Tata Martino is missing many of his top players ahead of the Gold Cup but still has plenty of options for Wednesday’s friendly in Atlanta

Update: Jimenez leads line in Martino’s XI to face Venezuela, Navarro gets first cap 

Mexico’s summer begins Wednesday night with Tata Martino coaching just his third match in charge of El Tri in a pre-Gold Cup friendly against Venezuela.

The game is taking place in Atlanta, where Martino used to coach. But he may not have had as much time to catch up with old friends as he would’ve hoped. Injuries and withdrawals have left Martino’s squad a bit thin.

Not at the Gold Cup at all? Because of withdrawal: Hector Herrera (preparing transfer), Jesus “Tecatito” Corona (dispute with Martino), Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez (birth of child), Carlos Vela (focusing elsewhere) and Javier Aquino (reportedly rejected approaches).

Because of injury: Hirving Lozano (knee) and Miguel Layun (renal issue). Marco Fabian and Ivan Rodriguez are fighting to be fit for the tournament, but ankle injuries are likely to keep both off the final list and definitely have them ruled out of tonight’s game. While center back Carlos Salcedo is likely to make the Gold Cup list, he won’t play Wednesday as he continues to recover from a knee issue suffered in the Liguilla.

All that means it’s a bit of a headache for Martino to put together his starting lineup. As Goal does before each Mexico game, we’re taking a look at three lineups the manager could select.

Check back an hour before kick off for Martino’s starting XI and more coverage of the match on Goal. For now, the projections:

This seems the most likely option for Martino against Venezuela.

Let’s start at the very back. While Guillermo Ochoa is the No. 1 goalkeeper for the foreseeable future, Martino is likely to give a player like Jonathan Orozco a chance to get a some minutes and have a bit of rhythm in case he’s needed during the Gold Cup. 

In the midfield, Andres Guardado may not be ready to go after a long season with Real Betis, but if he’s healthy he would provide a nice counter-balance for Carlos Rodriguez. The Rayados midfielder is essentially filling Herrera’s spot, but he has just one cap in his career. Edson Alvarez, who last Gold Cup ended up playing as El Tri’s right back, can use the time in the midfield. Even though he’s playing there more and more often, the center back/right back/midfielder hybrid player can use time to get accustomed to the position.

That’s more than Leon right back Fernando Navarro, and it would be a deserved Mexico debut Wednesday after a superb Liga MX season. On the back line, Nestor Araujo and Diego Reyes could combine, though Hector Moreno may also slide in at the left center back spot. Martino started the Real Sociedad defender in the first friendly match he coached, and Moreno’s form only has improved since then.

Up front, Raul Jimenez is a lock to start during the Gold Cup. Martino might want to bubble-wrap the Wolves forward to guard against injury, but competitive play will be good for him. That’s even more true with Roberto Alvarado and Rodolfo Pizarro the most likely wing players. Neither is used to putting crosses into the box for a target forward. That’s fine though, as Jimenez showed during the Premier League season he’s far more than a lumbering No. 9. That said, building chemistry as a front three to start understanding what the other will do will help in the long term.

Martino may also consider using a formation that isn’t his preferred 4-3-3. With so many absences in the attack, it could be worth trying out a different formation. While it adds an attacker, paradoxically, it also could help Mexico ease its pain – at least for this game. 

Pizarro could play as a 10, but Luis Montes also could come into the starting lineup. The Leon midfielder had a great season and could be pushing for a roster spot as well. He’d still have some defensive responsibilities, but with Alvarez and Rodriguez behind him could largely focus on making things happen in front of him instead of drifting back.

Martino also could move Alvarado to the other side and push up Gallardo, who came up as a winger and still plays there often. That would bring Jorge Sanchez into the starting lineup for the second time in his young Mexico career.

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It probably doesn’t behoove Martino to use this XI, especially with the manager sweating potential injuries with a squad that is a sprained ankle or two away from being in a real spot of bother during the Gold Cup.

