I don't think the problem is such an easy fix as just finding the right coach for the senior team right now. I'm from the generation of girls playing for this WNT and the problem runs all the way back, as usual, to development, both at the club and ODP levels. Growing up, coaches rewarded flashy over smart and dependable and ODP valued loyalty over finding the right, best players. That's not to say that it didn't work entirely, because we do end up with some very talented girls moving up through the system, but, for the most part, unless you were selected at the U14 or under level, it was nearly impossible to get identified as you got older.
Also, I knew very few coaches growing up who actually taught players how to read the game and play intelligently over relying on their skill/athleticism if they make mistakes. Play was always reactive and almost no one sat you down to say, "Okay, look at how everyone's set up right now...where's the most likely place Player X is going to pass the ball? Should you be making that run to that open space/defending that space?" I can't even count the number of times it was blatantly obvious where a pass was likely to go in the WC, and yet there's no Team USA player within 20 yards of the receiver. We'd scramble to cover her AFTER she got the ball, but by then she'd had so much space she could either take a shot or drop the ball off to a player who was left unmarked by the scramble.
That kind of play is all well and good, for the most part, if you have the athleticism to make flashy comebacks and saves, but if you rely only on the scramble, it opens you up for more and more stupid defensive mistakes that lose you goals. If you learn to be proactive and smart about your play when you're young, it can make a huge difference in the game. The problem is, it often means you look like you're working less (because you probably are since you aren't running around in a flashy scramble to save your butt) and a lot of coaches were never taught to look at players and say "hey, you know, Jane Doe doesn't make as many super fast saves down the sideline as Joanie, but now that I think of it, it's because she wins the ball or forces the pass before it gets to that point."
You end up seeing these weak points up through to the WNT level and it's hurting us. You could argue that Lloyd and Boxx had no place in running (or barely covering) the midfield or taking PKs in the final after being fairly useless in previous games. Megan Rapinoe was a sparkplug and assisted crucial goals and only got two starts. We were rewarding loyalty and seniority over effort and determination.
We don't even look at covering the most obvious pass option, we rely on last minute defensive saves that could have been prevented, and we get burned by other teams who HAVE learned to play smarter and anticipate who can slip in and steal poor passes or take advantage of those open players. Our athleticism and endurance will help us out of many a rut, but as other countries keep teaching intelligent, tactical play...well, it's easier to improve your conditioning than to teach a style of play to adults who've been playing the game a certain way for a decade and a half.
