Day 3 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup was a look into the future of the game. It was a showcase of the youngsters of the game. From Sophia Smith’s dazzling performance, Japan’s 2018 U20 generation reaching their final form to Haiti’s prodigy announcing herself.
Let’s dissect the action from the day!
Match 6: USA 3-0 Vietnam
The reigning defending champions began their hunt for a record third straight title and fifth star overall against debutants Vietnam. The US looked quite different from their previous iterations and took some time to find their footing initially. They recorded 28 shots and accrued an xG of 4.44.
Vlatko Andonovski’s 4-3-3 with Ertz at centerback to support the young Girma had some issues. The lineup was still developing synergies at various positions and that meant the Stars and Stripes looked unsure of their next pass at times, this resulted in a lot of long balls from the CBs.
Julie Ertz recorded a game high of 13 progressive passes and a lot of them were long balls from the half-way line.
Vietnam compensated for a lot of their deficiencies by being aggressive on the ball carrier and using a man marking scheme to dent their buildup via midfield. Their 5-4-1 approach consistently had someone step up to Andi Sullivan (#6) and take her out of the buildup phase. They allowed the CBs time to carry the ball forward and pick their options but marked the deepest offering midfielder diligently.
And then Sophia Smith took control.
She scored the opening goal in the 14th minute after an excellent move by the USWNT. Lindsey Horan broke lines with her pass and Alex Morgan produced an inventive flick-on at the edge of the box to slide Smith in behind.
The youngster was involved in all three goals for the USWNT, scoring twice and assisting once. She became the youngest player to score multiple goals on their World Cup debut for the USWNT, further cementing her status as one of the most influential players from the US.
The 2022 NWSL MVP caused chaos with her ball carrying and dribbling while also offering to receive in between lines and in behind with equal proficiency.
There was a penalty involved (obviously) towards the end of first half, which Morgan ended up missing but Smith doubled the lead minutes later. Horan scored the third in second half capping off a great performane helping the US cruise to victory.
Vietnam for some of their good work early on weren’t able to register a touch inside the opposition penalty box or get a shot off.
The second half introduction of Rose Lavelle added a creative zinger to the midfield and saw the incisive passing go up. The Cincinnati born midfielder threaded the needle frequently and flaunted her vision. The ball moved quicker with her on the field.
When fit, a midfield of Ertz, Horan and Lavelle picks itself and adds the most value as a unit for USWNT. It was three points on board for the US and that’s all they will be looking at right now. Bigger challenges await in the group.
Match 7: Zambia 0-5 Japan
This was arguably the most comprehensive win of the competition so far. Japan’s dominance not just reflected on the scoresheet but there was a feeling of them squeezing the life out of Zambia in real time.
Zambia had zero shots in reply to Japan’s 26, only four of which came from outside the box. Futoshi Ikeda’s side accured an xG 5.7, scoring five times. The average chance quality (xG per shot) for Japan in the entire game was 0.22, which signifies that it wasn’t just high volume of shots but they were of high quality as well.
Ikeda’s 3-4-2-1 / 3-4-3 has a great blend of possession control and incisiveness. The addition of direct attackers like Aoba Fujino and Hinata Miyazawa has given Japan that cutting edge in the attack. Zambia had no answers of the rotations in the attacking third from the players in the attacking third.
The back three build-up gave Japan a numerical superiority over Zambia’s first line of pressure with two players. Ikeda’s side used simple out-to-in patterns during their buildup to easily progress through the thirds as the structure enabled them to always have support around the ball.
Off-the-ball Nadeshiko were clever in picking up their moments and aware of the threat on transition. They used wide passes as triggers to press and force turnover high up the pitch and maintained a midblock rather than aggressively pushing the line high up. This allowed them to deal with Zambia’s potent transition threat.
This pressing scheme resulted in Japan’s third goal of the game. The sequence above showcases how a tight player-to-player marking and denying them time on the ball using the touchline as a pseudo defender worked in their favor. The resultant throw-in created the third goal scored by Miyazawa.
Japan made a high volume of recoveries close to that right touchline. (You can see it in action in the defensive action map for Hasegawa to understand the areas Japan chose to target).
While the team performance was exemplary, two players stood out in particular with their performances: Jun Endo and Aoba Fujino.
Endo shined in her LWB role, stretching the field on the left, producing some absolute dimes to create chances. She showcased a swagger on the ball and capped the game with a well deserved goal and assist.
Fujino on the other hand was simply phenomenal every time she got on the ball. The 19-year-old was very direct in her approach and constantly showed offered in behind for the ball. Her technical brilliance on the ball enabled her to create chances and her movement and shooting skills made her a goal threat.
Mina Tanaka had to wait a bit to finally score her first legal goal for Japan at the World Cup as she struggled to hold her line and got caught offside frequently. She scored two offside goals before scoring the one that counted.
Japan’s linebreaking prowess to attack the space was on full display in this game.
Japan had the best (and worst) of both worlds. Teams that attempt through-balls often do so because a) they have technicians to execute it and b) runners to target with it.
Nadeshiko recorded 12 through-balls - highest in the competition so far - and also got caught offside the most times (9) in a single game. The latter is a single game record since 2011. Tanaka and Endo were consistently running in behind and got called offside marginally, otherwise the scorline would have looked even more unforgiving.
