The U.S. women’s national team has three very different opponents in their group stage at the 2023 World Cup. After cruising to a good — but not great — 3-0 win over Vietnam in their tournament opener, the USWNT faces a new challenge against 2019 World Cup runners-up the Netherlands on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.

The Dutch didn’t look their sharpest in their first match either, escaping with a 1-0 victory over Portugal. They packed the midfield and narrowed their defense to a three-back formation in order to send numbers forward.

U.S. head coach Vlatko Andonovski likely has a number of possible game plans for defending and countering the Dutch approach. Here are some adjustments the USWNT can make to their starting XI to come out with the win and take control of Group E.

The Ertz dichotomy

Andonovski stacked the spine of his team against Vietnam. He started Julie Ertz in place of Alana Cook at center-back, allowing the World Cup veteran to combine laterally with Naomi Girma and with Andi Sullivan as the No. 6 in front of her. The approach worked well, with Ertz looking comfortable on defense and threatening during USWNT set-piece opportunities.

The Netherlands will provide a different challenge, and one of the biggest questions going into the match is whether the Ertz defensive experiment is indicative of a true approach change from Andonovski or a way to manage minutes at a thin position. It doesn’t make sense to leave Ertz on the bench if she’s able to compete at an elite level, but a return to center-back seems like too much of a last-minute pivot without enough evidence.

Where Ertz lines up on Wednesday might actually have as much to do with where Andonovski wants Lindsey Horan to focus her attention. When Sullivan lines up at the No. 6, Horan tends to sit slightly further back in a 4-2-3-1 formation, to assist both in defensive transition and in moving the ball. That approach has become increasingly effective in 2023, most notably in the USWNT’s SheBelieves Cup tournament win earlier this year.

But if Rose Lavelle isn’t available to start on Wednesday, as she continues to work her way back from a knee injury, Andonvoski might feel Horan is best used pushing into the Netherlands’ penalty area and assisting the attack. That approach might require Ertz’s sweeper presence in the defensive midfield, making it logical to slot Cook back into the central defense and place the two-time World Champion back at the point of an inverted midfield triangle.

Defending from the front

Lynn Williams surprisingly didn’t make an appearance in the USWNT’s opening match, but it’s possible that decision was based on saving her legs for a lengthy appearance against the Netherlands. Williams is the USWNT’s resident expert at defending from the frontline, forcing turnovers and capitalizing on quick transition opportunities, as she’s shown with Gotham FC this NWSL season.

Williams also provides positional flexibility, something Andonovski appears to be prioritizing from at the start of the USWNT’s World Cup campaign. Trinity Rodman started on the right wing in the team’s opener, shifting Sophia Smith over to the left and closer to where she plays for the Portland Thorns. The decision paid immediate dividends, with Smith notching a brace at the position while combining with Alex Morgan centrally.

Therein lies Andonovski’s biggest decision of the tournament thus far: Morgan has done nothing to lose her starting position, playing hold-up soccer with a precision that opened up space for the players around her. She could resume her back-to-goal position against the Netherlands, and the Dutch’s defensive shape as seen against Portugal might actually favor that approach.

But Williams brings speed and a front-to-goal defensive tenacity that could create attacking opportunities and shut down avenues toward counterattacks against the Netherlands. Her presence relieves the defensive pressure on the players behind her, which might just tip the scales in favor of a Williams-Smith-Rodman frontline to begin the USWNT’s second game.

Exploiting wide spaces

The Netherlands played in a three-back formation at times in their opening matchup against Portugal, and while they might take a different approach against the USWNT’s speedy wingers, the U.S. has to feel like there is space to exploit on the flanks. The U.S. typically takes two approaches after getting to the endline, either lofting the ball in the air or cutting back to runners entering the box late.

The team also has an arsenal of wide attackers who can cut inside after dribbling into the box from a wide position. If the midfield can draw defenders in and make adjustments to get the ball out to the wingers, the U.S. should have a number of chances to take the lead. The U.S. didn’t get as much out of their outside-backs as they could have against Vietnam, with Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox both focusing on progressing the ball in the middle third.

The U.S. will be preoccupied with the Netherlands’ own quality on the wings, but a strategic, lopsided back-four would allow Fox or Dunn to combine in the attack and give the U.S. the numbers they need to overwhelm the defense. The outside-backs will also be key to progressing the ball quickly and not giving the Dutch time to settle into their out-of-possession defensive shape.

