I woke up early enough to watch the England-Nigeria game to see the tail end of the replay of the USA-Sweden game. I started counting USA shots at the keeper or within a step of her position. I got to 6 and stopped counting in disgust. Espola's coaching rule #3 -- play as if you have a teammate at the far post.
WWC 2023
- Thread starter espola
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Right?! One of the worst is the one save the keeper was out of the box and dove to save there was no US player to slam it in the empty net while the keeper was on the ground.
England 0-0 (4-2) Nigeria
Nigeria played a pretty even game with England until the post-game kicks started. England lost arguably their best player when James was red-carded because of a violent retaliation, stomping on her prone opponent.
www.foxsports.com
Nigeria played a pretty even game with England until the post-game kicks started. England lost arguably their best player when James was red-carded because of a violent retaliation, stomping on her prone opponent.
England vs. Nigeria Highlights | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | Round of 16 | FOX Sports
England and Nigeria played in the Round of 16 as both teams look to continue its 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup campaign. Check out the top moments and highlights here!
www.foxsports.com
Australia 2-0 Denmark
Denmark played even with Australia except on the goal-scoring line.
www.foxsports.com
Denmark played even with Australia except on the goal-scoring line.
Australia vs. Denmark Highlights | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | Round of 16 | FOX Sports
Australia and Denmark faced off looking to keep its 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup hopes alive. Check out the top moments and highlights here!
www.foxsports.com
Saw this just now. Especially the portion about the future of US Soccer.
USWNT World Cup post-mortem: Examining the reasons the defending champs fell short
The end of the U.S. team's World Cup dominance came as a shock, but in other ways this early exit has been a long time coming. Here are the many factors that contributed to their demise in 2023.
Unless you are going to employ an army of scouts across a country as large as the US (think of how many scouts you would need just to cover the best of the best surf cup games), it's awfully hard to identify talent without having politics (such as what goes into identifying all star teams) infect it. The academy system is thus a useful proxy. Those interested in putting soccer before school (as in Europe) self-select so you don't have to sift through the entirety of ECNL (not to mention the other ran letter league). Yes, academy selection can also be subject to politics and corruption but given the constant competition year over year, it's very hard for the marginal players to hide and the goats rise to the top. Finance becomes less of a concern so you don't discriminate by resources and because of the practice schedule, the private training advantage is levelled. The top athletes are there easily pooled for national team scouts to review. Since there's no rel and since the instructors are judged on player development, the distortions that come from a win at all costs system are lessened. Top talent forged by playing top talent.Saw this just now. Especially the portion about the future of US Soccer.
USWNT World Cup post-mortem: Examining the reasons the defending champs fell short
The end of the U.S. team's World Cup dominance came as a shock, but in other ways this early exit has been a long time coming. Here are the many factors that contributed to their demise in 2023.www.espn.com
whatithink
GOLD
My take on the article, fwiwSaw this just now. Especially the portion about the future of US Soccer.
USWNT World Cup post-mortem: Examining the reasons the defending champs fell short
The end of the U.S. team's World Cup dominance came as a shock, but in other ways this early exit has been a long time coming. Here are the many factors that contributed to their demise in 2023.
The USWNT had too many injuries
Every team did. It's the coach's job to plan for these eventualities and to use the time preparing for tournaments to build and practice for them. Its a coach fail for me on this.
Andonovski picked the wrong roster and lineups
I read somewhere recently that in the run up to the 2019 world cup, everything was planned meticulously, and ready to be implemented 3-4 months prior to the tournament. Even then, changes were enforced, but alternatives stepped up. That clearly didn't happen here. Nigeria just ran England all the way to PKs, based on a plan and player execution - coach fail again for me on this, but players on the USWNT need to step up too.
Poor in-game management from Andonovski
Sure, again no strategy, pathetic really.
