Each week, Luis Miguel Echegaray discusses the latest from the soccer world and shares his opinions, whether you agree with them or not. From standout performances and what you might have missed to what to keep an eye on in the coming days, LME has a few things to say.
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USWNT’s roster announcement and their historic World Cup quest
The United States women’s national soccer team is looking to win the World Cup for a third consecutive time, a feat that no other national team — men or women — has ever achieved. The roster was announced on Wednesday by none other than President Biden, the First Lady and some notable friends including Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, Jalen Hurts, Mia Hamm and Shaq.
A young and largely inexperienced squad in terms of the international stage, 14 of the 23 selected players have no World Cup experience and 11 players have less than 30 caps. But where the roster lacks in age, it makes up for in boldness. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski’s squad is fearless and talented, and to reflect that, the announcement should have used a mix of Beyonce’s “Run the World (Girls)” or “Bad Reputation” by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts as the soundtrack instead of generic audio.
𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄!
We asked a few friends to help with this year’s World Cup roster announcement 🤩
Visit https://t.co/sLCJ8RhiOx for full details 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/TckXmhgQyy
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) June 21, 2023
Regardless, the chances for the Americans to win their third straight World Cup trophy (fifth in total, matching the men’s Brazilian team) are good, but I wouldn’t say as strong as previous tournaments, including the 2019 edition when they won the whole thing by winning every game, scoring 26 goals (18 in their group) and only conceding three in the knockout stages.
There are generational changes within the team and sometimes that can be overwhelming at the World Cup, but it all depends on how you see it. Offensively, not everything can fall to veterans Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe or Lynn Williams. That means Alyssa Thompson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia Smith — the new faces of the team’s attack — will have to shake off any nerves and be prepared to step up. “I wasn’t alive for the ’99 World Cup…but I understood the importance of it as early as I possibly could,” said Smith this week, which made me feel older than Gandalf.
The other factor lies within the many absences due to injuries, including Mallory Swanson, Sam Mewis, Christen Press, Tobin Heath, Abby Dahlkemper and Catarina Macario. But the biggest hole is with the absence of the leader of leaders Becky Sauerbrunn. She is the team’s anchor, calming the waters of anxiety and discontent whenever things are not going their way. With more than 200 appearances for the national team and three World Cup appearances (two wins), she is a mentor and selfless captain.
The third reason is related to the competitive balance between teams across the world. The gap between the USWNT’s talent pool and their European opponents has never been smaller. Sarina Wiegman’s England — the European champions — are a force to be reckoned with and the Lionesses have a similar excellent chemistry as the Americans, while a talented Spain, efficient Germany and relentless France will all be tough to overcome.
