IMO, best players in the game (no particular order) for US: Cheney, Boxx, Morgan, HAO. Heath - her consistent inconsistent self.
With Morgan it's also purposeful running to goal. This is different than Rodriguez who has wheels, but is often sabotaged by not knowing where to run or what to do with the ball.
speed w/ purpose was the biggest difference. morgan earned starter minutes. cheney & boxxy did well, imo. hao steady. heath took a while to get up to the speed of the game. did Lloyd complete more than one pass all night?
Thought Boxx had a good game. Lloyd pretty invisible, but I wonder if this formation really plays to her strengths? Thought Krieger very inconsistent. Heath got better once Morgan came in. Maybe she needs someone to run with and that couldn't beWambach tonight? Thought Sauerbrunn was fine, still prefer her in the middle over Beuhler. Sweden is very tall, Beuhler is not. Mitts was okay, but I would like to see more minutes from her if she is going to go to the Olympics. I suspect one of the defenders on this roster will not make the cut.
HAO was also solid. She makes the most of her moments. Passing was a bit off from everyone. Cox had some key defensive plays and one nice outing into the box. Rampone solid. Wambach was dangerous at times (you can't count her out), but I worry about the toll on her body. Is she a Birgit Prinz kerfuffle in the making. I imagine she does not take well to sitting. Like Cheney's game a lot, but she disappeared a bit in the latter stages of the game. Barnhart is fine, but I don't think she's the game changer that Solo is.
The game came alive when Morgan entered. Abby should take a rest during qualifiers. Heath was as consistent with her passes as any of our midfielders, and had excellent positioning. Great composure to one-touch the rebound in with two defenders on her. Mitts got beat a couple of times, but she also had the most dangerous looking cross. Hard to believe she deserves the playing time over an up-and-comer though. Cheney continued her World Cup form: excellent.
Might be way off, but to me this looked like one of those games where people are just a bit to comfortable with their place on the team. I think that if one or two new girls would have been on the bench it might have motivated the starters to play with a little more energy. A dare Pia to give Morgan one start just to see what the hell happens. Tobin has played well in the last two friendlies and I love Becky more with each game. Everyone else did what you expect them to do. I think once Morgan and Leroux become our strike force, the rest of the world will tremble in fear. Man how great did Leroux look on that 3v2 drill video?
is there a thread on the fifa player of the year award? just saw that hao's wwc goal was nominated for the goal of the year award. couple of the other goals nominated are just really sick so i'm pretty much guessing she's not gonna win. but still. nice for her. back to the game. Pia needs to blood the kids more. Lloyd wasn't very good at all. wambach should've stayed on the shelf until qualifiers. i'm a fan but that's a dumbass move to play tonight being hurt and all. it was like in the wwc when lloyd went out and every thing got better.
I was going to mention this earlier. Leroux must have performed incredibly poorly for the rest of the camp for ARod to get a call up over her.
For those that missed it, I have uploaded the last 20-25 minutes of the match. See link below to watch the last 1/4 of the match (aka the last 1/2 of the 2nd half). This does not violate anything to ussoccer.com, since I am not posting the full length match. Download and watch here: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VQ3YFIHA
Yep. I do think she could stand to improve a bit: she takes a bit too long on setting up her crosses. I think she needs to be a bit more decisive, but she's well above the vast majority of her midfield peers. This formation does not play to Wambach's strengths. She's too slow. Watching her try to run past a defender after she played the ball forward a bit for herself and then abjectly fail... it was just bad. It was like watching Han Duan again. I am impressed with her ability to direct the ball with heading at times but if she can't do the running that Morgan can (and she can't), she needs to have the skill to be able to face backward - back toward goal and defender - bring down the ball, hold it, then pass it back crisply but not out of control to the upcoming midfielders. You can see Schelin do this at times. Even Landstrom can do it. Didn't see Wambach do it. I think she needs to be able to do that in order to flourish in this system ... but I'm not sure she can. Thought Cheney did fine all the way up to the end. Agreed on Barnhart. Tobin... eurgh. Less of that wild passing, more heads up, simple play. The dribbling is a tool, it's not an end in and of itself. As she is now, I don't think she offers enough good moments to offset her bad play (even including the rebound goal today). Get her overseas with playing time in a good league, take a look at her in a couple years.
Leroux couldn't play because she played on Friday for UCLA in the NCAA playoffs. Don't know if she would have made the roster anyway (Pia doesn't like change apparently), but during the game last night the announcers mentioned that Pia was really impressed by Leroux and Ingrid Wells during the camp.
After 4 years and it is still the same bunch of mediocre players starting while we have many incredible talented young players sitting on the bench or not even getting on the game day roster. Pia's inability to change and adapt is unbelievably stupid. It is like Klinsmann starting Orozco, Robbie Rogers, Edu, Beckerman, and Edgar Castillo for 4 years straight for the USMNT. I don't care if she wins the Olympic, I hope the US Fed would let her go after her contract expire. She is just so incredibly short sighted. I wish the fans and the media (if there's even one) for the USWNT would start questioning her like they do for the USMNT.
