ALL EYES ON GERMANY 2011: CONCACAF Qualifying Awaits U.S. Team in 2010
With the dramatic run to the 2008 Olympic gold medal fading into warm memories, 2010 is all about preparing for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be held in nine German cities from June 26 through July 17.
Last year, U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage had the benefit of the first full season of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) to evaluate current and potential WNT players. In 2010, she will continue to assess players who might help the USA in its run to the Women’s World Cup. Sundhage will have the opportunity to watch many WPS matches, but will also hold U.S. training camps and international matches, mostly focused before and after the WPS season, which runs from April to September.
Sundhage met the challenge of preparing a team for a world championship on short notice, taking over as head coach at the end of 2007 with about three months to prepare for Olympic qualifying, and another three and a half months to prepare for the Beijing Olympics, but she now faces new challenges. While the U.S. team will certainly have a more extended run up to the Women’s World Cup, and Sundhage has the chance to see more players, most of their matches will be in the WPS, meaning Sundhage and her staff will have to maximize the time the national team gets to spend together.
For 2010, Sundhage has assembled a player pool of experienced veterans and young pros which should benefit a U.S. team that still has plenty of time to improve and gel.
The U.S. schedule for early 2010 consisted of a January training camp and an annual trip to the Algarve Cup in Portugal in late February, where the USA won the title, defeating Germany by a 3-2 score in sloppy conditions, before the WPS clubs opened pre-season camps in March. The U.S. team had two friendly matches at the end of March, defeating Mexico twice, and then pulled off a dominating 4-0 victory over Germany in Cleveland, Ohio, in late May. The USA had two mid-summer contests with Sweden, tying the first and winning the second, and will have two more exhibitions before the start of CONCACAF Qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. That CONCACAF tournament will be held in Mexico in late October and early November. The USA will be grouped with Haiti, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
The two teams that make the championship game of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament will book tickets to Germany, and the third-place team will earn a play-off against the fifth place finisher from Europe, a switch from past years when CONCACAF played off against South America or Asia for the final berth in the Women’s World Cup.
The USA has won the last two Olympic gold medals, but finished third in the last two FIFA Women’s World Cups, something that Sundhage and her staff will work tirelessly to remedy as the cycle progresses toward the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The U.S. women began and ended 2009 in the top spot in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings and continue to hold that ranking deep into 2010. The team has lost just four matches in regulation time since the end of the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, just one under Sundhage, and will look to keep building the momentum that has made the USA one of the most successful women’s soccer nations in history.
WPS PROVIDES PLATFORM FOR WORLD CUP TEAM AUDITIONS
Although no players emerged as revelations for the national team during the inaugural WPS season, the league did give U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage a chance to deepen the player pool while sharpening the games of some valuable veteran players.
With the crucial World Cup qualifying tournament on the horizon, Sundhage and her staff are paying very close attention during season two of the new league as it will provide the WNT players a chance to perform at the highest levels every week while giving them new challenges to test their leadership, competitive grit and versatility. WPS matches often require the players to play different positions from the ones they play for their country, which should help increase the versatility and options for Sundhage.
The WPS season will also be an important one for U.S. captain Christie Rampone, who will be working her way back into shape after the birth of her second daughter in early spring. The emergence of center backs Amy LePeilbet, who was the WPS Defender of the Year for the Boston Breakers in 2009, and the rugged Rachel Buehler took the sting out of losing the pregnant Rampone for the second part of 2009. But Rampone won’t be the only vastly experienced U.S. center back coming back from pregnancy as her 2008 Olympic gold medal partner in the middle of the U.S. defense as Kate Markgraf returns to the field to play her first WPS season for the Chicago Red Stars.
At outside back, the USA has some solid veterans in Heather Mitts as well as 100-plus capped Cat Whitehill, who has played most of her career in the middle, but will likely be seeing more time on the flank under Sundhage. The left-footed Meghan Schnur played a key role in helping Sky Blue FC to the WPS title and will try to earn some playing time at outside back while youth and senior Women’s World Cup veteran Stephanie Cox is still in the mix for either flank on the back line.
