Matchday 2 for Group F: USA vs. Chile

Matchday 2 is among us in Group F of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Chile has a tough battle against the reigning world champs, the US, who so happened to score a record 13 goals in their first match of the tournament against Thailand. On the other hand, European powerhouse Sweden look to continue their dominance when they face last-place Thailand.

USA v. Chile

• USA is 2-0 all-time against Chile.
• USA has outscored Chile by an aggregate score of 7-0 in those two games.
• The most recent match between these two nations was on Sept. 4, 2018, a game that USA won 4-0.
• Chile is 0-2-3 (W-D-L) in its last five matchups.
• USA is 5-0-0 (W-D-L) in its last five matchups.

Key Players

USA

https://twitter.com/USWNT/status/1139744338936598531

It’s extremely difficult to put select a few players from the Stars and Stripes. Their entire team is absolutely phenomenal when it comes to team chemistry and efficiency.

Carli Lloyd is the only player to have scored against the South American team on both occasions. However, she’ll be coming off the bench so we’ll most likely not see much of her in this game, maybe a couple of minutes in garbage time.

Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle are going to be extremely difficult opponents for Chile to stop. Their ability to maneuver the ball down the flanks and create open spaces are easily recognized as the best in the world.

All three of these players scored against Thailand, in fact, they scored a combined eight goals for the US on Tuesday. Morgan scored a record five goals, while the veteran Rapinoe scored once. Lavelle debuted her first ever world cup and managed to put two in the back of the net.

Plus, Lavelle wasn’t the only debut player to score for USWNT. Mallory Pugh and Samantha Mewis scored a goal in the World Cup for the first time in their careers.

Mewis got the start last game due to a minor injury set back by defender Becky Saerbrunn but the thigh injury isn’t that serious. Her recovery timetable still isn’t known but she has a possibility to start this matchup against Chile.

Also, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has barely been challenged. Thailand only amounted to two total shots in the entire game that were easy saves for Naeher. Chile will attack more than Thailand, however, they’re accuracy isn’t favorable as they only shot six times and had one of them on target.

Chile

https://twitter.com/LaRoja/status/1139283835055738887

La Roja knows what they’re getting themselves into and it won’t be a walk in the park. Goalkeeper and captain Christiane Endler will have a tough outing and knows it’ll be a challenge for her in front of the net.

It was a tough first match against Sweden for Chile’s World Cup debut. Sweden dominated and Chile played defensive-minded for the entirety of the match.

Endler had to save a total of five shots out of seven on target, but Chile’s defense had a phenomenal outing. Sweden forced 25 total shots. Most of them were desperation shots that Chile had under control. They were either shot over the net or way off the mark.

Defender Carla Guerrero is a crucial part of their back line. She’ a remarkable asset who just came back from an ACL tear back in December, so it’s great to know she’s already back in shape just six months later.

In the midfield, Yanara Aedo relies heavily on controlling every possession. Most possessions will initiate through her and will end through her. She’s Chile’s commanding officer in the middle of the pitch and had a couple of good opportunities against Sweden.

Final Prediction:

USWNT will come out of this with their second straight victory in the World Cup. It” be Chile’s mission to try an tie this game to the best of their abilities. However, Dont expect the US to score 13 again.

Final score: 4-1.

Kick off is set for noon ET in Parc Des Princes, Paris.

Make sure to listen to a preview of this matchup on the FIFA Women’s World Cup Podcast: Gator Congregation.

https://soundcloud.com/gatorcongregation/gatorcongregation-episode-5-edit-1