USA battles Guatemala, fatigue in upcoming World Cup qualifier
CHICAGO -- When the United States women's national team continues its campaign to qualify for the 2015 Women's World Cup on Friday, it will be taking on two different foes. Guatemala is one, of course. Fatigue is the other.
When the Americans face off with their latest adversaries (live, FOX Sports 1, Friday, 9 p.m. ET), they will do so less than 48 hours after concluding their qualifying tournament opener against Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday night. The USA won out 1-0 then, but it had been a labored and frustrating game that required a good deal more exertion than anticipated.
Negotiating a grueling schedule of five games in just a dozen days -- assuming the USA reaches the knockout stages -- and managing the wear and tear is almost as central to succeeding in this tournament as the actual play on the field.
"Ideally, you kinda need two to three days between games for players to fully recover, research has shown that," explained USA fitness coach Dawn Scott on Thursday. "The players who played 90 minutes [on Wednesday] are not going to be fully recovered tomorrow. But there's many recovery methods and strategies we can use to try to accelerate that recovery process."
In addition to an extended cool-down following the Trinidad and Tobago game, the players were immediately given protein shakes. They took hot and cold contrast baths. After dinner, they got yet more protein and electrolytes. Some slept in compression sleeves. The staff made sure everybody got at least 8 hours of rest and when they woke up there were more protein and electrolyte drinks waiting for them outside their doors. They left Kansas City earlier than planned -- to put more time between the additional tiredness and dehydration of the flight and the game -- wore compression garments on the plane and did a light regeneration session upon arrival.
The Americans knew what was coming and they prepared accordingly, as has historically been their wont as the world's fittest team. The team has been doing yoga sessions every few days to help stretch their muscles and knuckled down on its conditioning over its camps the last two months. "We pushed the load," said veteran midfielder Carli Lloyd. "We had some harder trainings. We scrimmaged a boys' team. That was the plan and hopefully it pays off. The fitter you are, the easier it is for you to recover."
The qualifying tournament schedule, as Lloyd points out, isn't so different from the Algarve Cup the USA participates in every Spring. They play four games in eight days in Portugal. In fairness though, that's a friendly tournament in which the Americans rotate their squad constantly and can make six substitutions per game, rather than three.
This ongoing event is nevertheless good preparation for next summer's World Cup, when the Americans could face seven grueling, high-stakes games in as few as 26 days, depending on the group stage draw. "We're going to be faced with this, hopefully after we qualify, next summer," said Lloyd. "[USA head coach] Jill [Ellis] tells us this is a practice run, getting all the kinks out and just learning to deal with the travel. It's definitely great preparation."
In the meantime, the USA will have to summon a new freshness for Friday's game. The Guatemalans, having lost their opener in a shock 1-0 loss to Haiti, have their backs against the wall and need a win to stay alive. They are more technical and tactically sophisticated than Trinidad and Tobago and could present a new set of challenges. It's doubtful that they will sit back and wait for the Americans to come at them, the way the Socca Princesses did.
The Americans re-learned a lesson about the caliber of tests that awaits them then, when a game that they could have expected to win by a huge margin in the past was tight until the final whistle. They knew this already from the 2010 World Cup qualifiers, when they were upset by Mexico in the semifinals -- their only loss to any other team in this tournament ever -- and had to qualify through a playoff with Italy.
"It's a good indication that we can't take any team lightly," said Lloyd. "We've just got to grow."
If the USA does show improvement and claims a second win, the reward will be worthwhile. They would qualify for the knockout rounds with a game to spare, and the regulars could finally get some rest.
