Harrison, New Jersey (May 27, 2019) — Just like that, the USWNT are heading to France. However, before jetting off for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the women going for a second-straight World Cup victory featured in a final send-off match.
The “Send Off Series” saw the United States defeat South Africa and New Zealand. Both are teams that have qualified for the World Cup. However, Mexico did not qualify. The three teams to qualify from CONCACAF are the United States, Canada and Jamaica. The “Reggae Girlz” will be competing in their first-ever tournament.
USWNT capture 3-0 victory over Mexico in final Send Off Series match
Mexico missed the margin, but suited up on Sunday afternoon in New Jersey. The match with the final installment of the Send Off Series. At Red Bull Arena, the United States claimed a 3-0 victory.
Tobin Heath scored the first goal for the United States. Mexican goalkeeper Cecilia Santiago gave away the ball only inches away from her goal. Heath was able to chip the ball past Santiago, giving the crowd of 26,332 something to cheer about. Meanwhile, for Heath, the match was her 150th contest in a United States uniform. She is currently the 22nd player in national team history to reach that mark.
The score remained the same until the 76th minute. Mallory Pugh, the 21-year-old from Colorado, tapped the ball past Santiago. However, the work was all done by Carli Lloyd, who nabbed the assist. Lloyd beat two defenders to get the ball to Pugh.
Christen Press hit the final nail in the coffin with a goal in the 88th minute. Julie Ertz assisted her former Chicago Red Stars teammate.
The United States had chances to make it a higher scoreline. Most notable was a chance from Lloyd, who was deemed offside in the 67th minute. Lloyd, who hails from Delran, New Jersey, which is an hour away from Red Bull Arena, made her 274th USWNT appearance. She is currently tied for fourth on the USWNT’s all-time appearance list with Julie Foudy.
Thanks for the send off, New Jersey!
26,332 of you brought the 🔥
Now let’s go bring that 🏆! pic.twitter.com/BNWbi3HxkW— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) May 26, 2019
Three Takeaways
- What happened to not experimenting? Jill Ellis preached up and down that she was done experimenting with the U.S. National Team lineups. Her experiments have put Crystal Dunn, an excellent forward and midfielder, on defense. Meanwhile, in the later portions of the match, Tobin Heath was featuring at left back for 26 minutes before Emily Sonnett entered the match. It’s just a friendly, but it’s moves like this that will put USWNT fans on the edge of their seats at the World Cup.
- Mewis or Horan: Sam Mewis and Lindsey Horan are both quality players. Horan has been battling with injury and recently came back. When Horan is healthy, she’s a fantastic player. Meanwhile, Mewis has been consistently good for club and country — and she stays healthy. Ellis will have to make decisions on who to start in which match during the World Cup.
- Warmups are great, but Naeher had no pressure: Against Mexico, Alyssa Naeher could’ve sat down and picked at the grass. That, of course, means that the field players were doing their job and keeping Mexico’s strikers contained. However, in the other two matches, Naeher wasn’t facing much pressure. While tune-up games are great for the United States, it’s hard to tell how Naeher will do in France when she hasn’t been tested much in the last month. Her last big test was against Australia in April. Here’s hoping Alex Morgan and Press take some hefty shots at her in training.
𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕖𝕖𝕥 𝕝𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕤, 𝕓𝕚𝕘 𝕕𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞𝕤, 𝕒𝕝𝕝 𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕜𝕚𝕟’ 𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕥𝕥𝕪. Before the grind, we got a fun 48 hours in NYC ✨#BehindTheCrest x @VW pic.twitter.com/1eIXAnJK8I
— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) May 26, 2019
What’s Next?
The United States WNT is off to France!
The FIFA Women’s World Cup begins on June 7, but the USWNT don’t start their tournament until June 11. In Reims, France, the United States will kickoff the tournament against Thailand. The last time the two sides faced off was in September 2016 in Columbus, Ohio. The United States captured a staggering 9-0 victory.
