Losing star Mallory Swanson to injury doesn't mean USWNT's World Cup chances are lost, too

ST. LOUIS -- Let’s start by saying there’s no replacing Mallory Swanson.

On a U.S. women's team where only a handful of players are assured of going to the World Cup, Swanson’s spot on the roster was locked up. She leads the USWNT with seven goals this year, and almost single-handedly won them the SheBelieves Cup.

This after her banger year last year, when Swanson scored seven goals for the USWNT and a career-high 11 for the Chicago Red Stars as she revived her career after being left off the Tokyo Olympics roster.

“Mal is arguably one of the best players in the world,” USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski said Monday.

But if there’s one position where the USWNT has a ridiculous amount of depth, and ridiculously good depth at that, it’s at forward.

After Swanson tore her patellar tendon Saturday against Ireland, Andonovski called up Alyssa Thompson, who earlier this year became the first high schooler to be drafted in the NWSL and who needed all of five minutes to score in her professional debut with Angel City FC.

Thompson joins a group that also includes Alex Morgan, a finalist for FIFA’s player of the year last year; reigning NWSL MVP Sophia Smith; Trinity Rodman and Ashley Hatch, who are both former NWSL rookies of the year; and Tokyo Olympian Lynn Williams.

And don’t forget Megan Rapinoe, who missed this camp with a calf injury but remains very much in the mix.

Get the idea? Devastating as the loss of Swanson is, it does not have to derail the USWNT’s chances of becoming the first team to win three consecutive World Cups. The World Cup begins July 20, and the Americans play their first game two days later.

“We all understand that we have a job to do. We’ve got to prepare for the World Cup,” Andonovski said. “We’ve got to do our job, and if there’s a team that has a group of players ready to step in in the moment, that’s this team.

“This is not the first time something like this happened,” Andonovski added. “We just learned that we can’t go around it, we just have to face it straight up. We’re ready for it. In some ways we were preparing certain players for moments like this. We think we’ll have a good answer.”

That answer will begin taking shape Tuesday, when the USWNT plays its second game against Ireland.

Thompson will get playing time, Andonovski said, the only question being how much. Andonovski has not wanted to rush the phenom. She came on as a substitute in two games last year, playing a total of 25 minutes, and he initially left her off the roster for this camp so the high school senior could focus on adapting to life as a professional soccer player.

But she has a unique set of skills that could help the USWNT. She’s fast – her 11.74 seconds in the 100 meters was the second-fastest time by a California high school girl last year – and she can maneuver in tight spaces with the ball.

She’s also fearless.

“She runs at defenses with confidence. I almost want to say, for an 18-year-old, it’s borderline arrogant when she goes at you,” Andonovski said. “But she can eliminate players on the dribble, and we’ve seen her score some good goals, as well.”

Thompson acknowledges there will be some nerves, knowing this is the last camp before Andonovski names his 23-player roster for Australia and New Zealand. But she at least got an introduction to the USWNT last fall, when Andonovski called her up for a pair of friendlies in Europe, and being in position to make a World Cup team has always been the goal.

“I hope so,” Thompson said Monday. “I’m going to do everything that I can to be able to be on the roster.”

Rodman, who came on as a substitute after Swanson was injured, also figures to get an extended look. Though she’s still looking for her first goal with the USWNT this season – “I know last game, there were opportunities I could have put away” – she’s got three assists.

“Before, I was really nervous and I stressed myself out about every single performance. But I weirdly don’t feel pressure. I’m doing as much as I can,” Rodman said. “It’s looking forward and looking at what’s in front of you and doing what you can.”

Andonovski and his staff have spent hundreds of hours watching games and analyzing film, and he’d had a good idea of who would fit where. Swanson’s injury obviously changes that, and the entire USWNT will have to adapt.

But unlike most other teams, the USWNT has options. Good ones. Swanson might be lost, but that doesn't mean the World Cup is, too.

Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour. 

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USWNT has enough depth to win World Cup without Mallory Swanson