Crystal Dunn: Playing for Chelsea is 'completely eye-opening'

U.S. women's soccer team attacking dynamo Crystal Dunn took a few minutes to chat with reporters after the United States' win over Germany on Wednesday at Talen Energy Stadium.

What are your thoughts on the win?

I think we came out strong. There are things we could have worked on at the beginning of the game, but I think how we finished the first half was really great. We hadn't played together in a while, so we didn't know what to expect, but we knew we were going to get out there and put Germany on the back foot.

How is playing in a 3-5-2 going?

It's going well. At first, I think a lot of us were like, "Okay, we don't know what to expect." But as long as we execute whatever we're given, then I think it's going to end well.

What's it like to be a wide player in that formation? The responsibilities at both ends fo the field are very different than they are if you're a wide player in a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3.

Yeah, it's a lot of work. Being a wing back is not easy, because you want to be involved in every attacking play, but you also have a responsibility to be back on that back line if you need. I think it's just having the right players there to be accountable, and we're all getting used to the 3-5-2. But it's going well...

I'd be lying if I was like, "Oh, everything's great." I think with the three-back [formation], it definitely makes us on our front foot at all times, because all of our numbers are high. So we have to do the work early, or else we can get punished in the end. But I think with the players we have on this team, we're all ready to go. We're ready to press the [opposing] team and put them on the back foot.

Playing a team of Germany's caliber is a heck of a way to give it a try.

Yeah. We're off to a great start [beating] this [German] team, obviously winning the Olympics last year, and just doing great things. It's going to be a great couple of games.

How is your experience at Chelsea going, and is it helping you?

It's great. It's been completely eye-opening. I think in the four weeks that I've been there, I've already felt like this is a life-changing kind of opportunity for me. I'm happy to be over there, and bring what I've learned over there into this game.

How is it to play for coach Emma Hayes at Chelsea, and how important is it that she spent some time working in the United States and thus knows about the American player?

Emma claims she's a New Yorker. Which I'm a little, like, "Okay, I'm the true New Yorker, so back up."* But Emma's great. She's willing to work on everything that I need to work on, but also, she doesn't want to change me as a player. So I think it's a great fit for me to go over there to work on things that I need to work on, but at the same time, be who I want to be and be true to who I am as a player.

[* - Dunn grew up on Long Island.]

How much attention has it gotten in England that there are now three high-profile Americans in the FA Women's Super League, in you, Heather O'Reilly at Arsenal and Carli Lloyd at Manchester City?

I think it's great. I think a lot of people were kind of like, "What is going on?" And they were pointing fingers at the NWSL, thinking that we weren't happy with the NWSL. I think these are opportunities that don't come all the time. Carli is going, she's 34, and me being young [age 24], we're all doing it for different reasons. But I think at the end of the day, we all want this to be an experience we go through in our careers. Soccer is not forever, so I don't want to keep putting it off. This is a down year for us, so it's the perfect time.

Is it a little more of a challenge to have to travel to and from Europe to play for the U.S. national team?

Not so much a challenge. I think me coming in a couple of days later than everybody is the only thing I have to kind of get over, but they accommodate me really well... I feel like I have a good setup.

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