For USWNT, Julie Ertz has been just 'what we needed'

AUCKLAND, New Zealand — Zach Ertz had one message for his wife before leaving New Zealand and heading back to the United States: "Don't come home without that gold."

The NFL tight end relayed that message to reporters earlier this week, standing at the podium at State Farm Stadium proudly wearing Julie Ertz's U.S. women's national team jersey. He was in Auckland for the Americans' 3-0 win over Vietnam in the opening match, but had to fly home for Arizona Cardinals training camp.

It's wild to think about now, given Julie Ertz is coming off back-to-back 90-minute performances in the USWNT's first two World Cup games, but she gave birth to her son Madden 11 months ago. And for what felt like a long time, it was unknown when she would return to soccer.

The U.S. team is grateful she came back so soon. 

Ertz has been essential during the group stage so far and figures to continue to be so in a decisive match against Portugal on Tuesday (coverage begins at 1 a.m. ET, with kickoff at 3 a.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app). To avoid a challenging path in the knockout round — or worse, not advancing at all — the Americans need a convincing result against their third group opponent.

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After the USWNT's 1-1 draw against the Netherlands, Dutch coach Andries Jonker said his team didn't have the same "guts" to win 50-50 balls, whether in the run of play or on set pieces. One of the main reasons was Ertz, who is known for her aggressive aerial presence from all over.

In the 36th minute, she nearly scored off a corner that went wide. Ertz was initially facing the corner flag at the near post and contorted her body in the air to direct an uncontested header toward goal. 

Later, in the 80th minute, she blocked a Dutch shot that looked like it was going in with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher out of position.

Ertz has made a career out of being a dominating, energetic presence and a game-changer. Rose Lavelle has called her an "enforcer" and "ankle-cruncher." And that's no matter where she is on the field.

Ertz, who played center back at the 2015 World Cup, had mostly transitioned to playing as a holding defensive midfielder over the last few years. But when Becky Sauerbrunn was ruled out of this tournament with an injury days before the final roster was announced at the end of June, U.S. coach Vlatko Andonovski asked Ertz to play her position. She would be that commanding leader in the central defense playing alongside 23-year-old Naomi Girma. After all, while Girma is confident and plays like a veteran, she's still experiencing her first World Cup.

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Andonovski said Ertz was immediately up to the task and wanted to get acclimated as quickly as possible.

"One of my favorite things about Julie is how detail-oriented she is and the types of questions she asks constantly of the coaches and of each other and of the fine details and nailing things down," said starting defensive midfielder Andi Sullivan, a beneficiary of Ertz's position shift. 

"She's very adamant about us all being on the same page. And I think it's such a great example — for me and all the players on the team … She loves to analyze and be such a stalwart in defense. So, no matter what position on the field she's in, she wants to know exactly what the objectives are, not just for herself but for the entire team."

When Ertz made a surprise return to the national team in April, it had been 611 days since her last match with the USWNT at the Tokyo Olympics. Playing on the back line, Andonovski said, was "solely" to replace Sauerbrunn.

"It has nothing to do with where she is at in her career," Andonovski said after the Netherlands match. "I feel comfortable with Julie playing as a No. 9 or a 7 or 11. She'll give you her best, and she'll play 90 minutes, and she'll be good. But it's what we needed.

"And if I'm not mistaken, [the Netherlands only had] three shots on goal. That's a good defense. Anyone who can keep the Netherlands to three shots for 90 plus minutes, that's defensively good."

The Netherlands' early goal was a result of several breakdowns by the U.S., which included a mistake by Ertz as well. But in the second half, she was the one who motivated co-captain Lindsey Horan after she got into a skirmish with Dutch midfielder Danielle van de Donk. 

Ertz told Horan, "Please don't get another yellow card. Just score this goal to shut everyone up."

Seconds later, Horan scored the equalizer for the U.S.

Ertz's return to the team — and her new role — is paying dividends for the U.S. Now she's focused on coming home with that gold.

Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.