The U.S. women’s national team defeated Canada 2-0 on the opening night of the SheBelieves Cup at Exploria Stadium in Orlando on Thursday. Mallory Swanson scored both goals in the first half. Here’s what you need to know:
GO ON, @MALPUGH!!!! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/gPvHwm2lyY
— U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team (@USWNT) February 17, 2023
Who helped their World Cup case?
Swanson, once again, proved she’s capable of finishing in multiple ways — whether it was the volley off of Morgan’s set up, or pouncing on Vanessa Gilles’ attempted back pass to Kailen Sheridan. She’s able to read situations quickly, and her positioning has been on point so far in 2023.
Andi Sullivan got the start as the team’s No. 6, and she provided some real bite against Canada — a team the USWNT knows very well. For as much attention as the Taylor Kornieck experiment as a holding mid has gotten, Sullivan provided a reminder that right now, she should be the front runner for this role in the World Cup. Now, whether she gets more support as part of a double pivot still remains to be seen, but before Thursday’s match coach Vlatko Andonovski seemed uninterested in trying a Sullivan-Kornieck combo as part of the team’s World Cup prep. Of course, then he opted to send Kornieck in for…
