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USWNT at Concacaf: Takeaways and top priorities for 2023 World Cup

The USWNT celebrates Alex Morgan’s game-winning goal in the Concacaf W Championship final. (Brad Smith/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

Everyone can take a deep breath: The U.S. women’s national team got the job done at the Concacaf W tournament. With a roster full of fresh faces, the team qualified for the 2023 World Cup and the 2024 Olympics while holding off a full-strength Canada squad that some thought may have leapfrogged the reigning World Champions in the past year.

Throughout the month of July, the awkwardness of trying to do two things at once has been apparent in USWNT camp. If the team’s youth movement seems a little abrupt and all-encompassing, it’s because the USWNT is running late.

After the World Cup victory in 2019, it stood to reason that the players who got the U.S. their fourth star would be relied upon for stability during the coaching change from Jill Ellis to Vlatko Andonovski. After the pandemic delayed the Olympics by a year, that approach all but determined the process we’re seeing now.

Threading the needle between incorporating new players and winning games is a challenging task, made only more complicated by the program’s own expectations. Many national teams go through periods of growing pains, but it’s rare for them to not be allowed to lose a few games in the process. Due to the truncated international calendar and the stakes of a World Cup berth and a spot in the Olympics on the line in Concacaf qualifying, Andonovski was balancing on a high-wire not many are forced to stand on, with both successes and frustrations.

Learning to loosen up

Andonovski has only ever lost two games as the head coach of the USWNT, but within the positive results exists a team that at times looks both a little overworked and underprepared. In the team’s infamous 3-0 loss to Sweden at the Tokyo Olympics, they were never able to adjust to the eventual silver medalists’ intensity in the midfield, instead sending hopeful long balls forward in an attempt to bypass that area and regain control of the match.

During the Concacaf W final win against Canada, the same feeling washed over USWNT fans as a few missed chances kept the game closer than it needed to be. Andonovski also delayed making substitutes until the dying minutes as the U.S. began to run on fumes. The Jill Ellis era was similarly criticized for tactical rigidity and an overly placed faith in her starting XI (we all remember the great substitute discourse of the 2019 Round of 16). But as opponents present tougher tactical tests every game, Andonovski doesn’t always make the right call in the moment.

There were glimpses throughout the Concacaf W tournament, however, that Andonovski had learned some important things from the USWNT’s experience in Japan.

While aided by the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions worldwide, the USWNT went through the tournament in Monterrey with a decidedly looser feel than we saw in 2021. Instead of the grueling fitness testing and stark quarantining of the U.S.’s pre-Olympic prep, players came in from their NWSL clubs, played a few sendoff friendlies, and then hit the road. They got to spend time with friends and family throughout their time in Mexico, and they kept the crushing weight of the public’s expectations at arm’s length.

It might seem flippant to say that getting coffee from a local shop in the morning and time by the pool is the key to a strong team mentality, but it’s a notable enough difference in approach that it’s worth mentioning. Andonovski cited the presence of Megan Rapinoe, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alyssa Naeher and Alex Morgan as helpful to keeping the young roster focused on the task at hand. This group might have simply been given more freedom to have fun, with the understanding that levity builds chemistry, too.

Letting players be themselves

The off-field chemistry only shined through on the field in fits and starts. One of the costs of keeping Morgan off prior USWNT rosters as they worked in younger players was that Morgan had to re-acclimate herself to the team in big games. Sophia Smith and Mallory Pugh missed a few sitters even when the forward motion was effective, but too often a pass came a little too late or a run just a step behind as they adapted to new looks.

Morgan explained to reporters the nuances of how Andonovski would like the team to adjust their play to combat different opponents, which raises red flags while also possibly paying dividends. Gone are the days where the USWNT meets for six weeks before heading to a major tournament, as many players will be in the thick of their NWSL campaigns immediately before the 2023 World Cup. While it’s important to have ideas for what an opponent might throw at you, clear communication in short-term training environments is critical to those ideas not becoming muddy and then possibly abandoned in the moment.

