There are many systemic issues to address within the US soccer ecosystem that have come to the fore in recent days. There is also an Olympics in less than a year, and work to be done on the field immediately. Here’s a to-do list for the powers that be.
Establish an identity for the team
Everyone wants to know who will coach this team going forward, under the safe assumption that Vlatko Andonovski’s tenure is over. It is one of the decisions that will influence everything else. Who will that person be? Who knows? There are obvious names like OL Reign coach Laura Harvey (who was a finalist for the job in 2019) and long shots such as current England manager Sarina Wiegman. What exactly new US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker’s philosophy around the women’s team will be is still unclear. So, for now, guesses at the identity of the new USA coach are wildly speculative.
What is clear is this: The team desperately lacked an identity at this World Cup – and they need to find one soon. In 2019, the US balanced superior fitness and athleticism with the right tactics and technically gifted players (like the then-emerging Rose Lavelle) to pressure teams high up the field. They were relentless in their 4-3-3 formation.
It took time to figure that out though. Following a quarter-final exit at the 2016 Olympics (at the hands of, you guessed it, Sweden), former head coach Jill Ellis tried everything. Her first major tactical move was to switch to a 3-5-2. The USA tried that for several months until getting their doors blown off by France in March 2017. The 3-5-2 wasn’t the answer, but it was a necessary step toward finding the right system for the 2019 World Cup.
Now, the US are in a similar situation. For most of the 2023 World Cup, the personnel didn’t match the system – a 4-3-3 that shoehorned some players into unsuitable roles at times. Whoever is in charge next needs a green light from federation leadership to challenge conventional wisdom about what the US women are supposed to look and play like. The new coach must figure out what is best for this new group of players – and what will work best in a world with vastly improved teams.
Expand the player pool
Depth has always been an advantage for the United States, but emerging players need opportunities. There are also positions like center-back that are way thinner than they should be. Naomi Girma was USA’s best player of the tournament, but look at the scramble required once Becky Sauerbrunn was ruled out due to injury. Julie Ertz was shuffled to center-back (and was also exceptional in the role) but she has strongly indicated that she has played her last competitive game for the US.
Sam Staab is thriving at center-back in the NWSL, and she should get a look. She has zero caps to date. Jaedyn Shaw looks like USA’s playmaker of the near-future at age 18. She needs to be in the senior-team environment. These players need opportunities to prove themselves in a USA shirt before a big tournament. The Savannah DeMelo path of uncapped player to World Cup starter over the course of two weeks is an anomaly.
Between now and the start of the 2024 Olympics, the US can play a maximum of 19 games in Fifa windows between friendlies and the 2024 Gold Cup. That’s a decent number of games to try to vet new players, and it includes a brand-new continental tournament that may or may not really matter. Bring in a slew of fresh players to camps, get them reps, and see how they do at the Gold Cup.
See players perform under pressure
Inexperience was a talking point around this 2023 United States team, and it showed through at times. Veterans like Megan Rapinoe, Alex Morgan and Ertz, who were part of the title teams in 2015 and 2019, shouldered much of the burden of expectation this time around too. But most of them just played in their last World Cup. How ready is this new group for the pressure of the win-or-bust USA standard, especially after what just happened? And they may play the next World Cup on home soil, where they will be expected to win and atone for this disappointing tournament. If the US hosts in 2027, the pressure on this team will be unprecedented.
Players need to compete in pressure-packed environments. There is an argument that the National Women’s Soccer League provides that weekly but playing in a cavernous stadium in Orlando or New Jersey on a Sunday afternoon is not the same as appearing in front of a sold-out crowd at a World Cup. The US need more games abroad to get these players ready for different environments – especially as the roster turnover continues.
Get everyone healthy and figure out the core
Injuries were the other narrative around the US at this World Cup. And, as much as they felt like excuses, they were significant. Catarina Macario would have been the team’s attacking focal point, but she did not recover in time from a torn ACL. Mallory Swanson was the most in-form USA player this year until rupturing her patella tendon in April. Sam Mewis remains sidelined with a long-term knee injury.
All these players would have been starters at this World Cup if they had been healthy. Macario appears to be the closest to returning, and whoever takes over coaching duties needs to figure out how to pick up where things left off over a year ago, and then build around that. From Girma to Macario to Lavelle as the creative No 10, there’s a spine to build around.
Optimize players’ clubs situations
Twenty-two of the 23 players on the USA World Cup roster play in the NWSL (Lindsey Horan plays for Lyon). The NWSL has long been marketed as one of the best leagues in the world, and it is certainly the one with the most parity, but there are areas (like defending) where it must improve. Is it the best preparation for all USA players?
The hard reality is that it depends, and it varies by player. But there was long an idea that USA players needed to play domestically (and when US Soccer ran the NWSL front office, it was required). Even the implication of that could rob some players of the chance to improve their game abroad and experience the types of high stakes – like a knockout-round game in the Uefa Champions Leagues – that they can’t get in the US.
Many players have previously gone abroad in search of adding a new layer to their game. The club environment is where the day-to-day improvements happen. For some, that answer is the NWSL, but for others, it could be Europe. Either way, they must all perform much better than they just did.
