Players who did well: Press (I haven't been a fan of hers, but she's been the best of a bad lot in both U.S. games this year.; McDonald, who did just enough good things to keep her in contention for the team. Players who didn't do well: Rapinoe, Heath, Lavelle, Morgan. In other words our first string offense. Spain was impressive -- for a team that's never amounted to much. .
Spain will be a force in the years ahead if they can improve their team speed and athleticism a bit while maintaining their great possession style. For all the complaints about American soccer being too much about athleticism and not enough about good soccer, well, our athleticism, in Press, won this match--the Spanish defender could not keep up with her. And our fresh legs and pace gave Spain some problems in the second half. You need Spanish-style skills, but there is no disputing that athleticism/pace can make the difference. The ideal is to have a team with both, of course. I came away from this game thinking that Rapinoe and Press will split time in the WC on the left wing. Rapinoe is starting to show her age--it looked like she got tired pretty quickly tonight--though she can still be dangerous when she gets the ball with a little space in the attacking third.
Two thoughts: 1) A good coach can teach the control, short pass game. Ellis can't. 2) I like Press and Rose. We looked better when we got more speed in the game. I have never been a fan of Horan but have mostly kept quiet cause others love her. I think shes just too slow for today's game. Also, I am thinking Morgan is not looking great lately.too. She seems to have lost a step or others are now faster? not sure which We werent terrible and had many good stretches. Our biggest problem now is scoring. We seem to have only two main ideas. Some kind of breakaway with Press or maybe Ms. offsides or a cross from the corner and pray. I just don't think this is enough to win anymore and I also don't think Ellis would ever see it or change anything. At least we were spared Lloyd
I always find it sad that there are fans who love sports but don't care about exploitation of athletes.
Sure it is; it is just the kind of example of which you approve. I thought the offside calls were very consistent. When Morgan was offside they called it, and when she wasn't, they called it anyway. The time between when everybody else gets better and when a bunch of them get good is tough on fans and thankless for coaches. It still seems like you should be winning by big margins, and just winning comfortably is disappointing. But we are past that-- a bunch of them have got good. Spain is a good team-- good enough to win a world cup without any outrageous amount of luck. So is the Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, New Zealand, Japan, Sweden, Norway, Colombia if they get their act together-- the talent is there-- the Koreas, maybe China. Germany, France and England, Canada for sure.Iceland is good enough to beat the eventual champion in group play, maybe Switzerland, Italy. There is no shame in beating Spain 1-0, especially when you control the last 20-30 minutes that way. It is flat out hard to win a soccer game-- 0-0 is almost the natural result Everything in the game balances that way, unlike American football or rugby or lacrosse or baseball. You win, you did good, if the opponent was, not even just the same level, but within a level of you. People think they are complaining about the US not being good enough-- but they really are whining about Spain being good. We won, and without being terribly threatened. Somebody made a play, and we scored, and Naeher made a save and didn't give away the win, and just about every tweak and sub Ellis made worked. Spain tried to be intimidating and the officiials allowed it, and yet we weren't intimidated and I'm not sure they weren't a little in the end. Even without Carli. Good game.
Spain is an excellent friendlies team, they featured 7 Barca & 3 Athletico Madrid players in their starting lineup. Much like the heavily influenced by Lyon, France, the chemistry is all ready there, or at least in the 1st half(as they subbed 6 times in the 2nd). The trick is(just like France) is to make it work in a major tournament when other NT's finally spend more time together their coach is a bit of an enigma to me; he's gotten rid of all the veteran players of Spain(of which some of them were very good; Vero & Bermudez).But then bring's only a few up from their more successful youth NT squads Instead he's got most players in the mid 20's, about a dozen of them from the same club(Barca) who almost play at the same, robotic level( with no one in particular that stands out) as the coach tries to make his own version of the ticci taca, They could have a bright future(if they get away from their coach's Stepford Wifes mentality) At last year's u17 WC Claudia Pena was a pragmatic finisher & Eva Navarro a speedy winger, but guessing their ages keep them out as yet form the seniors/ one player missing from yesterday was my pick as Spain's #1 player(senior or youth) is the 20 year old Patrica Guijarro. Not sure if she's on an injury list, or discarded(like this coach has done with so many previous players). btw........noticing, Catalonia played a friendly yesterday, tying WC bound Chile, does this take way more top players from Spain?
