Lindsey Horan wants to see better coaches and better youth development for the U.S. women’s national team.

A four-episode Netflix docuseries released Tuesday, titled “Under Pressure,” chronicles the USWNT’s journey at the 2023 World Cup, which ended in disappointment.

In the fourth episode, co-captain Horan offered up some criticism after the team’s exit in the Round of 16, which was its earliest ever at a World Cup. Horan, who plays for French club Olympique Lyonnais, attributes the disappointing result in part to the rest of the world catching up – and in part to the evolving style of play.

“The international game, it’s such a nice style of football,” Horan said. “You’re playing these little tiny passes here and there. They’re so confident on the ball. They’re so technical. We need to progress in this possession style of play. We need better coaches. We need better youth development. We need more investment there.”

Some of the issues with the USWNT also can be traced back to former head coach Vlatko Andonovski, who resigned following the World Cup.

“I don’t think we were set up well to go on and have the success to win it,” Lynn Williams said in the series. “When you only win three out of the ten games, there’s no way you’re gonna have that coach carry on. … When we’re held to this standard, the coaching staff also has to be.”

Alex Morgan, Horan’s co-captain, noted that both she and Horan had “really honest” conversations with Andonovski. But she also knows that not every player felt as comfortable or could be as vulnerable with their coach.

And Horan also acknowledged that some of the responsibility for the team’s failure fell on the players.

“Obviously Vlatko gives us the game plan every single game, but we’re the players on the field,” she said.

New head coach Emma Hayes has brought some life back to the squad, with players excited about the new direction. Interim head coach Twila Kilgore will lead the team until Hayes joins in May following the conclusion of Chelsea’s season. But the Paris Olympics start in July, leading some to question whether or not the team can succeed in the short term. And for some, succeeding in the short term is imperative.

“How we silence the critics going forward now, in this moment,” former USWNT forward Tobin Heath said near the end of the series, “is we go to an Olympics, and we win an Olympics.”

Serena Williams met with U.S. women’s national team stars after watching their 3-0 win Saturday against China.

The retired tennis great cheered on the USWNT at DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, alongside husband Alexis Ohanian and daughter Olympia. The family are investors in NWSL club Angel City FC.

After the match, the 23-time Grand Slam champion took the time to meet with USWNT players, including Trinity Rodman, who contributed a goal and two assists, as well as Midge Purce, Sophia Smith, Naomi Girma, Lynn Williams and Alyssa Thompson.

“She was very sweet, very humble, which is refreshing and amazing,” Rodman said. “And obviously we all look up to her, one of the greatest female athletes in the world. So to meet her in person and see how she was incredible.”

When Rodman met with reporters after the game, she explained her delay by noting that Williams wanted to meet with her. And Williams asked for her jersey from the match — but the 21-year-old forward already had gifted it to a fan. Rodman, though, found another jersey to give to the tennis legend.

“I gave one of my jerseys away to a fan, and then I walked across the field, and somebody said, ‘Serena wants to meet you,’” Rodman said. “I was like, ‘Serena who?’ They were like, ‘Serena Williams.’ I walked over there, and she’s like, ‘Can I have your jersey?’ I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ I dug in the dirty bag from the beginning of the half to find mine and gave it to her.”

The USWNT will close out the year with another friendly against China at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday in Frisco, Texas.

Olympia is a big fan 💙

👋 OH and hi, @alexisohanian & @serenawilliams pic.twitter.com/v2JI37WgOm

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) December 2, 2023

The U.S. women’s national team will play their final matches of the calendar year in the next week, with the opportunity to place a definitive stamp on a tumultuous 2023. The two friendlies against China PR will be the team’s first games after the hiring of Emma Hayes as head coach, but they also serve as an extension of Twila Kilgore’s interim management, which will continue until May 2024.

The USWNT’s December roster follows something of a tradition in major tournament years, giving many veterans the international break off to rest and recuperate, while refreshing the larger player pool with non-World Cup players. But the possibility of any major changes in tactical approach seem slim, with Hayes yet to assert her full influence on the team’s style of play.

