By Juan Carlos Maygua
With the release of the new roster for the USWNT “Summer series” the expectations for the final roster for Tokyo increase. Head coach Vlatko Andonovski spoke to the media and addressed his expectations for the upcoming matches in Houston, as well as the situation with some players in the squad.
My colleague Alonso Contreras asked about Rose Lavelle and the impact of her style on the national team now that she returned to the NWSL. “There’s no style of play that doesn’t fit Rose Lavelle, she’s an incredible player no matter where she plays. I’m very happy that she was able to play games in England during the pandemic when other players were not able to do that or be able to train daily in a structured environment. At the same time, it makes me happy that she can be even closer, where myself or my coaching staff will be able to monitor her a little bit closer. I’m also very familiar with the Reign organization and the environment they set up for the players to be successful, so I think they’re going to be a good experience for Rose and her career”. Lavelle continues to gain momentum and Tokyo looks to be the place where she becomes the new symbol of the national team.
The selection process was also a topic of discussion given the weather conditions and competition level Tokyo will bring. “The performance is extremely important, that’s one of the boxes that the player has to check. Durability, are they able to perform on six 90-minute games in 18 days? Then versatility, are we going to play more structure or stronger teams? all these details come into play, there is not one thing that I could say where a player is selected because of a specific characteristic. All the players will meet the requirements before the final selection is made.” Andonovski went on to add that much of the staff that will travel to the series have been vaccinated. The 3 games in Texas will be a sort of simulation in terms of weather conditions and game spam of the Olympic group stage. The series will test out both players and staff ahead of departing to Tokyo.
Andonovski concluded by saying that he plans to attend more NWSL games before and after the summer series ends. I briefly asked what his goal was with the squad he selected. He mentioned that the purpose is to evaluate collective improvements, as well as having a final evaluation of certain players ahead of the final roster announcement.