By Tommy Kane

Published: May 14th, 2019

Volume III: Issue XV

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup will take place in France and start on Jun. 7, 2019. The United States Women’s National Team, as previously known, have qualified for the tourney and look to win their fourth championship.

Winning their fourth championship would be huge for the United States Soccer Federation. With the absence of the United States Men’s National Team in Russia last summer, this tournament means even more to the soccer world.

The USWNT won the World Cup in 1991, 1999, and 2015 (previous one). The United States is the most successful team with three championships to their name.

A loss against Sweden in the 2016 Olympics still stings the hearts of U.S. soccer fans. After that Olympics, we lost a few critical players but gained a few as well.

Is a two-peat possible?

Strong Offense

This is certainly of no surprise to U.S. soccer fans. The United States continues to have a high-powered offense that fools opponents left and right when they take us on.

Most notably, Alex Morgan (shown above) scored her 100th goal in her national tenure. She has been a part of the squad since 2010. Her game has just been getting better and it seems as though she can score every time she touches the ball. This is important because of Carli Llyod’s age. Llyod has been seeing much less time than 2015, but she is still apart of the 2019 team going to France. She cannot be relied on, though.

Morgan isn’t the only player who makes up the offense. Mallory Pugh, Rose Lavelle, and Lindsey Horan have stepped up and are three great younger generation players that have a future stake with the team. Pugh came on the scene in 2016 and started off strong from the start, already scoring 15 goals. Lavelle started in 2017 and has scored six goals. Horan is a bit older and taller. She has played since 2013 and has netted eight goals.

Julie Ertz has stepped up as more of an offensive midfielder since 2015. Her last name was Johnston the last time we saw her in World Cup action. Her presence makes up for the loss in Lauren Holiday, who had a huge impact in 2015. Ertz has 18 goals to her name.

Last but not least, Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath have been more dangerous than ever. Rapinoe is a great player for set-pieces, along with Heath’s ball-handling skills and set-up ability. They help the offense in bunches. Look for those two to not only be able to get a few goals, but to create good plays and extend, giving strikers valuable shots.

Defensive Woes

The defense is getting younger for the USWNT, as seen with players like Tierna Davidson (shown left above) and Abby Dahlkemper. Since 2016, opponents have been able to solve the U.S. defense more readily, whilst scoring more goals.

Becky Sauerbrunn still is the number one defender for the squad, but injuries have started to hurt her a bit and kept her out of critical friendlies, giving the younger players more practice. Expect her to be healthy and a starter for the World Cup.

Davidson, Dahlkemper, Allie Long (shown center above), and Emily Sonnett are getting used to playing at the world stage and are new faces to the World Cup. With work, they will turn into world-class players, but for now, it will be a bit of a struggle.

The defense has a few holes, but Kelley O’Hara and Ali Krieger are veteran players (along with Sauerbrunn) that should look to be leaders on the back-line. It is key for coach Jill Ellis to figure out the formation quickly to ensure the goalie protection.

It is more of growing pains for the defense, along with the fact that women’s soccer is becoming more prominent and getting better. Teams like France, England, Japan, Germany, etc. have strikers that can make plays and get through the defense. Nonetheless, the defense is a weakness for the USWNT that needs to be solved if we want to go back-to-back.

No More Hope

The #1 goalie slot is open! Ever since Hope Solo’s departure after the 2016 Olympics (doing so loudly), the USWNT has had a difficult time trying to find a new solid goaltender.

Alyssa Naeher (shown above) seems to be the lead candidate, but she has made some big mistakes in recent friendlies, which has given Adrianna Franch and Ashlyn Harris some minutes.

Harris and Franch are both playing well in the NWSL, but that doesn’t automatically translate to the national stage. Naeher has the most experience, so expect her to take the starting role at first. But, that doesn’t mean the other two won’t play.

Ellis has been feeling out the three during the recent friendlies prior to the World Cup, giving them all valuable playing time and experience.

Games could be won or lost by goaltending. Having a good keeper is important in taking home the World Cup. Solo did a marvelous job in 2015. Could any of these three replace her performance or even best her?

The Road to France

Let me get this straight; the United States has no bad players. They all play at an adequate or above level. It is just that adequacy is not going to win the World Cup. Ellis and the team need to figure out how to go above and beyond.

The U.S. is currently ranked first in the world and is 5-2-1 (W-D-L) in the year 2019 (the loss was against France). They have two friendly matches before the first game of the group stage.

On May 16, 2019, New Zealand visits the country for an 8 PM EST match. Mexico then comes on May 26, 2019, for a 12 PM EST fixture. Both games will be good for a tune-up.

The United States have their first group stage match on Jun. 11, 2019, at 3 PM EST. They will face Thailand, quite a familiar foe.

With all of what is going on, it is difficult to tell if the USWNT will have enough gas to get the two-peat. In the end, I think it could be done, but I wouldn’t count on it. You can’t count out the rest of the world on this one.

My Prediction: The United States wins the 2019 World Cup.

GO USA!

More info

USWNT Site

USWNT Wikipedia Page