April 2019 friendlies

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by lil_one, Mar 21, 2019.

  1. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The USWNT will play Australia on April 4 in Commerce City, Colo. (7 p.m. MT on FS1) and against Belgium on April 7 in Los Angeles (6 p.m. PT on ESPN2). The training camp roster has been named, and in a surprise turn of events, Krieger is on the roster (O'Hara is out injured; Brian, Mathias, and Colaprico are not on the roster):

    GOALKEEPERS (3): Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 1/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 20/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 41/0)
    DEFENDERS (7): Abby Dahlkemper (NC Courage; 35/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 17/1), Crystal Dunn (NC Courage; 80/24), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 98/1), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 153/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 27/0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 30/0)
    MIDFIELDERS (7): Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 77/18), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 64/7), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 23/6), Allie Long (Reign FC; 40/6), Samantha Mewis (NC Courage; 45/8), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 11/0), McCall Zerboni (NC Courage; 8/0)
    FORWARDS (7): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 146/27), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 269/105), Jessica McDonald (NC Courage; 6/1), Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride; 158/99), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 111/47), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 48/13), Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC; 149/43)
     
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  2. Tracer

    Tracer Member

    Apr 22, 2016
    New York
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I did not expect to see Krieger back in the line-up.
     
  3. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    #3 luvdagame, Mar 21, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2019
    ???

    krieger in because...

    o'hara - out with ankle issues again - raising questions about her being healthy for france.

    ...and matthias isn't improving, and smith is injured, and sonnett is clearly not the answer....

    also, sullivan still in, and long being given a chance again on the actual roster.

    final roster looks to be very much the same with either long or sullivan dropped, or both of them dropped with brian being brought back in.
     
  4. Smallchief

    Smallchief Member+

    Oct 27, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    If Krieger is called in, why not Klingenberg?
     
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  5. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    Does this mean that the Emily Fox experiment is officially over? She was clearly out of her depth at this time but she hung around for quite a while.

    Now if the "Pugh in the midfield" experiment is also over this roster may work out.

    BTW: I do have an alternative theory for that "Pugh in the midfield," and some other, experiments. It may give Ellis more credit than she deserves but here it is:

    Ellis realizes that the roster that she goes to the WWC with will not be able to be changed after it is submitted. She also realizes that injuries are a good possibility. Therefore she wants to have players that not only "might" be effective out of their normal position but has actual game experience playing well out of their comfort zone in order to help the team through rough spots in matches without having to do everything through substitutions.

    I am not saying that this is the case it is just a possibility. There is also the possibility that she envisions temporary "switches" to solve problems or take advantage of weaknesses shown by the other teams and she wants Pugh and others to have game experience against difficult teams well out of their comfort zones.
     
  6. luvdagame

    luvdagame Member+

    Jul 6, 2000
    #6 luvdagame, Mar 21, 2019
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2019
    more credit than she deserves when she has repeatedly said that they want players who are flexible? players who can play more than 1 position?

    this is exactly what her player theory is - (dunn at lb and pugh in midfield are just positions they’ve played in the nt systems as they were brought up). it’s just that sonnett looks like a bad pick to be both cb and rb, especially if o’hara’s ankle keeps her firmly planted in the u.s. when the plane takes off for france.

    ...but this flexibility has been job one (or two, or three) all along.
     
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  7. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Australia has also named their roster:
    Teigen Allen (Melbourne Victory FC), Laura Alleway (Melbourne Victory FC),
    Mackenzie Arnold (Brisbane Roar FC), Tameka Butt (Klepp IL, Norway), Ellie Carpenter (Portland Thorns), Steph Catley (Seattle Reign), Lisa De Vanna (Sydney FC), Caitlin Foord (Portland Thorns), Mary Fowler (Bankstown City Lions FC), Emily Gielnik (Melbourne Victory FC), Katrina Gorry (Brisbane Roar FC), Elise Kellond-Knight (Seattle Reign), Alanna Kennedy (Orlando Pride), Samantha Kerr (Chicago Red Stars), Chloe Logarzo (Washington Spirit), Aivi Luik (Levante UD-Spain), Teagan Micah (UCLA), Clare Polkinghorne (Houston Dash), Elizabeth Ralston (Sydney FC), Hayley Raso (Portland Thorns), Gema Simon (Newcastle Jets FC), Emily Van Egmond (Orlando Pride), Lydia Williams (Seattle Reign)

    Sidenote for NWSL: Article listing the roster also says Australia's WWC roster will be named in mid-May when they start training camp in Turkey, so Australian NWSL players may be out starting then.
     
