It’s been a long time since the U.S. women’s national team turned up like this in a big tournament.
After an impressive 3-0 victory over Zambia in their Olympic opener, they hammered Germany 4-1 on Sunday, confirming safe passage into the knockout rounds and all but locking up the top spot in Group B. This was arguably the finest USWNT performance at a major tournament since their one-sided 2019 World Cup final victory over the Netherlands.
The national team has reclaimed its aura. Here’s how.
The right-sided dynamic
Emma Hayes has experimented with a three-back in possession since taking charge – that’s how she set up against Germany on Sunday.
Hayes' decision to stick with the back three meant that the right back, Emily Fox, stayed back alongside center backs Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson during build-up. This is no doubt a measure taken to control games, to ensure numbers behind the ball in case of turnovers, and to deny teams like Germany so much space to counter attack into.
Of course, the U.S.’s positional alignment also impacts their attacking play.
Left back Crystal Dunn pushed high up against Germany, essentially acting like an out-and-out winger. That, in turn, enabled Mallory Swanson to play inside and roam between lines alongside Rose Lavelle, while Trinity Rodman held an extremely wide position on the right.
This specific spacing – and the interplay it allowed for between Rodman and Lavelle on the right – stretched Germany’s defense to the breaking point and led directly to the opening goal of the match.
Germany defended, as they did so well in their 3-0 win over Australia to open their campaign, in a 4-4-2 with a compact midfield four. That left the fullbacks to handle the wide areas. In the 9th minute, German left back Felicitas Rauch attempted to close down Rodman while center back Marina Hegering tried to stay tight on Lavelle. A quick pass-and-move play saw Lindsey Horan find Lavelle, who slipped Rodman into the space behind.
Just about 30 seconds later, a similar move saw the United States take a 1-0 lead. This time, Rodman played a one-two with Lavelle, taking out both Rauch and Hegering.
