Five U.S. takeaways from Olympic qualifying

An Olympic berth, a tournament title, 38 goals scored, zero goals allowed.

You can rest assured, the United States women are coming away feeling good about their results at the 2012 CONCACAF women's Olympic qualifying tournament. Up next for the U.S. women is a friendly with New Zealand in Dallas on Feb. 11, followed by a trip to Portugal for the Algarve Cup in early March. But first, a look at what we learned about the U.S. from their performance in Vancouver:

The 4-2-3-1 definitely works.
Pia Sundhage started experimenting with a switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation in the wake of the World Cup final loss to Japan that saw her squad done in by being unable to match Japan's strength in possession and control in the midfield. This was the first tournament in which we saw the U.S. extensively use the new alignment, and the returns were overwhelmingly positive. The Americans dominated the flow of the game against the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Mexico during group play, outscoring those three opponents 31-0 while playing almost exclusively in the 4-2-3-1. The formation highlighted the creative skills of Lauren Cheney, deploying her as a de facto No. 10 behind Abby Wambach. Heather O'Reilly and Amy Rodriguez also thrived in wide attacking roles, with O'Reilly in particular creating chance after chance for the U.S. from the right wing. Sundhage will still deploy a 4-4-2 at times, as she did in the final against Canada and when the U.S. came under pressure from Costa Rica in the semifinal, but overall, it seemed the U.S. was at its best in a 4-2-3-1.

The U.S. is deep. Very deep.
It's a good problem to have for Sundhage, but as of now, she has eight players to fit into four attacking positions, with Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, Cheney, O'Reilly, Rodriguez, Megan Rapinoe and Tobin Heath all playing well enough to be worthy of starter's minutes. It makes the U.S. unquestionably the deepest side in the world, and well positioned to withstand a key injury should one come about before the Olympics, a la Wambach's broken leg prior to Beijing.

Sundhage has to find time for Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux.
Perhaps the one drawback to the 4-2-3-1 formation is that with Wambach deployed as the lone striker, the U.S.'s talented young forwards - Morgan and Leroux - are left out of the mix. But, both displayed too much talent to spend the Olympics fastened to the bench. The Canadian-born Leroux was the breakout star of the tournament with her record-tying five-goal effort in the second half against Guatemala, a performance that's going to make it tough for Sundhage to leave her out of the London squad.

Morgan, meanwhile, had a rough start to the tournament, looking out of sync and out of place in the 4-2-3-1, even seeming to fall behind Leroux in the pecking order at forward, with Sundhage turning to Leroux, not Morgan, to play alongside Wambach in a 4-4-2 in the second half against Mexico. But as a second-half sub against Costa Rica and starter alongside Wambach against Canada, Morgan displayed the game-breaking speed and touch that made her a 2011 FIFA Women's World Player of the Year nominee. She may still be destined to remain a reserve in London, but her ability to alter a match in the blink of an eye cannot be ignored.

The backline is a problem area.
It's a bit tough to complain about the quality of defensive play when the U.S. did not allow a single goal in the entire tournament, but the backline is nonetheless the weakest part of the team at the moment. Sterling midfield play kept them from being under siege in group play, but Costa Rica and Canada were able to apply pressure and exploit a group that lacked cohesiveness, forcing Hope Solo to come up with a few phenomenal saves to preserve the clean sheets. Sundhage did not start the same backline in any match in the tournament, with only captain Christie Rampone starting all five matches. The group was thrown into flux following standout right back Ali Krieger's torn ACL in the opening match, an injury likely to sideline her through the Olympics. Heather Mitts, Rachel Buehler and Kelley O'Hara all were given chances to fill the vacancy at right back as Sundhage played with various backline combinations. But at some point, she'll have to settle on a starting four if the U.S. is to develop any kind of continuity and cohesiveness in back.

Hope Solo can still dance inside the 18-yard box
Concern was raised when it became apparent during the group match against Mexico that Solo was dealing with a quad injury originally suffered during her time on "Dancing With the Stars." But, the star goalkeeper eased doubts about her health against Costa Rica and Canada, looking spry while coming out of her goal to snuff out some 1 v. 1 scoring opportunities. Could it be that all those dance lessons have made the world's best goalkeeper even lighter on her feet?