As far as I count six wins should be enough to be sure to win as long as the loss is in a group game. Minimum result to win the cup is I think one win, four draws and two losses, but that includes a lot of won penalty shootout and a bit of luck in the group play (where both losses must be) so not a way I would reccomend.
Sorry-- should have said 7 games. But I do figure that everybody will pretty much be trying to win all seven. I suppose there are possible situations in which the last group game doesn't matter, or even where a team would be better off in theory losing it, but those are gonna be pretty rare...
I'm a huge Ohai fan myself. Do I see her as a starter come the next WC, of course not. However, I do believe that she's extremely hard working and someone that will do anything (defend, be a playmaker, try to score) to ensure that her teams wins. She'd be perfect as a late sub for one of the forwards or even for HAO as a right winger. Sometimes you need that spark plug late in matches to ignite the team (similar to Morgan in 2011). That being said, I'm almost hoping that she's not called up until this team gets its act together and plays as a unit (instead of competing against each other for a WC starting spot). By that time hopefully Alex Morgan will be back and I have a feeling that their style of play will mesh really well together. The same winning at all cost qualities we saw in Morgan (when others were relegating her to a 20 minute sub) we see in Ohai!
I dont know that she makes the team in this cycle but it gives them cover at outside mid and gets her feet wet with the NT camp. It just really bugs me that some players r expected to earn this while others get it handed to them.
they all (us pool forwards) have win at all cost qualities. she's a fun player but isn't cutting it as a forward even next cycle. she's a good "johnny on the spot" player when a player like dunn beats the defense, given her u20 and ncaa championship goals are on the end of dunn's runs. her strike rate would probably be worst than a-rod, given she'd have to fend off big defenders in the NT's style of play, the same play which hurts a-rod because of her shortness. and it looks like they are hell bent on working the mewis twins into the mid-field, so space continues to be limited. i'd pick her over those two but that's how hookup work at fc uswnt.
When is Dunn back, eta? I agree with a lot of sentiments on here regarding Tom. He's experimented a lot but I'm not sure how any closer to a starting line-up he is. Still so many questions.
I just wish we had some sort of status report from TS. Is he pleased with certain players and/or combinations? Does he feel that some players would benefit from additional playing time using certain formations? Have some players been eliminated from consideration? I just hope that experimenting doesn't mean throwing 1,000 puzzle pieces on the ground and hoping some pieces stick, and then repeating the same process over and over again with random combinations.
She played 20 minutes in the Spirit game Sat so hopefully for her this means she is getting closer but a good sign.
I get the sensation that we have so many injuries at so many positions that Tom is more in a "what if so and so can't make the World Cup" experimenting mode more than he is trying to figure out a starting 11. Regardless, I'm just hoping he doesn't wait until the WWCQ's to make some decisions. We don't need players getting 1st or even 2nd caps in Mexico.
The injury issue is definitely understandable. My biggest question right now is concerning our current forwards and where we go from here. From what we saw during the Algarve Cup and previous tournaments/friendlies, I think most of us will agree that the Wambach/A-Rod combination just doesn't work. We also noticed that even though both Leroux and Press are talented individually, for whatever reason they don't like passing the ball to each other, and especially when the other player is in scoring position. Looking forward to the China/France matches how will TS handle these 2 dilemmas. Will he trot out the same combinations again and hope for the best or will he try something new? If for instance Leroux and Press pass the ball to each other 20 times during each match and deliver multiple assists (same thing with Wambach and A-Rod) , then our confidence in Sermanni will strengthen since we'll give him credit for realizing a problem did exist, but has been fixed now. If on the other hand, the same problems we witnessed at the Algarve Cup rear their ugly head ,and the same combinations are trotted out with similar results, Sermanni will lose confidence from us fans and more importantly the team itself.
Press & Leroux is a new thing, and I would understand them getting another chance after a few film sessions together. I just don't see how ARod & Wambach can be given any more chances than what they have had for years and years now. It is an unlikely starting combo any way, so why waste a valuable starting cap? Let Press & Hagen get a start, what they did together in 20 minutes had to be encouraging, right? What about Leroux & Arod? Theres symmetry in speed and energy with those 2. What Leroux & Morgan have done together shows the value of dual speedsters.
