USWNT vs. Iceland, 2022 SheBelieves Cup: What to watch for

The United States Women’s National Team will hit the field tomorrow night to take on Iceland in their final match of the 2022 SheBelieves Cup. In what is expected to be a cold and rainy night at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, the USWNT will look to end with a win in what has set up to be the championship match of the tournament.

Iceland, ranked 16th in the world, enter the match on top of the table in the tournament with wins over New Zealand and the Czech Republic. The USMNT had a huge win over New Zealand and a draw in their opener against the Czechs to hold down 2nd place.

The two teams haven’t faced off since the 2015 Algarve Cup, where they played to a scoreless draw. The USWNT will want to be aggressive in going for the win so they can lift yet another SheBelieves Cup trophy, while Iceland, in their first SheBelieves Cup, want to leave the United States with the trophy in hand.

What To Watch For

Take the game to Iceland. The USWNT need to win to lift the trophy, which means we will likely see a team that wants to take the game to Iceland. That’s a good thing. Playing in the tempo that they like and leaving Iceland on their back heels will lead to scoring.

Overwhelm the midfield. Part of taking the match to Iceland includes just overwhelming their midfield. The USWNT has to find routes to get behind the midfield quickly and put a lot of pressure on Iceland’s defense.

Who will provide the scoring? Despite having 5 balls hit the back of the net against New Zealand, 3 of those were own goals. The USWNT needs to have someone step up and provide the scoring, and the question is: who’s going to the the leader in that department?

Prediction

It’s a very tight game, but a late goal wins it for the USWNT by a 1-0 score.