United States National Women's Football Team to Race to Mexico for CONCACAF First Game

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CARY, NC – If all goes as planned, Thursday was the first of 12 competitive matches played by the US National Women's Team before a person wearing a blazer handed them the trophy of the World Cup next year in France. Five to win CONCACAF now. Seven for the rest of the world later.

It's 18 hours of football, except the extra time. You can run a long way in 18 hours.

American women seem willing to know where. And how fast

Continuing on the spate of the past summer, the United States defeated Mexico 6-0 in its first CONCACAF Women's Championship group game. By starting the World Cup qualifying tournament with a potentially difficult match against the Confederation's third-best team, the only one to ever beat the Americans in World Cup qualifying, the Americans gave it a better look easy.

Or more exactly, American women have made it seem too difficult for Mexico.

Unlike four years ago, when the United States was still in danger but still working for a 1-0 triumph over Trinidad and Tobago in qualifying, it took Megan Rainoe less than three minutes to advance the lead. Mexico Thursday. In his first game as captain, Rapinoe opened the defense with a center in the center of the field, but did not miss his chance when Alex Morgan's pass was blocked. It does not matter. As Morgan followed his pass and Lindsey Horan charged from midfield, the ball quickly found his way back to Rapinoe.

This seemed to set the tone, the Americans made more than twice as many passes as Mexico in the first period and have accumulated more than 70% of the catch. It looked awesome, the final touch maybe a little off but the presence awesome.

Yet again and again in the first period, US assistant coach Tony Gustafsson and even head coach Jill Ellis took over. Ellis pleaded with the fourth official when Mexico took the time to score. And Gustafsson implored the players to speed up the tempo. His resonant voice has crossed the field – or at least most of it.

"I have not heard much about that," said Tobin Heath, smiling on his side opposite to the bench of the United States. "But I had the impression that he was saying something like that."

Delivered again at half time, this is not a new message. In qualifying, Ellis summed up the identity she wanted for the team formed over the past two years, calling it "aggressive, urgent, skillful, penetrating."

So they played fast in the first period. But they could play faster – move the ball in possession of the ball more quickly, squeeze and close faster in the rare cases where they lose it.

"I think it's hard, especially when you play with a team that was sitting a little bit back," Heath said of Mexico's five defenders. "So it was important for us to continue our tempo and the way we play, not to sit down and take too many touches, especially in areas where we felt we could take more, it was important for us to keep this tempo, go. "

Less than a minute after the start of the second period, while the United States was already in the second quarter, Nayell Rangel found himself a little behind Horan and shot the midfielder through l & # 39; shoulder. It was a fault of fatigue, of someone who was already running dangerously on energy to withstand the pressure. And that would only make it worse.

Rapinoe dropped the free kick that ensued in a dangerous space in front of Mexico's goal. The head of a defender escaped the crossbar and the ensuing battle ended with Julie Ertz slipping the ball deep in the goal for a 2-0 lead. Only 63 seconds had passed.

Not even four minutes later, Ertz was back in his familiar territory in the middle third of the field, slipping on a tackle to break a seemingly harmless pass near the sideline. Always the pressure.

The dam broke with the third goal, Morgan's head in the 57th minute of the Rapinoe corner again showing the team's potential on the boards – Morgan, Horan and Ertz are dangerous in the air for Rapinoe's quality service , Heath or Rose Lavelle. But the water was leaking well before Morgan and Rapinoe celebrated with the relocation of the new FIFA video game. A few minutes earlier, Heath had almost found the back of the net after an opponent had played a square ball on half the width of the field in front of his own goal, passing somebody physically and mentally exhausted. .

Heath quickly nodded. Rapinoe and Morgan each added a second goal. Mexico, who lost two games against the United States earlier this year but who appeared aggressive, never recovered. On a wet and humid night, their fatigue seemed to fill the United States' energy reserves.

"I think it comes in the form of space and time on the ball and that things open up a little easier," said Rapinoe about this ruthless. "Once the goals begin to fall, it is difficult for the teams to come back knowing that they are not going to get a lot of opportunities on the other end."

Mexico coach Roberto Medina said, through a translator, that there was no noticeable difference between the US tempo and two games played by the team earlier this year. He only admitted that the humidity made conditions faster and the ball harder to control.

The United States, he suggested, is still strong. He has a point. The pace and the aggression are not new in the American catalog. But rarely has a group shown the potential to mix it so cleverly with skill.

"I think our pace is high, both offensive and defensive," Heath said. "Defensively, we want to recover and win the ball as high as possible on the field, and then, when we win the ball, wherever we win it, we want to try to go forward as fast as we can." possible and reach the goal as quickly as possible and enjoy any team that wants to open and play against us. "

The plan is not foolproof. The Americans played for their identity against Australia this summer and controlled the course of the match. They still needed a late Horan head to save a tie. Australia is a peer, a full-fledged World Cup contender, and these matches sometimes go that way. The argument raised on Thursday was that Mexico is not yet a peer, not a close one. And if the United States plays these games with the same energy as against Australia, you get results like 6-0.

As the clock ticked less than 10 minutes and some fans began to make their way to the exit, the Americans led by six goals, Gustafsson got up and shouted: "Move the ball, move it", the United States remaining too long in possession of possession for his taste. The work was not finished yet.

"Nobody takes for granted the time we have on the ground," said Morgan. "And of course, we have such depth on the bench that it's important to continue showing why you deserve to be on the court for those 90 minutes or the duration of your game."

"So for us, it's just about continuing to play our tempo, not slowing down our pace or tempo when our opponent is trying to slow down the game or anything else."

One down. Eleven to go. American women believe they have the stamina for this race. Is the world?