Christen Press

There’s a moment in “Ted Lasso” where the eponymous coach yells at an assistant referee: “How is that offside!? No, I’m asking you, seriously: Explain offside to me, it makes no sense!”

Part of me wonders if that scene was based on the true story of Vlatko Andonovski at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. 

Andonovski’s USWNT has had nine goals called back for players being in offside positions in four matches at the 2020 Olympics. The U.S. has scored eight goals that actually counted. 

It’s a major problem, but so far it’s yet to really cost Team USA. 

The USWNT has been far from impressive at the Tokyo Olympics. The defense has been shaky, the midfield often overrun and the forwards unable to stay onside. But Team USA is through to the medal rounds thanks to the heroics of goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher, the one constant this tournament.

The USWNT bounced back, as basically everyone expected it to do, taking care of New Zealand 6-1 on Saturday in Saitama, Japan. After they were crushed by Sweden in the Olympic opener, the Americans needed a response, and this was a pretty good one. It was a fairly straightforward victory, though not necessarily the sort of performance that will scare the other medal favorites in Japan. 

One thing Team USA did accomplish was providing one of the few audience members a profound understanding of the intricacies of the offside rule. 

The USWNT defeated Mexico 4-0 during an international friendly in the pouring rain of Hartford, Connecticut on Thursday night to extend the team’s unbeaten streak to 43 games. The matchup was one of two games the U.S. and Mexico will play as a send-off for the Olympics later this month. The USWNT vs Mexico highlights and takeaways include the return of Tobin Heath, Christen Press continuing her insane form and lots and lots of rain.

The USWNT brought in 20,500 fans for the grand opening of Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, and defeated Nigeria 2-0 in the final game of the Summer Series. Christen Press will go down in history as the first player to score a goal in Q2 Stadium history.

First Goal In Q2 Stadium History

In stoppage time of the first half Carli Lloyd found Press with a quick-thinking pass which the American winger curled in for her 61st international goal.

On the mark

Carli Lloyd entered the USWNT’s June training camp knowing she couldn’t risk taking it easy with just 18 roster spots available for the Tokyo Olympics in July. She didn’t help her case when over-celebrating for a goal where she was clearly offside against Portugal on Thursday. 

If Thursday's USWNT vs. Portugal friendly was just an adventure in playing without Julie Ertz, it wasn’t the most pleasant trip. Defensively, Lindsey Horan did a great job of protecting the back four with Alyssa Naeher recording only one save. 

But it was all sluggish going forward in Houston with the temp reading 86° and 69% humidity. The front three of Alex Morgan, Christen Press and Megan Rapinoe failed to largely trouble Inês Pereira, while Rose Lavelle wasn’t able to make her mark over 90 minutes.