Megan Rapinoe has been solid for the U.S. in the 2018 SheBelieves Cup
By Debby von Winckelmann
The U.S. women’s national team could win the 2018 SheBelieves Cup, if they can get the win against England in the final match of the tournament tonight at 7 pm ET at Orlando City Stadium in Florida.
The U.S. and England are tied on points, with four each, however England leads in goal differential, with six goals, while the U.S. has just two. Thus, anything less than a win tonight gives the championship to England.
So far, the performance of the Americans has been underwhelming.
In the U.S. 1-0 win against Germany last Thursday in Columbus, Ohio, the weather ruined what could have been an exciting game against the two top-ranked teams in the world and turned it into a bit of a bore.
The game’s only goal came in the 17th minute, after U.S. goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher punted the ball out past midfield, where Alex Morgan got her head on it and flicked it to Megan Rapinoe, who beat her defender to the ball and put it in the back of the net.
The swirling wind and rain made it difficult to assess the performance of either side, but each had chances that were left unfinished. Perhaps, the worst, being Lindsey Horan’s open shot at goal. Horan hit the ball at the top of the box and it travelled just a few feet, landing between two Germans who seemed to stare at it for a moment in disbelief before the recognition that they should clear it snapped them to attention.
Mallory Pugh, Morgan, and Rapinoe did a good job of pressing Germany and Naeher did a decent job in goal, although her distribution wasn’t great. Tierna Davidson started at center back, alongside Abby Dahlkemper. Davidson, earning just her second cap, played the full 90 minutes and showed good composure.
The U.S. didn’t look much better in its second game, a 1-1 draw against France on Sunday at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.
With the exception of Morgan Brian and Andi Sullivan, who started ahead of Julie Ertz and Lloyd, Ellis went with the same lineup.
Pugh scored in the 35th minute after Rapinoe put a free kick inside the box, which got knocked into the post before Pugh shot it past French goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi.
The Americans 1-0 lead didn’t last long, however, as Eugénie Le Sommer scored just three minutes later off a long ball from Griedge Mbock Bathy. Le Sommer got past Dahlkemper and around Naeher to put her shot into the net, tying the game.
So far in this tournament, the Americans haven’t shown a lot of chemistry or creativity in their play and it will be interesting to see what Ellis does with her lineup against England. With just a two days of rest, coupled with the travel to Florida, there’s a risk of injury through overuse of personnel. Yet, can this team afford to lose another match on home soil?
The U.S. will definitely need to step up against this English team that has been very impressive this tournament, under new coach Phil Neville. England set a SheBelieves Cup record for most goals in a half and most goals in a game in its 4-1 win against France last Thursday.
With all of its firing power, the U.S. has scored just two goals this tournament. Ellis has a deep bench and we could see starts by Christen Press, Crystal Dunn, and Emily Sonnet, who have not seen a lot of playing time and are all very talented. Whoever Ellis puts on the field, they will have to be at their best to beat this English team that has a lot of momentum coming into this final game.