Why We Shouldn't Draw Any Major Conclusions from USWNT's Draw with South Korea

When the final whistle sounded on the United States women's national team's final sendoff game before the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, a sense of relief and disappointment came over the crowd and players on the pitch at Red Bull Arena. 

After 90 minutes of lumping the ball forward, trying to get past the South Korean bus parked in the final third, the USWNT failed to put anything on the scoreboard. 

Despite leaving the pitch without a goal, we were unable to draw any major conclusions about this team due to a few factors. 

There is no doubt some players were playing with a don't-get-hurt mindset, with the World Cup opener against Australia ahead on June 8. 

While playing to not get hurt may seem like a bad approach to take the field with, the Yanks were able to leave the field unscathed, which is a major positive. 

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Some may also argue the group wasn't fully focused on the friendly. You have to keep in mind while analyzing this performance that the Yanks barely trained in preparation for the South Korea match, due to a whirlwind tour of media obligations in the New York City area in the days leading up to the game. 

Getting into a rhythm when they trained was also an issue, as the arduous traffic patterns around their training grounds didn't allow for the players to recover properly after taking in training sessions. 

The good news for the Yanks is all the distractions will be erased the second they head north of the border and land on Canadian soil. With a solid week of training ahead, we should expect them to play Australia with a sharp focus that was lacking at times on Saturday. 

The Yanks were also not at full strength, as Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan sat out the friendly match due to injuries. Rapinoe suffered a knock in training, while Morgan is still working her way back from a knee injury. 

“In terms of Alex, we’re building her up realistically. She’s been out for a while. In terms of minutes, that’s something we’re going to have to build through the early games. We don’t want to blow her up too early," USWNT boss Jill Ellis said after the match. 

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Rapinoe is easily the best winger on the team, and between her work rate and skill on the ball, she gives the USWNT something other players can't produce. 

That was apparent throughout the first half of the scoreless draw as regular central midfielder Morgan Brian and Christen Press were unable to create a ton of chances through either channel on the wing. 

When Tobin Heath entered the match in the 60th minute, she handed the Americans a pulse on the left wing, as she sprung Sydney Leroux forward on a few occasions in an attempt to catch the South Korean defense off guard. 

Heath's performance over the final 30 minutes of Saturday's match provided us with a glimpse of how the USWNT attack should look when a true winger is out on the flank. With Rapinoe's status in mind, play on the wings shouldn't be a major concern unless she fails to heal properly. 

“Rapinoe will be fine. She took a pretty heavy knock yesterday and she has some swelling in her quad. It’s precautionary. We didn’t want her to get another hit so she’ll be fine," Ellis said. 

Ringo H.W. Chiu/Associated Press

As for the forward position, everyone knows what Abby Wambach is capable of on the biggest stage in the game. Whether she comes off the bench or starts remains to be seen, but the USWNT captain will be a force throughout the team's venture into Canada. 

If Morgan is not in the starting lineup for the Australia match, expect to see Leroux next to Wambach in the USWNT setup. Although they failed to produce goals during 60 minutes together on Saturday, the pair worked well in combination. 

Wambach's aerial ability and knack for being in the right place at the right time pairs up well with Leroux's bulldog mentality and speed that allows her to bring more width to the Yanks. 

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One other important thing to keep in mind is the opposing game plan thrown at the Americans on Saturday afternoon. They most likely will not face a team in Canada that sits back and looks to hold on to a 0-0 draw. 

South Korea did not control the ball for an extended period of time and only threatened the USWNT defense on two occasions. On both of the moves forward by the visitors, Hope Solo made two saves, including a diving denial in the waning moments of the match. 

Due to the lack of production from the South Korea attack, we were unable to get a true sense of where the back four stands heading into Canada. 

"They were a lot more organized than Mexico. They kept a high line and as soon as we got possession they dropped. They were playing almost 11 in the back. A similar bunker to what Ireland tried to do to us," Leroux said. 

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Since very few teams will be playing for a goalless draw in the Group of Death, we shouldn't jump to any major tactical conclusions about the USWNT either. 

Australia, Sweden and Nigeria will all be fighting for valuable points in Group D over the next two weeks, which means we could be treated to some excellent play. That could also lead to plenty of tense moments where either side is susceptible to mistakes if the match breaks open. 

No matter which way you look at it, we weren't able to take away a ton of positives or negatives from the USWNT's final friendly on home soil before the World Cup. While some may see that as a bad thing in terms of development, the Yanks will look to build on that and improve over the next week in training in order to be 100 percent ready for Monday's opener in Winnipeg. 

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. 

All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.