USWNT: From Champions to Busts

Written By: Avary Bourbin, of Swish Tribune

The United States Women’s National Team were favorites going into the 2023 World Cup in Australia. However, their chance to make history and win 3 World Cups in a row was ruined by an early loss to Sweden in the Round of 16.

Many people were surprised to see the champions of the last two World Cups and the #1 ranked team in the world this year to be knocked out in the Round of 16. It has been 4,403 days since the Americans last felt the sting of World Cup elimination, which came from the 2011 Women's World Cup final against Japan. Now, many people are curious as to what happened to our team that fans took so much pride in. Did the United States get worse? Were they not able to utilize all their talent? Are other countries closing the gap between themselves and the US? In some ways, this is all true. Teams in Europe are on the rise and gaining more and more talent. More importantly, the US didn’t seem prepared for these teams. A lot of this can all be traced back to the United States coach, Vlatko Andonovski. One of his major mistakes was leaving big names on the bench when he could have utilized them to push the US towards a crucial win. For example, during the final group stage match, the US were taking on the Netherlands, which was the toughest opponent in their group. It was a 1-1 game thanks to a Lindsey Horan goal in the 62nd minute of play. The US continued to look for a goal late in the second half as they began to put a lot of pressure on the Dutch with three late corners. Unfortunately, they were never able to cash in any of these opportunities as players seemed tired late in this back-and-forth game. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Andonovski to sub in forwards Alyssa Thomson and Lynn Williams, to give the US the fresh legs they so desperately needed. However, these substitutions didn’t happen, and the game ended 1-1. This was a huge deal, as this game sealed The United States fate to play Sweden, who put an end to their World Cup run. Although the lack of substitutions was a huge reason for the United States failure to make it far in this World Cup, I believe the performance of their midfield was the biggest reason. The midfield is arguably the most important area on a soccer pitch- if you can control the middle, you control the game. Clearly, the United States struggled to accomplish this. Throughout the group stage games, the US attacked mostly down the wings. The ball was barely able to be connected through the middle to the forwards. Although, in the game against Sweden, the midfielders really stepped up. Andi Sullivan played her best game of the tournament and Emily Sonnett did a great job feeding the ball into Lindsey Horan. This played a big part in the US dominating Sweden with 58% possession and having 13 more shots. Ultimately, this is definitely not the end of a dynasty as there is a lot of young and veteran talent that will be ready for the next World Cup. I believe this team will be able to bounce back and establish their identity once again to their millions of fans.