Heading into Wembley with a less than first choice attacking set up yielded a scoreless draw as the USWNT took on England on Saturday. The Americans were able to claim something of a moral victory by out-shooting their opponents 11-4 with three attempts on frame to their opponent’s one. That isn’t what the team wanted and now they travel to Holland to face the Oranje.
Holland is rested, are they ready?
The Dutch are a team that the USWNT is familiar with going back to the 2019 World Cup final. A lot has changed for both teams in the five years since they contested the title of best team in the world. Similarly to England, the Netherlands have their eyes set on the Euro next year with this friendly window. They are coming off of a 4-1 win against China which saw them have to come back from a 1-0 deficit with the team in red scoring in the 34th minute. All four goals came after the hour mark and three of the goal scorers came off of the bench.
That game showed the an attacking mindset from the Dutch. They lined up in a 4-3-3 and largely dominated the game. The Leeuwinnen held 72% of the possession in the match and had 15 shots with 8 on goal. Though China took the lead, they avoided possession and could not add to their first half goal.
The starting front three against China had 23 caps between them while the subs that entered the game have 248 combined. It would seem as if the occasionally successful strategy of keeping your most effective players on the bench and trying to win late because there’s a tougher opponent that is on the schedule soon was in play last week. Expect Holland to throw everything they have against the Americans.
It will be interesting to see if they play an aggressive and attacking style or counter and pick their moments. Whatever manager Andries Jonker has in mind, the Netherlands are a formidable challenge and facing them will be a fitting end of 2024 for the USWNT. It will also be a fitting end to the international career of Alyssa Naeher. There were questions about the keeper going into the 2019 World Cup which she answered authoritatively during the tournament, capping it off with a 2-0 shutout against the Oranje.
Changes and continuity ahead of going to Holland
While the Americans failed to score, England keeper Mary Earps did make a nice save on an early shot from Alyssa Thompson. There was also a goal disallowed and a close penalty call that didn’t go the way of the USA. The chances were there and creating them is a good sign for the team. They did things right but couldn’t find the back of the net. While not ideal, the attack was not totally lost without its usual firepower.
Defensively the Americans were solid and only allowed four shots in the match. That’s thanks in no small part to Naomi Girma who is emerging as the best center back in the world. Alyssa Naeher also made a stop in the game but England didn’t create much, a fact that speaks to the defensive solidity of the team.
One area that didn’t change against England was the midfield. Lindsey Horan, Sam Coffee, and Rose Lavelle are all veterans and started against the Lionesses. With a short turn around before the Netherlands match perhaps Korbin Albert is given a start or Lily Yohannes makes an appearance.
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