In lieu of a wholesale change in philosophy, here are three bold(ish) ideas for the U.S. during this international period beyond basic player evaluation.

Shake things up in the attack

While their actual goal-scoring output has improved in the months since the World Cup, it’s difficult to watch the USWNT without feeling like something is broken in the attack. The team went scoreless in two of their four World Cup matches, and they closed out their most recent friendly series having failed to score in three out of four halves.

Many of the issues with the USWNT’s once-vaunted attack go beyond any single player, but the young roster in December has a chance to break free of some of the systemic problems plaguing the front line. The games will provide an opportunity to get more tape on center forward Mia Fishel, who should have a fitness advantage over some of her teammates due to her club team, Chelsea, being in-season.

But shaking the USWNT attack out of its slump isn’t just about slotting in new faces at the No. 9 — the way the rest of the team relates to the center forward position also needs a rethink. Over the summer, the option of moving Sophia Smith to a more central position was presented as a zero-sum substitution of Alex Morgan, who started all of the U.S.’s World Cup matches. But with Morgan sitting the December friendlies out, the reason for moving Smith centrally would be less as a like-for-like replacement and more as a way of replacing her on the wings with a traditional winger.

Midge Purce and Lynn Williams are coming off of an excellent NWSL Championship performance. Both Gotham FC players ran the wings with confidence, getting the ball to the endline for low crosses and providing help defense when necessary. Purce found teammates for goals twice in that game, looking dangerous both on the ball and in dead-ball situations.

Having wingers who can cut inside to pull the defense out of shape is a great asset, but the U.S. at times has created a very narrow shape due to individual player tendencies. It could be worthwhile to run the old playbook with new talent in game one, but a total rethink in game two could shake the team out of its old patterns.

Share the armband

With a number of key veterans taking this international break off, the U.S. has an opportunity to share some of the burden of leadership in productive ways. Midfielder Lindsey Horan has been an able captain in 2023, but at times it appeared the team was over-relying on her to galvanize the group, while other experienced players didn’t seem empowered to communicate with clear authority.

Horan will likely feature heavily in both December matches since she plays her club football on the European schedule and is currently match-fit. But a bolder idea would be to give the 29-year-old a break, if simply to upend patterns in the USWNT midfield. Kilgore would do well to eventually leave her younger players operating without a safety net, whether that means entrusting Jaedyn Shaw with the No. 10 role or pairing Olivia Moultrie with the newly healthy Rose Lavelle.

Outside of giving the midfield an overdue refresh, Kilgore also has the opportunity to prioritize leaders who didn’t get a chance to blossom in Andonovski’s final year.

Casey Murphy is the most experienced goalkeeper on the roster and will surely be charged with organizing her backline. Lavelle is coming off a blistering performance in the 2023 NWSL Championship game, showcasing her experience as a player. And Lynn Williams will be the most tenured forward of the group. With communication lagging at times in the past year, a clean slate with new voices in the mix will be key for the team’s mentality going into 2024.

Give the Wave duo the keys to the defense

Abby Dahlkemper’s return to the USWNT is exciting for fans for reasons beyond her play on the pitch. Dahlkemper has recovered from a chronic back injury that greatly hampered the center-back in 2022, resulting in surgery. Making her NWSL return in August 2023, she’s looked as steady as ever, providing confidence in possession and showcasing her abilities off the ball to stunt an opponent’s attack.

She’s also settled in with current USWNT mainstay Naomi Girma in their club environment at the San Diego Wave, providing the foundation for the team’s run to the NWSL Shield in 2023. Girma was arguably the USWNT’s MVP in 2023. She both served as the wedge between opponents and her own goal and was relied upon heavily to spring possession forward when the U.S.’s midfield had trouble moving the ball.

