USWNT v Brazil (SBC Finale), March 5, pre/pbp/post.

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by Semblance17, Mar 2, 2019.

  1. Cliveworshipper

    Cliveworshipper Member+

    Dec 3, 2006
    #76 Cliveworshipper, Mar 5, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 5, 2019

    I’m pretty sure Rapinoe still has more goals and assists than Marta this year.

    Marta’s last international goal was last July 29 against Japan.

    Her last goal against the USA was in 2014. Before that, her previous goal against the USA was in 2011 in the match that Rapinoe assisted to Wambach to tie in the 102nd minute and sent Brasil home with a shootout goal..
     
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  2. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I learned that I should be concerned about the defense, especially if Sauerbrunn and O'Hara are out. I question the seeming philosophy of "we'll just outscore you." Nope, it didn't work; the adage that 'defense wins championships' still rings true. I also learned the combo of Ertz, Lavelle, and Pugh in the midfield does not work. Mewis was a better addition, if Horan is out. Not sure if I learned much else...

    McCall Zerboni.
     
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  3. Lookingforleftbacks

    Galaxy
    United States
    Dec 17, 2016
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think pretty much every game I’ve seen this cycle has left me wanting. I’m just not optimistic Ellis is capable of making the right adjustments by June.
     
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  4. jackdoggy

    jackdoggy Member+

    May 16, 2014
    Big D
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    On the ground, in the line of fire:
    • G L O R I O U S USWNT Match
    • Semb in the Houuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse
    • Diving Divas sent back to South American w/ tail tucked firmly between legs
    • Absolutely convinced that Princess Kate will be at the WWC Final v. Greatest Team on the Planet in Lyon.
    • All detractors, skeptics and non-believers can BITE MEEEEEEEEE
    Thats all, nothing else - - see you in Denver for another frigid weather match.
     
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  5. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    Toy know, I don't really want to pick on you, but you are so persistent with this pompousness that I really have to react a bit:

    1. Could you not see that they were working on a specific trick on those free kicks? And that anytime it doesn't work it is going to hit the wall? One that they cannot necessarily have all the practice time they might need on because, y'know' they aren't together 365. They are a national team, they are together in bursts here and there.

    2. These aren't "girls" you know-- they are professionals and at the top level of their game.

    Pinoe. Heath, Franch-- any of them can coach better at your level than you can at theirs. You aren't actually explaining what they are doing wrong so much as demonstrating that you do not know all that you think you know about what they are doing. I strongly suggest you watch from the attitude that they know what they are about and try to figure why it sometimes seems to conflict with your preconceived notions. It is what you learn after you know it all that counts.

    Was it Tony LaRussa who said "You're missing a great game?"

    3. As a former goalie myself-- not a good one in soccer, the thing is just too damn big and you can't really cut down the angles or they'll drop it over you-- but a good one in both hockey and lacrosse; rigid positioning is not necessarily a good thing.

    Part of the contest is seducing the shooters into trying shots they are very unlikely to hit, and another part is figuring out where they shoot well and where they don't. Most games by the middle I had figured places where I could cheat a little on pure positioning because I could still cover the "cheated" area against this shooter or that from "out of position," unless he hit it absolutely dead solid perfect. So yeah, once in a while he did and scored, but meanwhile I was better positioned to stop what he did well and trade that one goal for two, or three, or five.

    Certainly if somebody bends a kick around the wall and pings it off the far post, it is not a sign that you are out of position. It is a sign that they pay her too.
     
  6. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    Again
     
  7. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    Morgan Pinoe and Pugh were not good this game. Pinoe was terrible the entire game, and Morgan particularly in the second half. I think they should have Christen take dead balls. She has an absolute laser shot and can place balls better than anyone on the team besides heath. Anyway, so many squandered chances by them. I wish they would give Jess McDonald or Press time at the 9 since Morgan isn't converting or creating anything. If your starting 9 can't get on the end of service, Lloyd sure isn't going to be able to.
     
