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The United States Women’s National Team have blown the doors off their last two opponents, following their sluggish 1-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago. Jill Ellis’s squad has rattled off 5-0 and 6-0 victories against Guatemala and Haiti - and they’ll likely face Mexico on Friday with a chance to qualify for World Cup 2015.
Ellis lost forward Alex Morgan to a nasty ankle injury but, to no one's surprise, the team was perfectly fine with out Morgan’s services. Since her injury, the attack hasn’t suffered one bit, though it is against lesser quality opponents. Christen Press, Amy Rodriguez, Tobin Heath and Sydney Leroux are all great options for Jill Ellis, and that doesn’t even mention obvious starter Abby Wambach.
The player we are most intrigued about is Tobin Heath. Heath hasn’t seen as much action in a packed midfield, but her creativity has given her opportunities up high on the left side.
“Tobin loves to have fun on the ball, and she's very, very creative. We just wanted more end product, and certainly in training, certainly tonight we saw that. I was really pleased,” said head coach Jill Ellis.
Heath had this spectacular goal against Guatemala:
Another player that is receiving praise is Christen Press. Press has showed tremendous growth over the years and has shown her versatility with or without the ball. Press struggled to make her mark on the international stage because of the depth at that position, including Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux and Amy Rodriguez. Her speed and strength are similar to Morgan and Leroux, and Arod has over 100 caps, so Press was never really needed. Press then moved to Sweden where she tinkered with her game, relying on her technique and vision.
“[Christen] went to Europe and learned different ways of being dominant," says US all-time leading scorer Abby Wambach. "Because she isn't your quintessential forward, Press is a lot more mindful and thoughtful. She's almost a playmaking forward.”
The USMNT dreams of having the depth that Jill Ellis has with the women’s team.The United State’s second unit is probably better then most teams in this tournament. Their depth is a clear strength and will be an asset moving forward.
Morgan will be out for the rest of qualifying as her expected timetable for recovery will be 4-6 weeks. Morgan missed the last seven months with an injury on the same ankle she hurt against Guatemala.
The USWNT have outscored opponents 12-0 during this CONCACAF tournament and, 8 months out from World Cup 2015, they are right where they want to be. They have work to do to be ready for some of the stronger European and Asian teams, but (in our assessment) Jill Ellis has everything she needs to be successful, with Alex Morgan or not.