A few scuffed shots and mistakes in the attacking third have gotten the majority of the attention. But one of the team’s greater overall issues lies in a position that still does not look settled: the defensive midfield. Andonovksi brought Andi Sullivan to Monterrey to hold down the No. 6 role in bigger games, and she appears to be in the team’s long-term plans for 2023 and 2024 as long as she stays healthy. The U.S. somewhat controversially left Sullivan at home during the Tokyo Olympics, asking Lindsey Horan to moonlight at the position and then rushing Julie Ertz back from injury. From there, the team’s midfield possession has never fully recovered.

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Defining Andi Sullivan's role in the midfield should be a top priority for the USWNT. (Jaime Lopez/Jam Media/Getty Images)

Sullivan is a smart, savvy player who is best with the ball at her feet, breaking lines and setting the tempo. For the Washington Spirit, she’s an endless source of distribution and her field vision is an asset. Ertz, while a legend in the role for club and country, was never used as a passing No. 6; she was a defensive wrecking ball, disrupting play in a wide area to allow her teammates to repossess and distribute.

Despite Ertz’s prolonged absence, the U.S. has not changed the way they distribute the ball — that is the job of the center backs. When young Naomi Girma had her shot at sending probing diagonal passes up to Sophia Smith against Jamaica, the approach worked perfectly. Against Haiti, Alana Cook and Becky Sauerbrunn mostly passed between themselves before sending hopeful long balls forward, and it didn’t work as well.

Bypassing midfield passing channels to let an explosively talented front five run at a back line might not be the worst approach in a Concacaf tournament, but despite their talent advantage, it renders the USWNT too predictable at the wrong moments. It also requires Sullivan to focus on defending like Ertz while the attacking midfield pushes forward, a Herculean task for even the best player that leaves gaps for opponents to exploit.

Stepping away from the panic button

Despite a healthy list of concerns, the work of becoming a World Cup contender really starts now, and there is also a lot to like about what we’ve seen from the U.S. in this shortened incubation period. One of the hallmarks of Andonovski’s USWNT is a willingness by every single player to defend off the ball, and there is no better team in Concacaf at quickly regaining possession.

While the U.S. had tepid finishing performances at times, the greatest doubt of a result never really came from danger at the other end. Smith’s adjustment to help Sofia Huerta nullify Nichelle Prince’s attacking threat on the right wing in the second half against Canada is a good example of the small defensive changes the U.S has available to them to sway a game. The Cook/Sauerbrunn partnership also showed significant improvement from Game 1 to Game 5.

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Becky Sauerbrunn continues to anchor the backline as the USWNT's most experienced defender. (Jaime Lopez/Jam Media/Getty Images)

There were also glimpses of what the right personality mix, while still incomplete, can bring to a USWNT that is changing. Morgan became the galvanizing force the team needed when shots weren’t falling against Canada, instilling the team with confidence and icing the game with her penalty kick. Andonovski put out the closest thing to his strongest XI in the final, and they did everything necessary to win the game.

If the USWNT does travel to Australia and New Zealand in 2023 with the deepest squad in the world, it will be in large part due to this tournament. Many other teams would have been sunk by the absences the U.S. faced going into Concacaf W, but they made their way through as the clear No. 1 team in the region, with the result rarely in doubt. Re-integrating more familiar faces into the squad is exactly the type of challenge the U.S. wants at this point in the calendar.

The kids were sent down to Mexico to sink or swim, and they found their way through. That Smith and Pugh can still improve at the international level should be exciting, as is the emergence of Ashley Sanchez as a scintillating attacking midfielder and Girma as a rookie with the mind of a seasoned veteran.

This qualifying group isn’t the team we’re going to see at the World Cup, but therein lies the point of this process. The team tested its strengths and weaknesses, got critical minutes for the next generation and, per the eternal USWNT mandate, did not lose.

Claire Watkins is a contributing writer at Just Women’s Sports covering soccer and the NWSL. Follow her on Twitter @ScoutRipley.

USC’s McKenzie Forbes: From Gap Year to the NCAA Tournament

As part of our 1-v-1 video series, USC’s India Otto sat down to interview her teammate McKenzie Forbes. 

Here are five things to know from our conversation with the graduate transfer from Folsom, California.

#1 Inspired by USC’s Head Coach, Lindsay Gottlieb, McKenzie wants to be a basketball coach or work in the front office in the future.

