FIFA Women’s World Cup 2011: USA Vs. Colombia, North Korea Vs. Sweden, Group C

The first game that the United States women played in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup was a tale of two halves. In the first half, they looked like a lackluster team, sparking fears in fans that the U.S. women’s losses to Mexico and England in the build-up to the World Cup were indicative of a problem. Then, they came out looking both determined and creative in the second half as they dominated North Korea, scoring two goals en route to a 2-0 win. Against Colombia, they probably want to start a little better.

It appears that Pia Sundhage will make yet another change, as she will reportedly replace Shannon Boxx, one of the team’s most experienced players, by Lori Lindsey in a like for like swap. Lindsey is 31, but has just 22 caps, an oddity in the women’s game. Boxx has been a staple of the team for years, but she didn’t look like herself in the opening game. Despite her inexperience, Lindsey has looked good in her recent appearances with the USWNT and she had a great 2010 with the Philadelphia Independence.

This change and the move to bring in Lauren Cheney for Megan Rapinoe in the first game represents a serious change for coach Pia Sundhage. She has been loyal to a fault with her lineup at times, and her positive coaching philosophy has appeared to go a little too far sometimes with some wondering whether or not she was wanting to avoid criticism so much that she refused to bench under-performing players. After having played basically the same lineup for over a year, two big changes in two games is way out of character.

Colombia did well to challenge Sweden in their first game, but make no mistake - the United States are the much better team. If the USWNT fails to score in the first half and barely squeaks out a one goal win, it will be concerning going into the final group game with Sweden and a potentially difficult quarterfinal match. Sundhage will want a good first half performance and a multi-goal win to build confidence going into the tough games of the competition.

Sweden vs. North Korea

With the United States’ defeat of North Korea, the supposed lightning strike victims will have to grab a win against Sweden to feel like they have a good shot at qualifying for the knockout stages. In theory, these teams should be fairly evenly matched. Or, at least, that’s what the FIFA rankings would suggest. However, Sweden have some serious firepower up top that it might be tough for North Korea to stop. It’ll be a classic matchup between Sweden’s superior athletes and a North Korea team that keeps their shape and passes well.