What we learned from USA vs Russia

Welp. That happened. So what did we learn from the United States beating Russia 5-1 on the heels of an earlier 4-0 victory?

1. Nothing. We learned nothing.

2. The only thing we couldn’t have predicted was the Russia PK and even then some people probably called it as the only way Russia would score.

3. Honestly this game was mildly fun but poorly scheduled as it interrupted NWSL preseason, which is short as it is, leading to all kinds of minor injuries as teams try to get everyone up to speed as quickly as possible. Add travel and fatigue on top of that and this was not a great call when it comes to supporting the league.

Devil’s advocate: WNT friendlies right before the season starts actually does add some value for NWSL clubs by putting each team’s highest-profile players on national TV (unless you’re the Washington Spirit). The announcers for both FS1 and ESPN were pretty good about making sure to mention that these players do have a top-tier domestic league. Boston especially might appreciate these games, considering they both heavily featured their #1 draft pick, Rose Lavelle. Mal Pugh and Crystal Dunn were both pretty good overall, but Pugh is still in college at UCLA and Dunn left these shores for Chelsea.

Here, take this opportunity to rewatch clips of Lavelle’s performance from the first game against Russia.