You have to wonder what's happening behind the scenes. Recent comments from Abby have shown that she's not satisfied with the current situation. Perhaps her, Leroux and Press have realized that they're in competition against each other, and that being paired up with these other forwards would not help them earn a starting spot come the WC. For Abby, being paired with someone like A-Rod means that there's no chance of her being outplayed by the other forward. She may prefer this combination since at least the rest of the team will see her as the main scoring threat and be a part of the majority of the set plays. Another reason for these combinations is if TS is proceeding with his Team A/Team B approach. That means that Press and Leroux will be forced to work together no matter what, and A-Rod will continue seeing action alongside Wambach (as a place holder for Morgan) so Abby does not become obsolete. I don't mind the Team A/Team B approach for the first 4 matches at the next WC, but the last 3 matches will require the A Team to start each match for us to have a chance at becoming champions. I'm not sure whether or not Leroux/Press or Morgan/Wambach will be happy if they wind up on the short end of that stick. Once Morgan comes back TS needs to pair her up with each forward to see which combination is the best out of the 4. I would hate for her to be paired with Wambach no matter what, and then we're left with 2 combinations that may not necessarily be best for the team. If for instance, Morgan and Press are dominant combination or Morgan/Leroux, then I'd much rather make this our A Team and the heck with the second combination. We just need the second team to beat mediocre to low level teams during most of the 1st 4 matches of the WC.
Not only did Dunn come in for 20 minutes at outside mid, but they brought on Meg Morris with her who played outside back and combined a lot with Dunn during their time on the field.
let him go up in flames like lima b/c he seems as boneheaded. yeah, he's a good veteran's coach but is he a football coach like neid? they are doomed if people think he can play an A/B team in elimination games. wambach is clearly the #4 forward at best, and should be getting junk minutes at the end of games. she's got her record. what a clown situation!
It'll be interesting to see if Abby will have any "Magic" left in the tank for 2015. She's already solidified herself in the Hall of Fame, but she not only wants to win a WWC, but to have an impact in that same WWC. She is one EPIC play away from going down as arguably the greatest champion of all time (but only if she wins the WWC too).
Agree with this statement. But i'm worried about what may happen to this team with Abby trying to fulfill her dream of WC victory. Her form and fitness in the last year is not WNT material, but what does a newish coach and the entire USA soccer staff do with an aging Abby who does not want to retire.
Gee, that's a hard one; maybe there's an answer in sports history somewhere? What did Joe Schmidt do with Alex Karras? What did Tony LaRussa do with Ozzie Smith? What did Greg Ryan do with Brandi Chastain? It's a cruel business, I tell you, just cruel, and somehow they never see it coming...
I hope it's that simple. Brandi's roll, importance and influence on the team is not similar to Abby's. Can't really compare the others... The situation that could be closest to Abby's....? Birgit Prinz. And what did Birgit do to Neid...or what did Neid do to Birgit? It included bowing out in the Quarters and then missed the Olympics because of it.
My biggest worry is that even though Sermanni is a good coach, he may not be the best fit for the USWNT. For instance, if the team was completely revamped and Sermanni was able to replace everyone with a bunch of 18 to 24 year olds that were taught to play his system, I have no doubt that he'd overachieve and guide these young players to a quarterfinal finish at the 2015 WC and perhaps a chance to win it all in 2019. However, when you take over the top rated team in the world you are also taking over a bunch of huge egos that could turn on your entire philosophy if the team starts to lose. What winds up happening then is Sermanni having to give all 23 players a chance to start at the next WC by creating a Team A/Team B atmosphere. In that system the old guard would still get a chance to play, while integrating some new blood. However, as we saw at the Algarve Cup, the only thing this philosophy accomplished was to create unhealthy competition between players to outdo each other. Let's put this way, if I was given a choice between coming in as a sub in the last 3 elimination matches or starting 2 early matches against weak opponents (as part of Team B), I'd much rather take the former. I'm sure Leroux and Press are happy with getting starts under TS, but with Morgan injured and Abby aging, why should they help the other person move into the starting spot by giving them assists?
The potential of this A/B structure is I think I like the B team better than the A team. A lot of the old guard r so set in there ways that maybe TS feels having a B team who will do things the way he wants will eventually supplant the A team.
I'm not sure those are great examples. Larussa And Smith feuded from the instant Larussa joined the cardinals. The end of Smith's career was more vendetta than reasoned analysis of fading skills. Karras suffered a bad knee injury at the end of 1970 and wasn't ready by the 1971 preseason. His career ended not from fading skills but from injury in an era when knee surgeries seldom had great outcomes. He already was talking about an acting career ever since he did the pro wrestling gig the year he was suspended for gambling. He already had a signed contract to do "Paper Lion " in the off season. He had already twice threatened to quit for an acting career, including the 1969 season when he was All Pro. And Ryan is hardly the fellow to use as the example of a coach who could analyse when a players skills have faded, is he? Wasn't that his downfall?
Unfortunately it won't be enough to win the 2015 WC though. Sermanni needs more than 15 months to take a bunch of youngsters to the WC final. What he needs to do is find a way to mesh old and new talent together and create a solid Team A (forget about Team B). If we split our stars among 2 separate harmonious teams, we are doomed.
I'm curious...where is this idea that there will be a Team A and Team B in the WWC line-ups coming from?