The 2024 edition of NWSL will kick off a week later, and it already promises to guarantee a lot of entertainment, competitiveness, and fierce competition between the participating teams, whether during the regular season or in the playoff phase. Most clubs have been active during this pre-season as they were keen to make the necessary transfers during the latest transfer window to prepare for the significant challenges ahead.
Gotham FC will be doing their best to preserve their 2023 NWSL title, a mission that will surely not be easy for them as they will be challenged by numerous reinforced squads such as those of Portland Thorns, San Diego Wave, Kansas City Current, Racing Louisville and more. Also, Bay FC and Utah Royals will be making their first-ever participation in NWSL, and they have been preparing extensively to compete seriously with the rest of the teams as they also made some significant signings during the transfer window.
As a result, these two teams should not be underestimated, and all teams will have to be better prepared, especially from a defensive perspective, compared to last season so as to concede fewer goals this season. The only team that conceded fewer goals than the number of games played last season was Houston Dash, with 18 goals conceded in 22 games. All the rest conceded 22 or more goals in 22 games, with the Chicago Red Stars having conceded the highest number of goals that season.
In order to perform better, concede less and score more goals per game, most of the teams made significant signings for the 2024 season. And in this tactical analysis and scout report, we have decided to pick five new signings to watch this season. The choice for the five players was made based on the potential impact of these players on their respective teams’ tactics, their actual footballing value and their key abilities, which we believe can make a difference for the teams who made the signings.
We will start by exploring Bia Zaneratto’s possible addition to Kansas City Current, Mya Jones’s abilities and how she can represent a valuable signing for San Diego Wave, how Asisat Oshoala can bring her rich European experience (knowing that she played at Liverpool, Arsenal and Barcelona previously) to Bay FC and put her excellent attacking abilities at the service of her new team. Then, the analysis will focus on Angharad James’s possible midfield addition to Seattle Reign FC by studying the former Tottenham Hotspur player’s midfield attributes.
The article will then tackle former Chelsea’s Jessie Fleming’s expected contribution to Portland Thorns’s midfield and how she can help her team win the NWSL title again following the failure of last season.
Bia Zaneratto’s possible addition to Kansas City Current
In order to study Zaneratto’s possible attacking addition to Kansas City Current, it is fundamental to focus on the player’s main attacking traits, especially her shooting and goalscoring abilities, plus how she uses her body inside the box and how she moves with and without the ball in that area.
Zaneratto has some outstanding physical abilities that allow her to shine inside the box and disturb any defence since she knows how to exploit her physical strength in a way that helps her finish actions well while resisting the defenders’ disturbance.
With an xG equal to 0.42 and a number of goals reaching 0.45 per match, Zaneratto is considered one of the most clinical Brazilians on the women’s football scene at the moment. Her addition to Kansas City Current will undoubtedly be noticeable from day one.
Zaneratto shoots a minimum average of three shots per game, knowing her shots are often powerful and well-oriented. Being a left-footed striker who has already been positioned as an inverted right winger, an advanced playmaker, and a second striker would surely guarantee many attacking solutions for Kansas City Current, depending on the game and the head coach’s game plan.
More importantly, she is a player who uses her body very effectively when pressing high on defenders and resisting their disturbance. This picture highlights her great endurance and how she intercepted the ball from a defender before running and protecting it while being disturbed. In addition to that, she was also able to lob the ball past the goalkeeper and another opposing defender, which highlights Zaneratto’s finishing intelligence and resistance to physical pressure at the same time.
In addition, Zaneratto can represent a solid set-piece weapon for her new team as she has already scored many free-kicks for Brazil previously and can shoot them with power and precision, exploiting her outstanding left-foot accuracy and power. This example confirms Zaneratto’s free-kick-taking abilities and shows how she could direct her powerful shot towards a “dead angle”, where the goalkeeper could not be reactive enough to the speed of the shot.
Moreover, shooting from different angles and playing in various attacking positions will surely make Zaneratto a very influential player for Kansas City Current, who will certainly need the attacking depth, experience, and character of the Brazilian powerhouse. She can score from different angles since she relies mostly on the power of her shots while not ignoring the importance of precision. Therefore, she is usually capable of surprising goalkeepers with unpredictable shots like the one shown in this example from the edge of the box.
Powerhouse Asisat Oshoala’s attacking addition to Bay FC
Another remarkable and world-class addition to the NWSL will be the arrival of Nigerian star Asisat Oshoala to Bay FC. The team will participate for the first time ever in the NWSL under the management of head coach Albertin Montoya. Key players like Caprice Dydasco, Racheal Kundananji, Scarlett Camberos, and more will reinforce the team’s efforts to make a strong debut in a challenging league.
Having an experienced player like Oshoala upfront will definitely make a lot of difference for Bay FC in terms of the number of goals scored per game and also from a tactical perspective, as opposing teams will have to take into consideration the existence of a very dangerous striker in their own box and therefore change their tactics to defend better against her attempts. This will eventually help Bay FC reduce the danger of the opponents’ attacking attempts since most of them will be obliged to attack with fewer players in order not to leave gaps for dangerous and quick players like Oshoala.
Oshoala is a goalscoring-machine who has outstanding physical abilities and can resist against most defenders to protect the ball and be able to finish with success in front of goal. Her sense of the goal is extremely high, and her goalscoring techniques are varied enough to succeed in confusing NWSL goalkeepers. As a result, it is expected she will score numerous goals for Bay FC this season to help them reach the playoffs, and why not challenge for the title if things go well afterwards?
