Harris got beat twice on simple shots. No way those should have been goals, and people say Solo is afraid of her. She has good reaction time to balls left/right hip high but you can get high or ground balls past her. Maybe she is #3 Dunn is good at tackling and doesnt allow much space, would be a good back in Series A if she was a guy. Rampone type pace. We shall see on her future. Press got plenty off moves but needs to tighten up the finishing a bit. Did Sydney really develop or grow under Pia? It had to say on Engen because most of the central action was Rampone.
thanks for the video. Harris & Solo are probably right now the two best goalkeeper's in the world. Dunn, at 21 years at age, could possibly be the best fullback ever! Press is just one of several up and coming talented fwds if Wambach ever decides to retire. With a team that's been together for years(thanks in part with no pro league in the US) I can't see anybody taking on the US at this Algaeve Cup. With possible spoilers, Canada & France not playing & Japan's not bringing their vets & judging from their perplexing performances in their last games vs France, the injury riddled German team seems to be in disarray(though this could be a smoke screen), I think this Cup is America's to loose.
Those are some extremely glowing comments that I think you have to wait and see a little. I am big Dunn fan and think she is fantastic but slow down. Plus she is not 21 - she is 20.
I highly doubt Solo could've saved the second shot unless she was anticipating the placement. Morgan has gotten really good at either going near post or far post, and whether to keep the ball high or low. As a keeper you're left guessing whether to stay low to the ground or stretch out in anticipation of a shot to the upper corner.
the low ball went by her leg, and the high ball was just over her head, not up against the cross bar. she plays small for being 5'9" . she was killed at WNY with high balls coming in at angles, esp by Casey, and A-Rod had her number, if she could frame in the championship game . I don't know about top 2 in the world but i wouldn't start her over Solo, not ever. Andreia is solid for Brasil, and CR has a good one but nothing in front of her, as far as guardian competition goes. I'm not sure she is better than a HOT Bouhaddi. Secondly, I'm not sold on this cup. Germany will bring its' stars because of the Euro. That's a slightly different team than the one for the two friendlies And Pia knows the strengths and weaknesses of this squad. I can see the falling to either squad , if the backline plays like it played against Scotland. Lastly, I agree you don't want to exchange goals with this squad. As Press and Sydney get better, they more or less have 4 of the top 15, possibly 10, strikers in the world on one roster, and each one plays a slightly different game.
I hope that Sermanni starts both Morgan and Press upfront in the match against Sweden. I doubt that Pia will have an answer for 2 speedy forwards with playmaking abilities. Wambach should start in the match against either Germany or Japan in the finals. I would be really upset if Sermanni rotates Morgan/Press/Leroux as starting forwards, while Wambach starts every single game. She should not be starting more than 2 games in this cup.
I really don't think you can put Hope Solo and Ashlyn Harris on the same category .....Hope is probably the best female GK ever , only Silke Rottenberg could contest her the spot , Harris is a very good goalie but she is emerging now at 27 years old because she is on the top of her physical , mental , technical abilities....as 27 is the age when usually people mature but still young enough... Sarah Bouhaddi for example is getting more and more confident this year , she will be 27 in october , which improved her game overall . In ten years Harris will be remembered as a great goalie , Hope as a legend......
All Dunn needs is confidence and playing time. Once she starts to believe she can play on the international level she will be a terror going forward on overlaps. Not sure why anyone would say the Germans r in disarray. If u take away the inexcusable mistake by Schult (Angerer wont do that) the Germans win it.
How about two inexcusable mistakes by Saskia Bartusiak in the match against France? That was the very definition of disarray. The back line of Germany ( especially the center of the back line) has been questionable at best since before the last World Cup. And seriously, Angerer is the solution?
I have no doubt that Dunn will be a great attacking back. However, since our center back position may be a huge quesion mark for the next WC, I don't want to have someone like Dunn or O'Hara matched up against Sinclair if Buehler misses her assignment again. I agree that if our center backs are solid then we can open up the flanks a bit more and let both Dunn and O'Hara transition into more attacking roles.
Just curious - if that was the case who would you rather have on the outsides? A non-attacking minded defender, like another center defender?
For now I would rather have someone with a bit of height like Krieger that can match-up a little better against the Sinclair's and Schelin's of the world if the center backs are out of position. I'm sure that Dunn would be fantastic at moving the ball forward to the attacking third, but I don't want her getting exploited in the air on the defensive end since she's only 5'-1" tall. I'll wait and see how she plays against teams like Sweden or Germany before passing any further judgment though.
I hope this prediction is 2014, because I don't expect much out of Johnston and Dunn over the next several days, think Engen may have a bigger impact. I agree on Krieger, esp since she spent 5 yrs in BL, and I also like how she overlapped to Press in the Scotland game. I'd like to see Harris prove me wrong, if Germany and Sweden can get some high balls on her. All in all, I think they will play well, but I wouldn't be surprise, if Germany or Sweden defeats them in a high scoring affiar. I just see backline issues flaring up in one of those games and a shoot out occurring.
I was waiting for the height point to be raised again as I think that has come up more than once. Also, I think she is 5' - 1 and 3/4. (That is from a video when she and Toni Pressly played center backs for the u20 world cup in 2010 - quuite a funny video).
The next several days? Are you talking about them at the Algarve and if so I didn't think JJ was there, unless I missed it.
Yes, I think ull see Angerer and if they need a back up I would expect Benkarth. A GK cant make that mistake. This wasnt a melee in the box. All she had to do was pick up the ball. Instead she shanked it and hit Delie. Did the German defense distinguish itself...no. Did the French defense....nope. No one is saying the French r in disarray and they coughed up a two goal lead. Neither team was at full strength but u would France would defend it's turf. Ill start worrying about the Germans if the lose to the Japanese junior squad.
Which is why u really cant play two short CBs. If they add size at CB and continue to have height at holding mid then they can be more interested in offensive minded FBs like Krieger, O'Hara and Dunn. Something will have to give with the defenders after Algarve. If Sermanni decides to stay with Rampone/Buehler in the middle then either Engen or Dunn wont be on the roster.
What roster? The WC roster? I don't expect the "roster" will be decided before the end of this year if not later. There will be different people in camp during 2013.
Sorry...I meant the 18 player roster that they will use for Germany and the Netherlands. Certainly nothing is being decided for the big picture and there will likely be another camp...maybe...before canada.
here's a cool video of Dunn setting up the goal that won the US the u20 wc last fall and don't get me wrong; Germany has a ton of talent, but a lot of those girls have gotten injured playing in the brutal Bundesliga this season and not sure if there going to be %100 fit for this Algaeve Cup even though they probably playing. I feel right now that a combined NCAA all-stars & USWNT 2nd stringers would probably make up the 2nd best team in the world right now