The youth pipeline isn't producing the right players
The USWNT age is spread from late teens through early thirties. The youth teams need to be producing 2-3 players a year, on average. They don't need replace the team wholesale, they never have or will. This is a lazy excuse to me. US soccer runs those teams, can identify the talent and should nurture it. I do agree with the comment in the article which, to me, shows that its probably not a player problem, its a scouting/coaching problem.
"You also have to question the role of scouting when it comes to which players break through. Injured forward Swanson, a player known for her pace and athleticism, first caught the attention of the youth national team at 13. Rose Lavelle -- arguably the most creative player the USWNT has other than the injured Macario -- didn't earn her first youth call-up until she was almost 18."
USWNT lacked chemistry and couldn't finish
Sure, they couldn't finish. They have become over reliant on one player and when not available lack alternatives. Slightly better finishing and they would still be in the tournament and be among the favs to win it.
The USWNT was too overconfident
BS to an extent I'm sure, but the ad they made pre-tournament was pretty cringe I thought and definitely came across as super arrogant.
The team was caught between two generations
BS, every team is between generations with a spread of players. It's the coach's job to manage transitions and be ruthless in bringing players in and out.
The global gap has closed
Doh!
A general comment, and I have no knowledge on this, but does the central contracting for players on USWNT have an impact on the coach's ability to be ruthless in adding / dropping players? Say a coach decides to remove 50% of the players and replace them, how does that impact on their contracts / pay?
All in all, I'd say a better coach and the USWNT is right in the mix. They also need to clear out a large number of players and transition in new ones. This should start now with a view to a run at the Olympics (experience mostly), but as a build for the next WC.
I think you are right. The issue is the "win at all costs" attitude that permeates the pay to play system. Need to be ranked higher so we get the best players so we keep making the money. Especially at ECNL what is prized? Size, Speed, Athleticism and if you lose you are on the bench. The line "The young players who made this World Cup roster -- the likes of Smith and Rodman -- are potent, but one-dimensional, forwards." This is ECNL in a nutshell. We create clones that play only one way and have holes in their game if taken out of their given context. Creativity takes time and failure to be developed. In the cutthroat world of Pay to Play soccer not many players aren't willing to take the risks associated for it to take hold. You try things and they don't work your risk your spot but to be creative you will fail repeatedly until you master it. When you get players at 12 or 13 and pressure them to win, and make them feel infinitely replaceable that does not fuel development. I know the DA program was deemed a failure but... what we have now isn't working either.
whatithink
GOLD
I see France knocked Morocco out, no surprise there.
I just read something interesting about Morocco though - they have invested heavily in their WNT, treating them as equals to their MNT, to the extent that
- they have 2 professional women's leagues
- they have regional academies across the country
- they have a center for excellence for women on a par with their one for men
Maybe US soccer should have a look at a federation with a plan and strategy and how they are actively executing against it!
I just read something interesting about Morocco though - they have invested heavily in their WNT, treating them as equals to their MNT, to the extent that
- they have 2 professional women's leagues
- they have regional academies across the country
- they have a center for excellence for women on a par with their one for men
Maybe US soccer should have a look at a federation with a plan and strategy and how they are actively executing against it!
The population of Morocco (about 37 million) is comparable to the population of California (about 39 million). We could undertake a similar system here -- an academy in the North and an Academy in the South, frequent play between the two sides at all ages from 10 to 25 with rotating rosters to expose and train more players, and make it free for players -- we certainly have the big economic players who could afford such a tax-deductible gesture.
My favorite comment of the year. You hit on the head. The same happens on the boys side...my son went through the exact same thing in the recent past.
rainbow_unicorn
PREMIER
What's troubling for the US is that the post-mortem discussions and analysis won't fix the USWNT's trajectory. Completely agree with the above in regards to how one-dimensional the "top" US youth soccer players are. US Soccer needs to do a complete overhaul of how they view their senior and youth programs. They need to start thinking like Spain or Japan where team play is paramount and developing technical and tactical ability from the early ages.
