And four were left: Analysing the strengths and weaknesses of the 2023 NWSL Playoff semi-finalists – scout report

This weekend sees the NWSL playoff semi-finals take place, with the first game being between the second-seeded Portland Thorns, coming off a bye, and the bottom-seeded sixth-placed Gotham, who are coming off their first playoff win in franchise history.

If that wasnt enough, this game is then followed by the top seed San Diego Wave coming up against an OL Reign side who come off an impressive 1-0 victory over Angel City in the opening round of the playoffs.

In this tactical analysis and scout report, we will provide some analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the critical things to look out for this weekend within these four sides tactics. 

Portland Thorns

Strengths

Portland finished the regular season in 2nd place, which earned them the first-week bye. One of the primary reasons behind their successful regular season was their potent attacking threat, with them finishing the season with the most goals at 33, the highest xG at 33.22, and more shots than any team with 307, an impressive 47 more than the next-best Gotham.

One reason why their attack is so dangerous is due to their possession style of play, where they look to stretch the opposition out. This then creates more space for the attackers to find and look to damage opposition defences, with attacking players such as Sophia Smith, who is just coming back from an MCL sprain injury.

Sophia is one of the most dangerous in world football when shes fully fit, combining her with the likes of Morgan Weaver, Christine Sinclair and Hina Siguita, the four of whom are all in the top 20 in the NWSL in terms of xG per game, two more than any other playoff contender.

Couple these potent attackers with more creative players such as Olivia Moultrie and Crystal Dunn, and you get a sense of how difficult a prospect defending against Portland can be.

All this attack doesnt lead to anything. The quality of the Portland players to play a disguised pass penetrating the best defensive side in the league to open up the space for other players to exploit this team potentially really demonstrates how practical an attacking side like Portland can be. Another thing to note is how many bodies are looking to get involved in attacking play — about seven — and look at the width that Portland are operating with; this always means, in particular, the wingers have control over that wide space channel against the opposition full-backs.

Weaknesses

Now, despite being a scary prospect in attack, there are potential vulnerabilities in the Portland defence that could be targeted. Most notable in a recent 5-1 demolition by Angel City was how they struggled to defend crosses, particularly when the balls were hit with pace across the box.