Still, it’s fun to think about what the lineup might look like when Martino prepares for the Gold Cup knockout matches. The center-back pairing of Moreno and Araujo gives El Tri two players who ended the year as starters for their La Liga clubs. Araujo often plays on the left, but the left-footed Moreno would be a better option there. A healthy Salcedo would change things, but with the Tigres defender still nursing an injury it’s unclear how much of a role he can handle.

Up front, Pizarro as a winger will be something the Monterrey player might have to get used to even if he would rather tuck inside. With so many absences out wide, he seems like the top option with Alvarado. The 20-year-old can play as an interior midfielder, but he’s done well in more attacking roles. The Gold Cup can give him a great chance to showcase that.

The Club America midfielder had to leave the match in the first half, leaving the manager with few options heading into the Gold Cup

Tata Martino rarely makes mistakes.  

You can see it in his record. At his previous, he won MLS Cup with Atlanta United. He’s three for three with Mexico after El Tri’s 3-1 victory over Venezuela on Wednesday.  

But sometimes the wiser a man, the more significant his errors. Martino has stepped in it with his choice to name only a 29-man provisional roster rather than the flush 40-man squad. 

Edson Alvarez limped off the field early in Wednesday’s victory, grabbing at the same knee that kept the Club America defender/midfielder from helping Las Agilas during the Liguilla. He tried to stay in the game but eventually made way in the 31st minute.  

Martino now doesn’t have tough cuts to make. He has no cuts to make at all. Alvarez will stay on the roster unless a quick diagnosis is made. Obviously, the hope is the 21-year-old will be fine. He’s a valuable part of the national team, playing at the 2018 World Cup as a right back but now profiling as the defensive midfielder of the future for Martino. The links with teams in the Netherlands and even in the Premier League or La Liga make sense. This is a star on the rise. 

“Apart from what Edson means for the team and for the way the team works, it makes me sad that he could be out after a friendly match and after all the effort he put in to be there,” Martino told Univision. “Training, double sessions with the trainers, because he had a lot of desire to be part of the team. Unfortunately, we’ve taken care of him a lot in every training, even participating in reduced spaces, after when he was playing a really good game an unfortunate play happens and he falls again. 

“We’re going to wait and see. Apart from the football, where it’s obvious he’s not the player you want to lose, it worries me or, better said, it makes me sad that with the effort he made may not be rewarded.” 

If he isn’t fit, though, it’s a simple math problem. 

From the 29-man squad, Hirving Lozano and Miguel Layun were ruled out before the first flight. That makes 27. Marco Fabian and Ivan Rodriguez are unlikely to recover from ankle injuries in time for the tournament. That takes it down to 25. Mexico currently is carrying four goalkeepers. Cut one of them and you’re at 24. Alvarez, or anyone else, getting injured brings you to the 23-man max allowed at the competition. 

The manager did have his logic for calling up a limited group rather than filling out his squad.  

“If we included all the players who are out on the list, surely we would’ve gotten close to 40,” Martino said Tuesday in a pre-match news conference. “If we consider that those players could have been part of the 40 and we’d given the list of 40 like that, we would have run the risk of putting a player on the list that could be the 50th, and I don’t like to generate expectations in a player who normally has just a small chance of coming.  

“Today, including having made the decision we made with Diego Lainez and Jose Juan Macias, who played at the U-20 World Cup, and all the players who went to the U-22, I think it was the exact quantity of players we had to bring in because even with problems we still have, we’re covered in case Ivan or Marco can’t be there. Today, if we don’t have any inconveniences, we wouldn’t have to ask for any permission.”  

But that’s the whole point of the provisional roster.   

Martino was frustrated at the lack of communication from Jesus “Tecatito” Corona in March. The player was called in, then Martino heard from someone else that he wouldn’t be there. The manager is right to be bothered, even upset at the situation. But why can’t he open the same lines of communication.  