The USA boasts an excellent combination of center midfielders in Carli Lloyd and Shannon Boxx, who complemented each other so well during the 2008 Olympics and will look to do so again moving forward toward Germany 2011. The emergence of 5-foot-10 Yael Averbuch following Angela Hucles’ retirement adds depth to the center midfield spot, as does the emergence of WUSA and WPS veteran Lori Lindsey, who will look to break through after many years in the WNT player pool. Should Lindsay Tarpley return strong from ACL surgery, the USA will have yet another option at the attacking midfielder slot.
The U.S. women seem to be in very good shape at outside midfield, with 2009 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Tobin Heath, Heather O’Reilly and Megan Rapinoe all able to impact the game in various ways from the flanks. Young Casey Nogueira has also shown some flashes of unique talent from the wings. Rapinoe, who can also play in the center of the center of the midfield or up top, is one of the USA’s most versatile players.
At forward, the Americans will of course be relying once again on Abby Wambach who has fully recovered from the broken leg that knocked her out of the 2008 Olympics. The USA’s all-time active leading scorer with 101 goals heading into 2010, she was also the top American scorer in the WPS. While Amy Rodriguez will be looking to make more of an impact on the U.S. team through goal scoring, her speed and ability to stretch opposing defenses has made her a consistent impact player for the USA. Lauren Cheney had fantastic senior season at UCLA and is earning her way through her rookie season in WPS. She seems poised to make a big contribution. The U.S. coaching staff is hoping that Kelley O’Hara, the top scorer in college soccer in 2009, will add tremendous work rate, the infectious enthusiasm of youth and an insatiable desire to find the net. Young striker Alex Morgan, the only college player consistently called in during 2010, is trying to her way into the rotation of what is suddenly a deeper U.S. contingent of strikers.
In goal, the USA has one of the world’s best in the athletic Hope Solo, who has firmly established herself as the USA’s No. 1 ‘keeper across the past five years and last year became the first ‘keeper to win U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year honors. She was also voted the WPS Goalkeeper of the Year. Nicole Barnhart has battled back through injuries to consistently pair with Solo on U.S. rosters, but young goalkeepers Jill Loyden, Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher, all trying to become consistent performers in WPS, will make a run for a third GK roster spot on the WWC team.
With the dramatic run to the 2008 Olympic gold medal fading into warm memories, 2010 is all about preparing for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be held in nine German cities from June 26 through July 17.
Last year, U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage had the benefit of the first full season of Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) to evaluate current and potential WNT players. In 2010, she will continue to assess players who might help the USA in its run to the Women’s World Cup. Sundhage will have the opportunity to watch many WPS matches, but will also hold U.S. training camps and international matches, mostly focused before and after the WPS season, which runs from April to September.
Sundhage met the challenge of preparing a team for a world championship on short notice, taking over as head coach at the end of 2007 with about three months to prepare for Olympic qualifying, and another three and a half months to prepare for the Beijing Olympics, but she now faces new challenges. While the U.S. team will certainly have a more extended run up to the Women’s World Cup, and Sundhage has the chance to see more players, most of their matches will be in the WPS, meaning Sundhage and her staff will have to maximize the time the national team gets to spend together.
For 2010, Sundhage has assembled a player pool of experienced veterans and young pros which should benefit a U.S. team that still has plenty of time to improve and gel.
The U.S. schedule for early 2010 consisted of a January training camp and an annual trip to the Algarve Cup in Portugal in late February, where the USA won the title, defeating Germany by a 3-2 score in sloppy conditions, before the WPS clubs opened pre-season camps in March. The U.S. team had two friendly matches at the end of March, defeating Mexico twice, and then pulled off a dominating 4-0 victory over Germany in Cleveland, Ohio, in late May. The USA had two mid-summer contests with Sweden, tying the first and winning the second, and will have two more exhibitions before the start of CONCACAF Qualifying for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. That CONCACAF tournament will be held in Mexico in late October and early November. The USA will be grouped with Haiti, Costa Rica and Guatemala.
The two teams that make the championship game of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament will book tickets to Germany, and the third-place team will earn a play-off against the fifth place finisher from Europe, a switch from past years when CONCACAF played off against South America or Asia for the final berth in the Women’s World Cup.