For the USWNT, the difference between a draw and a win might come down to forcing the game open and using their scorching talent on the wings, an advantage the U.S. holds over almost every other team.

Projected Starting XI

GK: Alyssa Naeher

D: Crystal Dunn, Naomi Girma, Alana Cook, Emily Fox

M: Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan, Ashley Sanchez

F: Lynn Williams, Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman

Claire Watkins is a Staff Writer at Just Women’s Sports. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

The Chicago Sky showed up in a big way on Tuesday night, taking down 2023 WNBA Finals runners-up New York Liberty by an impressively wide margin. 

The Sky walked away with a 101-53 win, boasting a 48 point swing that still looms large despite the fact that it's only preseason. Perhaps the team felt extra pressure to perform — not only did WNBA League Pass follow through on their promise to stream the game for free, but Chicago Bears rookies Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze also happened to be watching on from the stands.

“I’m gonna just say — it’s about time," said Sky guard Dana Evans in response to the star-studded turnout at Wintrust Arena. "Everybody wants to watch women’s basketball. I feel like we’ve been doing a really good job of doing stuff on the court and off the court. So just having them support us is great — but keep bringing them out."

Chicago's Marina Mabrey was lights out with four threes and 20 points on the night, while training camp addition Chennedy Carter racked up 11 points and two steals. 

Sky rookie Angel Reese proved that she can do it all, putting up 13 points, five rebounds, and two steals in 19 minutes — all less than 24 hours after she walked the Met Gala red carpet in New York. The 6-foot-3 top draft pick out of LSU even knocked down a layup over 2023 WNBA MVP Breanna Stewart in one of the night's many highlights.

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"So now yall can delete them drafts & tweets saying i shouldn’t have gone to the met gala & i can’t do both," she later wrote on social media. 

While some may chalk it up to preseason coaching choices and the fact that it was the Liberty’s first real game outside of training camp scrimmages, New York head coach Sandy Brondello still voiced disappointed in her team’s result.

"We just got our butts kicked, everywhere. I mean everything. It’s an embarrassing effort, I don’t care that it’s preseason," she said in a postgame press conference. "Our starters didn't get us off to a good start. We missed a lot of layups early, but they just took us out of everything."

On a lighter note, the third-year Liberty coach had some kind words for undrafted rookie Jaylyn Sherrod, who showed real effort on defense.

"She has speed," remarked Brondello. "She could guard Dana Evans. No one else could."

As the WNBA plans to implement league-wide charter flights, the NWSL is struggling with some travel issues of its own. 

Missed flights, inclement weather, and a stretch of midweek games have spurred workload and logistical concerns for a number of NWSL teams. Last week, three games were played Wednesday night, while another three games are set to be played tonight. 

"You can't play your best XI right now because of the amount of games you have," said Red Stars head coach Lorne Donaldson after last Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Washington. Donaldson emphasized the importance of rotating through the team’s depth so as to avoid injury.

"You have to get to about 16 deep where you can," he continued. "Or else your best XI is going to be injured or walk off the field and they can’t finish the season."

Kansas City has faced some of the league's most extreme turnaround times this season. On Sunday, the Current missed an evening flight to Seattle due to a multi-hour rain delay in Houston, throwing off their training schedule ahead of their midweek match against the Reign. The NWSL eventually gave them the green light to charter a plane, but not before frustration spread throughout the team.

"We lost the whole day of the opportunity to recover," said Current head coach Vlatko Andonovski after the Current's weekend draw against the Dash. "So the schedule, it's already challenging to begin with. We have by far the worst schedule in the league, and this just made it even worse.

"We don't have a hotel, we got to figure out a hotel. We don't have flights for tomorrow, we got to figure out flights. We had trainings for some players that we believe needed training time to be able to perform on Wednesday.”

While the team was given permission to charter a plane, navigating such approvals has proven difficult in the past. This past July, the NWSL fined Kansas City $55,000 over the unauthorized use of a charter flight.

Recently retired WNBA superstar Candace Parker has her next gig lined up: president of women’s basketball at Adidas.