Is a player like Omar Govea or Jonathan Gonzalez not able to hear from Martino that the coach has him on the provisional roster but considers him to be a long shot for the Gold Cup? Are Victor Guzman or Isaac Brizuela not mature enough to be told they’re on the cusp but ultimately not in Martino’s plans? Heck, could he not have tossed Giovani dos Santos on the list, making clear to the player he would be called upon only in an absolute emergency? Gio at the Gold Cup may seem crazy, but having an “In case of emergency break glass here for warm-bodied attacker” wouldn’t be the worst option.  

Managers of every other Gold Cup team save Cuba have been having the same conversations with their fringe players. Why would it be any different for someone who has managed egos as large as the ones present at Barcelona?  

The victory Wednesday at least will help alleviate some of the worries heading into the tournament. El Tri now has beaten three quality South American teams in 2019. With Peru topping Costa Rica 1-0 Wednesday and Honduras drawing with a Paraguay team Mexico beat, the results show Mexico still should be the favorite to lift the Gold Cup. 

“Honestly, it helps us a lot, most of all with our confidence,” said Rodolfo Pizarro, who scored Mexico’s second goal. “We know that a lot of important players, unfortunately, have had to leave the national team because of decisions. Those who are here are here, and we have to give everything for the national team.” 

Martino may get a break with Alvarez being fit for the tournament. He may be able to lead Mexico to the Gold Cup title even with a shorthanded squad. If the results keep coming, we won’t remember who was on the provisional or that there seemed to be a depth crisis before the tournament.  

Yet, the veteran manager seems to have made a rookie mistake. He took an unnecessary risk in not putting more names on his list. It’s a risk that didn’t pay off. 

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The Portugal boss hopes his star can fire the side to Nations League glory on Sunday and expects to have him around for some time

Cristiano Ronaldo can continue playing at an elite level for club and country for at least three or four more years, according to Portugal head coach Fernando Santos.

Portugal face the Netherlands in Sunday’s Nations League final in Porto thanks to their star forward’s stunning hat-trick that secured a 3-1 triumph over Switzerland in midweek.

It moved the 34-year-old on to 88 international goals and Santos, who led his country to glory at Euro 2016, expects Ronaldo to still be serving his country with distinction by the time the 2022 World Cup in Qatar rolls around.

“I am not surprised at how he has played,” Santos, who coached the former Manchester United and Real Madrid favourite when his career was in its infancy at Sporting CP, told a pre-match news conference.

“I was surprised he was a great player at Sporting when he was 19 and when he went to Manchester United, I lost him. But from that moment I could see his special qualities.

“He has proved from that moment that he has special qualities. He has proved himself on and off the pitch and he can continue to play at the top level for another three or four years.

“He is very fit. He trains to the limit. It is not normal to reach these performances, but I think he will continue for a while.

“He is the captain. He is a hugely important player. I think he will continue to give people joy at club and international level.”

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Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio spoke in similarly glowing terms and relishes pitting his wits against Ronaldo when the two long-serving internationals get together on Portugal duty.

Patricio, who will become the most capped goalkeeper in his country’s history if he makes an 81st appearance as expected at Estadio do Dragao, said: “For us as athletes, we want to train, we want to face the best in the world and that is what we work towards every day so we can compete and improve.

“To have the opportunity of working with Cristiano across the board in training, he is a fantastic professional that gives us a reason to be proud and we learn a lot.

“We are also lucky to share the dressing room with him and work alongside him. For any player or coach, it gives a reason to be proud.”

Another stalwart of the Santos era, veteran defender Pepe, will be absent from the final after fracturing his right shoulder during the second-half against Switzerland.

Jose Fonte is expected to partner Ruben Dias at centre-back in his absence, having replaced Pepe in midweek.

The Mexico international has revealed how a check-up showed he had a cancerous tumour that has now been removed by surgeons.

Mexico defender Miguel Layun had surgery to remove a cancerous tumour and has been given the all-clear, he has announced.

