My 3 Thoughts on Mexico-USWNT
Late Mewis goal gives U.S. a 1-0 win after a lackluster performance
MONTERREY, Mexico — The USWNT beat Mexico 1-0 with a late Kristie Mewis goal (on which the U.S. might have been offside) on Matchday 3 of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament for the World Cup and Olympics on Monday night. The win gave the U.S. first place in its group and sets up a semifinal here against Costa Rica. It was a lackluster night for the U.S., which has now beaten Mexico 38 times in 40 all-time games (with one tie and one defeat). Here are my three thoughts on the game:
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• The U.S. was totally lacking invention. A large part of the problem was due to the starting central midfield of Lindsey Horan, Andi Sullivan and Ashley Sánchez, who didn’t provide any moments of creative spark for a U.S. team that seemed off and, well, boring for the vast majority of the game. There’s a huge drop-off on the midfield ideas meter when Rose Lavelle doesn’t start the game, and Horan just doesn’t appear to be at 100% or anywhere near in-form. But even some of the more traditionally creative attacking players like Sophia Smith were off their games on Monday. It has become entirely too common under coach Vlatko Andonovski for the U.S. to settle for thumping crosses into the box when the option is there to drive at defenders on the ball and attack directly. Those frustrations compounded against a Mexico team that played the last quarter-hour with 10 players.
• Midge Purce had some terrific moments and deserved better. The Gotham winger, coming off a goal on Matchday 1, was a pest for the U.S. and could have had a goal and an assist in a scoreless first half. Purce beat keeper Itzel González but smacked the left post 15 minutes in, and near the end of the half she made a glorious 65-yard run down the right side to erase the Mexican defense. Unfortunately for the U.S., Lindsay Horan, who was wide open for Purce’s cross, made a mess of the finish and shot directly at González. There’s a terrific battle going on for starting wing positions for the USWNT, and while Smith and Mal Pugh have a slight advantage, Purce has narrowed the gap a bit in this tournament.
• I’ll be curious to see where Mexico goes from here. With Jamaica’s 4-0 victory over Haiti in the other game (which qualified Jamaica for the World Cup), El Tri finished last in the four-team group and will miss the World Cup, an absolute disaster for a team that was hosting this tournament and fully expected to qualify for the expanded 32-team World Cup next year. (The crazy thing was that Jamaica’s goal difference against Haiti actually meant Mexico would have survived in World Cup qualifying if they had won this game 1-0.) But with a crowd in excess of 20,000 watching this game, Mexico had by far its best performance of the tournament against a U.S. team that has been its tormentor over the years. You have to wonder if that might be enough to save Mónica Vergara’s job, although the Mexican media is well-known for putting heaps of pressure on El Tri coaches who don’t succeed.
What are your thoughts? You can join the discussion in the comments below.
I agree about Midge. She has pace, strength and talent. Nothing “ drops off” when she is on the pitch. I also have noted from day one that Lindsay Horan has not earned her spot on the pitch. That terrible shot she took (!off of a perfect feed from Purce) had the force and placement of a weekend warrior. I also see nothing from Sullivan. She is not the “Tyler Adams “ of this team. And Sanchez seemed to disappear with this midfield group, as well. Coach can’t possibly think this is his starting midfield, can he? He brought in Huerta a bit late I think. She is our best outside defender, I think. And the rookie from Stanford was dominating. I also like Tyler K. She started the goal sequence that was converted. Our great center defense leader ( Becky) also should not be a starter. Although, we could do much worse. She simply is showing her age a bit, as every human does. The front three of Morgan, smith and Pugh couldn’t get much done tonight. Smith and Pugh were missing a few mph. Understandable. I thought O’Hara was good and Sonnet fully capable. But she is inconsistent with her decision making and passing. Hard to judge Murphy, although she answered every challenge. And there were a few.
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TV coverage being only on Paramount + is a total drag , and is a huge disservice to the USWNT as well as to fans like me. How many different streaming platforms do they think people can afford , or even want ?.......not happy.