The USWNT played to a scoreless draw Saturday against Korea Republic in front of a sold out crowd at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ in the team’s final send off match before the start of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Two notable events on the night, one positive, one not so much as the USWNT had never played in front of three straight sellouts on home soil; it was also the first time since 2008 that the team was held scoreless at home.
After a solid game against Mexico in which the U.S. played well in the first half and dominated the second, Jill Ellis was forced to make a few lineup adjustments. With Megan Rapinoe out with a minor thigh injury (US Soccer reported Rapinoe being withheld as precautionary), Christen Press took up the left flank and Abby Wambach started up top alongside Sydney Leroux.
In the previous match, the U.S. did a great job of keeping possession and balancing quick, combination play with a more direct style that plays to Wambach’s strengths. In this match, the U.S. went a more direct route, looking to find Wambach or utilize the speed of Leroux but were unsuccessful with either avenue, as South Korea did a great job in intercepting and clearing away those long distance attempts.
This offensive strategy was something that Ellis noted needed improvement on, specifically the need to return the style of play successful against Mexico. “I don’t think we moved the ball well enough and I don’t think our mobility off the ball was conducive to having a really high tempo passing game and that’s what we talked about at halftime was that we’ve got to move more for each other and be less direct”.
South Korea, on the other hand, had significant possession at least in the first half and while they did not put forth any real threat, certainly spent much of the early stages of the match in the attacking third, something the U.S. had not seen from them in the past. In fact, this South Korea team was all around a much stronger team than has previously faced the U.S; the last time the teams met, they came away with a 5-0 victory.
Though an overall unimpressive display, especially on the attacking front, there were some glimpses of the quick play that the U.S. has found success with in the past. There were some longer balls to Leroux that she was able to chase down and attempt to create an attack with, and there was a nice series of quick passes between Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd and Leroux that was promising, but the U.S. came across the same issue they faced in the first half against Mexico, finishing.
There were several moments throughout the match when the U.S. managed to get it right and had the ball in what would be considered potentially dangerous locations, right in front of the goal even, but could not put a shot on target. When they did, they lacked shot placement. While the South Korea goalkeeper had a few great reactionary moments, most of the shots on goal were directly at her and posed little threat, whereas the two attempts from South Korea made Hope Solo work to keep the ball out of the net.
Overall, it was a disappointing end to the team’s send off series and there was discussion on social media about the team playing it safe and potentially being distracted by all the pre-World Cup press preceding this match; something Ellis acknowledged post game.
“We had tons of chances in the last game, I think this is a game that players, not saying they are in survival mode, but a lot of is we want to go in healthy. They have had a long week, it’s been a long week here in terms of just mentally and physically. I thought physically, we looked a little leggy, but its time to put all the circus behind us and get up to Canada and recharge our batteries and be ready to go.”
While that is true, the team did have a long week leading up to game day, the match against South Korea raised some of the concerns that have been a focus in recent weeks. In the absence of Rapinoe, why move Press to the outside instead of using an option like Tobin Heath or Heather O’Reilly? Also, when all the forwards are healthy, what will Wambach’s role be on the team? When she came in as a sub last match, the team did well to integrate her into the match and utilizer her effectively. As a starter, not so much. Ellis reiterated that she sees Wambach as both a starter and someone who can come off the bench depending on the situation.
Speaking of healthy forwards, Alex Morgan did not play in Saturday’s match. At Wednesday’s USWNT media day, Morgan assured the media that come June 8th her knee will 100% not be an issue, and while that might be true, match fitness and readiness will be. Having not played in a competitive match since the Thorn’s NWSL opener on April 11th. It is likely she will see limited minutes during the first few U.S. matches up in Canada which makes the starting forward situation just a bit more interesting as the team has seen a number of combinations utilized in the lead up to the Women’s World Cup.
The USWNT takes on Australia in their first group match of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup on Monday, June 8, 2015 at 7:30pm ET on Fox Sports 1.
