USA is one of the last nations on the planet that can complain about "physical play" - the only reason I don't say the last nation on the planet is that I can see some African nations being scrappier (but just not having the size to successfully play a "physical" game). Any fans huffing about it are being really stupid and hypocritical. By all the people you see saying it "didn't matter", you can tell it obviously mattered to a lot of them. X-D I'm just glad it was a friendly and not a knockout game in the WC or OG. Any undefeated streak longer than 12 or so games is rather unheard-of, so we've been setting ourselves up for "a fall" for a long time now (if you want to consider it "a fall" at all - I'm thinking (hoping) it's just a blip). The streak break was going to happen eventually, but as I mentioned on the Equalizer, I'm honestly not surprised it was Sweden to be the one to break said streak:
^^^ All fans are like this. But the people upstairs are in some serious denial in regards to their team's invincibility. I still see the match, though. Sweden can compete. Tbh, I thought the match would end 0-0, because I wasn't sure Sweden would score. I'm not her biggest fan but Lotta always proves me wrong. I'm on a phone: what time are tomorrow's matches? I hate these breaks btwn matches, even if it's a "meaningless" tournament.
Lol, you would want the players to play each day? Some US players seemed panting, even after a two-days break...
4 games in 10 days or so, is pretty taxing I imagine. Don't even know if the men have so many games in such a short time, and that includes (league, cup, champions league, Europa league and NT-duty).
I think you be a bit frustratingly disappointment! between here & The Equalizer there's over 1000 posts on the American perspective on which US players should of started in the game, but not one mention that a Swede might of been playing also in the game! But in all fairness, the French/Lyon fans are worse! After watching Potsdam kick Lyon's butt out of the CL, I was stunned to see their fans not once give credit to the Potsdam players, but cheapen their victory by blaming the ref(which they did too with the Wolfsburg loss. btw.........my opinion before this game was that Sweden needed to start Sofia Jacobsson(not a sure thing because incredibly, Pia chose not to start her against Germany). POG was Fisher on defense, but surprise(from you Swedish fans) that Shelin gets once again all the credit on offense. In my book, she got the easy header from a brilliant setup by Jacobsson, who also dominated the midfield, especially against her counterpart. Rapinoe. Remember, Shelin's job(and only real job) is to score goals(or be there at right place, right time). While Seger proved an erstwhile playmaker, I would give Jacobsson's rapid advancement with the ball up the field, as more the key to the Swedish win
To me Seger and left-back Rubensson were the most impressive in the game but I agree on Jakobsson's performence, very good.
To me it was Rubensson. Not once did she loose against O'Reilly in one-on-one situations. Yeah, the Americans did manage to get around our flanks, but not on account of Rubensson. But Fischer, Lindahl, Seger, Jakobsson and Folkesson did all get high praise from me.
On the contrary, there's the usual satisfying amount of bluster about Team Sweden's 'rough play'. I just don't understand what Sweden has done to earn this 'rough play' rap/rep. Just because one or two of Team USA's precious little princesses run up to and then bounce off of Fischer like a weeble-wobble hardly counts as 'rough play'. And there's even some bonus amusement, like this: To go back to the point of the thread and give Team Sweden its props, I agree with the last couple of posts and (grumblegrumble) I even admit that Lindahl (harrunph) did a decent job (mutter grumble). Especially considering the Swedish commentator 's heart-attack inducing announcement, at the start of the match, that she was going to be "playing libero"! Because yeah, that's just what Lindahl needs — encouragement to stray off her line.
To be fair, it's not just a little bit from the single head-to-head match just played: Sweden is the most USA-like (in terms of size and play style) of all the European teams. It's probably the reason Sweden is the team that gives the USWNT the most trouble, as they're the team that best throws "top-notch physical and good technical" right back at them. England is physical but not as large nor as technical; Germany is a bit less less physical and much more technical; Sweden is a really close match.
True, Norway is pretty much the same but at the moment not as good. Probably one of the reason for the big US-Norway rivality a decade or so ago.
yeah, Rubensson was a nice replacement for Thunebro. Pia played the high off-sides trap. Did she use to that in Sweden a lot before she moved to the US? Because it's really popular in American schools.
Dunno... Sundhage was already in "the land of the brave and free" when I started watching the fairer sex play football. Saw some games with Umeå IK at their height, but can't say that I followed the womens game then. Only started just before the 2011 WC.
Three whole places better, in fact. (teehee) Seriously(-ish), though, the only question any team should be asking itself, coming out of this tournament, is "What have we learned and how can we improve?" Unless you're Team USA, in which case you should be asking yourself... oh dear, never mind, that would threaten to take us seriously off-topic.
