ASN: USWNT defeat Portugal 3-0 in Minnesota for sixteenth straight win

The USWNT continued it is spectacular successful streak with a convincing take down of Portugal at Allianz Area as a part of its Victory Tour. ASN’s John Halloran is right here together with his ideas on the sport and the tour .

BY

John Halloran

Posted
September 03, 2019
10:00 AM

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THE UNITED STATES girls’s nationwide workforce defeated Portugal 3-0 on Tuesday evening in entrance of a sellout crowd of 19,600 followers at Allianz Area in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The American win in its third Victory Tour match got here on the again of two targets from Carli Lloyd and one from Lindsey Horan and represents the sixteenth win in a row for the U.S. workforce.

Listed below are three ideas from the sport.

DOES CARLI LLOYD STICK AROUND FOR 2020?
Not so way back, it regarded just like the Carli Lloyd-era with the U.S. girls was nearing its finish. Lloyd had misplaced her spot within the American midfield to a bunch of youthful and extra technical gamers who had a talent set that Lloyd merely couldn’t match.

Then, Lloyd did one thing few anticipated. She reinvented herself as a ahead.

For years, the U.S. had struggled to discover a substitute within the No. 9 place when Alex Morgan was unavailable—much more so since shifting to a 4-3-3 in 2017 and transitioning Morgan into the position of a holdup striker.

Blessed with a plethora of attacking choices, the Individuals nonetheless lacked a participant who might replicate Morgan bodily play, successful balls up high, holding possession, and getting on the top of flank service into the realm.

In that position, Lloyd has change into almost indispensable for the U.S. and, on Tuesday, scored the primary two targets to assist lead the workforce to a different win. Within the workforce’s different match towards Portugal late final week, Lloyd added one other objective and an help.

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) September 4, 2019

Years in the past, and nonetheless basking within the limelight of her 2015 World Cup efficiency, Lloyd focused the 2020 Olympics as her closing match. Nevertheless, this summer season in France—enjoying largely as a backup—she appeared far much less dedicated to persevering with her play into subsequent summer season.

Olympic rosters are smaller which makes roster choices rather more tough for a coach. However Lloyd’s capability to proceed to contribute—in addition to different groups constantly focusing on Morgan with bodily play and exposing her to damage—creates a robust case to maintain the 37-year-old within the image till subsequent summer season’s Olympic Video games.

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) September 4, 2019

THE DUBIOUS VALUE OF THE VICTORY TOUR
There’s worth in honoring the U.S. girls’s World Cup victory this previous summer season. The gamers make extra bonus cash, the followers get a possibility to observe the workforce in additional American cities, and the workforce’s fourth World Cup win is totally celebrated.

The match on Tuesday in Minnesota was a sellout. The match final week in Philadelphia set an all-time mark for a pleasant with 49,000 followers. The primary Victory Tour match again in August introduced in 37,000 individuals. 

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) September 4, 2019

All of those are good issues.

Nevertheless, from a extra sensible perspective, the Victory Tour presents quite a few hurdles. Most of the American girls are injured, together with Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Kelley O’Hara, and Megan Rapinoe. Many others are carrying knocks of various levels that aren’t extreme sufficient to maintain them off the sphere. All of them are completely exhausted.

At a time when the gamers have simply returned to their NWSL golf equipment and want relaxation greater than anybody else within the league, they’re getting much less day without work with these call-ups. That additionally means extra journey, extra practices, extra minutes—and probably much more accidents.

It additionally means the gamers might be far much less prone to be at their greatest for the run-in to the NWSL playoffs at a time when deal with the league is larger than every other time in its historical past. Die-hards may not need to admit it, however the majority of informal followers—those serving to set attendance report after attendance report over the previous few weeks—are coming to video games to see their favourite U.S. superstars. And if these gamers are damage, or not enjoying properly as a result of they’ve been labored past their limits, that harms the league.

With head coach Jill Ellis leaving quickly, the Victory Tour matches have even much less worth. In 2015, Ellis might—on the very least—use the matches to take a look at new formations, tactical concepts, and new mixtures of gamers. In 2019, there aren’t any tactical classes to be discovered, no clues or hints to be gleaned concerning the workforce shifting ahead. The video games are purely exhibition matches with no tangible worth in the direction of prepping the workforce for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

SPEAKING OF A NEW COACH
Throughout Tuesday’s broadcast, announcer Julie Foudy predicted the U.S. job is now down to 3 candidates: Penn State head coach Erica Walsh Dambach, Utah Royals head coach Laura Harvey, and Reign FC coach Vlatko Andonovski.

Foudy even went additional, naming Andonovski because the insider favourite in the intervening time.

Andonovski is a well-liked coach within the NWSL with a repute as a “player’s coach.” He additionally has two championships, successful the league in 2014 and 2015 with FC Kansas Metropolis.

John D. Halloran is an American Soccer Now columnist. Observe him on Twitter.