Armour: U.S. women win Cup opener, but rest of world is gaining on them
WINNIPEG -- It used to be the U.S. women could saunter through the early rounds of the World Cup, secure in knowing a spot in the semifinals was, if not pre-booked, certainly on hold.
Not anymore.
The world has caught up to the Americans, and if their early struggles against Australia on Monday didn't hammer that home, a glance at a few of the other scores will:
Cameroon, making its first appearance at the World Cup, hanging a six-spot on Ecuador. Nigeria, which has managed to make it out of the group stage once in its previous six World Cup appearances, scoring three goals in the second half, including an equalizer in the 87th minute to scratch out a stunning draw with longtime powerhouse Sweden.
Sure, the Americans ultimately beat Australia, by a comfortable 3-1 margin, no less. With seven points the most Sweden and Nigeria can get out of group play, the U.S. sits solidly in control of Group D – that's D as in Death.
But that's not the point.
As the rest of the world continues to improve and close the gap on the U.S., the athleticism and depth that has always bailed the two-time World Cup champions out will no longer be enough. Ditto for the intimidation factor that was good for a goal or two before the game even began.
Continue to start slow as they did against the Aussies, and the Americans will find themselves as road kill on the way to Vancouver.
"When the draw happened and people talked about the 'Group of Death,' the positive is you're not going to ease into the opening games," U.S. coach Jill Ellis said. "In terms of mentality and in terms of having tough matches, going into halftime tied up, those things serve you well down the line.
"… You hope to get out of the group (on top)," Ellis said. "Then you're into the knockouts and you want to make sure you're ready."
The Americans are still better than pretty much everyone in the world. They have the best goalkeeper in the world in Hope Solo. They have some of the best forwards in Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux and Christen Press. And they have some of the most dazzling playmakers in midfielders Megan Rapinoe, Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd.
If they play their best – or pretty darn close to it – throughout the tournament, they'll be celebrating their third World Cup title come July 5.
But if they don't, rest assured that other teams will take advantage. That was clear in the first 20 minutes against Australia, when the Americans would have been down 2-1 if not for two highlight-worthy saves by Solo.
It didn't matter that Australia had never beaten the Americans, bringing an 0-22-2 record into Monday's game. The Matildas came out flying from the opening whistle, shredding the U.S. defense, pouncing on sloppy passes and allowing the U.S. little more offensively than long balls to nowhere.
"We said we'd come at them and attack, not let America dictate the game, and we did that," Australia coach Alen Stajcic said. "The players had a lot of belief they could win today, and you could see it in the first half."
The Americans finally found their rhythm in the second half. An impressive run by Sydney Leroux set up Christen Press' go-ahead score, and Rapinoe dribbled almost half the length of the field before beating Aussie goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri for her second goal.
Ellis has said she wants her team to build throughout the tournament, get better with every game. It has no choice, really. The rest of the world has improved, and now it's the Americans' turn to keep up.