One game down, maybe five to go.
The U.S. women’s national team took care of business against Zambia on Thursday as they opened their 2024 Olympics campaign in Nice, dispatching their opponent 3-0 off of a Trinity Rodman brain-melter and Mallory Swanson scoring the fastest brace in USWNT history.
By all accounts, this was a superlative way to start the game. Even the loss of Jaedyn Shaw to injury before the lineups were announced and Sophia Smith’s seemingly precautionary exit thanks to an injury issue of her own did little to dampen the on-field spirits of the U.S. attackers. Though a 30th-minute red card to Zambian center back Pauline Zulu changed the whole feel of the game, the performance was satisfactory.
And it was a good thing, too.
Many came into the match feeling concerned about the potential for Barbra Banda and Racheal Kundananji to open the U.S. up on the counterattack. After all, the two forwards have combined for 14 goals in the current NWSL season. They’ve tallied 0.90 and 0.34 non-penalty xG per 96 minutes, respectively. They are a terrifying duo, and with the additions of Grace Chanda and Prisca Chilufya, Zambia’s attack could present authentic danger to the best of sides.
That’s not what happened on Thursday. Zambia didn’t score once, generated only 0.4 xG, and only managed four shots in the box during the entire game. Banda, the scariest opponent for the United States, was held to a single shot inside the box.
Whatever fright may have been triggered when Banda and Kundananji got into open space was consoled when they were unable to turn those moments into quality chances. The defensive performance was outstanding from center backs Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson — not to mention fullbacks Crystal Dunn and Emily Fox — and as such, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher barely had to flinch on what few shots she had to address.
So how did the U.S. shut down a truly dynamic attack spearheaded by Banda, the world’s most terrifying striker in the open field?
Emphasis on control
Whatever stress fans might feel about the U.S. attack in the post-Alex Morgan era, no real complaints may be made about the quality of the backline.
This stretches all the way back to the World Cup last year, where despite a mistake by Naeher against the Netherlands and one by Julie Ertz against Portugal, the USWNT defense put teams on lockdown.
So too in the friendlies leading up to the Olympics, where the United States didn’t concede a single time in the four matches under head coach Emma Hayes. Many of Hayes’s pre-tournament comments have centered around control of games. That starts with defensive solidity. Fox has gotten forward from right back less and less as time has passed, and the presence of Sam Coffey in defensive midfield rather than Andi Sullivan has ensured that danger areas are covered.
“If you play them [player-for-player] all over the pitch, it’s gonna be a difficult game,” Hayes recently said of Zambia.
