Friday was about Megan Rapinoe. After all, not much these days isn’t. Rapinoe’s two goals, which sent the United States to the Women’s World Cup semifinals, punctuated one of the most bad-ass weeks in sports history. They produced iconic photos and cemented legend status. They extinguished pressure and justified love.
At the same time, however, the USWNT’s rousing 2-1 victory over France was about so much more. In the abstract and the material. It was about defensive stoicism and Alex Morgan’s fearlessness. It was about staggering self-confidence. It was about emotional investment and belief.
It was also about a manager, Jill Ellis, whom some believe is incompetent. Whom some talk about as if she’s a novice. Whom many were prepared to blame had Friday gone awry.
It didn’t, of course. And Ellis is a big reason why. Not only were controversial lineup decisions largely vindicated. Adjustments and tactical wrinkles helped the U.S. neutralize its most potent foe yet.
How the U.S. set up – and adjusted – to defend France
The U.S. played three different defensive schemes for 30 minutes each on Friday. The first was out of its standard 4-3-3.
But it often looked like an unorthodox 4-3-1-2. Striker Alex Morgan would drop to mark a defensive midfielder. Wingers Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath pressed France’s center backs, angling their runs from out to in to funnel the ball toward the middle of the field – and cut off supply lines to the fullbacks they’d abandoned:
With 15 minutes remaining in the half – and with a lead – the shape became 4-1-4-1. Ellis might have used an injury stoppage (and a de facto water break) to make the adjustment.
Thereafter, Morgan stayed high. The wingers, especially Heath, stayed wide. Now, either Rose Lavelle or Sam Mewis, the two advanced central midfielders, stepped to pressure French center backs who carried the ball forward:
Then, around the hour mark, the U.S. changed its base formation to a 5-4-1. Julie Ertz dropped to center back. TV cameras even caught Ellis choreographing the switch. (And when Lindsey Horan entered the game as a sub minutes later, she gathered the team for a mini-huddle to relay instructions.)
Those final 30 minutes were about seeing out a win. Even the middle 30 were influenced by the Americans’ 1-0 advantage.
But the opening 30 were instructive – and highlighted the nuance of Ellis’ gameplan.
Rapinoe’s freedom
The U.S. seemed to approach the game with a strategic imbalance. The aim was likely twofold: Combat one of France’s greatest strengths, and unleash a pink-haired American hero.
Both French wingers were menacing. But the attacking eagerness and aptitude of left back Amel Majri made the game asymmetrical. On the other side, in American minds, right back Marion Torrent wasn’t considered a threat.
So Rapinoe – sometimes, to some extent – ignored her.
Not because Rapinoes was lazy. Because she – and, presumably, the coaching staff – was smart. She instead lurked as a counter-attacking outlet, while Heath played as more of a defensive winger on the opposite side.
And when the ball turned over, Rapinoe was already in behind Torrent.
At the very least, her relaxed defensive responsibility allowed her to concentrate on seeking out space rather than sticking to opponents. Mewis, the left-sided central midfielder, covered for Rapinoe when necessary. Ellis also trusted left back Crystal Dunn to win 1-v-1 duels against Kadi Diani.
Dunn repaid her manager’s faith. She was often isolated, but never overwhelmed. She, Mewis, and the strategic imbalance allowed Rapinoe to roam free.
Now, the worry is that she won’t be able to on Tuesday.
England poses a different threat in semis
The U.S. is on to the semifinals, on to England, and on to a very different challenge.
The English fullbacks present a mirror image to France’s. Lucy Bronze is the best right back in the sport. She scored a belter of a goal against Norway in the quarters, and can be a focal point of the Lionesses’ attack.
Bronze and right winger Nikita Parris are the duo whom the Americans will have to account for, just as they adapted to contain Majri and Eugenie Le Sommer on Friday. The problem, of course: Rapinoe, who’ll share a flank with Bronze and Parris, is no defensive winger. Asking her to track Bronze for 90 minutes strips the USWNT of its deadliest attacking weapon.
So what is the solution?
That’s a question without a simple answer. But perhaps we should trust Ellis – who remains unbeaten in 12 World Cup games, and who just might, ya know, be a decent soccer coach – to devise one.
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Henry Bushnell is a features writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com, or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell, and on Facebook.
https://sports.yahoo.com/uswnt-jill-ellis-megan-rapinoe-france-womens-world-cup-tactics-052157179.html
2019-06-29 05:21:00Z
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