The U.S. women’s national team and Colombia played to a 0-0 draw at America First Field in Sandy, Utah, on Thursday. Here’s what you need to know:
- U.S. veteran striker Alex Morgan missed a penalty in the 44th minute, hitting it off the post and sending the rebound over the crossbar. Center back Becky Sauerbrunn returned to international game action as a substitute at halftime after missing the 2023 World Cup with a foot injury.
- The Americans had 53.3 percent possession of the ball and nine corner kicks to Colombia’s one.
- The teams play again Sunday at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego (5:30 p.m. ET).
Alex Morgan is denied from the spot by the post ❌
Watch USA vs. Colombia live on TBS or Max 📺 pic.twitter.com/9iWydIIanN
— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 27, 2023
Few positives for the U.S.
Yuck. The holding pattern vibes were already strong in September, but this draw against Colombia showed that there’s really not a lot happening in terms of meaningfully preparing this team for next summer’s Olympics right now until the new head coach arrives. And that’s hard to blame on interim head coach Twila Kilgore, who has a bit of a thankless task right now, but rather just on the inertia the team seems to be feeling for the better part of a year. Eventually, the USWNT regained more of the ball, but the execution was not at the usual USWNT standard. — Meg Linehan, women’s soccer senior writer
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Is it a roster issue?
U.S. Soccer has allowed for some interesting decisions with the roster, but we haven’t actually seen those decisions play out in a meaningful way by seeing new players earn game minutes in a meaningful way. Kilgore might not feel empowered to experiment, but take midfielder Sam Coffey, back in the mix after missing out on the World Cup: She’s on the NWSL MVP shortlist, but can’t seem to crack back through into the XI.
It was good to see Jaedyn Shaw’s USWNT debut — but it’s hard to understand what 10-ish minutes in her debut actually does in terms of evaluating what she might look like on the field with the senior team. There’s a ton of potential and talent with this pool of players, but for now, it just feels like it’s more of the same. The result might be different on Sunday, but it feels likely that the inertia will continue. — Linehan
Required reading
- USWNT’s Becky Sauerbrunn, Sophia Smith return to roster ahead of friendlies vs. Colombia
- U.S. Soccer outlines process to have next USWNT coach in place by December
- Linda Caicedo talks overcoming cancer, Colombia’s World Cup run and joining Real Madrid
(Photo: Chris Nicoll / USA Today)