The 30-year-old, who joined Monterrey from Spanish club Villarreal in January, had a brief spell in England with Watford earlier in his career before moving to La Liga via a stint with Porto.

He revealed that a routine check-up showed he had cancer but that it was caught at a stage where it could be removed by doctors.

In a video interview released by Monterrey, Layun said: “My wife and I decided to have a general health check and there was a small surprise that neither my wife nor I had imagined.

“The first thing that I was told was that they had found a complex cyst.”

He added: “The question began to arise that it wasn’t a cyst and was a tumour, but when you mention the word tumour and that it could be cancer, you see it in a different way.

“It was a malignant tumour – we were talking about cancer – and in the end the entire tumour had to be removed.

“Thank God I can say that I had cancer, but it is already cured.”

Layun, who is sitting out the Gold Cup because of his treatment, said he went for a final check on Friday and was told the cancer had been completely removed.

“So now it’s just a case of checking that it does not come back,” said Layun, who initially was said to have been suffering from a kidney infection.

Layun began his career at Veracruz in Mexico before going on to play for Atalanta, Club America, Watford, Porto, Sevilla and Villarreal before joining Monterrey.

He played for Mexico in the 2014 and 2018 World Cup finals and won the Gold Cup in 2015.

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The Red Devils are set for a transfer market overhaul, but their former star says they should ignore proven names and target the next generation

Wayne Rooney has urged Manchester United to resist the temptation to target world superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Gareth Bale because he fears it could prove a huge waste of money.

The Red Devils are in the early stages of a new era under the leadership of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and have been linked with a host of established top-tier players.

They are eager to rival neighbours Manchester City, who have pulled away to become the leading side in the Premier League, while United failed even to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

And with arch-rivals Liverpool becoming European champions only last week, United are longing to bring back their own glory days and improve substantially on their sixth-place finish in the top flight in 2018-19.

Record scorer Rooney says his old club should be patient, however, and build for long-term success at home and in Europe rather than plot a quick and expensive fix.

Speaking on BBC Five Live’s Sportsweek show, Rooney said: “For Ole, the first thing he’s got to do is try and build the squad. I don’t think bringing one or two players in for over £100million is going to really help with the squad and with the players who are there.

“I think he needs to try and look at maybe five or six players who have got potential to be top players but you’re not spending £120-130m on these players.

“I think you’re spending £30-40m and then you’re trying to improve them, which will also give you longevity out of the players and allow you to build a squad around the five or six new players who come in plus a few of the players who are still there.

“You could bring three players in – you could bring in Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and [Lionel] Messi, or Gareth Bale for instance – and it’s going to cost you £300-350m.

“You’d get maybe two years out of Ronaldo, a couple of years out of Ramos and then you’ve written that money off.

“The club needs to rebuild with younger players. But obviously they need to be good enough and allow the managers to improve them.”

Wales winger Daniel James is set to join from Swansea City after the clubs agreed a deal, with the 21-year-old a player United hope will blossom at Old Trafford.

Rooney, now at DC United, added: “I think the Man United fans will understand they’re probably not going to compete for the Premier League next year.

“So, let them have that time, let Ole have that time to build a team for the next two or three years who are going to compete not only at Premier League level but at Champions League level.”

The Dutchman has a word of warning for Chelsea boss in-waiting Frank Lampard, and says his backroom appointments could be crucial

Dutch legend Ruud Gullit believes Frank Lampard possesses all the attributes to be a managerial success at former club Chelsea, providing he doesn’t surround himself with faces that are too familiar.

The current Derby County boss and former Blues midfielder is widely tipped to take over from Maurizio Sarri at Stamford Bridge if the Italian agrees terms to become the new manager of Juventus.

In the event of Sarri’s departure, the ex-West Ham and England man is believed to be Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich’s number one candidate to take the hot seat.

But Gullit has warned the 40-year-old will need the right kind of people alongside him in the dugout if he is to replicate the kind of success he enjoyed as a player in West London between 2001 and 2014.

