The Americans looked disjointed as England stole the show over the last week. But USWNT coach Jill Ellis is still working out her best starting XI

Well, that wasn’t exactly what US women’s national team wanted from their last tournament before the Women’s World Cup. With a string of uneven performances marked by tinkering from manager Jill Ellis, the Americans finished the 2019 SheBelieves Cup behind the mighty Lionesses and with plenty of work before heading to France this summer.

It’s not that the Americans played badly – they notched two draws and a win in the four-team friendly tournament for a second-place finish. But three months out from the World Cup, the defending champions looked disjointed and at times sputtering defensively, as if they haven’t quite figured out how they want to play, despite a squad brimming with world-class talent.

The Americans now have just five matches left to sort things out before the Women’s World Cup, and the SheBelieves Cup has left as many questions as answers.

Is American dominance still a given?

Through 2019 thus far, the Americans have won just twice, drawn twice and lost once – a rough record for the No1-ranked team in the world. Of course, they don’t have to be ready right now. The US finished 2018 on a 28-game unbeaten streak and would surely prefer to get some losses out of their system now rather than over the summer. Ellis and the players have emphasized that they need to peak at the right time, which is approximately three months from now. But the SheBelieves Cup demonstrated that there are no guarantees of winning, even if the US have what may be the best squad in the world.

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The American attack looked strong as usual – although they will surely lament some chances missed. Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath in particular were sensational on the wings, and Alex Morgan provided valuable off-the-ball movement up top to clear the way. The talented attack was buoyed by sophisticated combination play and a quick tempo, which has been an ongoing emphasis under Ellis.

But defensively the US looked shaky, especially during the 2-2 draws with England and Japan. That’s a worry given that the US defense went 540 minutes without conceding a goal in the 2015 World Cup, which seems almost inconceivable this summer – at least at the moment. In this tournament, the US conceded multiple goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 2011.

It’s a different backline now – only veteran centerback Becky Sauerbrunn remains from the group that led the US to their 2015 World Cup – but the USA’s SheBelieves Cup was rife with problems. Both miscommunication and individual lapses led to England and Japan scoring. The absence of Sauerbrunn to start the first two games left a noticeable leadership vacuum and raises concerns about whether the depth on the backline is good enough.

The US continues to play an attack-first style designed to score a lot of goals. The question is whether they will still be able to score more than they concede.

Should Jill Ellis stop tinkering with the team?

At a time when many US fans would like to see the US focus on consistency, Ellis has been keen to try new tactical wrinkles and put players into new roles.

Through much of this tournament, that meant asking creative winger Mallory Pugh to play in the central midfield with the flashy playmaking Rose Lavelle and defensive midfielder Julie Ertz. That attack-oriented midfield didn’t offer enough steel or ball-winning ability, and Japan and England were able to dictate play in the center of the pitch too easily, particularly in transition.

As games went along, the personnel experiments continued. Throughout the tournament, Ellis used substitutions to push Tobin Heath – arguably one of the best wingers in the world – into the central midfield triangle. That forced the US into losing an effective winger and adding an inferior central midfielder.

It’s not that Heath and Pugh aren’t capable of playing in different positions. Both are versatile. But their best positions are the ones they already play for the US and, this close to the World Cup, it’s a bit late to start grooming players into new roles. Rather, it seems reps would be better spent allowing the players to work in the position they are likely to play in France and build chemistry.

Tactically, Ellis tried some different formations throughout the tournament as well, ostensibly in preparation for different game states the US may face in France. But when the US switched from a four-back to a five-back of three centerbacks with two wingbacks, the players looked unsure of their positioning and lacked structure. For all the effort, the US only ever looked comfortable in the usual 4-3-3.

These experiments from Ellis may explain why the US haven’t always looked cohesive. In that sense, the worry about too much experimentation can be dismissed as something that will resolve itself once Ellis stops tinkering. But what if it doesn’t stop? Ultimately, Ellis has to prepare the team as she sees fit and, if she thinks more experimentation is needed right up until the World Cup starts in France, that’s what will happen. The players will need to cope and adapt – or else.

Is it time for US fans to panic?

There are some negatives to take away from the SheBelieves Cup, to be sure. But for Ellis and the US players, those negatives may be better framed as data points for things they can improve before arriving in France.

With just five friendlies left before the World Cup, there’s not a lot of time. But Ellis was quick to remind reporters at the SheBelieves Cup that it wasn’t until this time in 2015 that Julie Ertz earned a starting spot with the US backline, and she eventually went onto play every minute of the World Cup that summer.

“I’ve got smart players – I’m not worried about them being in different positions,” she said. “Now it’s about, can we fine-tune the chemistry?”

She is confident the Americans will be fine by the time June arrives. Injuries have forced her hand at times, but Ellis is focused on getting the squad reps together.

“In terms of where this team is, they’re not 15 games played in, they’re not 10 games played in,” Ellis said. “Some of them didn’t play in the January game, so they are three games played in. That sharpness you want is going to come.”