Parker announced her retirement at the end of April, bringing a close to a 16-year professional career spanning three WNBA championship titles with three different teams. And now, she’s stepping into a slightly different role — this time off the court — with longtime sponsor Adidas.

"The brand and I have grown together, and we’ve done some amazing things," she told Fast Company in an exclusive interview published Wednesday morning. "I’m excited about what the future holds on this side of things, because I’m so passionate about growing the game of basketball."

Parker initially signed with Adidas at the end of her first professional season in 2008, going on to spend the vast majority of her illustrious WNBA career linked to the German athletic brand. In 2010, she became the first woman to receive a signature Adidas shoe: the ACE Commander.

Her most recent Adidas collaborations include basketball sneakers Exhibit B (2022) and Exhibit Select (2023) in a variety of different colorways, as well as limited edition off-court apparel.

In 2022, Parker led a mentorship program for the brand’s first class of NIL-sponsored college athletes, a stacked roster that involved the likes of rising star Hailey Van Lith, among others. In her new position, she’ll be "overseeing pretty much everything" when it comes to the brand’s women’s basketball operations.

That "everything" includes weighing in on shoe and clothing design, navigating new and existing athlete partnerships, and taking control of Adidas' grassroots growth strategies. She’ll also help with "how we actually speak to the women’s basketball consumer," Eric Wise, who leads the brand’s global basketball business, told Fast Company.

According to Parker, the decision to accept the offer hinged on her desire to be more than just "the face" of Adidas women’s basketball.

"I said to [Adidas], 'I don’t want to be a mascot,'" Parker said. "'I really want to be in the meetings, and I want to be a part of making decisions.'"

Charter flights are on the horizon for the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert saying on Tuesday that the league will provide teams with full-time private travel services beginning as soon as this season. 

The move is set to address years of player safety concerns, among other issues. Engelbert told AP Sports Editors that the league aims to launch the program "as soon as we can logistically get planes in place."

The initiative is projected to cost around $25 million per year over the next two seasons.

The WNBA has previously provided charter flights on a limited basis, including during the postseason and when teams were scheduled to play back-to-back regular season games. Individual owners seeking to independently provide their teams with private travel — such as the New York Liberty’s Joe and Clara Wu Tsai back in 2022 — faced significant fines for using unauthorized charters.

While players and team staff have been calling for league-wide charters even before Caitlin Clark and other high profile rookies joined the league, Engelbert has routinely cited steep year-to-year costs as the reasoning behind sticking to commercial flights. 

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However, the WNBA's surging popularity means increased visibility, and a subsequent uptick in security concerns — especially when it comes to big name newcomers like Clark — has Englebert reconsidering her previous decision. 

WNBA Players Association president Nneka Ogwumike called the move "transformational," and credited the WNBPA as well as the league for its implementation. 

"Our league is growing, the demand for women's basketball is growing," Ogwumike told ESPN. "That means more eyes on us, which is what we want, but that means more protection from the organization that we play for, the whole W that we play for.

"Chartering flights not only is a safety measure, the biggest thing, and then obviously what it means to be able to play a game and go home and rest and recover and be the elite athletes that we try to be every single night when we step out onto this court."

Aces coach Becky Hammon called the immediate response to the charter announcement "great" but noted that there are still kinks to be worked out. 

"What it all looks like, we’re still gathering information, we don’t know," she said Tuesday.

Several players emphasized the importance of safety, highlighting how last season the Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner was harassed in an airport while traveling commercial.

"All these players and these faces are becoming so popular that it really is about that as much as it as about recovery," Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier said.

"Above everything else, I think it's the safety of our players," Mercury player Natasha Cloud added. "We have a prime example with BG on our team that needs to be safe. At airports, it's like a madhouse. You see Caitlin Clark walking through airports, people following her, people trying to touch her, get pictures with her. It's just a safety measure, through and through. You would never have an NBA team walk through an airport."

Prior to Tuesday's announcement, the league had said it would charter flights for the playoffs and back-to-back games via a program introduced last year. The latest news, however, promises that teams will also be provided charters to and from all regular season games.

"Our safety is being taken seriously now, finally. In no world should our security not be a priority," Griner told ESPN. "If we want to be the league that we want to be and have the respect that we have, it comes with some risks. Sometimes people want to get close to you and it's not people you want, so I'm just glad that we don't have to deal with that anymore."