Lampard remains the club’s all-time leading goalscorer, and would be a hugely popular appointment both behind the scenes and in the stands at Stamford Bridge.

Gullit, however, knows a thing or two about taking on the job with little experience in the bank. With his coaching career in its infancy, the former Newcastle United and Feyenoord boss stepped up to become Chelsea’s player-manager when Glenn Hoddle left in 1996.

And with Lampard recently coming to the end of his very first season in management, where he steered Derby to the Championship play-off final, Gullit believes recruiting the right kind of helping hands could be a key factor. 

“He must not make the mistake to get friends there,” he told Sky Sports.

“He has to make sure he gets some people there who have experience in managing and coaching teams.

“(Lampard) has done nothing yet as a coach.

“Chelsea gave me this opportunity as well and we won a lot, so that (inexperience) has nothing to do with it.

“I think it’s important for Chelsea that they have someone in charge they can relate to. I hope also they can get the right people around him who can help him.

“That will be the best thing for him.”

Roberto Di Matteo, another former Chelsea boss, also thinks Lampard would be a good fit at the club, and has dismissed suggestions that the job is too big for someone with minimal experience.

The Italian insists Lampard is “definitely the right man” for the role.

“I followed Derby last year and his team plays very good footbal,” he said. “He’s got all the experience in the world. 

“It’s a great fit. Whether it’s right now or not, only time can tell that.

“You can say it is too early but you have to give people a chance.

“Frank has got all the tools and I think he will make a lot of people happy if he was the next manager.”

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A group of legends are returning to Stamford Bridge in a variety of roles as part of a root-and-branch shake-up in west London

Claude Makelele will be given a prominent coaching post with the loan group at Chelsea as part of Petr Cech’s return to Stamford Bridge to take on a role similar to that of a technical director.

Several sources close to the west London club have been talking about the return of a host of club legends to Stamford Bridge, which is set to be kick-started by the announcement of Cech’s appointment in a leadership role across football operations.

Makelele has recently left his managerial job at KAS Eupen but he remains an ambassador at the Belgian Pro League club where he guided the minnows away from relegation in two successful seasons.

He will be the latest addition to a Chelsea overhaul that has long been planned by director Marina Granovskaia, who has been keen to refresh things at the club after manager Maurizio Sarri’s exit to Juventus was announced on Sunday.

Sarri will be unveiled at Juventus on Thursday but it may take a few more days for progress to be made on appointing Chelsea’s first-choice replacement in Derby boss Lampard as discussions are had about which backroom staff he will bring.

Lampard’s assistant manager Jody Morris is likely to be the first name on his list to join him back at the club where he became the all-time leading scorer with 211 goals.

Morris is the former Under-18s head coach at Chelsea and has worked with many of the loan and youth players that he and Lampard will be encouraged to use next season due to FIFA’s imposed transfer ban.

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Mason Mount has a Japanese visa set up so he can attend Chelsea’s pre-season matches against Kawasaki Frontale and Barcelona in Asia, and is one of the most likely young stars to get his chance after a campaign on loan at Derby.

The likes of Tammy Abraham, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori are some of the other youngsters who could get their chance, while France internationals Kurt Zouma and Tiemoue Bakayoko are hopeful that the change in management will see them get another opportunity under the new regime.

For Bakayoko, the appointment of Makelele is a massive boost as he will find another ally at the club after being mentored by his compatriot at Monaco.

Former Chelsea coach Chris Jones could also be among the staff, while Lampard’s head of performance Stephen Rands is expected to follow him to west London, just as he did from Manchester City to Derby last season.

Chelsea have not commented on appointing Sarri’s successor, and they have yet to accelerate talks over the new manager, but there are thought to be few barriers to naming Lampard as the Rams will ask for £4 million in compensation.

After a first six months filled with commercial obligations, El Tri’s coach is excited to work with his players toward this summer’s goal

Tata Martino’s calendar for the next month is set. He couldn’t be happier about it.

