USWNT: A Rematch with France in The Algarve Cup Final
Miscellany
As I mentioned earlier, the US play improved over the course of the tournament, starting at about 40% of their potential in the match against Norway and moving up to maybe 65% of their potential by the time they saw France on Wednesday. And yet, 65% was enough to get them first place at a tournament that included Brazil, Sweden, Germany, France, and Japan. The old adage that the US can pull out a win even when they haven’t been playing well appears to still hold true, which may or may not comfort fans who have been disappointed in the way this team has looked lately.
The refereeing (or was it couples’ counseling?) probably deserves its own article. I won’t say too much about it, other than it was horrible, and apparently the center referee is on the list of potential World Cup officials. Here’s hoping that doesn’t pan out, or that she drastically improves between now and June. When both teams think you’re being unreasonable, as a match official you have to take a look at that. I also worry that Carli Lloyd or Alex Morgan will get a red card the next time that they meet this referee in a match.
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I liked the improvement in the midfield. It seems as though Morgan Brian and Lauren Holiday’s comfort at switching back and forth at the 10 spot has increased, although Holiday seemed pretty tired as this game wore on and began to lose balls from what looked like sheer exhaustion at having to do so much without a whole lot of rest. But Brian is quickly adapting to her more defensive role, and her physicality is all the more impressive when you consider how slight she is in comparison to some of the players she’s asked to defend against, like the willowy Hamraoui, the solid Henry, or the speedy Le Sommer.
At the end of the day, everything for this US team comes back to winning the 2015 Women’s World Cup. One wonders what the plan will be after July, particularly if the US is fortunate and determined enough to make it to the final again and win it all, shaking loose nearly two decades of another generation’s legacy. The USWNT will play again on April 4 at 3:30pm EST against New Zealand to be aired on Fox Sports 1, in the first of four matches of the World Cup sendoff series.
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