PORTLAND, Ore. – Every year, the U.S. U-23 national team comes to Portland, and every year, the U-level squad gives three NWSL teams a reminder about preseason soccer, if not professional sports in general.
When looking at games from a distance, so much time is spent weighing talent, schemes, form and matchups, when often only one question needs to be asked about the teams: Which one is willing to work harder to win? Since being a part of Thorns FC’s annual Spring Invitationals, the U-23s have always competed as if trying to prove something, while the professionals play as if they’re in preseason.