evening.
The match, which was significantly more challenging than most anticipated, certainly had its talking points as it contained two penalties, a red card and subsequent goalkeeper change, as well as a very rough first half which left many USWNT feeling anxious and frustrated to say the least.
Jill Ellis opted to keep the same lineup as the previous match against Nigeria where the team came away with a 1-0 victory, though the team certainly did not initially look like a team that has recently secured a win.
The US had a couple of good chances early in the first half, forcing Colombia’s goalkeeper to make some clutch saves. It even appeared that the US took an early lead when Abby Wambach followed up on a rocket from Tobin Heath and put the ball in the back of the net, but was offside on the play.
The rest of the first half was, for lack of a better word, rough. Time and time again, the US would attempt the serve a long ball in toward Wambach and Alex Morgan but the precision and timing never hit the mark. Play through the midfield was disorganized and the US gave the ball away on several occasions, allowing Colombia the chance to mount an attack.
Even the defense, which has been an absolute wall throughout this tournament, seemed somewhat taken aback but the speed and intensity in which Colombia came into their defensive third. They were able to handle what was thrown at them, but did not pressure the Colombia offense as perhaps they should have with a team of that nature. The end of the first half left many fans concerned about the outcome of this match.
While the first half was worrying, the second was much improved. There was better play through the midfield and the quality of passing and through balls increased significantly, especially service to Morgan. Megan Rapinoe sent a ball from the flank that found Morgan streaking across the middle of the field with the speed and intensity that has been somewhat missing since her return to action. Morgan charged at the Colombia goalkeeper who came out to challenge at the edge of the box, but got very little ball and a whole lot of Morgan.
The US was awarded a penalty and Perez was sent off, bringing in their third string goalkeeper to face the penalty right off the bench. What should have been a 1-0 US lead did not come to pass as Wambach’s penalty went wide left and missed the net completely, keeping things level.
The score would not remain that way for long though, as the US made good on some quality passing on the right side of the field. Ali Keiger received the ball right outside the ball and swiftly passed it over to Morgan who took a quick touch toward the goal and shot it near post. The goalkeeper got a piece of it, but the ball deflected behind her and into the goal giving the US a 1-0 lead.
Colombia, to their credit, toughed it out the best they could with 10 players. They kept the US at bay and were able to still generate some offense of their own; maintaining good possession and putting forth a few potentially dangerous efforts in front of the US goal.
Reckless defending was their downfall, however, as the US were awarded their second penalty of the night when Rapinoe was tripped up inside the box. Carli Lloyd took the penalty this time and was able to convert on a quality shot, giving the US a 2-0 which would be the final score.
While the US was able to pull it together enough to advance to the quarterfinals, many are questioning just how long it will be until the kind of performances that the team has been giving stop being enough. It has been pretty clear that for whatever reason, the US has not been playing up to their potential, and the match against China could prove more challenging than expected.
The US will go into the quarterfinal match missing Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday who both received their second yellows of the tournament against Colombia and will have to sit out the match against China. This leads to problems in an already problematic midfield and brings up the question of who will start and in what formation?
It would seem like a safe bet to assume either Morgan Brian or Shannon Boxx would start for Holiday and, depending on that, either Brian or Christen Press would start in Rapinoe’s place. The problem with that, of course is that neither Brian or Press really play well on the wing. Press looked good off the bench during the Colombia match and it would be interesting to see her potentially play up top with Morgan, which is unlikely if the US stay in a 4-4-2.
Another option, which would allow that to happen, is if Ellis were to start Heather O’Reilly opposite Tobin Heath. That is a scenario that probably makes the most sense, however, for whatever reason, Ellis has been willing to put just about anyone else out there but her.
The US also could, and perhaps should move to a 4-3-3 which would help out with the midfield personnel concerns as well as get some speed up top to challenge what has been a very solid and stingy China defense. One thing is for sure, whether its in a 4-4-2 or 4-3-3, the US attack, which has been lacking this entire tournament, is going to need to kick it into gear as China often has almost a kind of “park the bus” mentality and will be potentially very hard to score against. This quarterfinal match could very well be a strongly defensive match up.
The US will face China on Friday June 26 at 7:30pm ET from Landsdowne Stadium in Ottawa, ON.
