USWNT vs. Australia, 2021 friendly: What to watch for

The United States Women’s National Team begins its Australian trip with a friendly against the Matildas tomorrow night. The USWNT have brought a mix of youth and experience to Australia for this pair of friendlies, and they want to finish out 2021 with two road wins. What can we expect tomorrow night in Sydney?

What To Watch For

Contain Sam Kerr. Sam Kerr is super dangerous, one of the best strikers in the world. Operating as the lone striker, Australia will want to serve balls forward in an attempt to get her involved. The American defense will need to contain Sam Kerr while not letting her stretch the defense thin and provide holes.

Control the tempo through the midfield. The Matildas don’t want the American midfield to factor in the match, because that’s where the USWNT can thrive. The midfield core should focus on controlling the tempo, because with the ball at their feet, the Aussie attackers will be flat-footed and behind them, and the U.S. can go the other way.

Feed off the crowd. It has been a rare occurrence to see the USWNT go on the road and be subject to a crowd that is actively cheering against them, but we will see that in Australia. It will be intense, and Australia is going to use it as momentum. Counter that by feeding off the energy and the USWNT should fight that energy with their own to take the crowd out of it.

Prediction

This match will be a back-and-forth affair, and it will be an entertaining one. Ultimately, this feels like a 1-1 draw.