The upcoming games give Dahlkemper and Girma a chance to test out their on-field chemistry at the international level, providing equal levels of experience and complementary skill sets. Dahlkemper used to be known for the same diagonal balls forward that have become Girma’s calling card for the U.S. With the role of Girma’s center-back partner firmly up for grabs after the retirement of Julie Ertz, Dahlkemper has a chance to make a big impression in her return. For a team looking for consistent starters following Andonovski’s frequent experimentation in defense, her comeback might be happening at exactly the right time.

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

The U.S. women’s national team faced massive attention and expectations at the 2023 World Cup, as displayed in the new trailer for its Netflix docuseries.

The four-episode series, titled “Under Pressure,” will debut on the streaming service on Dec. 12. It chronicles the USWNT’s World Cup journey, which ended in disappointment in a Round of 16 shootout loss to Sweden.

In the trailer, Savannah DeMelo, who had made just one appearance for the USWNT before heading to the tournament in Australia and New Zealand, offers a brutal comparison to Suzanne Collins’ popular book series: “It felt like we were in ‘The Hunger Games’ or something.”

The trailer also features co-captains Alex Morgan and Lindsey Horan encouraging the team on the quest for a third straight World Cup title.

“Pressure is a privilege on this team,” Horan tells her teammates. “Look at everyone around you. Look at me and Alex.”

Megan Rapinoe, Kelley O’Hara, Kristie Mewis and Lynn Williams also feature prominently, as do former players Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd. Lloyd made waves during the 2023 World Cup for her harsh criticism of the USWNT.

“You can never take winning ever for granted,” Lloyd is heard saying in the trailer.

U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone, who won the 1999 World Cup with the USWNT, sums up the trailer and the team’s unfulfilled goal, saying: “To win one is hard. To win two in a row, unbelievable. To win three? It has never been done.”

Follow the most decorated team in international soccer history as they prepare for the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Under Pressure: The Women’s World Cup Team premieres on December 12th. pic.twitter.com/8PijyycAK2

— Netflix (@netflix) November 28, 2023

NJ/NY Gotham FC became first-time NWSL champions on Nov. 11. Unlike some of her teammates, Lynn Williams has experience celebrating championships.

With Gotham’s win over OL Reign in the NWSL final, Williams earned her fourth NWSL Championship title — while scoring a goal in the process.

On the latest episode of the “Snacks” podcast, Williams and fellow U.S. teammate Sam Mewis discussed Gotham’s championship celebrations or, as Williams called it, “the second game.”

“There were beer showers, obviously. There was a slip and slide. I don’t know who started the slip and slide, but I was like, I’m getting involved,” Williams said. “It was so cold after getting up. I was like, I have a regret. I cut my foot on a bottle cap. So I have made a crucial error in taking off my cleats because I need these. We made some TikToks. I wanted to apparently just catwalk the whole time.”

Mewis laughed through Williams’ descriptions of the locker room celebrations and asked if Williams smoked a cigar. 

“I saw Juan [Carlos Amorós] with a cigar, and I was like, ‘Where’d you get that? I’m gonna get one.’ And then there was just a box of cigars on the ground. And I was like, lit well, I’m gonna steal one of these. And then we were like, ‘Who has the lighter?’ And they were like, ‘You guys can’t smoke in here’. And I was like, ‘Yes, we can,’” Williams said. 

“So then somehow we got lighters. And then I was like, ‘Wait a second. Where’s the cutter? Like, you need to cut it.’ We couldn’t find that. So then I was ripping them apart with my teeth. I was just like, here, rip. Next one, spit it on the ground. Go to the next one. Rip it here. Next one. Like I did five different people. And they were like, ‘You’re disgusting. Like, are you tasting tobacco?’ And I was like, ‘Yes.’ I was like, ‘Who cares? We need the cigars.’”

Williams was not willing to share all of the details about Gotham’s celebration, though. A seasoned NWSL Championship winner knows that some parts of the celebration are best kept secret.

“So we had our big party. That’s all the information I’m gonna tell you guys because the other things, nobody needs to know,” Williams said.