How Should USWNT Boss Jill Ellis Shape Her Midfield vs. China?

The United States women's national soccer team suffered two potential blows to its FIFA Women's World Cup title hopes in the 17th and 42nd minutes against Colombia on Monday night in the form of yellow cards to Lauren Holiday and Megan Rapinoe.

Those two key moments in the first half marked potential low points in the Yanks' World Cup campaign.

Due to cautions picked up earlier in the tournament, the midfield pair will be suspended for Friday's quarterfinal clash with China.

Without a vital cog in the midfield machine and the team's best winger, USWNT boss Jill Ellis has some crucial decisions to make in regard to her lineup selection for the match in Ottawa, Canada.

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As the Yanks closed out their 2-0 win over Colombia, Ellis hinted at whom she'd use to replace Holiday and Rapinoe with two of her three substitutions. In the 69th minute, Morgan Brian entered the match for Abby Wambach, while Christen Press came on in the 75th minute for Rapinoe.

Due to the playing time they received on Monday—and their roles in the squad over the last few months—it appears Brian and Press are the likely options to start, but there are other players deserving of a spot in the starting 11 as well.

Who Holiday's replacement will be may be an easy decision for Ellis, as she said after the match that Brian is likely to enter the starting 11 for the suspended 27-year-old, per Grant Wahl of Sports Illustrated: 

"We know that [Brian] would be one of the players to come in," Ellis said, per Goal.com's Thomas Floyd. "So we partnered her with Carli [Lloyd] at times, we partnered her with [Holiday] at times specifically so she would be comfortable in that role."

However, if Ellis wants to be more creative with her changes in the middle of the park, she has a decent amount of options.

One of the drastic changes could be a switch from the 4-4-2 formation to a 4-3-3. The formation alteration would help the Yanks open up China's organized four, but it could hurt their defensive strategy.

A switch to the 4-3-3 would require more speed up top and technical ability behind the group of three forwards in order to maintain possession and provide quality passes for the trio up top. This formation would also bring forth a few more lineup changes than we already expect to see.

An ideal forward alignment would feature Press, Sydney Leroux and Alex Morgan, while either Brian or Lloyd would set up in the center of midfield. The other player would start on the wing opposite Tobin Heath.

Although the Yanks have the skill to work in a 4-3-3, a change seems unlikely based on their failure to hold the ball in midfield throughout the tournament. 

That moves us back to the 4-4-2, where Brian would line up next to Lloyd with Heath and Press on the wings. But since the Yanks have a ton of depth, there are plenty of other combinations possible for Ellis to use.

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"I know that the players that come in [for suspended players] will be confident of stepping in and doing well. I have utmost confidence in the players we have," Ellis said after the match, per FIFA.com.

In the middle of the park, either Shannon Boxx or Julie Johnston could play next to Lloyd with Brian either on the bench or on the flank, which is where she started against Sweden. Boxx is a veteran midfielder who would have no problem dealing with the big stage, but throwing her into the starting lineup at this point could mess up the team's chemistry.

The potential destruction of the team's defensive fluidity should keep Ellis away from moving Johnston up to the center of the park. But if Johnston somehow leaves her center back partnership with Becky Sauerbrunn, Christie Rampone would slot into the back four.

Press brings plenty of pace and skill to the wing, but the outside midfield role is not her preferred one.

However, the natural forward may not receive another chance to thrive up top due to the need on the left wing with Rapinoe not available for selection.

One other thing that should enter the mind of Ellis in the buildup to Friday's game is the play of Heath opposite Rapinoe in the last two games. Heath hasn't exactly been a standout star on both sides of the pitch, which could lead to two changes on the wing against China.

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If Heath earns a spot on the bench, that could open up a chance for Heather O'Reilly, who has been out of Ellis' plans completely for the first 360 minutes of action in Canada.

Based off Ellis' decision-making through four matches, we probably won't see O'Reilly on the pitch on Friday, but one can still dream.

Amy Rodriguez could also slot into a role on the flank if Ellis decides to be bold and start Morgan and Press up top with Wambach on the bench. Rodriguez would bring fresh legs and 29 international goals to the position, but she may be on the outside looking in due to Wambach's scoring record—despite the forward's lack of production in the competition.

Wambach has still earned three starts, which signals to us that a huge change is unlikely.

With all that being said, the likely midfield we will see on Friday will feature Brian and Lloyd in the center and Press and Heath on the wings.

Things can change between now and then, but Ellis seems set on her lineup and has already displayed her hand to an extent.

Follow Joe on Twitter @JTansey90.