Youthful USWNT Passes Pre–World Cup Test With Flying Colors

The Americans won their fourth straight SheBelieves Cup and gained valuable experience with the summer’s tournament looming.

FRISCO, Texas — The United States women’s national team won its fourth straight SheBelieves Cup on Wednesday, which was entirely beside the point.

“I don't think we’re going to talk a lot about the title,” said coach Vlatko Andonovski after a 2–1 victory over Brazil sealed the U.S.’s three-game sweep. “Throughout the tournament, while we were in camp, we’re talking about [how] it’s not just about this tournament, it’s about preparation for the World Cup.”

That goal is especially important for an unusually young U.S. squad. Decades into the dynasty, the Americans are experiencing some turnover—and seeing the results, as they lost three straight games this winter for the first time since 1993. Julie Foudy has called this period “a rebuild.”

Carli Lloyd and Ashlyn Harris retired after the 2019 World Cup. Abby Dahlkemper (back), Tierna Davidson (torn ACL), Julie Ertz (parental leave), Casey Krueger (parental leave), Catarina Macario (torn ACL), Sam Mewis (two knee surgeries), Kelley O’Hara (hip injury), Tobin Heath (knee surgery) and Christen Press (torn ACL) are running out of time to return before the World Cup.

That leaves the kids: This week, the U.S. rostered 13 players without World Cup experience and four with fewer than 20 caps overall.

So the team entered the tournament hoping to microwave them a bit. While Brazil, Canada and Japan flew commercial this week, the U.S. chartered flights from Orlando to Nashville to Frisco, because that’s how it will fly in Australia and New Zealand. (The Americans also took the opportunity to work out a refueling schedule.) The U.S. players stayed in accommodations similar to the ones they will inhabit this summer. Their meetings were held at approximately the times they will take place this summer. They played teams with different styles, as they will this summer. And most of all, they endured a grueling schedule of games and travel, as they will this summer.

The most important lesson the younger players learned was about what to do off the field, said forward Alex Morgan, 33, who played her 204th international game on Wednesday. “You need to get back to the hotel and start that recovery right away,” she said.

Andonovski hammered the idea of mindset in meetings. “Even those days where you feel like you don’t want to go to practice that day, or you’re like, I’m tired, being able to push through the soreness—I think it’s a mental thing, staying locked in all the time,” said forward Trinity Rodman, who at 20 years old picked up her 15th cap on Wednesday. She added, “I think being locked in at all times, especially during the game, because I think sometimes youth will show, maybe switching off during the play when you should’ve gotten back or you should’ve made that run. Turning being reactive into habits rather than reacting on the spot.”

Those skills take time to learn. The tournament MVP and breakout star of this stretch, forward Mallory Swanson, 24, remembers how overwhelmed she felt when she debuted in 2016. What did she need to learn? “Everything,” she said, laughing. “I think games bring experience and experience brings comfort.”

She certainly seems comfortable these days: Her goal in the 63rd minute, which gave the U.S. a 2–0 lead, was her fourth of the tournament, her seventh in 2023 and her eighth in the last six games. She is now the leading scorer in SheBelieves Cup history, with eight goals, and she has become so automatic that as she streaked down the field, Megan Rapinoe, 37, watching from behind the net, began celebrating early.

Mal Swanson is inevitable these days. SHEESH. pic.twitter.com/wuwujpL7mp

— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) February 23, 2023

Swanson thrust her arms into the air, hugged the teammates closest to her and then ran down the field to fling herself into Rapinoe’s arms. Rapinoe had been griping to Swanson about her goal celebrations—not celebratory enough, she said, so Swanson made sure to find her.

That was an improvement, Rapinoe said afterward. But she still needs more, especially from her less experienced teammates. (As a veteran, Morgan, who scored on a curling effort to finish out the first half, plans hers ahead of time, so they meet Rapinoe’s standards.)

“It’s an area that we need to really focus on,” Rapinoe said gravely. “I think it’s something you have to be serious about heading into a World Cup.” The perils of a young team.