  8. jjmack

    jjmack Member

    Mar 20, 2015
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Have to agree especially about Morgan. She is great against bad teams, but against good teams she is a problem because she can only do one thing. If she doesn’t score in the first half, I would put in Press/Lloyd/McDonald in the game. Press and Lloyd are just way more skilled and can score in more ways than Morgan. McDonald is a huge physical presence on the field. I believe we will need her long throw ins at some point during the World Cup.
     
  9. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    I don't know why no one talks about the fact that Morgan hasn't looked dangerous against a top opponent in about three years. I definitely disagree about Lloyd. She is even slower than Morgan, who is not particularly fast anymore. She has a better long distance shot but she has not been good in most of her appearances lately. At least McDonald has some pace on her and can get on the end of these long balls.
     
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  10. Layman

    Layman Member

    Mar 7, 2002
    Congratulations. What an improvement when the team could play flexible positioning for all the players. Hope to see even more progress when the team plays more matches in this way and getting used to it.
     
  11. PlaySimple

    PlaySimple Member

    Sep 22, 2016
    Chicagoland
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    I'm not quite sure why Horan and Mewis can't be in the midfield at the same time. Actually, I like that idea. Out of the players you listed, Ertz, Lavelle, Pugh, and Mewis, Mewis would be my first choice and Pugh my last choice. I am probably one of the biggest detractors of Pugh so my opinion isn't totally unbiased but if her technical skills were as good as her athleticism and pace I would be fine with her. Mal needs to put in a whole lot of work on the basics - first touch, passing, trapping,.......
    The pep talk:

    https://streamable.com/pfkgq

    I wonder how my fave Tobin Heath was with the language? Though she isn't "preachy" she's very strong in her Christian faith. It probably isn't a bid deal to her at this point. Along the way and on the field I'm sure she's heard more than her share of f-bombs and probably worse.
     
  12. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    Morgan has clearly lost a step or other teams have simply gotten faster. Either way she is not the speed player she once was and Ellis needs a plan B. That being said, I think Ellis will do nothing.
     
  13. Semblance17

    Semblance17 Member+

    United States
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The Good:
    1. The U.S. seemed noticeably sharper than in either of the other two matches. The defense in particular appeared substantially more watertight [if not airtight]; Sauerbrunn took command of the backline and Harris took command of her goal. Still far from perfect, but better passing and communication throughout. Granted perhaps my perception was skewed by the excitement of being on site and my visual perspective of the action, behind the south goal.
    2. [Not that anyone cares] A dream I've had for some 6.5 years was finally fulfilled and I got to witness Tobin Heath score a goal in person, this one occurring 20-30 feet directly in front of me. The trajectory of her shot lined up perfectly with my line of vision, such that the ball probably would have hit me in the face in the absence of the net [which I probably would have considered an honor]. Normal experience for anyone else, but for me, it was kind of like Jake Blues's emotions in this scene:


    The Bad:
    1. The finishing overall still leaves something to be desired. For example, I counted at least three shot opportunities that fell at Mewis's feet that seemed very promising but were squandered off target. The team put together many beautiful attacks and runs against Brazil, but only one ultimately changed the scoreboard.
    2. Whose brilliant idea was it to have the trophy presentation right up against the center endline instead having it in midfield as usual, for the first time in any tournament I've ever watched [in person or on television]? England definitely deserved the championship, but that doesn't mean the American Outlaws were going to take any particular delight in watching a team that wasn't the United States do 20 trophy hoists right in front of them. If the planners presumed before the tournament began that the U.S. would take it, they failed to consider that there was a historical 40% chance of the U.S. not taking the trophy in a SBC/ToN. The frantic setup for that presentation also cut in half the USWNT's usual post-game grand circle tour of the stadium, acknowledging and thanking the fans for their support, which I've always considered one of most touching and rewarding moments of any game day.

