USWNT vs. Jamaica, 2021 Summer Series: What to watch for

The United States Women’s National Team look to improve in their 2nd match of the WNT Summer Series tomorrow night as they take on Jamaica in Houston. The USWNT did not play well but still were able to beat Portugal 1-0 in their opener Thursday night. They will want to play better as head coach Vlatko Andonovski continues to make final evaluations on who he wishes to name to the 18-player roster for the Olympics.

They take on a Jamaica team that beat Nigeria also by a 1-0 score on Thursday, and they’ll want to show that they can compete and be considered among the best teams in the region. It will still be a tall task for the Reggae Girlz, but they’re a team that’s going to challenge every ball and every possession and make life difficult. It will be a great test for the Americans as they seek to have a vast improvement from their performance against Portugal.

The roster for the USWNT:

GOALKEEPERS (3): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (8): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Abby Dahlkemper (Manchester City, ENG), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Kelley O’Hara (Washington Spirit), Margaret Purce (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Sonnett (Washington Spirit)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC), Rose Lavelle (OL Reign), Catarina Macario (Olympique Lyonnais), Kristie Mewis (Houston Dash), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)

FORWARDS (6): Carli Lloyd (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride), Christen Press (Manchester United), Megan Rapinoe (OL Reign), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage)

What To Watch For

A more aggressive high press. Vlatko Andonovski likes to deploy the high press, and it wasn’t as effective against Portugal as it has been recently. You have to expect that to be a primary focus, with Andonovski possibly starting Kristie Mewis in the middle to run free and having Carli Lloyd and Lynn Williams on his front line. He may sacrifice some creativity on offense, but he’s very confident in their ability to run the high press effectively, and he’ll want to see if they can also provide scoring as well.

A few rotations by Vlatko Andonovski. With 23 players in camp, we could see some shifting around with the lineup as he gives players a final chance to state their case why they should be a member of the Olympic team. The aforementioned Kristie Mewis, Lloyd, and Williams could be called on to start, and we may see Catarina Macario and Andi Sullivan as well. Look for Midge Purce to get some time as well, and it wouldn’t be a shock to see Jane Campbell get the start in her home stadium.

More work on set pieces. While the USWNT got their lone goal off a Christen Press corner kick that was so good that Samantha Mewis merely had to duck a few inches to redirect the ball into the net, the team didn’t do much with the rest of its 15 corner kicks. With their tenacious high press and ability to get off a ton of shots, they’ll want to do better on corner kicks and even any free kicks that are in dangerous spots. If they can do that, they may be able to get 3-4 goals strictly from set pieces, which will open up the field for them to score from the run of play.

Prediction

With the heat in Texas, the USWNT will start off a bit sluggish. However, the game opens up for them and they turn it into an H-Town party. 4-0 is the final score to the USA.