Oh, eh. I just now realized I watched the whole thing on the same USSoccer web stream window as Australia-Japan. I never closed that window, and it showed both matches, plus the entire gap between them. From the #ToN2018 hash-thread: - Australia fans are generally proud and congratulatory - Brasilian fans are generally mad at HC Vadão. Some are openly cussing him with twelve letters on their official tweet feeds - A few USA fans wanted us to lose just to get rid of Ellis
Morgan should change her salary to straight commission. 25 cents for every time she falls to the ground. She would make a lot more money.
I was sitting next to a father and his ~2 year old daughter at the game. The 2 year old kept saying "Ella se cayó!" to her father over and over in the first half every time there was a foul, even the "jesus christ that was a dirty tackle" fouls. It was kind of funny. Fun night and great first WNT cap for me, but Toyota Park wasn't prepared for the size of the crowd tonight at all. Concessions were a disaster.
My girlfriend went to the concession stand in the 18th minute and got back at halftime. Took us 2+ hours to get there from Lincoln Park too. I ********ing hate everything about that stadium. Fun game though. I don't understand any of the negativity throughout this thread. Brazil didn't create anything and the US could have scored 8 on another day. They dominated from start to finish.
I love the stadium. Toyota Park was electric tonight. Great job Chicago fans! I live way on the north side. Left my home in plenty of time and I drove straight down Harlem Ave. No problem. But I am used to that drive. I am a Red Stars season ticket holder and make the drive from the north side to Toyota Park all the time.. In Chicago someone is always going to bitch about the drive no matter where the stadium is located. Don't forget Lallapalloooza was going on, there was a protest march that shut down all of Lake Shore Drive, Cubs were playing, Sox were playing and rush hour traffic. What did you expect? Lines were long because it was HOT and people were dying of thirst. The beer was flowing, the lemonade was flowing, long lines, nothing unusual. Just like any Fire game that is almost full stadium. The Red Stars had a suite on the lower level where the players were all out on the balcony. They were mobbed by kids looking for autographs, especially when Sam Kerr joined them after her game.
Not really. The first half was one of the worst I have seen the US play in a very long time. However either one of the coaches or one or more of the players said (or glared - I'm thinking of Michelle Akers) something right at halftime. The whole mindset seemed to change and the US came out hungry and unwilling to accept second place. There were still plenty of mistakes in the second half BUT when a mistake was made it seemed to make the whole team more angry and there was almost no repeating of mistakes. Every player for the US on the field raised their game in the second half and it helped that Brazil fell back into their fouling game and the US, mostly, avoided the hard hits and simply played soccer. Whoever it was that changed the teams mindset needs to keep pushing the team. It is good to see the US in the beat 'em and take no prisoners mode again. That "anger" has been missing from the US lately. The US should not be a bunch of nice girls playing soccer. They need to rebuild their reputation as a team that wants to beat other so bad they are embarrassed. They need to build back to the team that everybody fears and after the game feels honored to have been on the same field. The second half of this match may be a small step toward that goal.
Alex Morgan has 90 goals, and if she never had her injury problems in between mid-2013 - 2015, then she would have at least 110 goals by now. That would give her a realistic shot to catch Wambach's record of 184 goals, with Morgan currently at 29 years years of age, and needing another 75 goals to do so in the next few years, if she chose to play until age 35 like Wambach did. Morgan would only need about 13 goals per year on average over the next 6 years. But back to reality, and now Morgan needs 95 goals to break Wambach's record, therefore Morgan would need to average 16 goals per year. There is no way she can do that in her older years. 16 is possible for the next 2-3 years, but she's not going to score at that rate at age 34 or 35. Sinclair currently has 173 goals, and needs 12 more to break the record. She could play through the 2021 calendar year before retiring. No way she plays through the 2023 World Cup. Sinclair theoretically may have 2.4 calendar years left, at maximum, and probably only 1.4 years left, after playing through the 2020 Olympics and the remainder of the 2020 calendar year. She doesn't score as many goals as she used to, so it's still going to be close. If Sinclair stays healthy, and plays at least 1.4 more years, she currently has a 51% chance to break Wambach's record. But it could really all come down to how far Canada advances in the knockout stages at the 2019 World Cup and 2020 Olympics. She needs the most matches she can get in these next 1.4 years, assuming she does retire in late 2020.
Great tournament. Horan MVP by me-- what a show all three games; knew where she was going with the ball before it got to her almost every time; quick and accurate passes that took the pressure off other people most times. Never have liked Sonnet much 'til now, but I thought she also was notable. And her throwins were an unsung factor in the whole tournament; kept the pressure on the defenses in situations where thy don't expect to feel it much. Am I the only one who found the Zerboni in for Lavelle sub amusing? Silk out for sandpaper... I don't think Ertz is all the way back yet-- seems like her timing is still off in little ways, and I'm not sure home workouts with an NFL star keep her entirely in soccer trim. She seems a touch too strong... pushing by people rather than sprinting by them. Nor slower, just a tad more bumptious. Naeher is not as good as Solo-- but we knew long ago that whoever took over wouldn't be. She's plenty good enough to win a World Cup. A little perspective, please.
