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The U.S. women’s national team is used to being the best team in the world. No one has won more Women’s World Cups or Olympic gold medals than the U.S. But three months before the 2019 Women’s World Cup, the USWNT players don’t look near good enough to win a record fourth championship.
The U.S. opened 2019 with a 3-1 loss to France to end a 28-match unbeaten streak. The team has won twice in five matches this year after winning 18 of 20 in 2018 (including two draws), including a second-place finish at the SheBelieves Cup.
The team isn’t exactly falling apart, but it doesn’t seem quite right. The U.S. doesn’t look like the best team in the world, and that’s not what we expect to see from the USWNT.
While the offensive players still look like world-beaters, the midfield needs more oomph and the defense lacks cohesion. The goalkeepers don’t appear settled and coach Jill Ellis doesn’t seem to know how she wants the team to line up.
If this was Chelsea or Real Madrid, the U.S. would just fire Ellis and start over. But with the Women’s World Cup about 90 days away, another solution must be found. And there are solutions — five of them, in fact.
Here are five USWNT players who should be brought into the fold to turn the team around before traveling to France.
5 USWNT Players To Turn The Team Around
Lindsey Horan, Center Mid
Horan is a USWNT regular and will no doubt be on the team in France this summer, but she missed the SheBelieves Cup with injury. The 2018 NWSL MVP was sorely missed in midfield and her absence showed how vital she is to this team.
Without Horan, Ellis turned to Mallory Pugh and Rose Lavelle in midfield alongside Julie Ertz for the first two matches against Japan and England. While Pugh and Lavelle are great offensive players and skilled on the ball, they lack the box-to-box dynamism of Horan and did not provide enough defensively to help a shaky back four. Ellis replaced Lavelle against Brazil with Sam Mewis, who did a better job controlling the midfield with Ertz, allowing Pugh, a natural winger, more freedom to get forward.
Ellis has (hopefully) learned she can’t rely on a midfield of Ertz-Pugh-Lavelle against top teams. Ellis needs Horan to provide the defensive platform to allow the incredible attacking USWNT players the opportunity to do what they do best.
Morgan Brian, Center Mid
Brian was the youngest player on the 2015 Women’s World Cup-winning side and played all 90 minutes in the final three matches. While her form has wavered in the years since — mostly due to injuries — a healthy Brian would be a huge boost to the USWNT midfield. She played in the 3-1 loss to France to start the year, but wasn’t included in the SheBelieves Cup roster.
Brian, like Horan, is more of a box-to-box midfielder than Pugh or Lavelle. Even if she’s on the squad as a role player, Brian could prove to be hugely important as she was in 2015, if healthy.
Four years ago, Brian teamed with Lauren Holiday as the two central midfielders in a 4-4-2. Ellis has favored a 4-3-3 recently, but Brian’s mobility in the middle of the park would nonetheless be a valuable asset to the team.
In addition to Brian, Allie Long could fill this role. Both would provide more defensive stability than Pugh and Lavelle.
Julie Ertz, Center Back
Ertz isn’t exactly a new player to step in the team, having long been a regular on the squad. However, perhaps it’s time to return her to defense.
The U.S. needs a strong defender to pair with Becky Sauerbrunn in the back. Abby Dahlkemper and Tierna Davidson haven’t proven to be quite up to the task against the best teams in the world.
So who better to partner with Sauerbrunn than the woman who partnered with her at the 2015 World Cup: Julie Ertz (Julie Johnston back then).
Ertz is one of the strongest USWNT players in the air and on the ball. After the U.S. was torn apart by Japan and England in the SheBelieves Cup, she could restore order to the back line.
The biggest risk to this, however, is losing Ertz in midfield. While Horan, Brian and Long could provide solidity to midfield, Ertz has been arguably one of the USWNT’s most important pieces since moving from defense to midfield.
But it might be a risk worth taking.
Sofia Huerta, Right Back
The USWNT’s biggest weakness right now is its fullbacks. So much so that Crystal Dunn, a versatile winger, has been converted into the regular left back. At right back, Emily Sonnett hasn’t quite hit all the right notes and Kelley O’Hara is aging and an injury risk.
The answer could be putting Huerta, a 26-year-old midfield/forward, in at right back.
The former Mexico international made headlines when she switched allegiances to the U.S. in 2017, but has only received seven caps with the USWNT thus far (three more than she made with Mexico). She might have more luck at right back after seeing how successful Dunn has been at left back.
Huerta isn’t necessarily the strongest defender, but her abilities in attack would make teams think twice before pushing numbers forward. How terrifying would it be for a left back to see Pugh, Tobin Heath and Huerta combining down the flank at her?
Hope Solo, Goalkeeper
One of the few things the USMNT and USWNT have in common is their ability to produce world-class goalkeepers. From Tony Meola and Briana Scurry to Tim Howard and Hope Solo, the U.S. has always had great players between the sticks.
But right now, the USWNT finds itself without a real No. 1 goalkeeper.
Alyssa Naeher, Ashlyn Harris and Adrianna Franch are all great goalies in their own rights, but none of them exude the confidence you really want from a No. 1 like Scurry and Solo did.
Naeher has been handed the reins as the No. 1, but she isn’t noticeably better than the others, similar to Harris. Franch may have put herself out of the running with a shaky debut against England, but Portland Thorns fans know how dominant she can be in goal.
The answer? Hope Solo.
Bring her back! (We’re only partially joking here.)
Obviously, this isn’t going to happen. Solo hasn’t played professionally since 2016 and her exit from the game wasn’t exactly ceremonious.
But at 37, she could still perform at the highest level if she really wanted to. That we’re even considering this (even if half serious) shows how much the USWNT could use her ability and leadership in the back.
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