“We just want to be coached”: USWNT show signs of progress in Olympic sendoff win over Mexico

HARRISON, N.J. – It was about as dominant as a 1-0 win could be. The United States women’s national team had no trouble defeating Mexico on a hot, humid afternoon at Red Bulls Arena in their first send-off friendly prior to the Paris Olympics. The USWNT will travel to the nation’s capital to face Costa Rica on Tuesday, before they head to their first major tournament of the Emma Hayes era. 

Although much more challenging opponents await in France, Saturday’s performance was nonetheless an assurance of the progress under Hayes, who took the reins during the last FIFA window. 

Let’s dive into what we learned from a day in northern New Jersey.

A midfield tweak

With Catarina Macario ruled out of the Olympics with a knee injury, Rose Lavelle notably got the nod as the attacking midfielder over rising star Jaedyn Shaw. 

In the first half against Mexico, Hayes deployed a Lindsey Horan and Sam Coffey double pivot behind an attacking line that featured Lavelle and often resembled a front five. The U.S. dominated possession to the extent that the entire game seemed like a training exercise. There was tempo and intent, sure. And yet in moments, they seemed short of rhythm and sharpness to break Mexico down and create chances outside of transition (more on that later). 

After halftime, Horan was clearly looking to receive the ball in more advanced positions while Lavelle was also dropping deeper. 

“We pushed me a little bit higher just to see what they do and how they adjust, and it created a little bit more. I think we didn’t need a double pivot at times. So what can we do to move them a little bit? And again, open a little bit up for us in the end to get that goal. So it was great,” Horan said. 

Indeed, the scoring sequence began with Lavelle receiving the ball from center back Naomi Girma in the United States’ own half. As Lavelle drifted towards the right sideline with her first touch, she lifted her head to locate Trinity Rodman and then found her with a perfectly weighted right-footed pass.

Eventually, Sophia Smith put the ball in the back of Mexico’s net.

“We’re working on being a little more tactically flexible, and when things felt like it wasn’t working in the first half, I think we wanted to do something a little different in the second half. I think me going deeper just kind of happened, it worked,” Lavelle said. “But yeah, I think we’re trying to – as a group – learn how to adjust on the fly and be a little smarter with our adjustments during the games.”