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SALT LAKE CITY — The United States Women’s National Team reached the quarterfinals of the 2015 Women’s World Cup with a 2-0 win over Colombia Monday, joining Germany as only the second team in women’s soccer history to make it at least so far in every World Cup.
But all is not well in the women’s soccer universe, and some of the biggest criticisms are coming from the United States’ greatest generation of talent.
The results speak for themselves, but U.S. legend Michelle Akers said she and several other members of the 1999 Women’s World Cup-winning squad are less-than-impressed with how the United States is using the current generation of goal-scorers like Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux and others.
“When I say I’ll take an ugly World Cup win, I’m dealing with the now. The now is that we don’t have all the pieces together,” Akers told SiriusXM FC satellite radio Monday evening after the round of 16 win. “We aren’t performing at our best. Some of our coaching decisions are unexplainable. If (head coach Jill Ellis) is pleased with the way we played tonight, then what the hell is she doing coaching our U.S. team? That’s a scary moment.”
Ellis said she thought the U.S. “stroked the ball around pretty well at times” in her official postmatch comments.
“We knew we would have a challenging game because Colombia is a very good opponent,” she added. “I thought we controlled most of the ball, and I had faith that at some point we would breakthrough and we are happy to advance.”
The United States will face China in the two nations’ first World Cup match since Akers, Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain and the other 99ers defeated the Chinese on penalty kicks to win the country’s first World Cup. The winner of that match will face the winner of France and Germany, both ranked among the top three in FIFA's latest world rankings.
China beat Cameroon, 1-0, June 20 after making its return to FIFA’s biggest stage following a hiatus from the 2011 World Cup in Germany.
Both nations, then, aren’t what they once were 16 years ago. The United States hasn’t won a World Cup since 2003, and results have been less-than-convincing through four games of the World Cup in Canada.
Defensively, U.S. goalkeeper Hope Solo and the back four have been stout, outscoring opponents, 6-1, with the lone goal-against coming in the group stage opener against world No. 10-ranked Australia in Winnipeg.
But it’s the U.S. offense that has driven Akers’ comments, among others. Alex Morgan scored her first goal since the Algarve Cup in March in the win over Colombia, and Wambach, the U.S. all-time leading international goal scorer, only has one goal this tournament — as well as a missed penalty kick against the Las Cafeteras Monday.
On the attacking side, midfielder Megan Rapinoe leads the team with two goals, and she’ll miss the quarterfinal on yellow card accumulation, along with midfielder Lauren Holiday.
“We expect and we know the U.S. can overpower and be more physical and be the best team, hands down, than any other team on any given day,” Akers said. “We know that should be. To see us struggle is frustrating; why aren’t we, when we should be? That’s part of it, too.”
Defensive-minded teams aren’t the worst use of tactics in women’s soccer, however. Defending World Cup champion Japan scored just 12 goals en route to the 2011 title in Germany, and it only scored three or more goals in two games of that tournament — one of them coming in a 3-1 semifinal win over Sweden.
The United States has yet to lose a game in 2015 World Cup competition, and the only draw was a 0-0 stalemate against former coach Pia Sundhage and Sweden June 12.
The 2011 Japan side, on the other hand, lost its final group-stage game to England, 2-0, then went on a run through the knockout round that ended with a penalty kick-victory over the United States for the championship.
Ellis’ lineup and substitution patterns have been the cause of much concern for many of former U.S. internationals. The Portsmouth, United Kingdom, native took over her first senior-level international head coaching job May 16, 2014, after the U.S. Soccer Federation removed Tom Sermanni in the middle of the World Cup cycle. Ellis has been with U.S. Soccer since 2000, and she coached several national championship UCLA teams from 1999-2010, as well.
But she’s also been criticized for her handling of Solo’s off-field issues, including allegations of domestic violence, and the first-time U.S. senior coach has been criticized for her heavy reliance on a 4-4-2 formation that limits the inclusion of up-and-coming strikers like Leroux, Amy Rodriguez, Christen Press and attacking midfielder Morgan Brian.
In her radio comments, Akers was siding with former U.S. coach and current Fox Sports analyst Tony DiCicco, who presided over the national during its most successful season.
“He invested a lot of his heart and soul, blood sweat and tears, all of that, into that team. And so did I and so did lots of other people,” Akers said. “It’s not just about ‘hey, Jill, said she would do it this way, and she’s not,’ or ‘our team isn’t playing well.’ That’s me out there; that’s my team.
“When we struggle or win and the coach isn’t handling the lineup right, or the subs are sketchy, or we aren’t getting enough out of us or are on the same page, that’s me out there. I can feel it with Tony, too; we take it personal. That’s our baby, too.”