My interpretation was that the Brazilians ran out of gas after a tough first half -- but maybe it was that the U.S. stepped up its game. I'm wondering now who are going to be the preferred starters in the the U.S. midfield for the world cup. .Horan, Ertz, Mewis -- and now Lavelle-- are contending. Brian possibly comes back into the picture. Long and Zerboni don't look like starters to me except in case of injury. Long may be around as a possible sub for an injured Ertz, or an Ertz who moves into center back because of an injury. And I suspect Long contributes by keeping Alex Morgan happy. Have you noticed the antics the two go through before and during the games? Also, did anybody else notice it was Amy Rodriguez who was firing up the troops in the pre-game huddle? Kind of an elder statesman these days is A-Rod. Mother of the year. Is it time to give another mother, Leroux, a shot at re-joining the National Team?
Yup, she scored a key goal. Guess that erases 89 minutes of mostly poor play. Sorry but if Mallory was healthy, shed be watching from the bench. She's just too slow these days. Either that or other teams are much faster.
Nice to win...second half much better than the first half. I was most impressed by Rose L in this game. She may be the creative mid we need. I still don't like some of Ellis choices but won't knock here, now. I am not happy that with 6 subs available, Ellis cannot find any minutes for ARod, Mewis or Long but does roll Lloyd out for a guest spot late in games. I have no idea why she's even still in the picture actually? Really invisible outing. Maybe Ellis is trying to get her to retire? She should... dont stay around and force the coach to cut you. I think the second half was about as good as this team can play. Dunn didnt really get much time up top but didnt hurt herself either. I still would like to see more ball controlled, generated offense and not have to rely on luck to score but it worked last night. Not sure Ellis will ever play an advanced game though
nooooooooo, Kelia Ohai should be given a shot instead! lol, but it just goes to show just how deep US woso is;
Morgan looked way offsides on that free kick--but it didn't matter as the U.S. was much better than a Brazil squad that likes to play open football but doesn't have the defensive organization or discipline to do it against good opponents. I thought in the first half that they caused us some problems--especially on their left-hand side against Sonnett--but eventually the open play only worked against the Brazilians.
Definitely agree on Horan. I'm one who was not a fan of Horan when she first started playing regularly for the team, but she's definitely grown on me. And now I have to say she has been one of the best players on the team this year really, and definitely one of the best in this tournament.
I read a quote somewhere about her transitioning from a forward to a midfielder when called in. "i looked like an idiot, but I started figuring things out" or something like that. You dont see it often with US Soccer, but that's development!!!!
Reminded me of the Denmark friendly last year. Maybe two teams can run and gun with the USWNT, and Brazil or Denmark are not them. Brazil should use full names and get the stars off their crest. They are not their Men's team and when whatever swagger they have is exposed they get dirty and petulant. Marta is the only one that seems to respect the US Women and not coincidentally, she is the only one that usually plays well. Lavelle should be wrapped in bubble wrap and not played again until the World Cup. We can and should qualify without her but she is a difference maker when healthy. A player should not pass the Captain's arm band to a another player unless they are subbed out. Just a pet peeve. I wonder if Dunn at LB, and for a long stretch she was good there offensively, is really Plan A. Or if this is all just working out a Plan B or a formation for obvious bunkering teams. She is not a LB, and what few dangerous chances either came from Dunn being out of position or another defender diving in on a tackle, and missing, far up the field. Davidson should have done better. Was not a ball that should have been that hard to hit anywhere but in the net. With a pro league five years old, there is no reason to be calling in college players. In a game the USWNT dominated for large stretches, she did almost nothing but score an own goal. Was Dahlkemper hurt? Did the play by play commentator say anything all night but that the USA needed to win by 2 goals to win the tournament? I think he said it 45 times. Horan was a different player than she has been. I don't remember one time she went down on soft contact and she moved the ball quickly and effectively forward. Great game. Horan, Lavelle, Dunn, and Ertz were very fast and efficient in getting the ball to the feet of Morgan, Rapinoe, and Heath.
She's been around long enough it's hard to remember she's still quite young -- 24 years old in May. She's only a year older than Lavelle, who seems like a newby; and a year and a half older than Sullivan, another newby. She's at an age where the learning curve still is pretty steep and where fitness still is building. She's also durable, which is an important quality.
Horan is young given her many years of pro experience--but then she didn't go to college, which is unusual. Her soccer career certainly has worked out--but I think college is a unique, wonderful experience (usually) that should not be missed. Better to have the college experience AND then go pro, IMO.
Or what Wambach did was just super impressive and maybe it will be a while before anyone breaks that record?