2015 Women’s World Cup: Loss of Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday Complicates Task for the U.S.
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Carli Lloyd, center, fought for a ball Monday against Colombia. Lloyd may be given freer rein to venture ahead in attack on Friday.CreditMike Sturk/European Pressphoto Agency
that Ellis, the coach of the United States women’s national soccer team, had described herself on Monday night as “satisfied” with the team’s performance in its previous game, and Ellis felt the need to cut in.
“Pleased,” Ellis said with a wink and a grin. “Pleased was the word.”
The interjection elicited laughter. The distinction meant little. But Ellis did have a point to make.
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The United States’ 2-0 victory over Colombia in the World Cup round of 16 on Monday was notable for how much criticism it engendered afterward from fans and commentators, some of whom seemed worried that Ellis might not share their concern. So, lest anyone get the wrong idea, Ellis on Thursday made it clear that she was unsatisfied with her team’s level of play, too.
“Listen, in front of you guys, it is about keeping it positive — positive comments for my players, keeping them in a good mind-set,” she said. “But, yeah, I mean, we met, and they understand that we’ve got to continue to raise our level with each round.”
Before the team jogged out for its evening training session, Ellis reiterated that its goal was to win the World Cup. The next step will come here on Friday against China, the world’s No. 16 team, based on FIFA’s rankings.
What should be a straightforward job for the United States, ranked second in the world, will be slightly more complicated given that Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday — half of the team’s starting midfield — each picked up their second yellow card of the tournament on Monday, leading to suspensions for the game Friday.
In the team’s four games thus far, the two players combined to create 18 chances — only one fewer than the rest of their teammates combined, according to ESPN. Holiday’s 293 touches and Rapinoe’s 258 represented the highest tallies on the team, indicating how much of the team’s play flowed through them.
The assumption has been that Morgan Brian, 22, would slide into Holiday’s role in central midfield. Alongside Brian, midfielder Carli Lloyd, 32, who had expressed some disappointment with her own play thus far, could be given freer rein to venture ahead in attack.
Replacing Rapinoe, whose subtle sense of movement and smart passing ignites much of the team’s offense, seemed a more difficult problem. Ellis smirked when asked to reveal her lineup and did not entertain a question about whether she would switch from her typical 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3 to facilitate the offense.
“At this point, it’s not about changing a shape,” Ellis said. “I’ve said this: A lineup is just an alignment of players. It’s how you play within any shape. It’s really about how mobile we are. It’s really about what we commit to in terms of how we want to play. It’s about selecting the right tools we think will be beneficial in this match.”
One of those tools, Ellis said, could still be forward Abby Wambach, whom she described as ready to play 90 minutes if necessary.
When asked to indicate in which areas the team could improve, Ellis referred to “decision making.” If anything, she seemed to imply that the team’s problems were with crispness and execution, rather than with its systems and formations.
Wherever the problems may rest, the game against China represents a chance to resolve them. Alex Morgan, a forward who scored her first goal of the tournament on Monday, noted that the team had watched video of China from several months ago and saw a team that did not make many positional mistakes on the defensive side. She said that buildup play and patience in attack would be crucial.
Much was made at the news conferences on Thursday about the fact that China will have had two more days to prepare and rest — a particular concern, given that players throughout the tournament have indicated that playing on the stadiums’ artificial turf fields has represented a punishing task. Morgan acknowledged that it would be a slight advantage for the Chinese players, but she emphasized that it was not an excuse.
“We’ve been plied with protein and electrolytes and carbohydrates and everything,” defender Becky Sauerbrunn said. “Two days’ less rest or not, we’re ready to go.”
The spirit of rejuvenation predominated around the group. They acknowledged that they had not been particularly sharp through four games. But the next game offered another clean slate.
“I think we have a new mind-set that the tournament is starting now,” defender Ali Krieger said.
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