US values tournament test
When world No. 1 United States takes on No. 2 Germany in the first round of the SheBelieves Cup soccer tournament at Mapfre Stadium on Thursday night, the setting might be cordial, but veteran U. S. player Kelley O’Hara said it won’t be a friendly, and that’s a good thing.
She and the rest of newly shuffled U. S. team, with just one game played so far in 2018, gathered again a week ago in Orlando, Florida, to prepare for the round- robin tournament that includes No. 3 England and No. 6 France, with doubleheaders being played in three cities over a week.
“Not just this game but the whole SheBelieves tournament is pretty great for us as a team because we do only get to be in ‘ tournament mode’ every four years for the Olympic and World Cup cycles,” said O’Hara, who has a 2012 Olympic gold medal and a 2015 World Cup title in her career collection. “So I think it’s a good opportunity for us to be in the mode, because it’s very different from just facing a friendly.
“It feels like there is something on the line. … That’s something important for us to feel as a team.”
It’s a young 23- player U. S. team, whose only game this season is a win over Denmark.
The roster features 14 players who have 33 appearances or fewer, mixed with veterans such as Carli Lloyd ( 247), Alex Morgan ( 135) and O’Hara ( 105).
“You can’t really put a time frame” on finding chemistry as a team, O’Hara said before a practice at the Crew facility on Tuesday. “When it happens, it happens. But it’s something that has to be cultivated and invested in, and contributed to.
“But I’ve been a part of many teams … in the past and you do see it come together at the right time, we always have as this team. … We’re kind of in the middle of it ( with this team), and it will be really cool to see that continue to evolve.”
One of the newer players, forward Lynn Williams ( 16 appearances), represents part of the transitional evolution from the team that was shockingly eliminated in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.
The U. S. is still No. 1 in the world, but with the next World Cup a year away and the next Olympics two years off, Williams indicated that SheBelieves is a chance for the U. S. to reassert itself.
“One, hopefully we win, and you can just keep that ‘ you’re the best in the world’ mentality going into future tournaments,” Williams said. “But also, I think that when we play three big teams, especially going into a qualifying year, you really get to test yourself.
“You find weaknesses, you have strengths, you have things you need to work on. And we would rather learn that lesson sooner rather than later.”