USWNT vs. Colombia: 2023 Friendly Top Storylines and Predictions
The United States women's national team will attempt to bounce back from an average-at-best performance with a win over Colombia on Sunday (5:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Max)
The USWNT played to a 0-0 draw with Colombia in the first of their two meetings during the October international window.
Alex Morgan missed a penalty kick and the attack lacked cohesion for parts of the match. That allowed frustration to set in during this transitional period for the USWNT.
A few veterans from past World Cup runs already retired, and there is a case to be made that the next generation of stars should take over immediately.
Those young stars will have an opportunity to shine on Sunday in San Diego. A handful of strong individual performance from that group would allow there to be more confidence in moving on from the veterans of the USWNT program.
USWNT Must Rely on Its Up-and-Coming Stars
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The USWNT program has been slowly transitioning to the new collection of star power in the program for a few months.
Interim manager Twila Kilgore should start a youth-heavy lineup on Sunday to see how that group plays without Morgan, Becky Sauerbrunn or other veterans in the starting XI.
At some point, Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Co. will take over the national team, and that could be as early as the 2024 Summer Olympics.
The only way the next generation of stars can gain full confidence at the international level is to play together and lay a foundation for the future.
Colombia is the perfect opponent to attempt to build that foundation against. The South American side advanced to the 2023 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals and provided a good test for the USWNT on Thursday.
A new head coach will have a say in how quickly the young players take over the program, but it may be time to phase out the stalwarts of the USWNT in favor of young players, like the United States men's national team did after it failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Colombia Should Provide Another Tough Test
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Colombia played well in the scoreless draw in Utah on Thursday.
The South American side limited the USWNT to nine shots and it recorded the same number of attempts on goal as the home side.
Colombia's back line should frustrate whomever starts up top for the Americans. That unit will provide the USWNT with one of the tougher tests it has had on home soil in 2023.
Colombia is capable of beating the USWNT through its dynamic attacking duo of Linda Caicedo and Leicy Santos.
Caicedo was one of the breakout stars of the World Cup. The Real Madrid star can score off one moment of brilliance.
A goal could be enough for Colombia to come up with a rare road win for a USWNT opponent since its defense played so well on Thursday.
Prediction
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USWNT 1, Colombia 0
The USWNT still has the better collection of talent, but that did not lead to a positive result on Thursday.
The Americans need to rely on their younger stars to find a way past a tough opponent in order to properly prepare for the 2024 Summer Olympics.
That strategy may lead to an unusual 1-0 result on home soil. The USWNT has five multi-goals victories and eight clean sheets inside the United States in 2023.
A win should not be the whole focus. That should be on the development of certain players at the international level.
The USWNT has enough talent to win, but the more important takeaway from Sunday's game should be the progress made toward the Olympics, something that was not gained on Thursday.
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