1. Batfink

    Batfink Member+

    May 23, 2010
    Attilan
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Why? France can draw or lose to either of those sides, and they still find themselves in the same scenario of being in the next round, just like they would be if they topped the group going unbeaten. Two tough group games would be a perfect warm up for the serious tests of the medal rounds, and tests don't get much better than a group housing three of the worlds most improved sides.

    A previously inexperienced Japan reached the semis back in 08', having drawn with a low ranking New Zealand, losing to the U.S., before destroying Norway. The French national team in regards to development, are further ahead of what Japan were back then, and a tough group should hopefully iron out any of the defensive slackness we saw at the WWC before the knock out rounds come along.

    GB/Arsenal will remain a wild card until we actually see them play, but between USA, Canada, an Sweden, I don't think it matters who France get in the next round.
     
  2. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Maybe, we can beat both but last time we played Japan 0-4...Both side have improved so.

    Regarding team GB, one player has already mentioned on twitter that she has not made the long list of 90 odd players : Arsenal number 1 center back choice Gilly Flaherty. She has played 100 games for Arsenal has been starting for the last 3 seasons winning everything and ...is apparently not good enough.

    That's the problem with choosing Powell for team GB. With another coach players she doesnt like for England would have got a chance...Team GB might end up with 18 English players including all the over the hill pre-retirement olddies...
     
  3. Batfink

    Batfink Member+

    May 23, 2010
    Attilan
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Oh yeah, I forgot about that tiny road block in common sense called Hope Powell :(. So it's Team GB = England and possibly 1 Scot then?
     
  4. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Hadn't it been said that there was a "sorta" agremeent between FIFA and federations that team GB would have been just a "renamed" England team? :confused:
     
  5. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    A lot of Scottish and Welsh players have come forward to say they would like to play for Team GB. I expect between 11 and 18 English players in the squad. You can find a few non english players better than their english equivalent plus a few english players that Hope Powell doesnt like.
     
  6. WPS_Movement

    WPS_Movement Member+

    Apr 9, 2008
    My predictions

    Group A
    Great Britain (England)
    Japan
    Canada
    Colombia

    Group B
    USA
    Sweden
    North Korea
    South Africa

    Group C
    France
    Brazil
    New Zealand
    Cameroon

    Shock of the tournament (in group play): New Zealand draws against Brazil 2-2

    The 8 nations that make the Quarterfinal
    Japan (Group A winner, 9 points)
    USA (Group B winner, 9 points)
    France (Group C winner, 7 points)
    Great Britain (2nd place in Group A, with 4 points, ahead of Canada on goal diff.)
    Sweden (2nd place in Group B)
    Brazil (2nd place in Group C)
    New Zealand (Best 3rd place team, with 4 points in Group C)
    Canada (2nd best 3rd place team, with 4 points in Group A, as they draw Great Britain)

    Quarterfinal matchups
    USA vs. Canada (rematch of epic 2008 Olympic Quarterfinal)
    Japan vs. New Zealand (New Zealand always seems to play tough against Japan)
    France vs. Great Britain (rematch of epic 2011 WWC Quarterfinal)
    Sweden vs. Brazil (battle of two regressing teams recently)

    Semifinal matchups
    USA vs. Brazil
    Japan vs. France

    3rd place match
    Brazil vs. Japan

    Olympic Final
    USA vs. France

    Gold medal winner
    USA (they just always seem to be a tougher team in the Olympics than the WWC)

    Gold medal: USA
    Silver medal: France
    Bronze medal: Brazil

    Tournament MVP: Camille Abily (she has an incredible tournament)

    Abily, Bompastor, Necib, and Delie, make the All-Olympic tournament team.
    They end up losing to USA in extra time in the Final.

    Ali Riley has an incredible four matches with New Zealand, as the Ferns barely lose to Japan in penalty kicks in the Quarterfinal.

    Nobody scores more than 2 goals for the USA (in six combined matches).
    They get it done as a team, with 7 players scoring 2 goals each (Wambach, Morgan, Cheney, Rodriguez, Lloyd, O'Reilly, Boxx)
     
  7. Batfink

    Batfink Member+

    May 23, 2010
    Attilan
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    A decent left back will come from outside of England, and so will a forward with the selection of Kim Little. Beyond those two positions, you could easily, and probably justifiably, understand Powell picking the rest of her first 11 players from her England squad.

    Nice best scenario fantasy ;), but the fact Germany aren't going to be around to sleep walk through this years Olympics, makes everything very different this time around.

    This time we have three hungry teams with France, Japan, and Brazil, all going into this Olympics with the intention of medaling. Not forgetting that even though some don't believe it, Sweden are as good as they have been since their former peak years, with a slightly tweaked banana skin waiting to happen called England also playing on home soil too.

    Even though easier than the process of the WWC, if the U.S. wan't to pull off another '08 level of accomplishment, they will have to hope for Canada in the quarters again before thoughts turn to any medal, let alone gold. If they have to do a Japan and play three elite teams in a row, I just don't see things turning out so favourably for USA.
     
