The United States Women’s National Team continued its hegemony over the women’s game last week in a blistering, ten-goal, tour-de-force, securing two victories in a doubleheader against Colombia. The International Friendly was anything but as the Americans proved that despite the looming retirements of a few of its aging stars the team will remain strong for years to come.
The first match, on Jan. 18, was a four to zero victory and an all-family affair as Manchester City and U.S. midfielder Sam Mewis scored a hat trick, and her elder sister, Kristie, provided yet another goal. One of the elder statesmen of the team, Megan Rapinoe provided an assist in that game before putting on a show during the Friday outing scoring twice as the Americans won six to zero. Other goals on Friday came from Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan, Midge Purce and Catarina Macario. Macario, who was born in Brazil but raised in California, made her international debut for the Americans just days after being cleared to play by FIFA.
Notably absent from the team sheet was legendary striker, Alex Morgan, who contracted COVID-19 while in California with her family. Her fellow forwards Christen Press and Tobin Heath opted not to return to the U.S. for January camp, choosing to stay in England with their club, Manchester United.
In the wake of their 2019 FIFA World Cup win, several members of the team, including much of their talented attack, have faced questions about the possibility of their retirement. Long-time staples of the lineup including Beck Sauerbrunn (35), Carli Lloyd (38) and Rapinoe (35) not to mention Kelley O’Hara Morgan, Press and Heath (all over 30) are approaching the age when players generally hang up their cleats. Though they do not necessarily agree with those assessments as demonstrated by Rapinoe’s answer to a reporter who posed the same question in 2019, “I don’t feel like I’m that old.”
The good news for the USWNT lies in its young talent. The previously referred to Macario is just 21 years old and chose to represent the U.S. over Brazil. She then made that decision count scoring just three minutes into her first start. Another future star is 22-year-old Mallory Pugh. She was the youngest member of the 2019 World Cup squad and has already racked up more than sixty appearances. The team is also bolstered by players like Rose LaVelle, the aforementioned Mewis sisters, Julie Ertz, and Lindsey Horan all in the prime of their careers.
This talent pool just goes to show that even with some of their greatest players looking at their last tournaments in 2021 and 2022, this group will be well-positioned to complete the Women’s World Cup’s first three-peat in Australia and New Zealand in 2023.