USWNT vs. Canada: Top Storylines and Predictions for 2023 SheBelieves Cup
The United States women's national team begins its SheBelieves Cup title defense on Thursday against Canada.
The match in Orlando and the two to follow against Japan and Brazil are more important than just the four-team, three-game round-robin event.
Vlatko Andonovski and his staff only have a few more games to perfect the USWNT lineup for the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. The USWNT's first group game is July 22 against Vietnam.
Canada is one of three consecutive elite opponents who will test the USWNT's quality ahead of the trip to Australia and New Zealand.
The Americans have historically dominated the North American rivalry battle. They are 52-4-7 against their rivals to the north and most recently beat them in the final of the Concacaf W Championship last summer.
The USWNT needs to find its best combination of players to start the World Cup opener.
The biggest concerns come in the defensive positions, as Andonovski needs to find out his best options at both full-back spots and in defensive midfield.
Emily Fox appears to be the favorite to land one of the top full-back positions, but she could be used on either side of the defense. Andonovski needs to figure out who is the best complement to the 24-year-old on the opposite side of the field.
Sofia Huerta and Crystal Dunn are the two main candidates to fill the other full-back role. Both players will likely be used in some capacity during the three-game tournament over the next week.
Dunn is the more experienced option. She has 101 more international appearances than Huerta. The Portland Thorns player is one of the more versatile players on the roster, and she has a better path to more consistent playing time at the back because of how much competition she would face in the more forward roles.
Andonovski also has to evaluate if 38-year-old Becky Sauerbrunn can continue to be the defensive anchor at center back, or if Alana Cook and Naomi Girma are the center backs to trust.
Cook started both January friendlies against New Zealand, while Girma and Sauerbrunn started one game each.
And then there is the biggest question hovering over the USWNT: Who will play the No. 6 position?
Julie Ertz has not played in 18 months, and the USWNT has been preparing to play this summer without her. Ertz gave birth to her first child in August and has not returned to soccer yet.
Sam Mewis, one of the potential replacements, has been ruled out of the World Cup with a knee injury, so that means one of Lindsey Horan, Andi Sullivan or Taylor Kornieck will likely start in that role.
Andonovski could use one defensive midfielder, or utilize a double pivot, to make up for the midfield absences. The lineups at the SheBelieves Cup should give us a better idea of what the USWNT manager has in mind for those spots.
Canada has long been a foe of the USWNT, but it does not have a long string of victories against its neighbor to the south.
The Canadians lost three of their last four games against the Americans, and they have 52 overall losses to the USWNT.
The recent losses were all by 1-0 margins, so that should give Christine Sinclair and Co. some hope to pull off a win in Orlando on Thursday.
Canada's experience comes in the advanced positions through Sinclair, Jessie Fleming and Sophie Schmidt. They can attack the Americans in their spots of weakness in the back line.
The Canadians tested themselves in the second half of 2022 with games against Brazil, Australia, Argentina and Morocco. They won both games with Australia and split the series with Brazil.
Canada can grab another big result on Thursday, and that could boost its chances of making a deep run at the World Cup. Canada plays Nigeria, Ireland and Australia in the group stage.
Sinclair has scored 190 goals for her country, and if the Canadians exploit the right gaps in the American defense, they could come away with a victory.
United States 1, Canada 1
The USWNT's defense enters the competition with some questions, and it could be exploited at some point by Sinclair and the rest of the Canadian attack.
The Americans shut out New Zealand twice in January, but they conceded in four of their last five games to close out 2022.
The USWNT has plenty of experience dealing with Sinclair and others from club and international level, and that should help in the matchup over 90 minutes.
The Alex Morgan-led USWNT attack scored in 18 of its last 20 games dating back to the start of 2022. it is hard to keep that unit scoreless for an entire match, so look for Morgan, Mallory Swanson and others to create enough quality chances to at least score once.
