U.S. must rely on its gifted bench

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This article was published 24/06/2015 (4118 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — U.S. coach Jill Ellis loves to boast about her team’s depth. In Friday’s Women’s World Cup quarter-final with China, that depth probably will determine whether the Americans go on in the tournament or go home.

U.S. midfielders Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday will miss the match after each was handed a second yellow card in Monday’s 2-0 win over Colombia.

Bench

That will force the U.S. to call on its deep bench to replace them and could lead Ellis to ditch the 4-4-2 formation she’s been wedded to, going with three midfielders and three forwards instead.

Holiday has played every minute of the World Cup in central midfield, though she hasn’t been the offensive force the U.S. had expected.

The most likely stand-in for her is Morgan Brian, who has started once and come off the bench twice in this tournament.

Replacing Rapinoe, the creative heart of the U.S. attack, will be more difficult. The U.S. has five goals from open play in the World Cup and Rapinoe scored two of them while assisting on another.

Ellis probably will fill her spot with Christen Press, who is more comfortable up front and could be tempted to push forward as a third attacker, leaving the U.S., in effect, with a 4-3-3 formation.

Decisions

“We’ve got some decisions to make,” Ellis said. “But we’ve invested in players significantly over the past six months. So I feel very confident in the players that we have to be able to come on and contribute.”

But that’s not the end of the lineup questions facing Ellis. The U.S. has a quick three-day turnaround between games, and that may not be enough recovery time for Abby Wambach, who played 69 minutes on the punishing artificial turf Monday. Ellis could start either Sydney Leroux or Amy Rodriguez in her place, saving Wambach to be a late-game substitute.

— Los Angeles Times