USA TODAY International Edition
US women win draw for 2019 World Cup
Every team, regardless of how talented or how deep, needs a few lucky breaks to win a title.
Six months before the World Cup kicks off in France, the U.S. women got their first one.
The defending champions have what looks to be the easiest path through the group stage of all the contenders, drawing Thailand and Chile on Saturday as their first two opponents. Thailand, ranked 29th, won one game and gave up 10 goals in its first World Cup appearance in 2015. Chile, ranked 38th, will be making its World Cup debut.
Yes, the Americans also got their old frenemy Sweden. It might as well be a rule that the U.S. women face Sweden in group play at the World Cup, with France making it five consecutive tournaments they’ve been drawn together.
But even that game, or at least its timing, is beneficial for the Americans.
The U.S. will likely already be into the knockout rounds when it faces Sweden on June 20 in the final group game. The one other time the Americans faced Thailand, in 2016, it was a 9-0 thrashing, with three goals and four assists by Carli Lloyd. In their first two games against Chile, earlier this fall, the United States scored seven goals and gave up none.
But instead of going through the motions for the final group game, which could cost them some of their edge as they go into win-or-go-home games, the Americans will have to be laser-focused for Sweden. No problem, given this is the team that stunned the USA in the Rio Olympics quarterfinals. The loss, on penalties, was the U.S. women’s earliest exit ever in a major tournament.
“Obviously Sweden there, for sure, especially after the last Olympics,” midfielder Tobin Heath said on Fox Sports when asked what about Group F stood out to her.
Sweden, with its defensive-minded style, is also a good opponent to have before the knockout rounds, coach Jill Ellis said. “Sweden is a good matchup for us in terms of probably anticipating a team that’s going to maybe slow the pace a little and sit back,” she said.
While Ellis downplayed the group’s difficulty, she was happy with the draw because of when it has the Americans playing their games and where.
The tournament begins June 7 with host France playing South Korea in Paris, and the United States won’t have its first game until four days later. The Americans play Thailand in June 11 in Reims, face Chile on June 16 in Paris, and wrap up the group stage June 20 in Le Havre.
That means the Americans will spend the first two weeks of the World Cup within a two-hour radius of Paris. If things play to form, the U.S. women wouldn’t leave northern France until the semifinals, which, along with the July 7 final, are in Lyon.
“Tournaments like this, you want every possible advantage you can get,” Ellis said. “Not having to move and fly is potentially a good thing.”
The Americans will be heavy favorites to win their fourth World Cup. They haven’t lost a game in more than a year — July 27, 2017, to be exact.
But women’s soccer continues to get stronger, and the list of teams with legitimate title hopes longer, with every tournament.
“A lot of things have to fall in place,” Ellis said.
Including luck which, so far, is on the Americans’ side.