Women’s World Cup 2023 Preview – Rose Lavelle & Ashley Sanchez

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One of the storylines heading into the Women’s World Cup this year for the United States centers around the fitness of one of their prime starlets – Rose Lavelle. Lavelle stole the show with her Bronze Ball back in 2019 as the U.S. lifted the trophy, and has been a key function for both Reign and her nation since.

But like a few others in the USWNT camp, Lavelle suffered an injury in an April friendly against Ireland and is fighting to be back in time ahead of the tournament. Her minutes in the NWSL have been limited to just a few appearances prior to that injury, having not played a competitive fixture since April.

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Luckily for the States, they seem to have a carbon copy in the form of Ashley Sanchez of the Washington Spirit. Although Sanchez lacks the same experience and Bronze Ball potential, she just so happens to be a remarkably similar player set to shine at this summer’s tournament.

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With that, we break down the similarities between the two players, and why injury to Lavelle may not be as catastrophic as feared.

DOMINANCE ON THE BALL

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Rose Lavelle has always stood out for her ability to drop her shoulder, receive on the half-turn and then drive forward. She’s an incredibly dynamic box-to-box presence, loves wreaking havoc on the break, and can dominate the ball with either foot.

What stands out when it comes to Lavelle’s uncanny on-the-ball supremacy is her ability to continue to drive forward until the moment that the opposition is either forced into making the move to tackle, or until the right time presents itself for the pass. This means that when a player might be in an advantageous position to pass forward, Lavelle will more often continue dribbling on her own, continuing to push the defenders backward and waiting to play that killer pass closer to goal.

The 28-year-old has an immaculate first touch whenever receiving the ball, and this often sets herself up for the optimal amount of space to again make her magic count. Then as she drives forward, you simply cannot touch her. That’s a dangerous proposition, as the closer she advances to goal, the more likely she is to pull off a magical through pass or find the finish.

Ashley Sanchez possesses much of the same close control technical quality. She’s not quite as quick as Lavelle when it comes to those silky smooth dribbles. But then again, who is? Instead, Sanchez is more likely to dribble with her bodyweight closer to the ground, presenting the opportunity to turn direction or shift the ball to either foot on the drop of a dime. This is a useful separation, and one that makes Sanchez potentially more skillful on the ball, even if Lavelle skillfully handles pressurized situations to a greater extent.

The difference is that while Lavelle can often continue to take players on until she runs out of room or her speed becomes too much to slow down, Sanchez is more likely to keep the game ticking along with a forward or sideways pass into her wingers.

Encouragingly for the States, they’ve also brought another option with them to the tournament in case Lavelle finds herself out of fitness. Savannah DeMelo‘s consistently been one of the NWSL’s best players between 2022 and 2023, and boasts the highest dribbling percentages of all three players (55%).

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DeMelo’s a similar counter attacking threat for her close control and quick feet to evade pressure, often drawing in fouls as a result of that 1v1 superiority. No player has won more fouls in the NWSL this season than her 3.3 per 90.

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As far as replacing Lavelle’s on-the-ball trickery goes, the USWNT clearly have two excellent options at their disposal. Lavelle will be the first choice if fully fit, but Sanchez and DeMelo can both make up for some of that lost ability in a pinch.

MOVEMENT & SPATIAL AWARENESS

Unfortunately for the States, Lavelle isn’t just a phenomenal player on-the-ball. She’s a tremendously hard worker off-the-ball, and possesses magnificent awareness when it comes to perceiving the spaces and reacting.

Constantly scanning the field before she receives the ball, Lavelle has the uncanny ability to position herself in the optimal position to receive, or sometimes, even score a crucial goal. This is where she can either arrive late to the box or surge in between a gap to get her body to the ball before anyone else. She’s magnificent in the air once she breaks free into the spaces to score, and can finish with either foot.

This is also where Lavelle’s speed on the break becomes imperative. Few others in world football are so talented when it comes to not only seeing the spaces, but advancing into those areas quicker than the defender can react.

Her acceleration speed is remarkable, and when she’s in full flow, she’s difficult to catch. As more of a silkier on-the-ball presence, Sanchez lacks that same cutting edge speed. However, she’s closely able to match Lavelle’s ability to see the spaces to move into before finishing or picking out that next pass. Often attaching herself closer to the striker as a ’10’, Sanchez loves playing the foil depending on the movement of those around her, and then arching her run to match the movement of her teammates.

She cleverly advances into spaces at the right moment in relation to the timing of the pass, and like Lavelle, frequently scans the field to aid her in that quest.

Then if looking for that box-to-box threat that loves to be progressive with their running power, Savannah DeMelo again presents an excellent secondary option. Her progressive running comes to 2.66 per 90 within the last calendar year, just behind Lavelle’s 2.70.

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When they get into the final third off the back of that impressive running, no one can match Lavelle’s perceptions of when and where to pick out the right pass. But Sanchez and DeMelo very well could prove themselves to be capable understudies at this tournament, capable of filling Rose Lavelle’s boots when required.

In the past, the USWNT lacked another player of Lavelle’s incredible on-the-ball quality when it comes to driving forward from the midfield lines. Lindsay Horan and Sam Mewis love to set the tempo and perceive spaces off-the-ball, but Lavelle’s qualities remain a rare commodity. But as we enter the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the USWNT should feel confident that they can replace some of Rose Lavelle’s phenomenal ability should they be required.

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