AUCKLAND, New Zealand – The U.S. women are ready to go. All 23 of them.
Coach Vlatko Andonovski said Friday that Megan Rapinoe, Julie Ertz and Rose Lavelle are all available for Saturday’s World Cup opener against Vietnam. Rapinoe and Lavelle will be on restricted minutes initially, but Ertz will have no limitations.
“They’re ready to play,” Andonovski said Friday. “From a medical standpoint, everybody’s available.”
The status of all three U.S. stars has been a question for several weeks now, especially after none of the three played in the USWNT’s send-off match two weeks ago.
Ertz was considered the closest to being ready. Though she only returned to competitive soccer in April after having son Madden last August, Ertz has been playing regularly with Angel City FC. But Rapinoe has not played since leaving an NSWL game June 10 with a calf injury and Lavelle has been out since injuring her knee in a friendly against Ireland in April.
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“From minutes management, Julie is 100%,” Andonovski said. “Megan is in the same boat as Rose, her minutes are probably going to grow as the tournament goes.”
Expect to see them, too.
The game might seem like a mismatch — the USWNT is the two-time defending champion while Vietnam is ranked No. 32 in the world and is playing in its first-ever World Cup — and Vietnam’s coach likened the U.S. women to “a mountain.” But the Americans know better than to take anything for granted.
They want to become the first team, men’s or women’s to win three consecutive World Cup titles, and that won’t happen if they’re even the slightest bit complacent. So they will field the best team possible, in every game.
“We do have a lot of respect for (Vietnam). We expect nothing less than that they will fight and will make it as hard as possible for us,” Andonovski said. “We’re going into this game to play with the best team and get the result that’s favorable for us.”