The USA has won the last two Olympic gold medals, but finished third in the last two FIFA Women’s World Cups, something that Sundhage and her staff will work tirelessly to remedy as the cycle progresses toward the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
The U.S. women began and ended 2009 in the top spot in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings and continue to hold that ranking deep into 2010. The team has lost just four matches in regulation time since the end of the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup, just one under Sundhage, and will look to keep building the momentum that has made the USA one of the most successful women’s soccer nations in history.
WPS PROVIDES PLATFORM FOR WORLD CUP TEAM AUDITIONS
Although no players emerged as revelations for the national team during the inaugural WPS season, the league did give U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage a chance to deepen the player pool while sharpening the games of some valuable veteran players.
With the crucial World Cup qualifying tournament on the horizon, Sundhage and her staff are paying very close attention during season two of the new league as it will provide the WNT players a chance to perform at the highest levels every week while giving them new challenges to test their leadership, competitive grit and versatility. WPS matches often require the players to play different positions from the ones they play for their country, which should help increase the versatility and options for Sundhage.
The WPS season will also be an important one for U.S. captain Christie Rampone, who will be working her way back into shape after the birth of her second daughter in early spring. The emergence of center backs Amy LePeilbet, who was the WPS Defender of the Year for the Boston Breakers in 2009, and the rugged Rachel Buehler took the sting out of losing the pregnant Rampone for the second part of 2009. But Rampone won’t be the only vastly experienced U.S. center back coming back from pregnancy as her 2008 Olympic gold medal partner in the middle of the U.S. defense as Kate Markgraf returns to the field to play her first WPS season for the Chicago Red Stars.
At outside back, the USA has some solid veterans in Heather Mitts as well as 100-plus capped Cat Whitehill, who has played most of her career in the middle, but will likely be seeing more time on the flank under Sundhage. The left-footed Meghan Schnur played a key role in helping Sky Blue FC to the WPS title and will try to earn some playing time at outside back while youth and senior Women’s World Cup veteran Stephanie Cox is still in the mix for either flank on the back line.
The USA boasts an excellent combination of center midfielders in Carli Lloyd and Shannon Boxx, who complemented each other so well during the 2008 Olympics and will look to do so again moving forward toward Germany 2011. The emergence of 5-foot-10 Yael Averbuch following Angela Hucles’ retirement adds depth to the center midfield spot, as does the emergence of WUSA and WPS veteran Lori Lindsey, who will look to break through after many years in the WNT player pool. Should Lindsay Tarpley return strong from ACL surgery, the USA will have yet another option at the attacking midfielder slot.
The U.S. women seem to be in very good shape at outside midfield, with 2009 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of the Year Tobin Heath, Heather O’Reilly and Megan Rapinoe all able to impact the game in various ways from the flanks. Young Casey Nogueira has also shown some flashes of unique talent from the wings. Rapinoe, who can also play in the center of the center of the midfield or up top, is one of the USA’s most versatile players.
At forward, the Americans will of course be relying once again on Abby Wambach who has fully recovered from the broken leg that knocked her out of the 2008 Olympics. The USA’s all-time active leading scorer with 101 goals heading into 2010, she was also the top American scorer in the WPS. While Amy Rodriguez will be looking to make more of an impact on the U.S. team through goal scoring, her speed and ability to stretch opposing defenses has made her a consistent impact player for the USA. Lauren Cheney had fantastic senior season at UCLA and is earning her way through her rookie season in WPS. She seems poised to make a big contribution. The U.S. coaching staff is hoping that Kelley O’Hara, the top scorer in college soccer in 2009, will add tremendous work rate, the infectious enthusiasm of youth and an insatiable desire to find the net. Young striker Alex Morgan, the only college player consistently called in during 2010, is trying to her way into the rotation of what is suddenly a deeper U.S. contingent of strikers.
In goal, the USA has one of the world’s best in the athletic Hope Solo, who has firmly established herself as the USA’s No. 1 ‘keeper across the past five years and last year became the first ‘keeper to win U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year honors. She was also voted the WPS Goalkeeper of the Year. Nicole Barnhart has battled back through injuries to consistently pair with Solo on U.S. rosters, but young goalkeepers Jill Loyden, Ashlyn Harris and Alyssa Naeher, all trying to become consistent performers in WPS, will make a run for a third GK roster spot on the WWC team.
