Alyssa Naeher heroics, boos for Korbin Albert as USWNT wins SheBelieves Cup on penalties

By
James BAOUCH
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0
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The USWNT needed penalty kicks and another ridiculous shootout performance from goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, but Emily Fox slotted the winning penalty kick to defeat Canada for the SheBelieves Cup trophy on Tuesday night. Despite misses from Trinity Rodman and Emily Sonnett during the shootout, Naeher once again played hero as she made three saves during the shootout and, as is her new standard, converted her own shot. It’s the seventh SheBelieves Cup trophy for the USWNT.

Sophia Smith provided both of the USWNT’s goals during the second half, after Canada went up late in the first. Canada would get an equalizer of their own late in the match after Crystal Dunn was judged to have brought down forward Adriana Leon in the box, with Leon converting the penalty to make it 2-2. Canadian center back Kadeisha Buchanen nearly provided the game-winning goal via her head, but the U.S. was saved by the crossbar on the final, notable chance of the match.

Earlier in the night, Brazil and Japan also went to penalties to decide the third-place team. Brazil ended up with that honor, as Japan struggled to convert any attempts in the shootout.

With decent weather and no torrential rain, we finally got a real look at what a true soccer game between the U.S. and Canada looks like right now — though somehow we ended up in the exact same place of needing penalties to decide a winner, while many U.S. fans made their displeasure with Korbin Albert known repeatedly throughout the night. Here are the takeaways from this edition of this matchup.


The USWNT celebrates after beating Canada. (Carmen Mandato/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)

Naeher redemption

Even at her heights during the 2019 World Cup cycle, few would mistake Alyssa Naeher for being a sweeper-keeper. The Chicago Red Stars netminder is an exceptional shot-stopper on her day and a capable defensive orchestrator, providing a level-headed approach that has kept games from going off the rails. Nevertheless, she’s not the type who will converge onto a ball before an attacker sets up their shot, and is more of a traditional stay-near-the-net shot-stopper.

Canada’s opening goal exposed that fact, one that has only gotten more apparent with each passing year.

Even without the “Naeher won’t beat Ashley Lawrence in a footrace” factor, Naeher decided to close the angle far too late into Canada’s counter. Any split-second of indecision works against a goalkeeper who needs to time that challenge, and it was likely the difference between a last-gasp clearance and the actual result, which was an attempted clearance off of Lawrence’s shin right to Deanne Rose. The indecision also cost the USWNT time to adjust its defensive shape, leaving Rose with an easy pass to Adriana Leon for an empty-net finish.

Of course, the resolution of the game — another tournament that ends with Naeher saving at least one penalty in a shootout — does reinforce her bona fides in the big moment. She remains one of the world’s best, if not its standard-bearer, in terms of handling spot-kick responsibilities in a big moment. Her resolve helped the U.S. bounce back from Rodman having the first penalty of the shootout saved. Naeher took control of the moment by making a save of her own, then immediately stepping up to take the U.S.’s third shot, then turning around and making two more saves. It was complete domination.

That said, and it goes without saying: a team only gets to penalties if it fails to win in the 90 or 120 minutes preceding it. When a team concedes goals like the one that opened the scoring tonight, coming up big in a shootout is a mandatory recompense.

If the team is determined to play a possession-based game that invites opponents to threaten on the counter, Naeher’s decision-making in similar situations could make or break the USWNT’s quest to earn a gold medal.

The U.S. fan base is still largely unhappy with Albert

Korbin Albert was a substitute in both games, and in both games she received boos when entering the field, though they were clearly audible even on Tuesday night’s television broadcast. In Columbus, where the in-stadium announcer had to re-do the substitution announcement when Albert came on for Shaw, Albert was booed both times, and yet again after the game when her name was read during the trophy ceremony.

Leaving aside that the team did look worse when Albert came on — who wouldn’t look worse with Shaw substituting off from the No. 10? — it’s clear that some fans are left unsatisfied by Albert’s apology and subsequent statements from USWNT leadership that, while they condemn anti-LGBTQ behavior, they are handling the issue privately.

Make it a double for Smith

Listen, it’s absolutely clutch for the USWNT to get Sophia Smith back in this goal-scoring form, but both of her goals help illustrate the sort of success this team can see when they move the ball with purpose and nail their first touch or one-time passing.

We’ve seen how playing a more direct approach has worked this year during the Gold Cup against Colombia, and when you think about the attacking talent (and depth of that talent) on this team, the direct approach is actually providing more options. Smith will get the credit for Tuesday’s two goals, but it was the introduction of Swanson and shifting Shaw back to the No. 10 that unlocked a more successful interplay between the forward line — and as we noted above, Shaw was involved on both goals in the build-up.

Her decision to simply lay it off for Smith on the equalizer, in particular, was the perfect example of what happens when you make the simple, quick decision and trust the player on the other side of that call.

The double pivot is back…ish

Against Canada, the United States opted for a more defensive setup with Sam Coffey and Emily Sonnett in a double pivot. But playing Coffey and Sonnett together there — and keeping Lindsey Horan in the midfield, as well — obliges you to shift Jaedyn Shaw out of the midfield, which is what happened as Shaw moved to the left wing. The 19-year-old Shaw looked a little discombobulated to start; it would’ve been really interesting to see her start at the No. 10 two games in a row, instead of asking her to adjust positionally. With more experience, that’s the kind of switch that Shaw will no doubt make more seamlessly, but in this game, it left the U.S. hunting around for some kind of outlet to penetrate Canada’s box.

The U.S. shifted tactics a bit in the second half, returning Shaw to the No. 10 by substituting Coffey for Mal Swanson. With Shaw closer to Smith, it enabled Smith to drop into the pocket in the half space instead of staying wide and having to fight past a defender, helping to create the equalizing goal in the second half. Shaw also helped create the second goal by picking out Rodman on a nicely weighted pass.

Having looked at both setups across the halves, it feels hard to argue for the more stultifying double-pivot, although that may have been affected by players adjusting positions between games and the loss of Naomi Girma to injury. It also suffered from some baffling usage of Dunn, who sat out on the touchline in space by herself for long minutes without ever getting the ball.

Of course, there’s no rule that the U.S. has to use one formation forever, and against Canada in a friendly, why not examine a more defensive setup and see if you can score out of it? The team’s willingness to make adjustments in the second half paid off in the end, and that’s really what matters.

(Top photo: Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)



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