The game had some VAR drama towards the end of the game when substitute Riko Ueki’s penalty kick was saved but it had to be retaken due to encroachment by the goalkeeper. Ueki took maximum advantage of the second chance, topping off a five star performance with a fifth goal.
This game was also a nod to Japan quietly building a golden generation. Little Nadeshiko (Japan’s U17 side) and Young Nadeshiko (Japan’s U20 side) have both enjoyed successes in youth competitions.
Japan U20 side won bronze at the 2012 and 2016 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, gold in 2018 and a silver in 2022. Their U17 side has won the 2014 edition of the U17 WWC and finishing second place in 2016. These players are now coming into their own for the senior side & are being rewarded with playtime.
In the starting XI today, Japan had
1 player from the 2012 U20 squad (Mina Tanaka)
1 player from the 2016 U20 squad (Yui Hasegawa)
4 players from the 2018 U20 squad (Jun Endo, Moeka Minami, Hinata Miyazawa, Fuka Nagano)
2 player from the 2022 U20 squad (Aoba Fujino, Rion Ishikawa)
That’s 6/11 starters that have come through after 2018. We talk about golden generations for Spain and Germany but Japan have an excellent track record as well.
Japan will move forward with the goal of finishing as group leaders while for Zambia things go from bad to worse as their second choice goalkeeper picked up a red in this game towards the end after their first choice was ruled out due to an injury.
Match 8: England 1-0 Haiti
The European champions began their run for the coveted double of Euros + World Cup. Weigman second attempt at doing so was off to a wobbly start (much like the 2019 run with Netherlands where they scraped a 1-0 win against New Zealand).
The game had a start stop feel to it due to the lenghty VAR interruptions early on in the game. England were awarded a penalty in the 30th minute for a pretty clear handball. Georgia Stanway’s initial attempt was saved but in another episode of penalty drama it was retaken due to goalkeeper encroachment.
The subsequent attempt was put away by the former Man City midfielder.
Haiti’s 4-4-2 stiffled England’s buildup quite comfortably by restricting Keira Walsh’s touches. The Barcelona midfielder was given the Lia Walti treament by Haiti, who assigned Melchie Dumornay to follow Walsh the entire game. England missed the ball carrying of captain Leah Williamson to break through the lines of the well organized and compact defence by Haiti. The player-to-player marking approach made life difficult for the Lionesses.
But the real star of the game was Olympique Lyonnais’ Melchie Dumornay. The youngster announced herself in the best possible fashion at the biggest possible stage.
She exhibited not just her natural explosiveness but also her tactical acumen and discipline to execute a player marking assignment. She picked out some great passes and offered outlet to receive and move play forward, absolutely bullying defenders using her physicality.
The above sequences showcases her explosiveness, her ability to play a great ball without breaking her stride and then trying to produce a magical moment in the box. She picked out some amazing passes while obliterating the lines with her carries.
This is just a small sample of what the 19 year-old did to England. I’ll leave a link of the Dumornay show for those interested.
For the Lionesses, Lauren James was a livewire after coming on, showcasing her exemplary vision to break lines via her passing and physical robustness in duels and ball carries. Goalkeeper Mary Earps had some good moments, keeping England in the game when things got more end to end.
England will want to put this behind them and swiftly figure out their best possible XI because the impact subs at last Euros haven’t been producing the goods when starting.
Match 9: Denmark 1-0 China
Denmark’s return to the World Cup after a 16 year absence ended in a win but it was a drab affair against the Asian Cup winners, China. This game finally brought an end to the run of one penalty per game at the World Cup so far.
China started in a 4-4-2 but without star attacker Wang Shuang, to everyone’s surprise. They had a clear plan to stiffle Denmark’s build-up by surrounding the deepest midfielder (Karen Holmgaard) by multiple players and using it as a trigger to apply pressure and deny her time on the ball.
This created some problems for Denmark to progress the ball and even though the other midfielders dropped to support, China making it a five player assigment made life really difficult to progress through the central corridor. The possession was naturally funneled wide and the progressive load well on the fullbacks. Rikke Sevecke, who started at RB, made a game high of 10 progressive passes, underlining the aforementioned phenomenon.
Neither side created any meaningful chances in the first half as the game continued being dull until the substitutions in the second half.
The country’s golden girl, Harder, proved the difference maker at the end with her corner delivery. The initial deision to use the former Chelsea attacker as a striker didn’t work as intended with Harder being isolated up front and unable to create any threat on the ball.
China’s earlier strat also worked to limit access through the central corridor also impacted the team’s access to Pernille Harder, which was an issue.
The introduction of Signe Bruun in the 62nd minute was a game changer for Denmark and it allowed Harder to flourish. Notice how Denmark started to create threat and register shots after 70 minutes.
Bruun provided a reference point in attack and utilized her aerial ability and back to goal play to link play with the wide attackers and engaging the CBs, thus opening the space for Harder to attack into.
The goal by Vangsgaard in the 89th minute was an excellent header from quite far out by the 182 cm tall forward.
Based on Haiti’s performance against England, they seem perfectly capable of defeating these two nations and getting out of the group on their first try. Denmark have quality but need to figure out a working solution for their talent pool quickly while the Steel Roses will have to show some more steel in their future performances.
Highlight of the day:
Everything begins at Blackburn
Meme of the day: USA head coach, Vlatko Andonovski, manifesting