USWNT defeats South Korea in final friendly before Emma Hayes submits 2024 Olympics roster

The U.S. women’s national team kept things rolling under new coach Emma Hayes, defeating South Korea, 3-0, in a friendly on Tuesday.

Goals from Crystal Dunn and Sophia Smith set the USWNT on its way, while Lily Yohannes capped off her debut by calmly finishing off a late chance to complete the scoring.

While the USWNT was in some ways more sluggish in a game played under steady rainfall at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota, there was some clarity provided by the team’s improved play in the late stages. A heavily-rotated lineup gave plenty of players chances to prove they should be climbing Hayes’ depth chart, but only some actually took advantage.

With all that in mind, here are the three main takeaways from this last friendly before Hayes must submit her squad for the 2024 Olympics:

Lineup and formation changes matter for Korbin Albert, Casey Murphy

Hayes promised lots of changes coming into this match, and the new USWNT manager followed through, making nine alterations to the starting 11 after Saturday’s 4-0 victory. Only Lindsey Horan and Jenna Nighswonger maintained their places as starters from the first game in this June international window.

In some cases, this shuffle offered a potentially important opening. Casey Murphy getting a start over Aubrey Kingsbury, for example, may indicate that the battle to back up presumptive No. 1 Alyssa Naeher is down to the North Carolina Courage goalkeeper and Jane Campbell (who started on Saturday).

Murphy did her chances no harm with a 30th minute save on Ji So-yun, denying the Seattle Reign set-piece specialist after her 19-yard free kick bent over the USWNT wall.

Murphy made another strong reflex save in the 70th minute as a Korean dead ball produced a good look. Two saves amount to a modest day on the job, but with little other work for the goalkeepers in either game, it likely matters.

Further forward, Hayes made a modest change to the USWNT’s formation and build shape. A 4-3-3 over the weekend shifted to a 4-2-3-1, with Horan and Korbin Albert in that aforementioned double-pivot.

Moreover, the 3-3-4 shape seen in possession (with Catarina Macario eventually becoming a fifth player along the front line) in Colorado became more of a 3-2-4-1, with Shaw tucking inside as a fourth central midfielder rather than posting up as a second forward as Mallory Swanson did in the first game. The rest defense base of three defenders and two central midfielders was intact, but the front five set up differently.

In the first half, the impact of this shift was mostly evident in a less robust central midfield. Hayes deployed Sam Coffey as a true No. 6 in the previous match, with Horan as a full-time No. 8. The clarity that distribution of roles had more success than the double-pivot Albert and Horan operated in.

Albert appears to be very much in the mix, regardless over the questions left unanswered in the aftermath of the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder’s participation in anti-LGBTQ+ social media posts. However, the exact nature of her role is unclear, and this match didn’t offer a ton of clarity on that front.

Albert is seen as a player who could function in any of the three central midfield roles, but this can cut both ways. It’s great to be versatile, particularly going into the Olympics, but Albert has yet to truly offer a statement as a defensive midfielder, or as a box-to-box presence, or in this double-pivot.

South Korea certainly upped its intensity levels, and pressed more intelligently than in Colorado, but some of the issue boiled down to the USWNT having issues in terms of defensive decision-making. Albert and Horan are both far better in the No. 8 role, and both seemed to be trying to help the other out by choosing to stay at home initially, even when the better option was to step up and challenge. In other words, the classic issue every double-pivot needs time to work out.

That’s the thing, though: the USWNT really doesn’t have much time. If Albert is at her best in a double-pivot, that (not to mention pressure from Yohannes, who impressed in her 18 minutes) might dent her chances of going to Paris in a few weeks.

USWNT 2024 SCHEDULE: Results, fixtures, TV channel and streaming

Crystal Dunn goes old school with potentially important goal

Crystal Dunn is getting a shot at showing her ability to compete with the current forward pool, which is something she and fans have wanted for a long time.

Even if it ended up being an easy finish, Dunn’s 13th minute goal is important. The 31-year-old hadn’t scored for the USWNT since October 2018, owing to her long spell playing as a left back as well as time missed as she became a mother.

When she was a marauding attacker for the Washington Spirit and North Carolina Courage, Dunn proved that she can pile up goals and assists with the best of them. However, it’s been a while since that was a major part of her job, as the Portland Thorns gave her more of a box-to-box role.

The point is, Dunn has to reestablish that her goal-scoring touch, and that ability to get into dangerous positions, isn’t far from the surface. The competition up front is ludicrous, and as good as Dunn is, there are stellar options available on either side of the front line.

So this run — a movement where she turns on the jets twice only for teammates to not look her way, before eventually ensuring she kept position to attack the ball ahead of Kang Chae-rim — is important.

Dunn’s job isn’t primarily to score spectacular goals. They’re great, everyone wants bangers, but the real work of cracking this USWNT front line is being a factor in plays that can be replicated. An attack in transition that ends with a good back-post run to get onto a Nighswonger cross? That’s something anyone playing up front on this team has to be able to do.

Dunn establishing that this part of her game is still razor sharp will make Hayes’ decision-making process all the more complicated.

Alex Morgan's place growing unclear

Alex Morgan got the start up front as well, going 62 minutes after being held out on Saturday for precautionary reasons.

This marked a major chance for the veteran to bolster her chances to go to a fourth Olympics. It hasn’t gotten all that much discussion, but with more competition for forward spots than the team has ever had, the USWNT star can’t be called a lock to make Hayes’ 18-player squad.

Unlike Dunn, Morgan struggled to make a major impact in this game. She did play a big part in Dunn’s goal, though it was admittedly a situation where her patience coming forward briefly flirted with the chance fizzling out. A chance to play an early ball in transition — generally the preferred move in moments like that — came and went, and it took urgency from the rest of the team to keep the opening alive.

Morgan played the No. 9 role a bit differently from Smith, posting up high and staying planted among the center backs as a reference point. It’s not entirely her fault that the USWNT struggled to get her involved, but any time a player like Morgan gets just 14 touches in 62 minutes in what was otherwise a largely dominant win ... it’s not ideal.

Hayes has mentioned more than once that versatility will be prized going into the Olympics, as an 18-player cap limits the space for players that specialize in just one role. With the fluidity offered by Smith leading the line seeming to dovetail well with the surrounding cast, and the possibility of Macario playing as a false No. 9 still on the table, Morgan has a real battle on her hands to stay in the mix.

Moreover, the USWNT attack was slower with Morgan in than when Smith or Swanson (who finished the first match in this window as a center forward) lead the line. Fitting in with the rest of the group is as big a factor as individual form, and right now Morgan has questions to answer on both fronts.

Watch: Sophia Smith's goal to make it 2-0

Watch: Lily Yohannes makes her debut

Follow all of Pro Soccer Wire's USWNT coverage right here.