USWNT at full power for Ladies’s World Cup opener towards Vietnam
AUCKLAND, New Zealand – The U.S. ladies are able to go. All 23 of them.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski mentioned Friday that Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle are all obtainable for Saturday’s World Cup opener towards Vietnam. Rapinoe and Lavelle will likely be on restricted minutes initially, however Ertz can have no limitations.
“They’re able to play,” Andonovski mentioned Friday. “From a medical standpoint, all people’s obtainable.”
The standing of all three U.S. stars has been a query for a number of weeks now, particularly after not one of the three performed within the USWNT’s send-off match two weeks in the past.
Ertz was thought of the closest to being prepared. Although she solely returned to aggressive soccer in April after having son Madden final August, Ertz has been taking part in usually with Angel Metropolis FC. However Rapinoe has not performed since leaving an NSWL sport June 10 with a calf damage and Lavelle has been out since injuring her knee in a pleasant towards Eire in April.
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“From minutes administration, Julie is 100%,” Andonovski mentioned. “Megan is in the identical boat as Rose, her minutes are in all probability going to develop because the match goes.”
Count on to see them, too.
The sport may appear to be a mismatch — the USWNT is the two-time defending champion whereas Vietnam is ranked No. 32 on the earth and is taking part in in its first-ever World Cup — and Vietnam’s coach likened the U.S. ladies to “a mountain.” However the People know higher than to take something without any consideration.
They need to turn out to be the primary crew, males’s or ladies’s to win three consecutive World Cup titles, and that will not occur in the event that they’re even the slightest bit complacent. So they may discipline the most effective crew doable, in each sport.
“We do have a number of respect for (Vietnam). We count on nothing lower than that they may struggle and can make it as onerous as doable for us,” Andonovski mentioned. “We’re going into this sport to play with the most effective crew and get the end result that’s favorable for us.”