All righty, all righty, who's all excited about tonight's big World Cup qualifier pitting Team Sweden against well-known women's football powerhouse Northern Ireland, in a place no less fabulous than Shamrock Park (where the pitch is rumored to be in horrible shape)? I think I saw somewhere that it's going to be broadcast on the radio! (well, I oughtn't knock sveriges radio, they generally do a nice job with sports coverage.) No Fischer tonight, no Seger; Dahlkvist a maybe after last week's knee knock in WCL action; Asllani's over her cold: Sveriges startelva (4-1:3-2): 1 Hedvig Lindahl - 16 Lina Nilsson, 3 Linda Sembrant, 2 Charlotte Rohlin, 6 Sara Thunebro - 14 Hanna Folkesson - 10 Sofia Jakobsson, 15 Therese Sjögran, 22 Olivia Schough- 9 Kosovare Asllani, 8 Lotta Schelin. And the subs, two of whom will have to watch from the stands: 12 Carola Söberg - 4 Amanda Ilestedt, 5 Mia Carlsson, 7 Lisa Dahlkvist, 11 Antonia Göransson, 17 Malin Diaz, 19 Emma Lundh, 20 Emilia Appelqvist, 23 Elin Magnusson
And the Swedish FA has released info on the rest of the VM qualifiers. The list of colorful venue names continues: there's the game tonight in Shamrock Park, then Sweden hosts Northern Ireland's return match on May 8 our old friend Ant Lake House Arena, then Scotland hosts Sweden June 14 at Fir Park. Sweden will host its games in September in Ull's Old Shrine. Wonder if there's any conifers at Fir Park. From the early reports of the pitch, Fir Park probably has more trees than Shamrock Park has clover (or even regular old blades of grass). It's just sinking in. Sweden's in a qualification group with both Northern Ireland and Scotland? Isn't that, like, redundant?
Ho ho, well, apparently the pitch at Shamrock Park really is dangerously shitty tonight, the worst pitch Lotta Schelin has ever seen, and she adds that no men's team would accepted playing on these conditions. The newspaper article linked to above notes that the words "Life without Jesus makes no sense" are written on one side of the stands. The journalist is led to wonder whether a football pitch without grass makes sense. Pia Sundhage admits that it will be rather like playing on a gravel playground. Hmm, wonder what one does for shoes on such a surface.
Team Sweden beat Northern Ireland 3-0 in its home leg of this match last night; this short report at spelare12 has an embedded video of the goals. Nice to see Therese Sjögran get another national team goal; an admittedly opportunistic goal, though hardly unearned, coming as it did after a great shot-great save-rebound off the bar series. Other goalscorers were Caroline Seger, taking advantage of a... let's be generous and call it a 'mental lapse' on the part of Northern Ireland's keeper. The third was medium-distance daisy cutter from Lina Nilsson, and it might not have worked against a team with a more disciplined defense; still, the replay shows that it would have darned difficult shot for any keeper to stop, skipping as it did off the grass most awkwardly/wonderfully, depending on your perspective.
[pokes head in & furtively looks around] ahem. So, place your bids for why Sweden is the team for me to support now.
Nilla 'The Wafer" Fisher. "Mother" Therese Sjögran. Sara "TwinPowerActivate" Thunebro. L8 "zLotta" Schelin. Elin "The Electrical" Rubensson. Jessica "JojoCrusher" Samuelsson. Caroline "Got the Moves Like" Seger. Olivia "UnpronouncableToMost" Schough. Charlotte "Clutch Header" Rohlin. Sofia "The Stick" Jakobsson. Lina "Heartbreaker" Nilsson. Lisa "DalaHäst" Dahlkvist. Kosovare "That's with 1 'S' and two 'L's, dammit" Asllani. And the rest, some of whom are really good but I can't think off any particularly amusing stories at the moment with which to bestow nicknames upon them (Antonia Göransson, Emma Berglund...) Or were you looking for something more serious? Let's get cozy. Tell us all about how whatever team you had been supporting before has disappointed you. And then we will tell you why Team Sweden is the answer you've been looking for your whole life.
I recognize most of those names, though not all. It might just work. As for whatever team I had been supporting disappointing me? Well, certain North American hiring decisions harken back to a former time of regime of unhappiness in same shit different day way.
Don't go for Sweden, though. Remember, they've got Pia now. France is flashy, Japan is kind, and Australia is fun - you'd be safer cheering them on.
I didn't have the problems with Pia you did. So her presence as the Swedish national team coach is not a deal breaker. I didn't agree w/ all of her USWNT choices & I think she made 2 glaring mistakes but that's different than full on hateraide. I can't get w/ France outside of a couple of players. Mostly b/c of the old regime there. I always cheer for plucky "no chance at titles" teams as my 2nd/3rd choice. Like how I use to always want Iceland & Finland to win some games back in the day due to a couple of players they had.