Today, Washington Spirit will play for their first trophy outside of the NWSL. The newly formed Concacaf W Champions Cup—whose inaugural tournament wrapped up last year with Gotham lifting the trophy—is Concacaf’s attempted answer to Europe’s Champions League. It has a long way to go, of course, but this edition’s semifinals have shown the promise within the concept.

Washington Spirit booked their ticket to the final by tussling with a difficult Pachuca side and being the team to find the moment of magic that led to the only goal. Club América, who lost last year’s final to Gotham, exorcised those demons by blitzing the Bats 4-1.

Both matches were held at the Estadio Hidalgo in Pachuca, Mexico. The stadium offers a big pitch, respectable crowds, and the challenge of nearly 8,000 feet of elevation. The home sides leaned on their most talented footballers having big games, as well advantage of the thin air. The combination of both forced the NWSL sides into performances that strayed far from their best.

Club América

How They Got Here
Club América are having a hell of a week. Last Sunday they were crowned Liga MX Femenil champions after a 3-0 win over rivals Monterrey. Then, midweek they tormented Gotham all over the pitch, picking up four goals and advancing to their second trophy opportunity in a week.

América earned their dominant victory over Gotham by punishing every mistake they forced them into. Geyse (formerly of Gotham) and Scarlett Camberos (formerly of Angel City and Bay FC) worked together to carve through Gotham’s backline every chance they got.

What Made the Difference
Their four goals came from smart holdup play to spring Geyse in behind for an low cross assist to Camberos, a quick coast-to-coast counter after a Gotham set piece (Geyse to Camberos again), a high press that forced a deep turnover which gifted Geyse the ball in the box to tack on another assist, and a drawn penalty after a midfield interception and quick play forward forced a late foul (which was actually outside of the box but there’s no VAR in this competition, and the ref pointed to the spot).

That’s four different routes to the back of the net, leaving plenty for the Spirit to be wary of. The speed at which América played didn’t allow Gotham to react in time to engage their press. Gotham looked a step late to everything all game, which is a credit to América being able to spread them out and have players and the ball arrive in pockets at the right times. América goalkeeper Itzel Velasco also deserves a shoutout. She was brave in coming out and sweeping up, and came up with a couple important saves before her teammates could break the game open at the other end.

What to Expect
Expect América to continue doing what’s already brought them one trophy and the chance to play for another. They’ll be aggressive in their pressing, trying to force mistakes and capitalize in as few passes as possible. They’re incredibly difficult to contain when they’re able to isolate defenders on Geyse and/or Camberos. If the Spirit don’t have a plan to slow either (preferably both) the match could turn into a track meet, and América already showed that they can dominate one of those, even against NWSL competition.

Washington Spirit

How They Got Here
The Spirit didn’t have similarly frolicky time in their semifinal. Part of that was due to Adrián González opting to test out a new lineup of personnel. Our blogfather, Jason Anderson, wrote a detailed recap of the lineup, its intent, and how it actually played out. You should read it if you have the time, but the tl;dr is that he fielded Leicy Santos as a false 9 ahead of Sofia Cantore or Gift Monday; the idea was to have Leicy drop to add a fourth player in midfield to shorten the spaces between players for benefits in and out of possession; and it didn’t really work.

Part of the reason it didn’t work was that the Spirit spent a lot of time without the ball, particularly in the first half. Without the ball, they were just chasing Pachuca around, and then struggling to find each other quickly enough once they finally won back possession. Pachuca’s pressing and ability to evade the Spirit’s press by moving the ball east to west defanged the Spirit’s counterpress and gave Pachuca space to advance the ball into dangerous territory, or at the very least far enough away from their goal to protect against pressure generating a quick and easy chance.

What Made the Difference
What saved the Spirit was its immense depth, and ability to adapt their tactics with simple personnel shifts. Gift Monday, Lucia Di Guglielmo and Claudia Martínez—all subs—played key roles in the buildup to the only goal of the game, which the latter scored. Given the altitude and rigor of the game, subs were always going to play a big role. Pachuca made just one substitution, while González used all five.

What to Expect
It’d be a surprise if González trotted out the same XI with the same tactical ideas and instruction. Club América showed Gotham that they could punish a disjointed team early and often, and I doubt the Spirit will need to learn this lesson on their own. Still, containing Geyse and Camberos will be of paramount concern, and being able to keep the ball will help limit their opportunities, and force them to do more of their running in defense rather than attack. I expect a more standard lineup from Adrián, with Sofia Cantore or Gift Monday starting in the middle of the forward line.

How to watch

Get yourself to your screen of choice, and lock-in for a mid-season shot at a continental trophy.

Lead photo courtesy of Concacaf.com.