USWNT beat Republic of Ireland 2-0 at Q2 but lose Mal Swanson to injury

A win, but at what cost? 

On Saturday afternoon at Q2 Stadium, the U.S. women's national team put in a dominant display to beat the Republic of Ireland 2-0. However, star forward Mal Swanson suffered a knee injury in the first half and had to leave the match entirely in the 45th minute. 

"We don't know the extent of the injury yet," USA head coach Vlatko Andonovski said after the match. "Mal [Swanson] is a lovable person, a happy person, and brings joy. The staff, players, and everyone was affected by it ... Right now, we're all just hoping for good news and hoping we’ll see her back on the field soon."

With a goal in each half, the USA took control of the game after a shaky opening 30 minutes where the Irish almost took an early lead. A first-ever international goal for Emily Fox gave the hosts a 1-0 lead before halftime and they never looked back. Lindsey Horan added a second for the USA in the 80th minute from the penalty spot after she was fouled in the box by Dianne Caldwell. 

Even with the catastrophe of Swanson's exit hanging over the team, the USWNT outshot their opponent 25 to 6, with eight of the host's shots forcing a save from Irish goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.

The chippy match, friendly in name only, was a rugged test for the USA as they prepare for a tournament where teams are likely to cluster their star players and try to physically unsettle them. Ireland made sure there was an intensity not often seen in these types of exhibition affairs.  

Heartbreak for Mal 

The biggest talking point reverberating around the country after the conclusion of this match will be the worrying-looking knee injury sustained by Swanson in the first half.

Swanson’s standing left leg was caught late from behind by Irish defender Aoife Mannion. The USA forward immediately buckled and fell to the turf. Q2 stadium was hushed as she clutched her left knee in agony. 

After several minutes of medical attention, which even saw Andonovski run over from his dugout to tend to his injured player, Swanson was strapped to a gurney, carted off the pitch, and taken out of the match. Trinity Rodman came off the bench to replace her. 

The tragedy of the injury is intensified with the start of the World Cup just three months and 12 days away. USA fans will patiently wait for updates knowing that even in a best-case situation, perhaps a ligament strain or twist, it is likely that Swanson will be sidelined for a number of weeks if not months. The hard truth is that her battle to be fit for the summer tournament has begun. 

There is an argument to be made that Swanson shouldn’t have still been on the pitch when the injury occurred. Before the knee injury, in the 28th minute, the Chicago Red Stars forward collided with the knee of Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan as she came off her line to claim a through ball. Swanson was given treatment by the medical staff and was assessed for a head injury. Despite looking woozy, she was deemed ready to continue and re-entered the match after a moment on the sidelines. 

"Our medical staff wanted to make sure she [Swanson] was okay. Obviously, with the game being so close to the World Cup, we didn't want to take a chance...we were going to take her off, but she felt good. Everything was fine so she went back on the field," Andonovski explained about the first knock on Swanson. 

When asked specifically about whether she was treated for a head injury, Andonovski replied: "No. Her brain was very good. Even after the second injury, when she was going off the field, she had a big smile on her face and said "Coach, I'm good, I promise, I'll be good.""

Coming into today’s match with Ireland, critics and fans had worried that the USA was overly reliant on Swanson when scoring goals. The forward scored four of the United States’ goals at the SheBelieves Cup in February and had scored six goals in five consecutive matches for her country since January.

There’s no denying this injury could be a devastating loss for the USA. Just how reliant is the USA on Swanson's goals? We will find out soon.

Fox outside the box 

A positive for the USA was Fox's performance. Her fine opening goal, taken with her right foot, was a pinpoint strike into the bottom left-hand corner.  

The deadlock was broken in part because Andonovski asked his fullbacks to push on, step up into the midfield, and get involved in play. This was a change from the early phases of the match when the USA was mostly playing longer passes and trying to quickly get in behind the Irish backline. It was during the pause in play for Swanson’s head injury that the USA head coach seemingly was able to get this adjustment across. 

The build-up to the goal starts with Sophia Smith leaving Irish right back Heather Payne for dead and then cutting the ball back to the edge of the box. Although the Irish do initially win the ball back, possession is quickly turned over when Marissa Sheva, then Payne, fail to clear their lines.

Fox, who was then in an advanced position having followed the sequence from the backline, joined in with Andi Sullivan and Crystal Dunn’s attack on the edge of the box. Sullivan rolled it across to Fox with plenty of space to run into. Irish captain Denise O’Sullivan waved Sheva to apply pressure on Fox, but the Courage defender was brave on the ball and glided past the attentive Sheva with ease. The dribble created the angle and then Fox finished the job with an undeviating hit of the ball.  

Seeing more USA players who aren’t forwards named Swanson on the scoresheet will please Andonovski greatly and help calm some fans’ nerves. Furthermore, positional play that sees fullbacks Dunn and Fox getting involved higher up the pitch is just what this team needs. 

Return of the Ertz

Julie Ertz is back! After last appearing for the USA on August 5, 2021 — that's 611 days ago — in the bronze medal match of the Tokyo Olympics, Ertz made her long-awaited return to the national team on Saturday afternoon. 

In the meantime, the two-time World Cup winner gave birth to her first child, Madden, on August 11, 2022. Ertz is yet to return to playing soccer in the NWSL, after injuries curtailed the rest of her 2021 season with the Chicago Red Stars and she took maternity leave the following season. The free-agent midfielder is currently negotiating with clubs in the NWSL in order to get some minutes and push for a place in Andonovski’s 23-player World Cup squad. 

"She [Ertz] played with a smile when she had the ball, and when she didn't have it. It was good to see her excitement and joy. We were trying to direct her a little bit. She was getting a little bit off-script, but it's understandable and it's ok," Andonovski beamed. 

When Andonovski announced the surprise inclusion of Ertz in the squad for the Ireland game, it was unclear if she would see the pitch. In the 69th minute, the midfielder entered the match in place of holding midfielder Sullivan. It was Ertz's 117th cap for her country. 

And it was almost like she had never been away. In less than two minutes, a mistimed collision with Katie McCabe saw the USA midfielder pick up a yellow card. Known for her ability to ball hawk, cover ground and win challenges, the speed of the match didn’t look too much for Ertz.

For the final stages of the match, Ertz anchored the USA midfield diligently and oversaw some dominant spells of possession as the USA added a second goal and looked for a third. It’s hard to read too much into this short cameo, but having one of the USA’s greatest-ever defensive midfielders hungry for selection is sure to create quite the competition.

'We saw that when she [Ertz] came in, the pace of the game changed instantly...We're happy where she's at but there were moments where she was rushing the pass and made a few mistakes," Andonovski noted.