The Mexico manager is preparing for his first major tournament. Shaking hands with civic leaders or showing up to an important function in some place or another is on hold for the summer. He’s going to be doing his job and nothing else.

On multiple occasions, the coach has mentioned his surprise and frustration at having so many obligations away from football, both official and unofficial, since coming on board with Mexico in January. However, he had to know that would be part of the gig. 

“The reality is I’m not used to it,” the coach said after one such event. “After my arrival to soccer in the United States, after two years in Atlanta, I understood that my role as a manager was growing beyond what happened in a practice, a match or a training camp. There were social things I had to attend to because they were beneficial and positive for the club.

“So, from there, I understood from there that there were things I have to do. I don’t analyze it too much. When Mexico does an event with an American business, they do the games, this event in Dallas, it’s something I have to participate in. Am I used to doing it? Honestly, no. But I have to do it and do it totally calmly.” 

More obligations await the manager after the summer. For now, aside from a news conference before every match and the occasional photo with a fan or coffee with an old friend, Martino will be working with his team.

There now is a singular focus: Win the Gold Cup. 

The frustration about commercial obligations hasn’t been the only unpleasant surprise for Martino. The coach also has brought up his dismay that, as CONMEBOL confirmed Thursday, El Tri won’t be invited to the 2020 Copa America. Runner-up twice coaching his native Argentina and once with Paraguay, Martino would love nothing more than to win a South American championship, even if it’s with a North American team.

This annoyance may be more salient than the sponsorship, as it’s reasonable to believe both the coach and the FMF in January thought El Tri would take part in the tournament. However, the United States’ offer to host a competition similar to the 2016 Copa America Centenario was rebuffed and the South American directors turned their attention toward Asia.

“We always want to play against the best and if we could play every day against Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, we would,” Martino said after a 3-2 win over Ecuador last week. “I don’t pick the game, but yes we want, we want to compete in the Copa America. That’s what is going to make Mexico grow.

“We want to leave the comfort zone that comes with playing in the United States, where we’re always the home team. Of course we want to play against Ecuador in Ecuador or against Chile in Santiago. In fact, Mexico played two games in Argentina last year, but we know that with the commercial commitments that it’s out of the football-side of things and we have to do that as well.

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“Let there be no doubt at all, I have no fear of losing 10 games in a row if we’re going to play against opponents that really are superior to us.”

Games against opponents better than Mexico on paper aren’t happening, though. The ones in the Gold Cup group stage against Cuba, Canada and Martinique are.

With no Copa America test on the horizon, the Gold Cup is all the more critical. The newly birthed Concacaf Nations League will be the only competition in which Mexico takes part until World Cup qualification begins. Even there, El Tri often roll through qualification facing mostly teams that look to sit back and counter against the region’s top team rather than come out and play.

The other surprise for Martino was just how deep the fault lines run between the Mexican federation and some of his top players. Mexico enters the tournament as the overwhelming favorite, even with all the absences it has. You could make a starting XI that would be a favorite to win the tournament with the players who aren’t here for El Tri, whether because of injury or a lack of desire to play on the national team.

There are plenty of great players still on the squad, though. They too have had a summer filled with answering questions about players who aren’t around, about their own dedication to the national team and about the responsibility now on their shoulders. Now they can worry more about whether they’re supposed to be tucking inside or overlapping than if they’ll make the final list. 

It is time for the players to start playing, for Martino to start coaching and for everything else to fade away. This is what the coach and his players live for. It’s time for Mexico to prove it’s as good of a team as we think it is. Official matches in the Martino era are finally here. He can finally get to work.

A last minute penalty and VAR proved to be a recipe for disaster as Argentina fought back from 3-0 down to draw with Scotland

VAR was at the heart of yet another controversy in the Women’s World Cup on Wednesday as a chaotic end to the 3-3 draw saw Scotland women crash out of the competition.

The Scots had a 3-0 lead over Argentina until the 74th minute of their final group game and still had a chance of progressing into the next round before their opponents struck back.

