Heading into Tuesday’s USA vs. Nigeria 2015 World Cup match in Vancouver, British Columbia, the goal for the Americans is simple—win the match, and win Group D.
The biggest question for the United States is which 11 players head coach Jillian Ellis will include in her starting lineup. Ellis made waves during Friday’s match against Sweden when she opted to use forward Abby Wambach as a substitute.
Wambach, 35, is the all-time leader in goals scored for the national team and, until Friday, had started every game she’d appeared in since 2003.
Ellis started Morgan Brian, the team’s youngest player, in Wambach’s place and could opt to use her again against Nigeria.
Ellis said prior to the start of the World Cup that using Wambach as a sub was a possibility, and given the overall team speed that Nigeria possesses, saving Wambach’s legs for later in the second half could be advantageous for the Americans.
“They’re a physically capable team—they’re fast, they’re strong,” Wambach told Fox Sports on Saturday. “For us, we’re just going to have to weather some of their speed in the first 45 minutes. Frankly, we have such a deep bench, we have the ability to completely change our lineup if our coaching staff so chooses.”
After the match against Sweden, Wambach noted the difference between starting and coming off the bench.
“As a sub your mentality is different.You analyze, hope your skill, your talent will be the thing that makes the difference.” @AbbyWambach
With Wambach seemingly relegated to a substitute role, at least for the time being, and forward Alex Morgan still recovering from a knee injury, Team USA is playing without two of its biggest stars from the 2011 World Cup at full capacity.
Ellis had said Morgan would be eased into a full-time role when the World Cup began, and so far she has played only 23 minutes in USA’s first two matches.
The Nigerians will be without defender Ugo Njoku, who was suspended three games for elbowing Australia forward Samantha Kerr. Njoku came on as a substitute in that match and did not play in Nigeria’s 3-3 draw against Sweden.
For the United States, winning the group takes on added importance given that the runner-up of Group D will face Brazil in the Round of 16. Brazil is ranked No. 7 in the FIFA women’s rankings.
The United States wins the group with a win over Nigeria and could still win the group with a draw or a loss. A full list of scenarios can be found here.
For ratings purposes, USA vs. Brazil in the knockout stage would be an ideal matchup. The two teams faced off for one of the most iconic matches ever in the 2011 World Cup, when Wambach scored a late overtime goal to keep the Americans’ hopes alive. They went on to win the game in penalty kicks.
But the U.S. is not playing at top form at the moment, and a meeting with a less formidable opponent would do well for the team’s chances of making another deep run.
Australia played evenly with the U.S. for most of the match and had more shots on target (six) than the U.S. did (five). The Americans’ defense was better against Sweden, allowing no shots on target in the 0-0 draw.
But their attack sputtered, creating only 12 shot attempts with just two shots on goal. Should Ellis go with Brian in the lineup again against Nigeria, perhaps she can help create more scoring chances in her second World Cup start.
Should Team USA win Group D, it will face the third-place finisher of either Group B, E or F.
Via- Nick Selbe, Bleacher Report