    The Ugly:
    1. A good dozen or so of the refs' calls and non-calls, as usual.
    2. Just to stick with the pattern of the second point being a game day experience thing, the jumbotron telecast of "DJ Amy Robbins", including a lot of the resolutions on the "My Dream Is..._____" posters she encouraged fans to fill out.
     
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  14. Semblance17

    Semblance17 Member+

    United States
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think you made your point.
     
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  15. Semblance17

    Semblance17 Member+

    United States
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States


    I kinda liked it. Zerboni seemed to be channeling Abby Wambach and her "First ten minutes, we get a ****** goal!" halftime pep talk against China in the last World Cup.

    Not being an expert lip reader I can't be sure, but I may have seen Tobin herself mouth an f-bomb a few times on television, mostly to vent frustration when an attack didn't pan out the way she'd hoped. Also Zerboni was the one who made Mother Theresa her idol the other night. Just saying. :rolleyes:
     
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  16. jnielsen

    jnielsen Member+

    May 12, 2012
    Club:
    Manchester United FC
    It's swearing, not blaspheming.
     
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  17. Semblance17

    Semblance17 Member+

    United States
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    [​IMG]
     
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  18. Lookingforleftbacks

    Galaxy
    United States
    Dec 17, 2016
    Los Angeles
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For better or worse, Morgan is going to be there. She’s going to start in the World Cup.

    But she’ll be 30 to start the next cycle and the search for a replacement should start early. I haven’t seen enough of McDonald to make a judgement, but they need to find someone who can combine in the build up and finish. If they could find someone who can be an aerial threat too, the team would greatly benefit. You have players like Heath and Rapinoe sending these crosses in and the best hope is for a pinball that bounces to one of our players.

    I’m hoping that the academies are starting to produce a higher quality of player who reads the game better. A forward that makes good runs into the area and finds a 10 she can have chemistry with will dominate for us.
     
  19. goaleemama

    goaleemama Member

    Nov 10, 2011
    It's spelled H-U-E-R-T-A
     
  20. goaleemama

    goaleemama Member

    Nov 10, 2011
    Yes on the man-bun. Please let it go the way of harvest gold refrigerators...
     
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  21. Cliveworshipper

    Cliveworshipper Member+

    Dec 3, 2006
    Well, Christopher Hitchens once famously dubbed mother Theresa 'a lying, thieving Albanian dwarf'
     
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  22. sitruc

    sitruc Member+

    Jul 25, 2006
    Virginia
    I thought so, but within the past page, posters didn't get it.

    There's no such thing as a friendly when Brazil plays the US.
     
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  23. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    uh......at age 29, Morgan still's the baby horse of the team
    other fewds;

    Press, 30 years old
    Heath 30
    McDonald 31
    Rapinoe 33
    Lloyd 36

    somewhere out there.........there's a whole generation of players that Ellis missed picking

    question............Ertz picked Underwood. but which one for inspiration?

    Carrie Underwood.....the country singer

    Blair Underwood........the actor that didn't accomplish much after LA Law

    Colton Underwood........the current Bachelor who ran like a sniffling coward after being rejected from one his dates?
     
  24. Semblance17

    Semblance17 Member+

    United States
    Apr 27, 2013
    Lighthouse Point, FL
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  25. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I wouldn't mind the idea, but they do both function best as 8's in my mind. Horan though could push up to the 10 spot; I think Lavelle is better as a 10 though.

    They've been doing it for awhile now, pretty much the whole cycle. It's one of Ellis' big things; she basically wants all of the players to be able to play multiple positions. Truly I love versatility, and I'm glad we've spent the cycle experimenting. But I actually think a couple of players looked confused on their role in the tournament and also in the game versus Brazil, the result notwithstanding. If Ellis is right that the experimenting is over and it's time to fine-tune, then I wish she'd do exactly that and stop overthinking it. Stop tinkering with the formation and putting players in roles they rarely play and, in some cases, are not suited for. Start fine-tuning 1-2 formations that'll be the go-to's in the WWC, and stop overthinking all of the different scenarios that could happen and all of the different positions players could play.
     

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