When weighing in on what makes a good coach, McKenzie said x’s and o’s are important but “Coaching is a lot of relationship managing and people managing. I think you have to be a good people person and be able to build those relationships, but also in that same breath, you can’t be afraid to have people dislike you in moments. I think that’s a big part of leadership.”

#2 McKenzie says the trajectory of her career changed when she made the decision to transfer from Cal to Harvard.

 In order to transfer, she was forced to take a gap year and spend a lot of time in the gym. “I completely transformed my body and, going into the Harvard season, felt like I was a completely different player. Going to Harvard and playing in a more mid-major conference, I had the ball in my hands a lot more than I might have if I transferred to another Power 5. It really developed other parts of my game.”

#3 How does McKenzie think USC will do in the Women’s College Basketball Tournament?

“I’m not going to give a typical interview answer. I want a Final Four. We have that potential and capability. Like why not? Why not us? I think we have all the pieces.”

#4 Her older brother, Marcus, was her biggest mentor growing up.

“He was basically my trainer from Elementary school on until he went to college.”

#5 Fun facts about Forbes:

She can juggle and she was the quarterback of her Pop Warner football team. “I was slow but I could throw it!”

Watch the full conversation on the Just Women’s Sports YouTube channel.

Christen Press back training with Angel City FC

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 15: Christen Press #23 of Angel City FC waves to fans following a game between the Portland Thorns and Angel City FC at BMO Stadium on October 15, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)

Christen Press continues to inch her way back to a return, having returned to training with her club team Angel City. 

Angel City FC coach Becki Tweed said on Wednesday that Press is back with the team full-time as she continues to make her way back from an ACL injury. While she’s still working on rehab, her being back with the team gives staff a better picture of her progress. 

"Christen [Press] is back with us full time which is amazing,” she said. “Having her in and around the team every day, continuing to work hard on rehab ... she's in a space where being in with the team is really important to her and her progression as well.”

The status update comes days after Press posted videos to social media that featured her doing lateral movement in cleats on grass. 

“Look out world she’s on the move !” Press captioned it. 

Press has been sidelined with an ACL injury since 2022, which caused her to miss the 2023 World Cup. She’s since had four separate surgeries to help repair her ACL.

Press told The Athletic a month ago that she’s been “relentless” in her optimism with her recovery despite it being a “slow process.”

“I have a bit of relentless optimism,” she told The Athletic. “I never, ever doubted that I would make it back on any of the timelines I’ve been on."

"Every single time I’ve heard, ‘You have to have surgery,’ I’m completely shocked,” she said. “When somebody asks me how it’s going, I’m like, ‘It’s going great. And it was going great every time. So I don’t know what to tell you anymore!’”

Sophia Smith re-signs with Portland on record deal

(Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports)

Sophia Smith is now the NWSL’s highest-paid player. 

The Portland Thorns announced on Wednesday that they have signed Smith to a new contract through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026. While the terms of the deal were not disclosed, the team did reveal that Smith is now the highest-paid player in the league on an annual basis.

It’s the latest in what has been a series of record-breaking contracts in the NWSL offseason. 

Chicago Red Stars forward Mallory Swanson, Bay FC forward Racheal Kundananji, and Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda all signed multi-year deals worth between $2 million and $2.5 million in total. While Smith’s contract is shorter and not worth as much over the long-term, the annual worth is higher. 

“We are over the moon to have Soph commit again to the Thorns. She is a proven, world-class talent and one that we are excited to have contribute to the team’s continued success,” said head coach Mike Norris in a statement. “We look forward to working with her in a Thorns jersey as she continues to shine as one of the top strikers in the world.”

In just four seasons in the NWSL, Smith has led the Thorns to five trophies – including the 2022 NWSL championship – while winning league and championship MVP in 2022. In 61 appearances with Portland, she has 34 goals – including a brace to start this season against Kansas City. 

She’s also a member of the USWNT, having scored 16 goals in 44 international appearances.  Set to become a free agent at the end of this season, she told ESPN she “thought of all the options” but ultimately Portland felt like the right decision.

"There is no place like Portland," Smith said in a small roundtable interview that included ESPN. "I don't believe there's an environment like Portland to play in and it's a city that's so special to me and a city that I feel like I've grown up in almost and become who I am."

