Takeaways From USWNT SheBelieves Opener
Written by Oluwaseun Oyediji
The United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) began the 2022 match year with a scoreless draw against the Czech Republic in the SheBelieves Cup opener.
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The average age of the starting XI was 25.6 years old, making it the USWNT’s youngest collective starting group since 2018.
Catarina Macario, the most match-ready member of the group, got the start at the center-forward position and combined well with Number 10 Rose Lavelle, but the final touch frequently escaped the world champions, even while they controlled most of the match.
Takeaways from the match were mixed, as the USWNT proved defensively sound but tepid in front of goal.
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A frequent critique of current manager Vlatko Andonovski is that he can overcomplicate things, and thus overthink the ultimate goal of winning the game.
Another major factor is that February sits firmly in the first few preseason weeks of the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), the league in which most of the USWNT plays. The Omicron wave of COVID-19 also limited their ability to schedule January games to get the squad match-fit.
Meanwhile…
You can’t help a young group get their feet wet while also expecting to win every single game, and in the context of the calendar year, a comfortable draw isn’t the end of the world.
The questions from the Tokyo Games linger, and it’s going to take some definitive wins to make fans feel comfortable with Andonovski’s vision for the team.
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