This wasn't quite how it was supposed to go. There was a distinct upward trend, and if nothing else, the tournament in Brazil was supposed to sustain that momentum, if not built on it. Instead, the United States women's national team ended 2014 with a sort of troubling performance in a tournament, just as they had started the year.
In March, at the yearly Algarve Cup in Portugal, the Americans tied their first game against world champions Japan and then lost back-to-back games for the first time in more than a decade. Soon enough, head coach Tom Sermanni was out and Jill Ellis took his place.
For a time, she looked to have righted the ship. And as Sermanni had already figured out, the team was in need of rejuvenating and modernizing if it was going to remain competitive. Ellis devised a 4-3-3 system that made use of her deep pool of strikers and built confidence and form. World Cup qualifying was achieved at a canter in October. Now, the inaugural Torneio Internacional de Brasilia de Futebol Feminino in Brazil would give them a chance to end 2014 on a high and cruise into a Women's World Cup year safe in the knowledge that things were on the right track.
In their opener, the Americans looked a tad flat-footed and wound up having to settle for a 1-1 tie with China. Carli Lloyd, the midfielder who has been transcendent for the Americans this year, had the goal. But even as the USA eventually found their footing, the promising positions they maneuvered themselves into produced few real chances.
Next, the Americans ran into the Marta buzz saw when they faced the home team. The many-time World Player of the Year scored a hat-trick that undid Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe's goals, which had put the Americans up by a pair within 10 minutes. The bewitching Brazilian forward showed that she is still very much capable of making a contest swivel to her will.
But, as far as the Americans will be concerned, what was far more notable and concerning was their own disjointed performance. The defense simply had to no answer to Marta. The midfield was badly overrun, even though it has two of the finest players in the world there in Lloyd and Lauren Holiday. The attack was largely feckless. This would prove to be a pattern in this tournament in the games that were anything resembling hard. For all the purported depth up front for the Americans - a corps of strikers consisting of Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Christen Press and Amy Rodriguez, while several others like Rapinoe, Heather O'Reilly and Tobin Heath excel on the flanks as well - it delivered little.
Having failed to take a win going into their third match, the Americans were under the gun against Argentina, needing not only to win big, but for China to lose. They did just that, and China complied. In a 7-0 trouncing of an exceedingly weak Argentinian side, Press came unchained, scoring four times, and Lloyd added three more of her own. China, meanwhile, lost to Brazil 4-1, seeing the USA into the final game in spite of their forgettable 1-1-1 record.
In a rematch with Brazil in the final on Sunday, the Americans sat back, even though it is their stated objective to control the ball and set the pace for the run of play. Brazil, after all, had outplayed them earlier on, and they seemed intent on not giving cheap goals away a second time around. So they lurked on the counter and hoped for an opportunity.
Really, the Americans didn't start producing chances until the last half hour or so. Up until then, they mostly had had their hands full with containing Brazil, which is remarkably competitive with the USA. Consider, after all, that the latter have a year-round schedule of games and camps, a large coaching staff and a budget of many millions of dollars. The Brazilian women's program, meanwhile, basically shuts down after a World Cup and starts back up a few months before the next one.
The game ended 0-0. There was no extra time or penalties, and Brazil was awarded the tournament win on account of its superior record during the group stage. Or something.
The tournament, ultimately, wasn't the point here. For any team. This was about performance, with fewer than six months separating the participants from the 2015 Women's World Cup in Canada. The Americans will not have taken heart from this. Rather than continue to build, they regressed. Certainly, the conditions weren't always easy, as the Argentina game, for instance, was pushed back a day because of a flooded field. (The final was played in driving rain.)
But no such excuses will be tolerated next summer, when the tournament will be played on the lamentable artificial turf FIFA and the Canadian organizing committee won't budge from. Other issues exist. Among those lauded strikers, Wambach and Leroux are out of form; Morgan is injured again; Rodriguez can't seem to get a game; and only Press is performing.
Judging from the message boards and comment sections, the USA fans were deeply unhappy with the showing at this tournament. After a few promising months â admittedly against mostly weak opposition â there is a growing sense that this team should be further along.