Spain has no goal threat or goal keeper. Everything in between was good until they tired out. Ellis started with her most technical team and they took awhile to get going. After 25' they all played better except Lavelle. I really like her and she is important the next cycle, but after some good dribbles to start she was awful. They said she was sick, maybe that was it. She had the touch of a trampoline and that was when she didn't whiff on a ball played to her. Heath and Rapinoe couldn't get much going. Ellis's subs were interesting. Went back to U12 ball and just subbed out the technical players for athletic players. Even put Pugh in the midfield; the idea not being to pass through the Spanish but to run by them. It worked. Press scored and I get why she is called WOTM. She made a real difference running with the ball at times. But did she complete a cross ever? Did she spring a team mate with a pass? Did she make a pass? She dribbles with her head down, so basically she can only make a wild no-look cross or a shot. Was a very nice shot that caught the GK cheating (the Spanish GK is not good). Ertz was great and Zerboni was too. Zerboni made the one nice pass through a Spanish line that I can remember. Morgan was not sharp but she puts in a lot of work. Crazy how hard she goes for how long in what are just friendlies after all. McDonald is a bigger version of Press with possibly less passing skill. She made good runs and should have shot more as her passes are futile. Mewis looks to be one of the best midfielders we have. Not sure why she gets so few minutes. Davison could probably play LB with reps, but I don't know how she will get those before June. The shifted to a 3-back with 4 minutes left, not sure why. I mean, why not try that for 30 minutes? Dunn and Pugh were the wingbacks. Probably a better option than playing Fox in an emergency.
I thought the Pugh sub was basically a defensive one-- speed enough for delayed pressure on anyone setting up an attack down that side before they actually had it set up. Any offense was just icing, but she seemed to me to pretty much shut down all stuff through that side of the midfield just by running at it-- ball still went there, but it came right back. And that seems to me to be what Ellis is good at-- seeing not only the problem area, but thinking out what in her palette will actually shut it off, rather than just subbing the player in that area. That is, you can fix a defensive problem with the right offensive player or vice versa. Mostly she does that without actually subbing, just by tweaking the positioning and emphasis, so mostly it doesn't get seen and she doesn't get credit-- but I think she's pretty good at it..
not for this wc. from what’s rumoured. in time for the next, in 2023 - and that’s four years & womens soccer retirements away.
love spain’s passing. great to see more wnts bringing it in soccer. great for the game! spain just need more bite at the end. they can get that by summer.. uswnt just played the second game of preseason, and looked it. passing still off, and skill players still not up to the level of athletes, who themselves are not fit. but we got another look at christeniano ronaldo using speed to make space on the left side - with some end product this time. let's keep working on that. we also got another look at davidson at lb - there's something there (altho she may actually be starting with dahlkemper in the center by the time wc rolls around - they're both faster in recovery than becky, and can get the ball to heath, press, pinoe et al with one long, precise pass better than becky). and we got our first look at a 5 back/3 back line. again, experimental/fitness games. so, par for the course. final exams start june 11.
I suppose I was not clear, I did not expect and was not advocating for Macario to be on this years WC roster. I was simply stating that the cupboard is not bare regarding young attacking players in the US. Again I think attacking players are the least of the WNT's worries now and in the future.
World class strikers don't just pop up out of nowhere. Spain has what they have. They lack a striker and a GK. The best thing they can do (since they can't trade for a striker) is get 90 minute fit. I don't think these games are for experimentation or fitness. The WC comes in the middle of the NWSL season, so everyone will be at peak fitness hopefully. Certainly, whatever they are doing now won't matter. Experimentation should be over too. Jill should be trying out solutions and game plans she has for our group stage opponents and likely KO round opponents. Just happens, these two were our probable KO round opponents. We learned a way to take it to Spain (will she have the guts to not play Pinoe and Heath in a Rd16 game?) but we didn't even try really against France. Which is fine, but will hurt us in the Quarterfinal. These women have a ridiculous amount of games until June, the best thing is nobody got hurt.
??!! first games in the new year after the christmas break? absolutely for fitness. in a wc year before the roster has been whittled down? absolutely for experimenting with players.
Congratulations to USWNT in winning the match but this is, mind you, a single goal scored by a solo run. This brings to me the notion that there are some deficiencies in the forward line-up and the supporting mid. Heath seemed to be completely useless, unable to retain the ball, slowing down play. Rapinoe worked well only with LB Dunn. She and Heath should have some one-two passings with Morgan to open up the defense. But they are disjointed and do work jell or play together. Each one was playing on her own. Morgan has so little support from her team mates that any forward who is so closely marked by several players is unlikely to be able play any better. She did make a reasonably good shot or maybe a few to her credit. Leaving Lloyd out is to me a question mark as she was the only one who could cause a bit of disorganization in France defense, allowing Pugh to score one goal back. Lloyd can shoot well from outside the penalty box. This ability seems not in her team mates abilities, except sometimes in Rapinoe. When there is a player can play this way, defense cannot just bunch up in the penalty box leaving Loyd unmarked outside lurking. I hope Jill Ellis will take a good look at what she has as forwards and train them together for one-two passes to get through the opponent's defense. I am sorry about my badly composed post. The main point is to look at the forward players, train and make them work well together.