Milagros Menendez fired home first for Argentina, before a Florencia Bonsegundo shot hit the crossbar and bounced in off of goalkeeper Lee Alexander to set up a nailbiting final 10 minutes.

The excitment then seemed to have reached its peak when a penalty was awarded to Argentina in the 89th minute. Alexander stopped Bonsegundo’s effort from the spot, following it up with another save, seemingly securing the win for Scotland.

But play was stopped to allow the referee to review the video footage, causing a long delay. Eventually, it was ruled that Alexander had stepped off the line before the spot-kick was struck and the referee ordered a retake, with the goalkeeper seemingly marginally off the line.

This time Bonsegundo hammered it straight down the middle and past Alexander, completing a remarkable comeback.

But the outrage that the incident caused on social media continued after the game, with many players, fans, pundits and even actors and politicians voicing their distain for VAR. 

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The U.S. has scored before the 12th minute in all six of their games in France so far, giving them a huge boost in the early stages

Prior to his team’s World Cup semifinal against the United States, England coach Phil Neville was asked about his opponent’s propensity to start games quickly.

At that point, the USWNT had scored within the first 12 minutes of all five of their World Cup games, which, unsurprisingly, had all ended in victory.

“I think the first 15 minutes you’ve got to be ready,” Neville said. “They do come out of the traps really quickly. I think the first 15 minutes will determine the way the game is going to shape [up].”

Within two minutes of Tuesday night’s game, though, England was already on the back foot. Goalkeeper Carly Telford was forced into a save four minutes in and after just 10 minutes, the U.S. had a 1-0 lead through Christen Press.

Neville learned the same lesson that five coaches already had: Stopping the U.S. from taking an early lead in this World Cup is much easier said than done.

England would manage to equalize just nine minutes after Press scored the opener, but the U.S. found another goal before the half in a 2-1 win that pushed them into the final against the Netherlands. 

On Sunday, the Dutch will look to solve a riddle that has now stumped six teams in a row. 

In order, the USWNT’s first goal in its six World Cup matches has come in the 12th minute (Thailand), the 11th (Chile), third (Sweden), seventh (Spain), fifth (France) and finally the 10th against England. 

“Our intent is to attack for 90 minutes,” U.S. head coach Jill Ellis said. “The reality is [with] legs and just fatigue, you can’t.”

And so the U.S. has prioritized coming out of the gate as strong as possible. 

“The players come out and want to be as fresh as they can, press, keep a team in their end, create chances, create set pieces and really try and get the upper hand early,” Ellis said before acknowledging that there are two sides to this particular coin.

“But the reality of these games at this level of the tournament is you know the opponent also wants the same thing.”

Naturally, starting well is a desire of both teams in any given match. So how has the U.S. gotten the early upper hand in six games running?

Ask the U.S. players about how they’ve managed to start so strong, and you’ll likely get a response that cites something intangible. 

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“It’s the mentality of the team, always coming out and wanting a goal early on,” said Lindsey Horan, who scored in the third minute against Sweden in the group stage.

Horan’s fellow midfielder Rose Lavelle agreed.

“The mentality of this team is incredible and we’re always fighting the whole game from start to finish,” Lavelle said.

“We know we have to come out 100 percent and we can’t sit back because we know that every team we’ve played has been capable of doing the same thing. We’ve just started on the front foot and obviously it’s worked out.”

Early goals have a dual effect on the game, giving a lift to the team that scores while also presenting early obstacles, both mental and scoreline-related, for the team that concedes.

“It does help settle us into the game and it has helped us in these last few games,” Horan said. 

“Some opponents have done well, England got a goal right after us but I think it does disrupt them. I’m happy we’ve done that and hopefully we can do that in the final.”

Should the Netherlands make it 15 or 20 minutes without conceding on Sunday it will give them an early boost. But if the USWNT continues the trend they’ve been on this tournament, they could have one hand on the trophy before the Dutch really know what’s hit them.