In advance of the USA’s two April friendlies matches – on April 4 against Australia in Commerce City, Colo., and on April 7 against Belgium in Los Angeles – U.S. WNT head coach Jill Ellis spoke with ussoccer.com about the opponents, roster selections and the games.
On her goals for the April friendlies and their potential
impact on World Cup roster selection:
“Right now, everything is about preparing for June. Recognizing that these
are our last friendlies before the “Send-Off Series” and that we’re playing
two quality teams provides a positive sense of urgency to get the most out
of these two matches. Australia is a top-6 team, and Belgium came within a
goal of qualifying for the World Cup, so these opponents will provide us a
level of competition that we’ll be experiencing in France. Our time
together will be important to keep forging team chemistry and build on the
connectivity on the pitch so we can bring out the best from each other in
our team play.”
On facing a familiar opponent in Australia:
“We’ve had some highly competitive games with them over the past few years
and we love playing Australia as they push us to be better on both ends of
the field. There aren’t very many unknowns between our teams and they have
quite a few players playing in the NWSL, but while there is a familiarity,
they will also have new leadership, and that may or may not influence a
change in personnel or style. What remains important is our preparedness
for being able to read and manage any situations our opponents will
present.”
On facing Belgium for the first time:
“The growth of many Women’s National Teams around the world has been
remarkable to watch, but this is especially true of these European
countries outside of the teams who have had the most recent success like
Germany, England, Sweden, Norway and France. When you look at teams like
Spain, Scotland and Portugal, and the countries that competed in the UEFA
World Cup playoffs – Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Denmark –
you see teams that have made remarkable strides over the past four or five
years and that only helps grow the game worldwide. Belgium is a country
with a rich soccer culture – I believe their men’s team is ranked #1 in the
world – so I can only see the Belgian women’s team continuing to improve
and we’re really excited about the opportunity to play them for the first
time.”
On calling up defender Ali Krieger:
“I spoke with Ali and she’s excited to come into camp and help this team in
any way she can. Opportunities, however they transpire, are exactly that,
and Ali has been a great pro and will no doubt lean on her experience and
strengths when she comes back into this environment. Recently, she has been
training with her club in the outside back position and with the potential
to add depth on the right side, it was good timing to bring Ali into this
camp to join the other six defenders.”