Seeing the U.S. national team on the back foot has always been a rare occurrence. But in 2017, Jill Ellis' side has found easy sledding hard to come by.
That can largely be chalked up to the stiff opposition, with the top-ranked Americans scheduling matches against 10 nations in FIFA's top 15. One can also point to the experimental player selection and tactics brought on by an off-year without a major competition.
But with qualifying for the 2019 World Cup in France now less than a year away, Ellis has started to push away from that narrative.