Oshoala’s European experiences at teams like Barcelona, Arsenal, Liverpool and more helped her acquire the quick reflexes needed to confuse any defence in addition to her exceptional natural abilities in terms of duels or regarding goalscoring. She can be relied on heavily to receive crosses from the wings and finish with headers, as she has proven on numerous occasions that she can score headers with plenty of techniques.
Also, she is a player who can surprise everyone with skills that seem extraordinary for most strikers. She has the advantage of mastering acrobatic moves and uses this skill to deal with complicated crosses. Lately, she has been able to finish an action against Benfica in the UWCL with a magnificent volley that was executed with great coordination and a lot of attention to timing.
In fact, Oshoala is special not just because of her acrobatic moves but also because she has usually proved that she is a clinical finisher, whether with Nigeria or with the clubs she played at. She always positions herself in critical areas inside the box and times her finishing actions well so as not to let goalkeepers anticipate her shots. Moreover, she is a modern striker who shoots with different techniques, including curved shots from the left, like the one shown in the following example.
Mya Jones’ potential success at San Diego Wave
San Diego Wave have recently signed the Canadian NWSL 3rd round Draft pick, Mya Jones, for two years as they believe in her raw talent as a striker and in her ability to shine in the NWSL with San Diego Wave’s colours after she was playing at Memphis. In fact, she was named the AAC Championship Most Outstanding Offensive Player during her final season with the team and participated with Canada’s U-15, U-17 and U-20 levels so far.
The Canadian player, indeed, can quickly transform into a star. However, she will need to work a lot in order to integrate successfully at San Diego Wave and cope with NWSL’s playing style and differences in terms of tactics and physical strength compared to the AAC.
This being said, Jones can definitely prove her worth quickly within her new team, especially if she works hard on improving her physical strength and, therefore, resisting the defensive disturbances and tight marking of NWSL defenders. The fact that Jones can play with both feet is also an advantage that the player should exploit in her favour by alternating her shots and passes with both feet in order to confuse defenders and goalkeepers, especially this season when most opponents do not know her well.
Being able to play as a right winger and as a second striker when needed would help the San Diego Wave, especially knowing that Jones can form a solid attacking duo with the veteran Alex Morgan. Jones is quick enough to master the winger position and can also deal quite well with tight spaces; therefore, it won’t be problematic for her to join the box so often and try to penetrate past defenders like she did in this example before aiming for a powerful shot that went inside the net.
Moreover, succeeding in scoring with the left foot is also a trait that can be very useful for Jones and San Diego Wave, as this provides another element of surprise to opponents. In this example, she could receive the ball with her back towards the goal, turn and shoot directly using her left foot.
Seattle Reign FC’s midfield reinforcement with Angharad James
The 29-year-old Angharad James will definitely be a very useful midfield reinforcement for a team like Seattle Reign FC, which already has some key players in midfield like Quinn and Jess Fishlock. James will definitely add a lot more balance to Seattle Reign FC’s midfield as she can guarantee more accurate passes per game, knowing her average passing accuracy equals 78.5%.
Also, she can provide a plethora of tactical solutions to her team since she can play as a defensive midfielder, central midfielder, and right-back and is never hesitant to try new positions when needed. More importantly, James is a midfielder who can become very dangerous whenever she advances to the final third. With excellent positioning without the ball and very intelligent and reactive key passing, she can become at the heart of her new team’s attacking actions and help a lot with assists and key passes inside the box.
The following example of a back-heel assist against Germany highlights James’ quick decision-making, ability to deal well with complicated situations, and remarkable vision. She was able to provide this pass with a first-time touch while her teammate was behind her. Such key passes can be very important for Seattle Reign FC this season as they will add more quality in midfield in addition to Fishlock’s excellent attacking input.
Adding a Canadian/European touch to Portland Thorns’ midfield with Jessie Fleming
Canadian international Jessie Fleming will bring her four years of European experience at Chelsea to an already shining team in NWSL and who will strive to make a strong comeback this season after failing to win the title in 2023.
Fleming will play alongside players like Christine Sinclair, Hina Sugita and Sam Coffey and would definitely find enough space to shine with the team both from a defensive and attacking perspective as the former Blues as she is characterised by her excellent passing abilities, creative touch and outstanding vision. Plus, her dynamism and ability to run a lot per match and causing issues for opponents thanks to her pressing efforts and marking discipline will surely be pivotal to Portland Thorns’ midfield tactics as she would guarantee more balance in that area.
Moreover, Fleming can advance a lot per game while being dangerous and not advancing for the sake of it. She is very good at long passes and key passes and has already proved her ability to give assists using long passes with adequate timing. This example highlights her mastery of long passing even though this long pass was executed in a tight area. Despite that, she was still able to serve her teammate in the way she wanted, allowing the latter to score a beautiful goal.
Conclusion
The five signings are expected to be very impactful for their respective teams this season and perhaps for the upcoming seasons, too, as all of them can be considered quality signings that would benefit their teams sooner or later. Nevertheless, it is never possible to narrow down all impressive signings to just five, and it is, therefore, obvious that some other signings deserve to be highlighted, too. For instance, Racheal Kundananji, Ji So-Yun and Barbra Banda are certainly names that will make a difference for their new teams, too. Also, numerous moves/trades were made between the NWSL teams, and perhaps the most notable one was Ashley Sanchez’s move from Washington Spirit to North Carolina Courage.
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