She also told ESPN that the team’s new ownership “changes everything.” The club is now led by the Bhathal family, who bought the club after Merritt Paulson was forced to sell it following his part in the NWSL’s abuse scandal. 

"Since I've been here there has been a lot of things going on with this club -- a lot of not-great things going on with this club -- and I have just been waiting for some stability and some reassurance that this club is headed in the right direction, and the Bhathal family coming in is doing exactly that, if not more,” Smith said. 

"Their vision for this club is so exciting, and you can just tell how passionate they are about making this what it should be and continuing to push the standard in women's soccer globally.”

Caitlin Clark offered $5 million to compete in Ice Cube’s league

IOWA CITY, IOWA- MARCH 25: Guard Caitlin Clark #22 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates as time runs out in the second half against the West Virginia Mountaineers during their second round match-up in the 2024 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Championship at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on March 25, 2024 in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)

Caitlin Clark has been offered $5 million to play in Ice Cube's Big3 league, he confirmed on social media Wednesday after the offer leaked.

"We intended the offer to remain private while Caitlin Clark plays for the championship," Ice Cube wrote on social media. "But I won't deny what's now already out there: BIG3 made a historic offer to Caitlin Clark. Why wouldn't we? Caitlin is a generational athlete who can achieve tremendous success in the BIG3."

While there has yet to be a women's player in the league, both Nancy Lieberman and Lisa Leslie have been part of the league as coaches and won championships.

"The skeptics laughed when we made Nancy Lieberman the first female coach of a men's pro team, and she won the championship in her first year," Ice Cube continued. "Then Lisa Leslie won it all in year two. With our offer, Caitlin Clark can make history and break down even more barriers for women athletes."

Ice Cube, whose name is O’Shea Jackson, says that the offer was made with the intention that Clark be able to compete in the WNBA “offseason.” Clark is largely expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft in April. But it’s unclear how the scheduling of the two leagues would work. 

The 2024 Big3 season is set to tip off on June 15, with 10 games spanning through mid-August. The WNBA regular season, meanwhile, begins on May 14 and ends on Sept. 19.

On “The Pat McAfee Show” on Wednesday, Jackson said that the league has yet to hear back from Clark. 

“We just need an answer, as soon as they are ready to give it to us,” he said. “It’s always 50-50 till we get a no. At the end of the day, it’s a generous offer.”

The offer – as well as the confusion on Jackson’s part about the timing of the WNBA season – caused some current WNBA players to react. 

"It's funny cause I be seeing his son at W games.. they don't talk?" wrote former No. 1 pick Rhyne Howard

"So no other women's basketball player has came to mind in the last 7 years?" wrote Lexie Brown, adding that she'd support if Ice Cube wanted to build a women's iteration of the league. She later discussed it on the Gils Arena Show, noting that his reasoning of wanting to “uplift and support WNBA players and women athletes” is a “cop out.”

Kalani Brown, meanwhile, told Clark to "take that money" and start a women's Big3.

WNBA salaries has been a talking point in recent months as more collegiate stars declare for the league. WNBA stars have often made more money playing abroad than they have in the WNBA. Clark is expected to be the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft on April 15, with a rookie salary of $76,535 for lottery draft picks (Nos. 1-4) that rises to $97,582 by her fourth season. But she also has an NIL valuation of almost $3.5 million.

Diana Taurasi famously skipped the 2015 WNBA season at the request of her Russian club, who paid her more to sit out than she would have made in the W. Her contract with the club was reportedly near $1.5 million per year.

Jackson also seemed to suggest that his league could be an alternative to going abroad

“America’s women athletes should not be forced to spend their off seasons playing in often dismal and dubious foreign countries just to make ends meet,” he wrote. Although it’s unclear whether or not the rapper intends to make offers to additional WNBA players. 

While the league does hold prioritization rules in its CBA, those typically apply only to players playing in overseas leagues. It’s unclear whether or not that would prevent Clark’s participation in the Big3 league.

WNBA players that don’t want to go overseas currently have the option of playing in Athletes Unlimited, which competes in the WNBA offseason.

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