ASN: Three Ideas After the US Ties Brazil

The US girls’s nationwide group tied Brazil 1-1 on Wednesday night time. John Halloran thinks we discovered some issues about some issues, and he walks us by the findings. 

BY

John D. Halloran

Posted
October 22, 2015
10:40 AM

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The US girls’s nationwide group got here from a objective down to attract 1-1 with Brazil on Wednesday night time in Seattle. The tie within the fifth match of its 10-game Victory Tour prolonged the American’s house unbeaten streak to 101 video games and was the sternest check the U.S. had confronted since successful the World Cup in July.

Brazil scored within the third minute of the back-and-forth contest when Monica outleapt Becky Sauerbrunn on a nook kick. Either side generated probabilities in the course of the opening 45 minutes, however neither transformed, and the guests took the one-goal benefit into the locker room.

Late within the second stanza, the U.S. started to claim management, creating quite a few alternatives earlier than lastly breaking by within the eighty fifth minute. On the play, Meghan Klingenberg picked up a free ball outdoors the world, drove to the endline, and despatched a cross by the face of the Brazilian internet the place a sliding Carli Lloyd managed to get a foot on the ball and direct it into the objective.

Listed below are three issues we discovered.

KLINGENBERG AND MORGAN BRIAN EXCELLED

Heading into the summer time’s World Cup, Klingenberg confronted extra criticism from followers than arguably some other U.S. common. Most thought she was too gradual to play on the again line and would get uncovered towards the highest worldwide groups.

However in Canada, Klingenberg was a significant cog within the excellent protection. On Wednesday, she proved as soon as once more how a lot she has improved over the previous two years. Early within the match, she received ahead effectively, combining with the midfield and ahead Alex Morgan to generate probabilities. Late within the recreation, she earned the game-tying help.

Defensively, Klingenberg made two excellent performs. Within the twentieth minute, she acknowledged a Brazilian overlap to snuff out a harmful assault. A minute later, she made arguably an important defensive play of the sport when she bodied off a Brazilian attacker on the again submit as Marta fizzed a service throughout the face of the American objective. 

Brian was additionally wonderful on Wednesday, though her efficiency was extra delicate. For your entire recreation, Brian marshaled the U.S. midfield, coming again on protection to make essential tackles and interceptions earlier than beginning the American assault with brief, easy passes out of the again.

She received ahead on plenty of events to contribute extra on to the offense, placing her teammates in behind the Brazilian protection with some good passes. With the retirement of Lauren Vacation this week, it was a great signal to see Brian keen to step up and take command of the U.S. midfield.

SHANNON BOXX IS DONE, WHAT’S NEXT?

Boxx performed her remaining recreation for the U.S. girls on Wednesday, incomes her 195th profession cap. The three-time Olympic gold medalist and World Cup champion is stepping down this week, together with Vacation and Lori Chalupny. 

The retirement of those three gamers—all greater than succesful defensive midfielders—leaves the U.S. with a gaping gap in its midfield. One of many keys to the U.S. success within the knockout rounds of the World Cup was the transfer to a 4-2-3-1. There is not any apparent reply as to the third associate for Brian and Lloyd within the middle of the park.

— Morgan Brian (@moeebrian) October 22, 2015

On Wednesday, head coach Jill Ellis subbed in Tobin Heath for Boxx, an experiment that the coach additionally tried within the U.S.’s final Victory Tour matches towards Haiti in September. In opposition to Brazil, Heath was quiet—in a great way—for half-hour within the middle, earlier than being moved out vast when Sam Mewis got here in for Crystal Dunn within the 71st minute.

Maybe Heath will be the substitute for Vacation, however will clearly want extra time on the place to study the ropes. Heath may also be extra handcuffed on the place—as was Vacation, who typically performed as an attacking midfielder and ahead previous to being moved into the No. 6 place. When Heath performs on the wing, she has the liberty to take extra touches and go at defenders together with her bag of tips; within the middle of the midfield, she must play a extra easy, two-touch recreation.

Solely time will inform if Heath can get the job executed.

IS IT TIME FOR A NEW LOOK AT FORWARD?

Ellis has one other tough choice at ahead. Alex Morgan, sidelined by accidents for a lot of the final two years, has but to regain the shape that made her such a lethal worldwide striker in 2012. That 12 months, she tallied 28 occasions in 31 video games. By comparability, Morgan has 16 targets in 37 appearances between 2013 and 2015. 

Alex Morgan wants reps. Merely hasn’t performed sufficient over the previous two years or so.

— Charles Boehm (@cboehm) October 22, 2015

On Wednesday, Morgan helped create quite a few probabilities however was unable to offer the breakthrough. Within the first half, she had two close to misses, together with a header within the twelfth minute that went simply vast and a one-time shot off a ball from Carli Lloyd that was properly saved by Brazilian keeper Luciana. Within the second half, Morgan discovered herself in behind Brazil’s excessive line repeatedly however was unable to benefit from any of her probabilities.

Transferring ahead, Ellis can stick to Morgan and hope that she as soon as once more finds her goal-scoring kind, or she will proceed to make use of Morgan to maintain a excessive line and be a menace to get in behind opposing defenses. This technique additionally opens up house for the opposite American midfielders and permits Lloyd to contribute extra on to the assault.

The opposite possibility Ellis has is to present extra time to her different forwards, together with Christen Press and Amy Rodriguez, each of whom are coming off red-hot seasons within the NWSL.