Ninety-six days is a long time in football. And in the turbulent age of Angel City FC, it can feel like an eternity.
On 17 June, Angel City sacked head coach Alex Straus after one year in charge of the Los Angeles-based team. Sitting 12th in the NWSL table – and on a run of one win and four points in eight matches – sporting director Mark Parsons made a bold call to remove the man that he had hand picked to evolve the team’s style of play and turn them into an elite side.
Straus was at the helm for the first 11 matches of the 2026 season before being replaced by interim boss Leif Gunnar Smerud during the league’s summer break. The Norwegian was previously in charge of Crystal Palace for a short spell in 2025.
Fast forward two months and Angel City are up to sixth and back into the playoff spots. It is not a fluke either. This is the highest the club has been in the table since April. ACFC are currently the most in-form team in the NWSL with four wins and a draw in their last five matches under Smerud, and they also boast the best goal difference in the league (+15).
What has changed?
Formation and personnel
Looking at Smerud’s team selections, the overall structure has mostly not been too different from Straus. Both managers have preferred variations of 4-2-3-1.
But one of the key personnel twists, that Smerud has found some joy from recently, is pushing right-back Gisele Thompson up to more of a winger role. In her place, Savy King has been established as ACFC’s new right-back.
Now, this tweak was made five matches ago after King returned from an injury that kept her out for four months. It was something that Straus was unable to do as a result of King’s injury. With Angel City having won four and drawn one of the matches since this switch, it’s clearly having a positive effect.
Also during this five-game spell, Smerud has experimented with adding a second direct forward to accompany the established line-leading Sveindís Jane Jónsdóttir. This has made ACFC appear to play more of a 4-4-2 at times. For the 5-2, 2-0 and 3-0 wins over the Boston Legacy, Racing Louisville and the Utah Royals, Prisca Chilufya was given the starting job. For the 3-3 draw against the Denver Summit and the 3-1 win over the Seattle Reign, Maiara Niehues was deployed.
