US Women Find Offense Against a 4-5-1

As November departed and consumed USA Women’s National Team fans with trepidation and waves of blizzards encompassing most of the nation, a wonderful cycler event began to transpire. Underneath the frozen terrain, perhaps, yes perhaps, seeds of offense began to sprout for the US Women.

Anticipation and pure giddy excitement has begun to engulf my soccer tactical logic. Why? Based solely on highlight feeds (I know…dangerous to analyze highlights) the USA has created more intelligent offensive movement since the World Cup Qualifying closely contested matches. Over winter, like many soccer fanatics, I wondered if the USA could ever find their way out of an opponents 4-5-1 (or similar) formation. Our midfield lacked poise, control, and creativity. Our defense at times (despite not yielding numerous goals) appeared panicked, angered, and often resulted to simply clearing balls rather than developing an attack. The strikers, well, the strikers seem tired and frustrated running after numerous 50/50 balls. The USA game was played primarily within the center of the pitch. Ugly. 

Coach Pia Sundhage knows offense—at least I am convinced she does. However, many fans were becoming impatient. US women soccer fans fail to comprehend losing. US Women’s Soccer, UCONN Women’s basketball, New York Yankees, LA Lakers—these are all teams that win year in and year out. So when the US Women were on the verge of not qualifying based on “one” loss, it became news. As a more intelligent soccer fan, the lack of the USA understanding how to play against a 4-5-1 became my news. Pia went to work.

While many soccer experts were rightfully pointing out Pia’s change and experimentation with the defensive back four, another storyline was developing to coincide with the defensive exploration. We found width! Could it be that the USA will no longer be “boxxed” in the midfield (forgive me, could not help myself) against teams that wish to close out our central space?

Watch the highlights from the Iceland match on the USWNT website. Viewers are consumed with overlapping runs, balls played out to the flanks, and several US attackers crashing the goal on slotted balls. High pressure, patience, creativity, and smiles.  Highlight videos make me feel good. Megan Rapinoe and Heather O’Reilly controlled the flanks with confidence. Rapinoe was patient, composed, and timed her crosses perfectly. Soccer was fun again.

April 2^nd will provide a clear picture on the USA’s progress. The match against England is to be televised (as of now) thanks to ESPN2. Until then, USA players and fans will continue to allow their confidence to grow.

US Women defeat Costa Rica

Defeating Costa Rica 3-0, the US Women’s National Team finished the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament scoring a total of 21 goals while only conceding one. Despite this impressive stat, the US finished in third place and must now defeat Italy on aggregate to proceed to Germany next summer.

With elimination on the line, the US looked poised and relaxed against Costa Rica. Coach Pia Sundhage had urged her team to attack using the flanks while playing in their 4-4-2 formation. Costa Rica was able to suppress the outside attack during much of the first half. Again, lack of US outside midfielders and defenders failed to challenge one versus one situations on the flanks which created a more direct central US attack. The US caught a break in the 17^th minute when Lauren Cheney’s shot managed to catch Costa Rica’s goalie wrong footed.

Sporting a blue head band that covered her recent stitches earned during the Mexico match, Abby Wambach scored her 116^th international goal in the 33^rd minute with a picture perfect left footed volley. Wambach scored goal number 117 early in the second half to ensure the US victory.

Despite easily defeating Costa Rica, the US will face a more difficult Italian side in Italy on November 20 and again in Chicago on November 27. The winner will be decided on aggregate, which means that the team which scores the most goals will advance to the Women’s World Cup.

For a preview of the Italy-USA match, including info on Italy, please continue here: USWNT V ITALY
USWNT post match quotes

What can we learn from the CONCACAF Women's WC qualifying? Part 2

As discussed in part 1, the CONCACAF World Cup qualifying tournament is providing viewers with a glimpse into the Pia Sundhage era of US soccer. What is exciting about the current US women’s team is the emergence of young exciting players developing within Pia’s system while still experiencing playing with battle-tested legends such as Abby Wambach and Kristine Lilly.

What can we expect offensively from the US in next years World Cup? Watch Alex Morgan. I believe she will be the next generation’s superstar. From what I have seen, she has a solid technical strike on the ball. Her shots are powerful and accurate. She has tremendous speed even when she has the ball at her feet. She possesses the basics of one v one skills that most of the players lack.

Although Morgan has only been used as a sub recently, she has created a much needed offensive spark during these matches. Morgan provides the creativity and danger that is otherwise lacking within the US game. The October 6 match against China may have provided an exciting foreshadowing of the USA’s offensive future. Abby Wambach and Alex Morgan worked in tandem with natural ease resulting in an important goal.

Let's face it. Abby Wambach needs Alex Morgan. The fast technicaly savvy style of Alex Morgan is a perfect match paired with Wambach’s physical and dangerous presence If Morgan becomes a threat--will opponents dare to double team Wambach and allow Morgan to be free? This tandem could perhaps become even more dangerous than Hamm and Akers.

I am hoping that Pia will allow Morgan to be a substitute for Lauren Cheney or Amy Rodriguez rather than for Abby Wambach as was the case against Costa Rica. In time we will know for sure, but as of now, Morgan is exciting to watch.
click here to read part 1

What can we learn from the CONCACAF Women's WC qualifying? Part 1

As the US Women’s National Team cruises through the CONCACAF Women’s World Cup qualification tournament, it becomes difficult to breakdown the strengths and weaknesses of the team as it prepares for next summer’s World Cup. Despite frequent matches in which the US were not displaying their true offensive power early on, heading into the semi-finals, the US has outscored their opponents 18-0.

Despite being reduced to watching the tournament on-line with a camera angle which provides sub-par tactical viewing, I have to acknowledge that Coach Pia is clearly leading this team in the right direction. When hired as head coach, Pia challenged the offense to be more creative and comfortable in aggressive one versus one soccer. To the average soccer fan, especially our friends on the other side of the pond, this may seem like a no-brainer. However, as a former soccer coach, I can attest to the weakness of one on one skills in the women’s game.

The skills of Brazilian superstar Marta definitely open the eyes of many young soccer playing girls. Even the USA’s greatest players (Akers, Hamm, Wambach) never had moves like Marta. There is something that occurs within the development of US youth girl soccer players that sucks the desire to dribble right out of them. Before the age of ten, players are content to dribble around until they can find a way to push the ball into the goal. They love dribbling. That ball is their's and their's alone. Around the age of ten, a little demon appears within the conscience of young girls as they learn the tactical/technical aspects of the passing game. The demon disrupts the once natural urge to dribble. The demon now commands the girls to make passing their first option. Watch any high school and college game--when a young woman finds herself alone with a defender she will most often choose to pass the ball off rather than take the individual defender on.. The few girls who manage to ignore the demon are often ridiculed and labled as “ball hogs,” and “showy” when their teams are not successful.

No one really realized that the US women were deficient in this skill due to their continual domination on the international stage. Fortunately, the 2007 Women’s World Cup opened our eyes. We not only lost--we were destroyed by teams we used to easily dominate. Brazil had burst our bubble. Goalie controversies led to the exposure of a faulty foundation. We were on the brink of a disaster. Thankfully, the hiring committee (which included Mia Hamm) did something unthinkable. They hired a foreigner to lead their program.

Since that time, Pia Sundhage has slowly rebuilt the US team correctly. She has been patient. She has been successful. So far.  CLICK HERE TO GO TO PART 2