Wanted to get these out there before the game, as it’s so easy to claim these things in hindsight.
- The USA will not reach the finals of the WC insisting on playing Carli Lloyd or Morgan Brian out wide. It’s really kind of baffling: you need a creative, attacking force opposite Megan Rapinoe, and presumably you included Tobin Heath on your roster for something. What, exactly, if not this? And if not her, why has Heather O’Reilly fallen so totally out of favor? I would rather see Sydney Leroux out wide than Lloyd or Morgan.That’s not a knock on Morgan and Lloyd: it’s just that their talents are vision, creativity, possession, pressuring the defense into poor decisions. They need to play between the channels to do that at their best. And if they play at their best, suddenly the USA has a skill dominance in a key part of the field.This is especially important, as Ali Krieger is performing solidly enough defensively, but isn’t offering a lot going forward. Meghan Klingenberg is pushing up higher than Krieger on the left-which the USA needs, because Rapinoe is likely to wander off in search of moments of brillance (and well she should). That means Krieger is probably right to hold back, but it also means the midfielder out there needs to be much, much more effective.I really want to see Heath there. I would even prefer Rapinoe on the right and Heath on the left. But evidently that’s just me.
- The USA will reach the finals if they can consistently get Brian or Lloyd the ball with some space in the middle of the field. Either one–or someone else, even: the point is that they need someone to own that spot behind their forwards, someone to either set Alex Morgan or Leroux free with through balls, or to get the ball out wide for service into Abby Wambach.
- OK, this has nothing to do with tomorrow’s game, but … do you think Nike just gave the same pitch to the USA and Brazil for their away shirts? Thinking, you know, what are the odds both of them go for it? That’s the USA on the left, Brazil on the right:
