USWNT vs. Colombia, 2023 Friendly: What to watch for

The United States Women’s National Team play their second match against Colombia in this international window tomorrow at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. The USWNT and Colombia played to a scoreless draw Thursday night in Utah, and it was a match that left a lot of fans frustrated about the play of the Americans.

There didn’t seem to be a ton of changes to the lineup or the style of play on the part of the USWNT, and they struggled to get a result against a very strong Colombia team. The same tactics that the team had under Vlatko Andonovski seemed to be present once again, with no response for Colombia’s adjustments. The USWNT had a chance to win it with a penalty, but Alex Morgan’s scoring woes continued as her take hit the post.

With another chance to play Las Cafeteras, the USWNT are hoping to have a better showing and, with much better weather in San Diego, hopefully claim the victory to close out the window.

Recent Form

USA

D (0-0) - Colombia - Friendly

W (2-0) - South Africa - Friendly

W (3-0) - South Africa - Friendly

D (0-0) - Sweden - 2023 Women’s World Cup Round of 16*

D (0-0) - Portugal - 2023 Women’s World Cup

*Lost on penalties

Colombia

D (0-0) - USA - Friendly

L (1-2) - England - 2023 Women’s World Cup Quarterfinals

W (1-0) - Jamaica - 2023 Women’s World Cup Round of 16

L (0-1) - Morocco - 2023 Women’s World Cup

W (2-1) - Germany - 2023 Women’s World Cup

L (2-0) - South Korea - 2023 Women’s World Cup

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars)

DEFENDERS (9): Alana Cook (OL Reign), Crystal Dunn (Portland Thorns FC), Emily Fox (North Carolina Courage), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Sofia Huerta (OL Reign), Casey Krueger (Chicago Red Stars), Becky Sauerbrunn (Portland Thorns), Emily Sonnett (OL Reign), M.A. Vignola (Angel City)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Savannah DeMelo (Racing Louisville), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon), Olivia Moultrie (Portland Thorns), Ashley Sanchez (Washington Spirit), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit)

FORWARDS (9): Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC), Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave), Midge Purce (NJ/NY Gotham), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns), Alyssa Thompson (Angel City), Lynn Williams (NJ/NY Gotham)

What To Watch For

Try something new. Thursday night in Utah, we saw a lot more of the same tactics and style of play we’ve seen for the last 4 years under Vlatko Andonovski. And, this is the chance for the team to try some new things. New formations, new tactics, new combinations, and a renewed focus on injecting some life into the team’s play on the field. It has to happen, but let’s see if they do it.

Give some of the new players a shot. There are 27 players on this roster, with some of them trying their best to break into the fold and show they can be a part of the core moving forward. Twila Kilgore should give them an opportunity to do that by putting them on the field. This is the only time we’ll really have to do that before a new coach comes in, so the coaching staff should take full advantage.

Continue to contain Colombia’s creativity. Colombia had their moments, but the USWNT did fairly well at containing some of Colombia’s attackers like Linda Caicedo. They need to continue to lock up Colombia’s creativity, because if they’re allowed to roam free, they can cause some serious damage.

Prediction

It will be another stagnant affair, but this time, the USWNT get a goal. 1-0 to the USA.