Again the question is NOT "Is she good enough?" Rather it is "Does she make the team better?" Her individual skills are, while not meaningless, just a part of the question and it is up to the coach and only the coach to answer that question. Clearly, in this case, the coach felt the answer was no so she was sent home. A player, no matter how skilled, that poisons the team for whatever reason is simply not worth keeping around. Remember it very well may be that her skills simply, in the opinion of the coach, do not translate to the national team very well. There are plenty of players world wide that are stars at their position at the club level that just do not work out well at the international level and she may be one of those. We have no real way to judge that as we have not been privy to the process whereby the decision was made to send her home. I have simply been trying to point out that it is not about political correctness but it is rather abut the team and how they play together. The fact is she is not on the team and really that ends the discussion.
One of the great ironies, at least to me, is both Short and Sonnett would be "Krieger type" OBs but Krieger herself can't get on the team.
So, is there now a requirement for all players to wear an LGBT logo on their uniform in order to play?
Had a dream that the USWNT lost all 3 of these matches, and Jill was fired. It was just a dream though during REM sleep, which you can't control. Most dreams that happen in REM sleep do not come true, but it did feel vivid. Jill Ellis did look younger in the dream for some reason. And looked more like a Cameron Diaz on a bad hair day, which was bizarre.
Well younger. I wouldn't bet on Sonnett over Krieger in a race. But my point was all Ellis preached about since she got there is OB that can get forward and effect the offense. The only one who fits that bill is Dunn who she doesn't seem to want to play there.
Sonnett is a lot quicker than many realize. Watch the play in the link below. https://www.foxsports.com.au/footba...n/news-story/9b448d0cf992383bcee764c576f05d52
For anyone going to the Brazil game in Chicago/Bridgeview: Are they just not selling tickets in the Skydeck?
Good question. I am going to the Red Stars game tomorrow at Toyota Park and will ask. Will post if I find out something. I bought my tickets in the Harlem corner lower level. Good enough for me.
Thanks. I've got a 6 year old and an 8 year old in my group if we go, so standing is probably a no-go. (also a group of 7 so need to keep the costs affordable) Plus the Skydeck is my favorite spot to watch at TP... Best view of tactics and formation.
Hear, hear! Neither Naeher nor Harris do it for me. Some people complained about Hope Solo, which I could never understand. Yes, she was a bit of an odd cat, but she was such a good goalkeeper. She had loads of confidence and you could tell it rubbed off on her defenders. It might take a decade to find another like her.
Most good/great GK's are "strange." When I coached youth soccer (U10-U15) I tended to put my "flakes" either all the forward or all the way back. Naeher and Harris seem MUCH too stable to make great GKs. However I have not seen any sufficiently unstable personalities in the US system. Maybe the selection process tends to filter out the "crazies" under the current system. I kind of doubt that Solo or Scurry could make it even into the pool these days. They would be a bit too hard to manage or control.
I am quite sure that the lineup will be pretty close. However a huge reason for this series of friendlies is to simulate a tournament and to see how all the pieces fit for the future so there will be changes. The changes will probably be both in the personnel and the formation. Australia will be a pretty tough nut to crack so the level of changes may well reflect that.
I liked crazy Hope Solo. Unfortunately the comment towards Sweden was the last straw and she was blackballed from USWNT after that. She had another World Cup left in her and many of her detractors don't want to admit it but she's better than both of our current goalkeepers. Those current goalkeepers we have aren't even the best in the World. I'm not sure if we will be able to win another tournament without a strong goalkeeper.
What have I learned from ToN2018? Naho is funny. Four countries. Four cultures. Many traditions. Infinite inside jokes. 😂#SoccerUnites at #ToN2018. pic.twitter.com/1RalDf5SKL— U.S. Women's National Soccer Team (@USWNT) July 27, 2018
Off field behavior, unless it is illegal or poisons the locker room, should not impact a player's status. The "politically correct" climate that has started to be prevalent in professional sports has become somewhat sickening. It is taking all the flavor out of sports and it means that players are becoming bland and without depth of personality for fear that they might say something that offends somebody. There are valid off field reasons that Hope was ostracized from the US national team and even soccer in general BUT her comments about Sweden should not have played a part. The fact that it did simply shows that the real cowards in the whole situation was US soccer, They just could not stand the fact that they had a player that was strong in her beliefs and vocal about it so they used her word as an excuse to remove her from the squad rather than stating the real reasons they wanted her gone. Hope was, and probably could have continued to be, a very good and maybe even great goalkeeper but the end of her career has been tarnished by her off field behavior and by US soccer's overreaction to her outspoken nature. In my opinion, if she cleared her legal hurdles, she should still be playing both at the club and country level. Oh, just for completeness, I met her once and had a conversation with her and I have to say that I did not like her much. BUT, if I had the chance, I would play her in goal for any team I have ever coached. She was/is that good.
Solo's detached labrum probably needed the massively invasive repair at some point. I dunno if she could have tolerated another 3+ years of that pain and still have maintained the same level of effectiveness.
I just looked up the Brazilian goalkeeper Aline's height, she is only 5'4" (162.56 cm). That's crazy short! I thought it was funny because after the match, most of the Brazilian field players looked taller than her.
Solo was an excellent keeper but she's got some rough edges personally--reminds me of a Trump supporter. Quite a bit of mouth--and when you hear about physical fights with family members, you're into trailer-park territory.
My take... I had the impression the US came into this match looking to avenge what they considered an embarrassing defeat this time last year yet somehow it ended with the coach and players over the moon that they earned a last second draw with the Aussies. Wow. The Americans should be treating this as another loss and looking to fix things. Next they'll be saying their WC goal is to make the semis. Not only r the Australians (and some others) not afraid of the US any more, but the US has lost a bit of that swagger. US used to consider second place at a WC not good enough. Now it seems they consider a last second comeback for a draw a fine days work. Things have changed.