The United States Women's National Team hasn't earned many positive results on (or off) the field in the past few months. France piled on Sunday by beating the short-handed visitors 2-0.
The U.S. women were playing away from home without Megan Rapinoe, Sydney Leroux, Christie Rampone, and Hope Solo, but the hosts frankly looked superb. Eugenie Le Sommer headed in the game’s opening goal early in the second half. Minutes later, Jessica Houara beat USWNT backup keeper Ashlynn Harris with a floating, unintentional shot-cross that slipped in the top corner.
Abby Wambach was subbed on in the 62nd minute - her 233rd cap - and quickly drew a penalty. Her uncharacteristically weak shot was stopped by Sarah Bouhaddi. Bouhaddi made six saves and showed expert control of her penalty area.
The French team played aggressively from the start and forced the United States women into a counter-attacking role. Alex Morgan used her speed to be her usual pesky self in that system, but neither she, nor Carli Lloyd, nor Christen Press could find the net behind Bouhaddi.
The French women, playing at home in front of a sellout crowd, were easily the better side, and the game was terrific for all 90 minutes. Le Sommer and Elodie Thomis picked on USWNT left back Lori Chalupny for the first goal. Houara’s "of-course-I-meant-that" goal came down that flank, too. The United States women had trouble dealing with the countless waves of attack on the wings.
Carli Lloyd and the USWNT face some questions in the months leading up to the 2015 World Cup, but Sunday was all about the surging French. (Photo: @Si_Soccer | Twitter)
That French team is a joy. Philippe Bergeroo’s women have their highest world ranking ever (third overall) and have beaten Germany, Brazil, and the U.S. since November. They’ve only lost once since being knocked out of the 2013 European Championship by Denmark. And Le Sommer is a star. The winning header was her 40th career international goal. The game was conveniently being played in Lorient, the town where Le Sommer played a good chunk of her youth ball. She averages a goal per game (98 in 98 games) for famous club power Lyon. She generally destroyed the U.S. back line on Sunday.
The French are shooting up the charts, and for the first time in quite a while the United States have more questions than answers. Will Hope Solo - serving a 30-day team suspension - be a part of the team in Canada? Harris, in her fifth U.S. start, looked solid. She was bested by a close-range header and a lucky shot-cross in a matter of 120 seconds. She made a few great saves in the first half to keep the game at nils. But Solo is the best women's keeper in the world. There’s no getting around that. If she’s on the team, she'll be between the pipes.
How much does Wambach have left? The legend looked lively in her 28 minutes of play in the loss. She drew a penalty, bizarrely shassed it, and missed an open header, but she provided a nice spark off the bench. Her and Morgan will still create plenty of chances and goals in the coming months.
The 2-0 result reveals far more about the strength of the French side than it does about the shortcomings of the United States women. No matter who was and wasn't in the U.S. lineup on Sunday, it’s not a stretch to imagine that the French mix of speed - Thomis is a bullet - and skill could take them to a best-ever finish at the World Cup in Canada this summer.
Grant is on Twitter @granburkhardt and you can chat about the footy with him there or at burkhardt@the18.com
