The Athletic has live coverage of USWNT vs. Netherlands at World Cup 2023. 

Emily Fox knew she was going to the World Cup. But on a call with The Athletic, during the strange period between being notified that she had made the U.S. women’s national team roster and the public announcement, she had to play it cool. 

“It’s been good,” the North Carolina Courage defender said when asked how she was feeling about waiting for that roster to drop. “I think being in-season and having to play so many games is actually really good because I’ve been having a lot of my focus on that and on my team and playing well and doing what we can to win in the NWSL.”

Advertisement

“And then,” she added, smiling, “yeah, waiting.”

At that point it was a done deal, but waiting for a future that wasn’t guaranteed certainly came with its own host of stresses and anxieties. Fox said that she started working with a sports psychologist last year to help her stay more present and not spiral out over trying to control things she couldn’t. 

“At the end of the day, I can’t control who, when, where, why, with the World Cup and the roster,” she said. 

Fox has routines she uses to stay centered, whether she’s traveling or at home. Nothing too wild: going for a walk, grabbing a coffee (iced latte with oat milk) and taking a 20-minute power nap. On game days, she writes down three things that she wants to execute. 

“(It’s) something that I can go to that’s consistent. That’s helped me a lot,” she said.

Another part of her balance is the fact that she has training every day and club games to win with North Carolina. The Courage is third in the standings with 20 points, behind only Portland Thorns (22) and Washington Spirit (23). Fox also has sponsor obligations in case she’s not busy enough. As an Under Armour athlete, she’s been doing media rounds to talk about some of the products they’ve designed specifically for female soccer players.

Fox said that there wasn’t a specific discussion between her, Vlatko Andonvski, and Courage head coach Sean Nahas about any goals she wanted to set this year at the Courage. She pointed out that, with the end of national team allocation, U.S. Soccer is more hands-off now in terms of the national team-club relationships. But she knows that Andonovski has been evaluating hers and everyone else’s club play. 

“I think at the end of the day, especially you look where I’m playing, I’m on the left side and I’m playing kind of inverted. So really, I think with the club, coaches are probably thinking what can I do to help my team,” she said.

Advertisement

Fox’s heat map this season with the Courage (below) shows that she tends to come inside in the attacking half.

“I think it’s been really fun for me to play a new role (with my club), in terms of I’m normally more tucked in,” she said. “I’m not wide as much and so I think that gives me more touches on the ball and more ability to playmake, so that’s really fun. And then I think with the Courage and how we play, I’ve been learning a lot from (Denise O’Sullivan).”

Fox took a little time to gush about O’Sullivan, calling her a great leader and captain. 

“I think she really understands the game well. It takes a lot of pieces for it to work in terms of me coming in, when I’m rotating,” Fox said. “I think we’re in a good group, good chemistry. I think our team is on a really good page and understands each other and so we’re allowed to have a lot of fluidity in our movements.”

North Carolina’s fluidity has allowed Fox to add to her toolbox, from her higher and wider role on the national team, to coming inside more for the Courage. 

“I do think being so close to the line (for the WNT), a lot of times that invites pressure and that’s why I have to break it and then with the dribbling inside, I think that just opens up a lot of pockets,” she said. “The way that we’re playing with the Courage and me being inside it’s actually less dribbling and I have to think quicker.”

Andonovski said of Fox before the USWNT played Japan in February, “Emily has an ability to solve problems under pressure very, very well, and I would say in a world-class manner. It’s almost a point where pressure doesn’t faze her at all.”

Fox’s positioning and ability to work with the midfield allows other USWNT players to be more aggressive in the attack, and nicely complements Crystal Dunn on the other side of the field when they’re playing together — the Fox-Dunn combo in starting lineups is something Andonovski has complimented for their ability to give him problem-solving on both sides of the field. Looking at Fox’s passing accuracy based on where she’s distributing the ball, she’s good support for midfield players and wingers on her side, allowing the team to play the ball in the final third.

Andonovski also likes that Fox has played this fullback role on both sides of the field, both for club and in college for the University of North Carolina. She’s able to transition fairly well between sides and positional flexibility is something of particular value to Andonovski, as well as generally adding bench depth. And in a tournament setting, where smart rotation can make or break a game, having a younger player able to make that switch could be key. 

Dribbling will always be something she has in her pocket in order to break pressure and win her 1-v-1s, but she’s been trying to grow in other areas too, like her final ball. It helps that Fox already has good relationships with the USWNT midfielders and forwards, allowing them to move well off of each other. Below is Fox’s chance creation for the Courage this season, where we can see her work to feed in from wide areas as well as to combine with other players in the halfspace and more centrally. 

“I would definitely say I think me and Lindsey (Horan) have a really good relationship. I was playing on the left a lot with her. I feel like I really understand what she wants from me in either the quick touch or combination play,” Fox said. “And then same with Alex (Morgan) in terms of the pocket and from the No. 9. And then with Trin (Rodman) too, it’s been really fun playing her on the right side, either combining or letting her do the thing and 1-v-1.”

Advertisement

In a press conference during CONCACAF qualifying last year, Anodnovski said frankly that Fox was part of a group of young players like Sophia Smith and Mal Swanson who are “going to be here for at least three, maybe four World Cups.” He added: “So get used to them.”

Fox’s eyes widened when informed of Anodnovksi’s very public vote of confidence in her. 

“That’s the first time I’m hearing it,” she said. “That’s awesome that Vlatko has said that but even with this World Cup, the time that we’ve had with our teams, I feel like so much can happen and I know that. So I try not to take anything for granted…. Yes, that’s my goal, be here as long as I can, but I know it’s obviously way easier said than done. And I gotta prove myself now.”

(Photo: John Todd/USSF/Getty Images)