Pia talked a good game when she first came on board; it was she who famously opened her first meeting with the team by busting out a guitar and playing "The Times They Are A-Changin'". And back in 2008, she had a ton to fix, following the 2007 WWC debacle. She deserves credit for helping the team regroup and recover psychologically in time to win the Olympics, even if they got a bit lucky during that tournament. But following the gold medal victory, its like she abandoned the whole 'change' concept. It's hard to tell why she sticks by certain established regulars and neglects others who outperform the regulars in WPS. Perhaps in her mind, she looks back at her impressive record (.878 according to Wikipedia) and also sees an Olympic gold medal and World Cup silver medal (in which the team rose to the task and captured the country's attention) in the quiver. Why change things up when they are getting results and media coverage? Perhaps this is her thought process. But, when the rosters are the same whether the match is a World Cup or a meaningless friendly, that is a problem, because... -It neglects building for the future when the current crop of players are retired and/or over the hill (some of them already are). -It creates a feeling of entitlement among the regulars; without the 'threat' of being replaced, there is less urgency to keep sharp and improve their form. -It makes the U.S. extremely predictable. They must be easy to scout. -In several positions, there are clearly better players (based on WPS play) who are being ignored. We could be better than we are. -Switching from a static 4-4-2 to a more fluid 4-2-3-1 is a fresh idea with potential, but instead of integrating players who are compatible with the new formation, she is using the exact same ones but moving the pieces around differently. At least that's how I see it.
The problem with hiring a coach like Pia is that they don't care about the advancement of US Soccer, they don't care about what happen to the state of US Soccer after their contract is over. All they care about is padding their own record as a coach, that's why Pia started almost every game with what she considered is her starting 11. She want to turn the national team into a club team where if they play so often together that they would know exactly how to play with each other. The USWNT is decent right now not because of the talent they have but because they have been playing with each other for 4 years straight now. She does not want to destroy this chemistry that is why she is very resistant to change and brings in new players. I guarantee you that these 18 players in this roster are going to be what Pia is going to bring to the Olympic baring injury and significant drop of form.
For all you critics out there calling for more Alex Morgan playing time, it might not be in the cards. At least, this snippet from the post-game interview video on USSoccer seems to indicate so: Reporter: "Can you afford to keep a game-changer like Alex Morgan on the bench?" Pia Sundage: "It's perfect...that is the reason she is so good. She comes off the bench, she has a small role, she plays it well, she understands it and respects it, and the team does as well." Morgan then follows the script by saying she understands her role, which is to come on late and make runs near the restraining line against tired defenders.
I guess that's how coaches all over the world do it, they only bring in game changers like Messi, C. Ronaldo, and for the USMNT Donovan and Dempsey really late in the game. Idiot.
Looks like this is just a ruse to keep playing Rodriguez. It is a shame. Same thing with Buehler. She is gonna be in the Olympics line up as well.
I can understand the reasoning even though I don't necessarily agree with it. Let's just think about it for a minute, you're down 1-0 in the 70th minute and you need to make a change. You can confidently sub out ARod and know you are bringing in Morgan who can perform under pressure. Or you can sub out a starting Morgan for a less confident ARod. Now, I'm not saying I agree with it. I mean who is to say if you have Morgan in there from the beginning the game may not be entirely different. But I just think this team will need some sort of game changer coming off the bench. Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for Pia to look at the WPS for that option. Unfortunately, the online stream kept cutting in and out so I don't have a ton of thoughts on the game. Perhaps the most frustrating thing (aside from the stream... seriously US soccer!) was the lack of change on the roster. I mean there wasn't even a single non-WC player on the roster. How are we suppose to be competitive without willing to try new players. And instead of testing our bench players, we just stuck with our regular starting line up (minus LP and Solo). I would have liked to see Tobin get a full 90, same with Morgan. Where was O'Hara? Seems like it would have been a better decision to let her get some minutes. But seriously if I'm Mitts, Lindsey, O'Hara, Heath, Loyden and Cox I'm worrying about my spot on the team. That being said I also think that ARod, LP, and Beuhler should be concerned but given Pia's preference for them I doubt they have much to worry about.
My interpretation: "Morgan as a sub works for the team, and if she starts and that works well now I have to make a choice. I don't want to do that, too much thinking."
Morgan doesn't start because she isn't a 90 minute forward. It's that simple. No way she can give you those runs for 90 mins, so she is subbed-in vs a tired back line, and maybe she slips past someone. Or you could start Morgan and sub in, I don't know, Leroux or Noguera. Leroux or Nog would never take time from Morgan. Why is Press still playing volleyball with the U23 squad? This is the girl Mike Lyons wanted to start over Abby at MagicJack, who carried their offense in 2 playoff games, won Rookie of the Year with NO coach and College Player but Pia is saying she can't get a couple of minutes in friendlies to see what she has. What she has is Brasilian type football skills at the offensive end for 90 mins, and that's a killer when you are selling Morgan as your next Abby or Hamm. Anyway, that's the way life goes. Is Pia gone after the Olympics? This squad won't win the Olympics either. Chalk an upset to France. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq-lKuR1rzg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq-lKuR1rzg[/ame] :20, :34 Not bad against the USA's #1 keeper since Hope is on holiday leave.
I agree w/ the general sentiments that Pia does not blood new talent and is continues to use players who are not the best for their positions. HOWEVER, this is the last game before Olympic qualifying in a mere 8 weeks. The same pitfalls that existed in WC qualifying will exist in this tournament and we will have to be at our sharpest to advance. I think this was a good move - to play the regular starters in the new formation to solidify the training. I agree with those who say we should let Pia go at the end of her contract.