U.S. Soccer isn't going to change anything. They won the last 2 cups and were favored to win this one. What's to change? I think the rest of us believe they need to change it but they won't. And frankly, you can make the argument they don't need to. At the end of the day, they didn't win games because they didn't finish in the final third. It looked to me like they never had the chemistry previous teams had but maybe no Carli Lloyd, no Tobin Heath and Julie Ertz in a different position, were partly to blame. A healthy Lavelle, a healthy Macario and a healthy Sauerbrunn probably makes the difference. Even Mewis can be a catalyst. You do have to plug holes like everyone else but I saw no chemistry.
Colombia 1-0 Jamaica
A fairly even game --
As everyone reading here knows by now, any game between evenly-matched teams can end up 1-0 either way.
www.foxsports.com
A fairly even game --
As everyone reading here knows by now, any game between evenly-matched teams can end up 1-0 either way.
Colombia vs. Jamaica Highlights | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | Round of 16 | FOX Sports
Colombia and Jamaica played against each other looking to make the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinals. Check out the top moments and highlights here!
www.foxsports.com
Which begs the question as to why they didn't have any chemistry? Was it just a lack of soccer chemistry, or was it more than that? Personal chemistry? It seems in the past one of the team's standout qualities was their perceived on-field and off-field chemistry (with a few exceptions).
France 4-0 Morocco
Pardonnez mon francais de lycee --
Plus de ces belles pièces françaises, s'il vous plaît!
www.foxsports.com
Pardonnez mon francais de lycee --
Plus de ces belles pièces françaises, s'il vous plaît!
France vs. Morocco Highlights | 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | Round of 16 | FOX Sports
France and Morocco faced off in an intense match as both teams looked to qualify to the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup quarterfinals. Check out the top moments and highlights here!
www.foxsports.com
Only half in jest -- since they have met their goal of being paid like the men, they are obligated to perform like the men.
What are you talking about.. they did. Lost in the first game after the group stage... just like the men. USMNT is improving.. USWNT... not so much.
Honestly I think that is part of the issue. I think the team has factions now. I think there was a faction with Morgan, Ertz, Horan, Lloyd and some others that were old school shut up and play types. They were all about the game. I think there is another faction led by Rapinoe that thinks that is not enough and they need to use their platform to be SJWs and promote causes. Team is split. While there is no kneeling now you will note some take the anthem seriously and others just stand there. Honestly nearly every player on other nations team in the WC sings along except us, even the Europeans. Will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Great question. I think Ertz not playing the 6 was a problem for them, because she's go aggressive in the attack, and I personally don't know what anybody sees in Andi Sullivan. Naomi Girma is a gift. Sophia Smith is an assassin and I liked most of what I saw from Crystal Dunn despite usually not being a fan. I have mixed emotions about what I saw from Horan. I don't think she was ready to be a leader. I think she likes being physical but having to captain was more of a distraction this time. Fox was what I expected but Rodman and Williams were hit and miss. DeMelo was better than I thought based on what I'd seen at USC, but at the end of the day I think they really missed a commanding effort at the 10. Those of you that have watched Jessie Fleming at UCLA know what I mean. Creative play and constant pressure. With no Ertz at holding mid and no Lavelle pushing the attack, it just felt to me like they didn't have 10 players on the same page. They had chances but it always looked like jungle ball. The back line has always been an afterthought, right?
It feel like he hadn't made up his mind on a solid roster. Almost like he used this tournament to look for that chemistry. I walked away, though, realizing I never gave Lavelle the credit she deserved.
How with the money and the prestige of this program is Ertz playing CB because they have no one else? That by itself shows how hollow the program is. As soon as Lavelle got the second yellow I knew we were done. The midfield didn't function in the first few games until she came on. I thought Sullivan was a big disappointment she lost the ball more than she won it against much lesser competition. I think Ertz would have made a better captain than Horan but with the unknown of her fitness and rust coming back from having a baby just a year ago i can see why they skipped over her.