Who knew, who the H. knew that these words would be the truest I every posted on this Board. Leg 1 – I learned of the Sellout at 3:00 p.m. Match Day while enjoying an adult beverage in a tavern near the Stadium. Needless to say, the stress and chain-smoking levels skyrocketed. Arrived at the Stadium 2 hours before kick dressed for the Arctic Circle and was laughed at while checking in at the Ticket/Will Call window. A policeman taught me how to say j'en ai besoin d'un – "I need one”. So, I circled the Stadium, arm and one finger raised repeating that phrase with my best KANsas twang - - - I’m sure the French were thinking….…go home Yankee as there were no tickets to be had. A situation occurred 45 minutes out when a 115-year-old dude like me collapsed in line while waiting to get in. Paramedics, stretcher, police, the whole nine yards. Sensing a way into the Match, full confession, I took two steps toward the situation then stopped. I decided I didn’t want to create an international incident by being the Ugly American who tried to buy a Soccer Ticket from a guy being wheeled into Surgery. About 15 minutes out this French guy approaches and just shoves a ticket into my hand. Admittedly shocked, surprised and happy I tried to give him a 20 EURO Note but he vehemently declined to accept it. Gift Horse and everything I rushed in and made the kick with 90 seconds to spare. Oh, 35-yard line 8 rows up. I believe I’ve exhausted my good luck and karma for the next 10 years. Let’s keep the French Federation in the dark on how much I would have paid for that seat. Surprised how we seemed to be consistently beaten in individual battles throughout the Match. Remember that E. is still cloaked in the loving, forgiving embrace of the rookie freak out phase. Wow, 25,000 Frenchmen in full voice creating a hostile environment - - mission accomplished. This was plastered on Billboards, the train station, bus stops and available in flyer form in bars: Leg 2 – Alicante is in the Top 3 greatest places I’ve ever visited although I’m a rookie at Mediterranean Seaside Villages. Didn’t hurt that it was 25 degrees warmer than Le Havre. And alas, the WRONG team was staying at my Hotel. Met Ian from Norway Monday afternoon in Alicante who was also in La Havre. “Yah, yah, I watch all the USWNT Matches online, yah yah I was at the Sweden and Norway matches last year, yah, yah I’ll be at the World Cup this Summer”. Real Cool Dude and obviously, he has impeccable taste in Soccer Teams. Night and Day difference in this Match no matter how you slice it. I post the following nuggets for informational purposes only for those traveling to the WWC next summer: The Euros serve coffee in shot glasses, not the 64 oz. Slurpee Cups that you may have grown accustom to. The elevators (lifts) are tiny and sssssssslow. Their plane boarding process at the departure gates has all the organization and civility as the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona. 47,338 minutes to Chester.
How you got into the French game was a miracle, a miracle, I tell you! Definitely something karmic going on. Glad you made it there and back. What does this mean? "Remember that E. is still cloaked in the loving, forgiving embrace of the rookie freak out phase."
Reminds me of an experience I had my first year in law school. I was in New York and was a tennis player. A law student friend and I got on the New York subway to go to see the semi-finals of the US Nationals (now Open)Tennis Tournament. As we were riding along standing in the aisle, an older guy with a nice green sport jacket came over and started chatting with us about tennis. After a couple of minutes, knowing that we were going to the Open, he asked if we had tickets already. We said we didn't and were planning to buy them when we got there. He expressed a little concern about whether we'd be able to get tickets and then went back to the friends he was riding with. About five minutes later, he came over and handed us two tickets, then went back to his friends. That evening, I was watching the recap of the day's events. As part of the recap, they interviewed a guy named Jimmy Van Allen. He was the inventor of what then was called VASS -- the Van Allen Scoring System. Today, it's known as the tiebreak system. I took one look at him and his green jacket and almost fell of my chair. He was the guy who gave us our tickets. There are some sport fans out there who really love their sport and want others to be able to love it too. I think you ran into one of them.
I am quite sure I saw you around the ground, because I remember someone with an American accent looking for a ticket and thinking. Well sold out, good luck with it, although I had heard many tickets were sold by batches to girls football teams and there are always spares around as not all the players end up going to the games. I am just curious to see what kind of ticket you were given actually ie general admission or freebie for friend and family?
I give our youngest players 5-6 Matches to adjust to the extreme level of awesomeness that they are now a part of before issuing critical judgements on their play - - oh wait, I never issue critical judgements on anyones play. I firmly believe that they are naturally and highly susceptible to freak out a little when first suiting up for the Greatest Team on the Planet. I can recall some of the early matches of several of our current best players and at that time they seemingly could not pass the mashed potatoes. Dude that provided didn’t sit near me though I kept looking for him throughout the Match. Upon examination, not sure what the “Invitation” means in the lower left. Pre-Match in Alicante I spotted and struck up a quick convo with announcer “The Great” Derek Rae who was standing on the concourse. He didn’t big time or brush me off…great guy. He said Ian Darke had called him weeks ago to invite him to play Golf in Spain for 3-4 days and take in the Match. The rough life of a JetSetting International Soccer play-by-play man.
Nice ticket, you got one of the freebie distributed to the friends and family or football clubs. That's what "invitation" means, you were invited to the game that's why the guy would not take any money from you. Not a bad seat either.