  8. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Rafferty from Chelsea is good enough, she has just come back from 7 months lay-off but is much better than all the snails usually employed by Powell.
     
  9. toad455

    toad455 Member+

    Nov 28, 2005
    anyone know when the actually draw is??
     
  10. Katreus

    Katreus Member

    Jul 3, 2011
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    April 24, 2012 apparently.
     
  11. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Lol, you find it even on Wikipedia! :rolleyes: It's 24 april, anyway, so it's very soon... That's why speculation is going wild! :D

    Edit: ditto, Katreus! ^__^
     
  12. usa3por2ft

    usa3por2ft Member

    Oct 15, 2002
    in exile
    Club:
    Millwall FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's about how I see it, too, although central defense is enough of an issue that Ifeoma Dieke has a chance to make the first team.
     
  13. newsouth

    newsouth Member

    Nov 20, 2010
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    If it's the final, that's where France will upset the USWNT. Brasil is the team that gets rid of France early or the USA catches them before the final. I highly doubt Delie will leave the game this time with an injury when it's tight and USWNT nerves come into play. They better hope Pia moves Cheney to Mf and adds Press as a forward, because they'll need her slickness, similar to how they benefited from Kai and Hucles in 2008. We shall see. But I still think they'll find away to win. I'm guessing Sydney will come up big.
     
  14. newsouth jr

    newsouth jr Member

    Mar 1, 2012
    So as long as the US doesn't play France in the final they will win? Okay, got it.
     
  15. WPS_Movement

    WPS_Movement Member+

    Apr 9, 2008
    Wait, there is newsouth and newsouth jr.

    Where is oldnorth ???
    freshwest?
     
  16. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    yes, double the fun, one of them might be a troll though ?
     
  17. usa3por2ft

    usa3por2ft Member

    Oct 15, 2002
    in exile
    Club:
    Millwall FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    France riding on the confidence of making it to a major final will be a difficult test for any side. But you can always hope for Bini to make more of his curious squad decisions.


    newsouth annoys a lot of people by thinking for herself or himself and coming to conclusions that don't fit with the USWNT fan consensus

    newsouth jr annoys a lot of people by being a boring stalker troll who should have been red carded already
     
  18. shlj

    shlj Member+

    Apr 16, 2007
    London
    Club:
    FC Nantes
    Nat'l Team:
    France
    Red card for both surely :p
     
  19. newsouth jr

    newsouth jr Member

    Mar 1, 2012
    I'm just following my daddy around.
     
  20. newsouth jr

    newsouth jr Member

    Mar 1, 2012
    Why am I even still here? Your moderators are shit.
     
  21. newsouth jr

    newsouth jr Member

    Mar 1, 2012
    Oh don't worry. There will be one soon enough after I die.
     
  22. newsouth jr

    newsouth jr Member

    Mar 1, 2012
    We're both trolls of course. Newsouth just tries too hard. I didn't inherit his work ethic.
     
  23. Batfink

    Batfink Member+

    May 23, 2010
    Attilan
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    Anybody who has a different opinion and (stupidly) continuously posts on the U.S.WNT boards, will be called out for being a troll at some point. However the last time I checked, troll's had to use far more divisive tactics than that to receive their title ;).

    newsouth can come to conclusions that leave you scratching your head, but at least there's usually an opinion voiced rationally enough to argue. I mean was newsouth's last post in here any more stupid than any one else's point of view? I think France are a quality side that shouldn't fear anybody come the Olympics, but their track record when it matters versus the better sides is actually pretty ordinary. So is it crazy to suggest a France in a gold medal match, may finally be riding high enough to get over their former mental weakness versus a possible opponent like USA?

    newsouth can't say a single decent thing about Japan, but not so long ago I read multiple newsouth like posts from people using the same head scratching langue about France, of course all prior to seeing them play in Germany. So I'm not defending people talking crap for the sake of talking incessant crap, but I will say it's definitely harder voicing an opinion than sitting back playing captain hindsight.
     
  24. newsouth

    newsouth Member

    Nov 20, 2010
    Club:
    Santos FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Brazil
    You realize that WC French team is a precursor to what we will see. As I've said, they will mature and be ultra dangerous along with Brasil and its' young movement in 2015. Now, as far as the Olympics go, the USA gets gun shy in the final game like the did against Japan, and France is there with a healthy Delie anything can happen. She's more than capable of hanging 2 goals on them. If i remember they were toe - toe with USWNT when she left with the leg injury. Le Sommer isn't athletic enough to deal with the US backline, and Tomas is just a track star with a ball on her foot.

    As far as the USWNT goes, they will win it if Sydney comes up big, just like Kai and Huckles did in 2007. Morgan ain't taking them to the promise land, couldn't do it in the WC and won't do it in the Olympics but she'll get her goals. Maybe, that's why Pia is calling up Press, a more diversified attacker with similar skill sets to Delie.

    Anyway, nobody knows. It's all speculation.
     
  25. Reallyoldnorth

    Mar 7, 2012
    Club:
    San Jose Earthquakes
    Lurking.
     

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