US women have cruised thus far, but should remember the last time they played Mexico for a spot in the World Cup.
Neil W. Blackmon
Win and they are in. Tomorrow the very beginning of the expectation surrounding the US Women’s National Team meets reality in Philadelphia. All the US have to do to secure World Cup qualification is defeat Mexico. Sounds simple enough. Of course, it sounded simple enough four years ago too. Faced with the same task, albeit on Mexican soil, the American women suffered a stunning 2-1 defeat to El Tri, securing Mexico’s qualification and sending the Americans to a playoff with Italy.
The Yanks would defeat the Italians 2-0 on aggregate in a tightly contested two-legged playoff a month later to become the last team to secure qualification to the 2011 World Cup. In hindsight, it’s hard to fathom all the drama that tournament provided fans back home almost didn’t happen. But that’s the reality. And that hindsight has to be all too real to the United States as they prepare for tomorrow night’s match at PPL Park.
The Americans certainly don’t appear to be taking the Mexicans lightly. Two “friendlies” between the border nations last month resulted in massive US wins: 8-0 and 4-0 respectively, and the US gave performances in those matches that were superior to what they’ve shown thus far in the qualifying tournament. The lopsided scorelines suggest a focused USWNT, one that believes their opponent can beat them and is putting in the work to avoid that possibility.
In the group stage, the Americans cruised to nine points, scoring 12 goals and conceding zero. The US confirmed they have terrific attacking depth, even after the injury to Alex Morgan. And fullback Megan Klingenberg has been a revelation, scoring a goal US fans won’t soon forget.
But there are lingering questions moving forward, about the aging back line, about tactical deployments, about the controversial goalkeeper.
What happens with Solo will be up to the courts, but the first two are completely within the US players control: can they find back line combinations that hold up when the Americans are pushed? Each US group opponent sat extremely deep and rarely countered, preferring to do damage control and utilize the other two games in group play to qualify for the semifinals, where bids are allocated and playoffs determined. Only one opponent- the Soca Princesses of Trinidad and Tobago, countered with a semblance of regularity. And when they did, the Americans were stretched, a step slow on the turn and a not nearly as compact as they needed to be. In truth, the US were fortunate to win. Little was learned in the other two matches, as the US gobbled up so much possession through its dominant midfield, and opponents were so deep defensively, that there was no pressure at all on the US backline.
As for tactical deployments, some is about formation. Will the US continue to sit Lauren Holiday deep behind Carli Lloyd, with acres of space between them as the wing players play more like forwards? Will they incorporate Heather O’Reilly into the starting group, to stretch defenses and make life easier through the middle? Will they get more from the third member of the midfield triangle, Megan Rapinoe, than we’ve seen in the group stages?
As for Mexico, they seem to understand they’ll have to play a nearly flawless game to win.
The good news? They enter the match the only team still playing with a trio of players who have scored more than once in the qualifying tournament (Luz Duarte, Monica Ocampo and Sandra Stephany Mayor have all scored twice in qualifying). So they have options to test an American defense that hasn’t been tested.
What’s more, Mexico can play looser than four years ago, knowing that if they falter, a bid awaits the winner of Sunday’s third place match as well. Still, they’d love to repeat history.
“We will try to have that perfect game to come out victorious and if we fall short for any reason, we would like to have that game as a good experience that makes us grow in order to accomplish what we want in the following (game),” Mexico head coach Leo Cuellar said of the matchup.
And despite the recent run of poor results against the US, Cuellar believes his team is improving and playing its best soccer. ““I think I’m very happy and I would like to recognize the collected determination and the attitude of my players that they didn’t panic (after falling behind Jamaica),” Cuellar said.
Plus, Mexico have stunned everyone before. Here’s thinking the Americans haven’t forgotten.
Neil W. Blackmon is Co-Founder of The Yanks Are Coming. He can be reached at nwblackmon@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @nwb_usmnt.