USWNT Veteran’s Unfortunate Injury Gives Gisele Thompson and Olivia Moultrie Huge Opportunities

They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and that’s exactly how Gisele Thompson and Olivia Moultrie might be feeling right now. Why, you ask? Well, as the USWNT gears up for its doubleheader against Brazil in the coming week, Emma Hayes and Co. suffered a major setback at the eleventh hour—Tierna Davidson sustained an injury, ruling her out of this camp. However, talk about a domino effect as her misfortune has, in a way, turned into an opportunity for Thompson and Moultrie.

For context, let’s first address the unlucky Davidson. The highly-rated center-back was initially called up for the upcoming two fixtures against the South American side. However, during Gotham FC’s recent NWSL game against Houston Dash, the 26-year-old was forced off the pitch 44 minutes into action after sustaining a knee injury. This also saw her chances of becoming a part of the April camp go down the drain.

Simultaneously, this ensued a ‘desperate times, desperate measures’ approach from Hayes as the USWNT boss decided to replace Davidson with Gisele Thompson, even though the Angel City youngster was supposed to be engaged elsewhere. Precisely, the 19-year-old was initially set to join the U-23 WNT training camp, which is running simultaneously this week alongside the senior team camp at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

And to address the final stage of the ripple effect, Olivia Moultrie, who initially didn’t have any commitments, ended up becoming a replacement for Thompson in the U23 training camp. So one can call it a win-win situation for both Gisele and Olivia, who are expected to devote their time to their respective national team gigs. Meanwhile, it’s a misery for Davidson, who is now sidelined with a major setback.

Had she remained fit then the Menlo Park, CA native would have surely seen an increase in her overall caps of 65 with the USWNT. Meanwhile, this is the third call-up for Thompson, having earned the last one in the recent SheBelieves Cup campaign. She came from the bench in the opening clash against Colombia before starting in the next one against Australia alongside her sister Alyssa.

Now, the Thompson sisters are again reunited to play the crucial fixtures against Brazil. Be that as it may, it is quite a blessing-in-disguise situation for Gisele and Olivia. While the two will be looking to make an impact on their respective duties, problems have increased more Emma Hayes.

Is Gisele Thompson the answer to Emma Hayes’ depth issue?

Emma Hayes recently identified one of the biggest challenges that she faces during roster selection. The English tactician recently stressed the importance of adding more depth in some positions of the team, specifically, the backline. “It’s fair to say in both fullback positions, we will be looking at depth in those areas,” said Hayes in an interview with The Attacking Third, after having attended yesterday’s NWSL match between Angel City and Seattle Reign at BMO Stadium.

As if Naomi Girma’s absence due to injury wasn’t problematic for the USWNT, they ended up losing another center back in the form of Tierna Davidson. This is exactly the problem that Hayes has identified. “Arguably with Naomi Girma not being available, it allowed us to look at a couple of other players centrally. So I feel in the center-back position, we’ve got a real sense of the depth there.”

For now, Hayes called in Gisele Thompson as one of the quick fixes for the CB spot—a position that the ACFC star doesn’t play. Then again, it can be a tactical adjustment from the English manager. Rest assured, it’s good that Emma is aware of the issue. How she solves it is something that remains to be seen.