Sydney Leroux Deserves a Starting Spot at the Women’s World Cup

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

In the second of three matches for the USWNT in their 2015 Women’s World Cup send-off series, Sydney Leroux finally got a chance to start. She made a statement and showed exactly why she should be starting at striker when the World Cup kicks off next month. Uncertainty with Alex Morgan, the fitness of Abby Wambach and the finishing quality of all the forward options have made the attack?a big question ahead of the tournament in Canada.

Leroux’s two goals against Mexico on Sunday night helped her increase her rate of productivity for the USWNT to a goal every 82 minutes. That is the best rate of the 26 players that have scored 20 or more international goals. Leroux now has 35 international goals, which is tied for 14th in USWNT history.

One of her goals was scored from a ridiculous angle after she rounded the keeper. Leroux’s speed always makes her dangerous, but against Mexico she showed the ability to time her runs just right to get into the space between the defenders and keeper. Leroux had some issues with her final touch, but her speed and decision making put her in a threatening spot in the first place.

That decision making was on display not only in the timing of the runs, but also in finding space in and around the box. Against Mexico other players kept streaking deep into the offensive zone and were often out of the play when the ball was brought back into a dangerous spot. Leroux settled into open areas or worked NIKE LeBron 12 Low Hot Lava WOLF GRAY RED WHITE out wide if the penalty area was clogged. That allowed her to set up teammates for good chances that ended up highlighting the rest of the team’s struggles around the goal.

With defenders finishing better than forwards for the USWNT in recent matches, the performance Leroux put together on Sunday was just what the team needed. Her performance showed a level of confidence that had not been seen from the striker coming off the bench in recent matches. It was a full match performance that should push Leroux into the starting role on June 8th in Winnipeg.

Douglas Smith is a writer for?RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter?@DFresh39, ��Like��?him on Facebook,?or add him to your network on?Google.

Related:

USWNT World Cup Roster Maintains Status Quo