  8. jackdoggy

    jackdoggy Member+

    May 16, 2014
    Big D
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    14 days out and I have temperature of 103 because of Krieger Fever.
     
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  9. McSkillz

    McSkillz Member+

    ANGEL CITY FC, UCLA BRUINS
    United States
    Nov 22, 2014
    Los Angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Whoop whoop! She's a great goalkeeper for our Bruins. Glad she's going to be in practice with the nat'l team.
     
  10. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
  11. Kevin625

    Kevin625 Member

    Jan 4, 2016
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    Ali Krieger just doesn't make any sense. She's waaaaaay too slow and has been for a few years. She turns 35 in July and it's definitely showing. She was a great player and defender, but Father Time catches up with everyone.

    I remember Heath burning her badly about 10x in an NWSL game a couple years ago... just blowing by her like she was standing still. After witnessing that, I was sure her last days with the national team were behind her, but here we are, about 2 months before the WC and she's getting a call up after not getting a look for what, 2 years?
     
  12. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    Ellis doesn't know what she wants at outside back, that is clear. She ignores regular NWSL outside backs in favor of players like Dunn, who I don't think had ever played the position (and it has been a major adjustment for her and I'd say she's still a question mark at that position) and Sonnett, who doesn't have the qualities, at all, demanded by that position. That she is now bringing back Krieger tells us that Ellis has made mistakes--and hasn't Krieger been playing mostly centerback for Orlando the last couple of years or am I wrong?
     
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  13. EbaJones

    EbaJones Member

    Sep 23, 2009
    Club:
    FFC Frankfurt
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    She may play both on the national team just as she has in Orlando and Washington.
     
  14. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    It is also possible she is there more as player-coach than as player, I think. Also to rest O'Hara in hopes of her getting healthy in time. I wouldn't assume being in this camp means you are under consideration for the WC roster.

    And Ellis also knows exactly what she wants at outside back and has explained it publicly several times; it just isn't what folks here want.
     
  15. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What does Ellis want at outside back? Whatever it is excludes Jaelene Hinkle, which doesn't make a lot of sense from a soccer standpoint although I understand there are likely other sources of friction.

    Probabilities for the upcoming friendlies based on FIFA ratings:
    USA (2101) expected win pct roughly (.76) over Australia (2003) - the 100 point differential becomes 200 points with the homefield advantage.

    USA (2101) expected win pct roughly (.85) over Belgium (1812) - the roughly 200 point differential becomes 300 points with the homefield advantage
     
  16. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    She wants offensive players who can defend a little, not defenders who can attack a little. Dunn is it. O'Hara is it.

    And citing Hinkle is silly-- she has disqualified herself, essentially.

    She's the new Dick Allen. You can't deliberately bring someone on to your team who has made their very presence a disruptive element for half your existing players, no matter how good that person is.

    And she's not Dick Allen good anyway, even if she might be better than any of the others. She's not a Marta or Sinclair or Fawcett. More like a Chastain.
     
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  17. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't think citing Hinkle is silly at all. It's fine if people think there are reasons for her to not be on the team. We're trying to help women's soccer be something worthy of having fans of a sport - ruling out talking about the player who is, by a large margin, the best American at her position isn't how you do it. Hinkle is a two-way player.
     
