Thread title will be updated with team names in 24 hours. So, it will be Brazil for sure in the finals, coming off a 4-1 win over Germany. And the US will join them, coming off a 4-2 win over Japan.
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] Do you really think the US will score one? In an interview with Chastain late this morning, Chastain would not make a prediction. She did everything except say the US wouldn't win, finally falling back on the "it will be a great game" cliche'. Wearing heavily tinted red/white/blue glasses, I'll go with USA, 2-1. Yes. Drugs and heavy drinking are involved in this prediction. No brain cells were involved in the making of this post.
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] "Over?" Did I hear somebody say, "Over?" Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? Hell, no! And it's not over now... What this situation requires is a really stupid, futile effort be done on someone's part... and we're just the guys to do it!
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] Really? Heavy drugs are needed to feel confident in the USA's chances for a win against Brazil? I see a higher scoring game...4-3 type of match with the US prevailing. I think Coach Pia will start Kai and Cheney to "soften" up Brazil and then bring in ARod in the 50th minute to start running wild. The U.S. backline does give some concern. They're probably going to double Marta. We'll see how that goes. I think Brandy Chastain should've played it as the U.S. will be severe underdogs heck to ensure a big TV audience. She still should've picked the US without hesitation. Kinda lame for her not too on national tv...imo.
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] The only way I see the US winning is by playing very safely and defensively, keeping the score low. This will be a chess match. I don't see the US winning in a high scoring track meet.
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] Being too defensive can always backfire. With the way these matches have gone the last couple of weeks, it's hard to predict how the scoreline will fall. As a supporter of Team Brazil, I'm not so sure Marta and Co. will score as many on the US as they did Deutschland this morning. Right now, I'm sure many of them are replaying WWC '07 and July 16th 2008 in their minds... The US team is brimming with confidence right now. Plus, I've noticed during the years, that team, regardless of the players on the pitch, seems to always have luck on its side. I know what I would like to see but I have a good idea of what might happen..and I would love to be proven wrong..
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] Amy Rodriguez is playing extremely well so why tinker around with what isn't broken? I haven't rewatched the entire semifinal yet but what I saw confirmed my impression during the game. She did a lot of great things - in addition to the flashy runs, she managed to control a number of long passes under pressure and dished it off smartly to maintain possession. (Credit goes to the rest of the team for getting in position). She earned corner kicks (not that we can be bothered to do anything with those now that we are "liberated" from having Abby and Kristine Lilly on the team). And I"m seeing what some have said about her runs without the ball. On Chalupny's goal, they played that beautifully -- Rodriguez looking like she may take the pass but letting Chalupny take it while continuing her run towards the endline, drawing a defender and giving Chalupny space to move into. Sure, she doesn't finish as well as we'd like (although she put shots on frame today) or show that "last bit of composure" in the box. But no one does on Team USA - we've known that for a while; we're a bit lacking in that department. Quite soon, perhaps, that's where Cheney will fit in. Based on college play, she's displayed great potential as a finisher. But for right now, Rodriguez has elevated her play to international level first, having added both dimension and consistency to her game -- really far beyond what she's done in college. (Anybody notice the irony of a USC fan suggesting that Cheney start and a UCLA fan suggesting Rodriguez start?!! Only on BigSoccer where wonders never cease...)
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] I think it could really be lopsided either way. Playing Germany, a physical and disciplined team, has helped prepare Brazil for the US. Despite having some possession problems at the back, Brazil did a very good job of defending the crosses coming in from Germany, which is also the bread and butter of the US. Also a short unatheletic Japanese goalie let in some really soft goal. The Brazilian goalie looks better. I think if really comes down to how Brazil plays. If they play well and composed at the back they win, if not they lose. The US will play the same mediocre game we have seen the whole tournament.
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] Go USA! Americans keep Marta in check, life will be good. Send another Brazilian team out of contention!
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] *blinks* *checks history books* anyways, i think brazil will take it, with a fiesty american effort
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] I left out the other piece breaking up Belushi's "Animal House" monologue: "Germans?" "Let him go, he's rolling."
Re: Gold Medal Match [R] Mex at home you heard it here first! we need to take out marta....litrally and physically. We owe them for Wambach
No, I think this may be serious. Possibly, it may be a Greg Ryan joke. The United States is not as good a team without Abby Wambach, to be sure, but that does not make them ineffective, and they have been playing fairly well in this tournament. A Brazil victory is not a foregone conclusion, in my view.
Another pivotal match in the Beijing Olympics soccer tournaments that I can't watch due to the schedule. I don't follow the women's game that closely, but I do know the US has been the flagship of the sport for many years. Team USA's defeats vs Germany in the 2003 World Cup and vs Brazil last year notwithstanding, they are still a force to be reckoned with. They lost 2-0 to Norway... but they're in a position to win another gold medal. Without getting dramatic, I see this match's results as "forks in the road" for both teams. Again, bear in mind I am not too familiar with the teams' players (details such as age, etc). A Brazilian victory would finish a work that Brazilians began years ago. This work paid off w/ the 2004 silver medal (and let it be known that the 2004 Brazilian women's squad did not get the support and backing that the men's squads always get; this was a major reason that 2nd place finish was so lauded in Brazil, as the women played their guts out with no other motivation than love of country - it was another indirect shot at the men, who didn't even qualify for Athens) and the runner-up position last year vs. Germany. And, it would also mean Brazil would enter the pantheon of the true women's soccer giants, occupied IMO only by Germany, Norway, and the United States (winners of both World Cups and the Olympics). And it would most probably be a boost for investment in and development of women's soccer. If Brazil loses, it will not reverse the process Brazilian women's soccer has begun, but it'll be a frustrating wait until 2011. And it may mean Brazil will have to retool. While Brazil does have young players, a 3rd consecutive 2nd place finish could well mean drastic changes will be in the making. A contender can only be a contender for so long. If the United States brings gold home again, it'll show the world that the defeat last year was well-absorbed and overcome. The US generates tons of quality female players, and yet another triumph on the world stage will show that the US will continue to be the flagship of women's soccer. A defeat, on the other hand, will be a setback, but not as much as it would be for a young program like Brazil's. Should be an epic match, with Brazil hungry for the gold (and for another beating on the US, after the beating on and revenge against Germany) and the Americans yearning for revenge and to keep what they gained in Greece. I say Brazil by a 1-goal margin.