The U.S. Women’s National Team is not looking back ahead of its Concacaf W Championship match.
Facing off against Canada on Monday, the USWNT will look for redemption following its 1-0 loss to its North American rivals at the Tokyo Olympics.
Canada converts the penalty to take the lead. #TokyoOlympics pic.twitter.com/r856yMXjIb
— NBC Olympics (@NBCOlympics) August 2, 2021
Coach Vlatko Andonovski, however, says the team isn’t focused on the Olympic loss.
“We haven’t really talked about it a lot, probably one of the reasons why is if you look at the group of players, I don’t know if there’s more than four, five players that were on the field,” Andonovski said in a press conference on Sunday.
The starting lineup for the August semifinal featured Alex Morgan, Rose Lavelle, Lindsey Horan, Becky Sauerbrunn, Kelley O’Hara and Alyssa Naeher, who are all available for selection in Monday’s championship match.
While complimenting Canada coach Bev Priestman, calling her “very nice” and a “very good coach,” Andonovski revealed that he and Priestman are in the same FIFA mentorship program. The familiarity doesn’t stop there, with both sides acquainted with each other’s style of play.
“Their goalies are very well known, they’re a very good team, very organized, disciplined, attacking-minded. I’m sure by now we know a lot about them and them us,” Andonovski said. “We’re excited to be on the field tomorrow.”
The Concacaf W Championship final kicks off at 10 p.m. ET on Monday, streaming on Paramount+.