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  18. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    I think Ellis likes to over-coach--over think the team. I don't care who she plays at outside back--but I would contend that actually playing people at the position who, you know, ARE outside backs would be a logical step. Instead, she seems to want to play everyone at outside back BUT true outside backs. Hence we get Emily Sonnett at outside back, who almost everyone agrees is not a good or natural outside back and doesn't give the team the attacking qualities that Ellis says she wants at the position. And how could she--she's been a centerback for most if not all of her professional career! That's crazy. She moved Dunn there--a career forward--and while she's got the athleticism for the position, she has struggled to adjust. Meanwhile, Casey Short, a real outside back who most agree is a good player, never plays. Ellis and the team have been very successful in recent years, so it's her prerogative to switch personnel--and by god she does, but some of it seems a bit too much.
     
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  19. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I'm not assuming this at all. In fact, I lean towards thinking that Krieger is there as a player-coach/veteran presence or simply to fill in because of O'Hara's injury. BUT, if Krieger is actually in Ellis's thoughts for the WWC roster, then I think she should definitely play Krieger for significant minutes in the Australia game, or even both games. Same goes for anyone on the bubble, imo.
     
  20. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    Short doesn't start because she's not a good offensive player. Particularly she's a poor passer-- not that her passes are worse than most for accuracy, but in that she passes to the wrong option, over and over. She is a pretty good defender. And I think Sonnet's doing fine, myself. I don't much care what "almost everyone agrees"-- she seems to my eyes to be getting what Ellis wants done, done. And likewise Dunn. [Cue Jack Webb voiceover.] A career forward is pretty much what she wants there, and I disagree that she has struggled to adjust. She gets caught out of position some because that's how she's supposed to play. She's not supposed to be diffident about committing to the attack to protect against being burned; she's supposed to assume that Brunn or Davidson can hold the fort till she gets back.

    Ellis would rather a team that wins 4 or 5-2 that a team that wins 1 or 2 nothing. And you know, thinking about it, she's right; the tiebreakers in FIFA reward the team that scores more, not the team that concedes less...

    Meanwhile of course, the back of choice is not Sonnett, but O'Hara-- only she can't seem to get and stay healthy just now..
     
  21. Smallchief

    Smallchief Member+

    Oct 27, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    #21 Smallchief, Apr 2, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 2, 2019
    I'll opine that Krieger is a real option for the World Cup as a starter at right back.
    (The next couple of friendlies will determine whether or not I have rocks in my head.)

    Krieger is a known quantity -- or at least was until a year or so ago when she was dropped from the national team: not great on offense, but capable; good on defense.

    By contrast, Sonnet has been marginal, and Emily Fox disastrous as the most recent candidates to fill the position sans O'Hara. Thus, without O"Hara, Krieger is your best--and safest--bet.

    Personally, I think Huerta would be the best choice after O'Hara at right back, especially now that she has a season of experience at the position in Australia.
     
  22. EbaJones

    EbaJones Member

    Sep 23, 2009
    Club:
    FFC Frankfurt
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    For a lot of reasons she makes sense - leader, experience on the biggest stage, can play both the middle and outside, good teammate. Whether starter or sub, she is a solid selection. Remember, defense carried this team in the last world cup until line up changes unleashed the offense.
     
  23. lil_one

    lil_one Member+

    Nov 26, 2013
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't disagree with any of these. To play devil's advocate though, here are the two questions I see surrounding Krieger:
    1. Does she fit what Ellis wants in an outside back? (I'd say no.)
    2. Does she still have the speed and fitness to play at the international level? (Based on NWSL play, again I'd say no.)

    She'd make a great veteran presence on the roster though, like Boxx last time. For those arguing for Krieger getting a spot, I have a follow-up question: who's spot does she take to get there? Who do you cut to take her? (And is it going to look like Boxx in over Dunn like in 2015?)
     
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  24. Smallchief

    Smallchief Member+

    Oct 27, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I agree that Krieger is not what Ellis wants in an outside back.....but with O'Hara injured, she doesn't have what she wants on the squad.
     
  25. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    And since Dunn can play on the right side of the pitch as well as the left side, again the omission of Jaelene Hinkle should be noted - if Hinkle was on the roster, she could play LB and Dunn could play RB and Coach Ellis could get more of what she wants from her outside backs.
     

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