On to the knockout rounds! The USWNT will face Sweden in the QF on Aug. 12. The match will be played in Brasilia and televised live on NBCSN at 12 ET. IMHO, based on group play, Sweden may actually be the weakest of the 8 teams left.
I'm seeing a Google page with the schedule for the quarterfinals on Friday. It has the U.S. vs. Sweden at 3:00 p.m. EST. I can't vouch for that, but perhaps others can determine whether what I've read is correct or whether the noon time stated above is correct.
I now see the Friday noon game time on a USA women's soccer page. Perhaps that is where lil_one saw it. So perhaps the Google page--which has times listed for all four Friday semifinal games--is wrong.
Yes, but it means I can take an extended lunch to watch it instead of having to wait until after work....
I know! I might actually miss it live (unless I can shuffle some things around), but the DVR is already set up!
The Rio 2016 and NBC Olympics websites both had the game time listed as 3 p.m. local time, but now have it listed as a noon start. Confusing.
Sweden has been terrible so far. A sloppy mess of a goal late against South Africa, dominated by Brazil, scoreless draw with China. Even so we cannot take them lightly. They were pretty bad in 2015 also, yet held the U.S. scoreless and would have won without Kling's goal line save. They have a habit of rising to the occasion against the USWNT.
Match-up wise Sweden is a scary opponent for the US, imo. They have Pia who knows many of our players (and our coach) very well. And they've consistently played very well against the US in recent years: 6/12/2015: 0-0 draw (WWC group) 3/7/2014: 0-1 loss (Algarve; yes, that Algarve) 3/11/2013: 0-0 draw (Algarve) However, looking at how they've played in the group stage, Sweden's play was uninspired, to say the least. But then, I'd say that we didn't do that well in the group stage either. This quarterfinal might very well be another nail-biter.
There has been almost no mention about just how poorly we played against Columbia or just how badly Ellis bungled that game with poor player selection. Now we have to play Sweden after a fairly poor outing against a team we should have easily beat. Can we suddenly turn it on against Sweden? This should be a somewhat easy game but with Ellis running things, and Pia in her head, I am not confident. I do not believe that a team can throw a switch and come out and play like the #1 ranked in the world should play. We'll see
There was no mention of it because nobody believes she tried for the optimal roster. She was resting players and testing others for the knockout round, a luxury only maybe Canada really had. In both cases, the result was what was needed to advance first in group.
Wasn't too long ago Sweden was arguably a top 3 nation. But yeah now they seem to have fallen (or maybe just the likes of Canada/Australia/France have risen so high)
Top 5 Questions for this match, that we just don't know the answer to yet: 1.) Will Hope Solo rebound against Sweden, and play like she did against France, or like she did against Colombia? 2.) Will Alex Morgan score a goal in this game? 3.) Who will out-coach who, regardless of the final score? Jill vs. Pia? 4.) What will the final score be? 5.) What color will Allie Long's thong be in this match? Bonus Question: How many minutes will Megan Rapinoe play, if any?
This is going to be a dangerous matchup. I except Sweden to switch off regularly between high pressure and counter with Seger and Schellin(sp?). and sitting back and letting our center mids pass between each other for 5 minutes in a row like they did against Colombia...damn, i miss JJ.
I dont like either coach but think Ellis has more to work with and therefore is likely to win, in spite of her lousy coaching. I will be very interested to see who she starts this time after the last outing. Horan should be parked firmly on the bench, with along with Rapinoe (simply not ready). Press did not make much of a case for herself either. Be interesting to see
Here is who I’d like to see Jill Ellis start tomorrow against Sweden: ------------------------------------------------Solo-------------------------------------- O’Hara---------------Johnston (Engen)--------------Sauerbrunn---------Klingenberg --------------------------------Long----------------------Brian----------------------------- Dunn----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Heath ----------------------------------Lloyd------------------------------------------------------ -------------------------------------------------------Morgan--------------------------------- 1. O’Hara or Krieger? I think Ellis should start Kelly O’Hara at right back over Ali Krieger. O’Hara has stood out a little more than Krieger has in this tournament. She has contributed more to the offense. Against Colombia, O'Hara had a good cross to Crystal Dunn in the first half. She also had the ball into the box that started the scoring sequence against France. Both players have been good defensively. 2. Long or Horan? I think Ellis should start Allie Long over Lindsey Horan in central midfield. I think Long is stronger defensively, more experienced and might be more composed. In addition, though Long is two inches shorter than Horan, Long might be better at defending set pieces, which has been a weak spot for the U.S. Finally, Horan played 90 minutes in the last game, whereas Long played only 25 minutes. So, Long should be fresher after the physically taxing game in Manaus. Horan would be a candidate to enter the match in the second half. Horan could add more to the offense. She came close to scoring twice against Colombia. 3. Dunn or Pugh? Both Crystal Dunn and Mallory Pugh had nice goals against Colombia. And both were active offensively. But I would start Dunn. She seems to have played better defense so far in the tournament. She is very committed to getting back on defense. She also is much more experienced. She has 38 caps compared to 16. She also has scored more goals for the U.S. (15 versus 4). Dunn also is faster. Pugh would be someone that Ellis should consider bringing into the match (perhaps for Dunn) in the second half. Pugh is physically stronger than Dunn, who is very slight and only 5’ 1” tall. 4. Defending Set Pieces The U.S. has been a little shaky at defending set pieces. France looked dangerous on set pieces all game long. And Hope Solo has got to step up and play up to her normal excellent level. The U.S. also should put their best players in the air on Sweden’s best players in the air. Julie Johnston is the U.S.’s best player in the air. If she is not in there, then Allie Long and Whitney Engen probably are two of the U.S. best players. They have to stay focus and take their marking seriously. Here is a link to a good article by Fox Sports Caitlyn Murray on the issues the U.S. has had this tournament in terms of defending set pieces: http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/sto...a-weakness-when-it-comes-to-set-pieces-081116 Murray has done a good job covering the USWNT all Olympics long. She is a good writer who has good insights.
So, Pugh and Dunn are both better wingers than Heath. Faster, more dynamic, much better finishers and better at getting in crosses. Brian's injury over the summer has taken it's toll on her, she's not fully confident. I'd replace Brian with Heath. Also, if JJ is not playing, I wouldn't put Ohara next to Engen. As we have seen that's a disaster waiting to happen. --Ohara-- JJ -- Becky -- Kling-- -------Long---Heath------ ----Dunn------------Pugh---- -----------Lloyd------------- --------------Morgan----- I think these are our most in-form players right now. Press in for Lloyd or Morgan. Krieger in for Ohara Brian in for Long or Heath