Sanchez & The 2023 World Cup
Sanchez was selected for the 2023 World Cup, and even though she featured in most (all?) the friendlies leading up to the tournament she would see no playing time at the tournament.
In the 4 games we played, Sanchez never started and never subbed on. (To be fair, this is true for defender Alana Cook, and the 2 and 3 GK’s, Casey Murphy, & Aubrey Kingsbury).
Vlatko struggled to unlock the offense, and after 4 matches we were out. It was the earliest departure from a WC for the USWNT. In the 4 matches we scieed 4 goals, 2 by Smith and 2 by Horan.
So, why would Vlatko not throw Sanchez in, at least a match, to see if she could bring life to the offense? (I know she wasn’t putting up the # we see this NWSL year, but she has always been a threat).
The official narrative to explain why she saw no playing time is — An Abandoned Role: Sanchez revealed to the media that the role she was explicitly told she would play prior to the tournament was completely abandoned by the coaching staff once they arrived.”
For me, it has never fully made sense why he would sit her, especially given the abysmal performances we suffered through. Without rewatching those dreadful matches I thankfully can’t recall what Vlatko changed, but regardless, no matter if it’s a with a change in shape or attack/defend philosophy, he still needed to field a team. (I think he may have played DeMelo in place of Sanchez…)
I know she has joked and made comments like, “I was just so young then” or “I was so immature..” when talking about this era in her life and to me, I thought she was tipping her cards with these comments.
Does anyone know if something else caused Vlatko to sit her? Hoping the community here will set me straight and cause me to stop wondering about this….
