The U.S. women's national team kicked off the 2024 SheBelieves Cup with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Japan in front of a record crowd at Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium on Saturday, though concerns over an injury to Naomi Girma cloud an otherwise encouraging outing.
Things got off to a rocky start for the USWNT, who conceded in the first minute when Japan's Kiko Seike capitalized on a counterattack. It did not shake the hosts' confidence, who quickly began to dominate the match and eventually found their equalizer through Jaedyn Shaw. The 19-year-old scored from distance and now has seven goals in 11 matches after only making her national team debut last fall.
The hosts stayed dominant in the second half, though struggled to find quality chances against an organized Japan defense. The breakthrough eventually came in the 77th minute when Lindsey Horan converted a penalty, which Sophia Smith won after a foul in the penalty area.
A crowd of 50.644 set the attendance record for a USWNT friendly on home soil, but it was not the only cause for celebration for the hosts. Among the standouts on Saturday was Mallory Swanson, who returned to the USWNT 364 days after tearing her patella tendon and created several impressive chances in her nearly 90-minute shift. Catarina Macario also played her first national team game in two years after a lengthy spell out with an ACL tear.
As for Girma, there are few available details after she came off in the 18th minute with an injury. "She's just getting evaluated for a right thigh injury," interim head coach Twila Kilgore said post-match, "and we'll know more shortly." Kilgore also said Coffey was taken off in the second half to be evaluated for a head injury, describing it as a "cautionary substitution."
The USWNT return to action on Tuesday in the SheBelieves Cup final. In the meantime, here's a look back at a strong semifinal outing against Japan.
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Strong response to adversity
One of the big lessons that came out of the winter's Concacaf W Gold Cup is that the USWNT has very little experience in losing situations, which was very much on display in their 2-0 loss to Mexico. Saturday's performance allowed the U.S. to showcase just how much progress they have made in that department, providing an optimistic outlook on the team in the process.
Seike's first-minute strike did not force the hosts to change their game plan all that much, and Twila Kilgore's team quickly began to outpossess Japan, trigger their press and turn that into shots. It took only 20 minutes for them to find an equalizer thanks to Shaw. The second half showing very much resembled the first, coming up with 18 shots and seven on target by the final whistle.
Though they generated a healthy number of shots, there might still be room for improvement as it pertains to the team's finishing. The U.S. had a tough time breaking down Japan's sturdy defense during the second half, even as they racked up shots, not dissimilar from other performances such as last December's 3-0 win over China. It is something they will need to work on, but talented attackers on the roster like Shaw and Swanson will inspire confidence that they could fix that problem sooner rather than later.
Successful midfield changes
Kilgore opted for a new look in midfield, starting Sam Coffey and Horan alongside Shaw, who played as a 10 after starting her national team career as a wide forward. While the roles were familiar to Coffey and Horan, the interim head coach said Shaw's new responsibilities were both to allow Swanson to come onto the field and a chance for her to showcase her versatility, which she did with aplomb.
"This is something that's really important as we look at developing a roster for the Olympics and thinking about versatility and things like that," Kilgore said. "We can see and give people experiences in multiple positions … I think she did an exceptional job and I just want to point out, not only did she score a brilliant goal and not only was she part of a lot of very effective buildup, but she did a great job defensively. This is an area where she has accepted a challenge and is continuing to grow in and makes a massive difference for her team."
Though Coffey had a level of familiarity with her tasks, Saturday's match marks a step up for a player who has been on the bubble for some time but is beginning to make her case as not just a roster inclusion, but perhaps a starter. Kilgore pointed to a moment around the 70th minute when Coffey's vision made a big difference in the USWNT's ability to stay in control of the match.
"Back-to-back, we had a couple of possessions right up the pipe and it stemmed from her recognizing that they changed the way they were defending," Kilgore said. "So where normally, it might have made sense to have a bounce and play it out wide for us to have a wide progression, she realized we needed to turn and she turned them under immense pressure."
Swanson's warm welcome
Swanson scored seven goals for the USWNT before her knee injury a year ago and though she did not score on Saturday, she seemed to pick right up from where she left off in a national team jersey. The forward was a focal point of the team's attack and came close to scoring on a handful of occasions in a performance that felt like a continuation of her strong start in NWSL play.
It's unclear if Swanson will be able to play a big role on Tuesday with a quick turnaround but with a 78-minute shift on Saturday and three 80-plus minute games behind her with the Chicago Red Stars, the forward is clearly fit. This game feels not only like an official welcome back, but an actual signal that she is truly in the mix for a spot on the Olympics roster come July.
