Megan Rapinoe, USA Women's Soccer Beat China in Tobin Heath's Return

The United States women's national team defeated China 2-1 in a friendly Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland, Ohio.

Megan Rapinoe opened the scoring in the 35th minute, with Tobin Heath delivering the winning goal in the 75th minute. It's the United States' second win over China in less than a week after the national team earned a 1-0 victory on June 7.

U.S. Still Looking for Cohesion Ahead of World Cup Qualifiers

The United States looked better Tuesday night than it did in its previous friendly with China, but the team is still lacking the fluidity necessary to be firing on all cylinders.

Although China isn't a pushover on the national stage, the squad isn't among the world's elite either, sitting 17th in the FIFA ranking. A 3-1 score line over two matches is far from an emphatic result, and the United States ended up with the same number of shots on target as China (eight) during the friendlies.

It's hard to blame coach Jill Ellis too much, though, when the point of friendlies is largely to experiment with the lineup and make mid-game adjustments:

But the United States is bound to make some mistakes as Ellis finds which starting XI best suits the talent at her disposal.

China's only goal was a perfect example of that, as Becky Sauerbrunn and Tierna Davidson, the latter of whom was making her seventh USWNT appearance, went to clear the ball at midfield at the same time. That allowed Tingting Li to have acres of space down the left flank before finding Li Ying for an equalizer in the 72nd minute.

Heath Shows No Signs of Rust in Emphatic Return

According to the national team's official Twitter account, Heath hadn't suited up for the USWNT since Sept. 2017. The 30-year-old hardly missed a beat when she entered Tuesday's match in the 64th minute.

Heath was a bit lucky with her goal, as the referee appeared to miss a handball in the 18-yard box:

Still, it's a good sign for the national team Heath was confident enough to take the shot 11 minutes after coming onto the pitch:

Having a healthy Heath will go some way toward solving the USWNT's lack of cohesion. Tuesday was Heath's 133rd cap, so she'll almost certainly be one of the leaders Ellis will lean on during qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup in October.

Heath will also be another creator to play alongside Alex Morgan, who was left somewhat isolated over the past two friendlies.

As much as this World Cup cycle is about letting some of the next generation stamp its place on the national team, veterans such as Heath will play key roles on the road to France.

Ellis to Examine Options for Captaincy

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl likely wasn't the only one surprised to see Morgan listed as the captain Tuesday:

During the ESPN2 broadcast, analyst Julie Foudy said Ellis won't have a set captain for the time being, with the armband shifting to the player with the most national team appearances (h/t soccer writer Caitlin Murray).

It's not the first time Ellis has toyed around with the strategy. The approach is a sensible one with the USWNT's most important matches still months away, and giving the captaincy to the most experienced player is a diplomatic way to resolve the issue for now.

At the same time, basing the decision simply on a player's number of caps could lead to problems because not every player is suited to be a field general and maintain captaincy demands. Not to mention, midfielders and defenders tend to fit the job better because they're more frequently in the middle of the action.

Plenty of questions will linger in the months ahead, with Ellis' handling of the USWNT leadership among them.

What's Next?

The United States kicks off the Tournament of Nations on July 26 against Japan in Kansas City, Kansas. The USWNT will also play Australia and Brazil during the event, so the tournament will provide the squad with much-needed experience ahead of qualifying for the 2019 Women's World Cup.