CONCACAF Women’s Championship Preview: USWNT vs Haiti
The CONCACAF Women’s Championship is upon us, and the stakes for the USWNT could not be higher. Eight teams remain, with the top two teams from each group earning a spot in the next World Cup. The winner of the tournament will earn an automatic spot in the 2024 Olympics, while the second and third-place teams will head to a play-off to earn the last spot in September.
The margin for error is very low for the USWNT. One bad game would add unnecessary pressure. However, they’ve seen these teams many times before and expect them to make a statement to show that there are levels to this game. The USWNT’s first opponent is one of the best stories of qualification, Haiti. Let’s preview game one of the Women’s CONCACAF Championship, USWNT vs Haiti.
July 4: USWNT vs Haiti
The USWNT will be more than ready for Haiti come July 4. They’ve faced the Haitians on three separate occasions. Most recently was the USWNT Victory Tour after the 2015 World Cup; the USWNT defeated Haiti by a combined score of 13-0 over two games. The year prior, in the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Championship, the USWNT played Haiti and defeated them 6-0. The Haitians have yet to score on the Americans, so a win over the Stars and Stripes isn’t likely.
However, they’re an incredible story. Their ability to keep the USWNT from scoring, along with their results against Mexico and Jamaica, could get them into the World Cup for the first time. This team is no slouch. They’ve done the best with what they have and have dominated their region of the world.
In their four qualifying matches against Honduras, Cuba, British Virgin Islands, and St.Vincent and the Grenadines, they won by a combined 44-0. That’s the kind of stat you’d expect to hear about the USWNT against other teams, but it’s Haiti who has dominated. Not only that, they split their two friendlies with Costa Rica, a 4-2 win over a team ranked twenty spots ahead of them in the FIFA Rankings is nothing to scoff at (Costa Rica 37th, Haiti .60th).
Their best players all play in D1 Arkema, the French domestic league. Nerilla Mondesir and Batcheba Lewis have incredible goal-scoring records for Haiti, with Mondesir netting 18 goals in ten appearances, with Lewis scoring 23 goals in 13 appearances. If given a chance to score, either on the counter-attack or by mistake, these two are the players most likely to do it, be sure to keep an eye on them.
The problem for Haiti isn’t their attack, but it’s the fact that they have inexperience at the goalkeeper position. Lara Larco is a 19-year-old who started at goalkeeper. She’s currently playing college soccer at Georgetown. Like every other keeper who plays the USWNT, Larco has a chance to make a name for herself, similar to Catalina Perez of Colombia and Yenith Bailey of Panama. Her performance not just against the USWNT but in the other matches will be huge for goal difference if Haiti is to secure the second spot ahead of Jamaica or Mexico.
As for the USWNT, not too much changes for them. Younger players are sure to get their opportunities, and Vlatko Andonovski is likely to shuffle the lineup around and tinker with different combinations. This moment in time for the USWNT is all about bringing along the next generation while putting them in pressure situations to see what they’re made of. July 4 figures to have plenty of fireworks, literally and figuratively, when the USWNT and Haiti square off to start the CONCACAF Women’s Championship.
Featured image via Getty Images
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