After a string of poor performances by the US Women’s National Team and losing its number one ranking in the world, critics are still calling for more changes to the team, shuffling more players around, and questioning whether USWNT Head Coach Jillian Ellis can find just the right combination to turn this team around.

After the USWNT team were defeated 2-0 by France last Sunday, Ellis said “We’re in the process of trying to get answers and playing different players and we knew France would be a fantastic test for us. At this point, we’re in the process of evaluating and also building and that’s why we play strong teams, to test ourselves.”

But shouldn’t the time for experimentation be over?

The U.S. has four months and eight games to find a system and starters that work. Time is running out to be making significant formation and personnel changes to each starting lineup.

So at this point we have to ask ourselves, is there a lineup that Ellis can construct that will work; a setup that will allow the U.S. to use all the firepower of their strikers, while also balancing the needs of our midfield and the various talents of our defense?

It’s unclear.

The 4-3-3 seemed like a credible formation choice in theory, but in practice it has had the opposite effect, leaving a disjointed offense and a sparse midfield. So Ellis returned to the traditional 4-4-2 against France, and while the offense showed more life, it lacked chemistry and creativity.

There is little evidence to give hope that Ellis will find that perfect lineup by the team’s first game in Vancouver this summer at the 2015 Women’s World Cup.

There is also no evidence to suggest what lineup Ellis will use against England in the team’s friendly against England (live on FOX Sports 1 at 3pm ET today). With no defined defensive midfielder, Ellis seems intent to play Carli Lloyd, Lauren Holiday and Morgan Brian all at the same time, sacrificing flank play. Lori Chalupny has four consecutive starts despite average displays in the back. Chalupny’s play, as well as that of outside back Megan Klingenberg, were sore spots in the game against France, leading to questions as to why Ali Krieger is not an automatic selection.

Sunday’s lineup was clearly a failed experiment, meaning that we may see yet another shake-up in the game plan heading in to today’s game. More importantly, it means that the U.S. is going to waste another opportunity testing a setup that should have been established before this overseas trip.