USWNT takeaways: Refresh up top, replacing Julie Ertz and what we learned from post-World Cup friendlies

As the U.S. women’s national team bid farewell to two legends of the game in Megan Rapinoe and Julie Ertz, they also slowly began to usher in a new era.

There were few expectations that this month’s friendlies — a 3-0 win over South Africa on Thursday and a 2-0 victory over the same opponent on Sunday — would bring wholesale changes with Twila Kilgore at the helm. The interim head coach plans to save the major decision-making for Vlatko Andonovski’s eventual successor but still offered hints at what the team could look like when it arrives in Paris for next summer’s Olympics thanks to the introduction of some young players.

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