The draw is over. Now it's the time for experimental line-ups and overconfidence! Which teams are looking strongest at the moment?
Mmm, my doubt is that teams that look too much strong right now, at about 4 months from the actual WWC, could flop in June. The moment to peak is not right now, but a little later throughout the year. Having said that, France look brilliant and they are the host, so they have to be counted among the favourites. They have an history of failures in big tournaments, though, that can't be easily discounted...
Overconfidence? If BS posters are anything to go by, everyone dunks on all the perceived shortcomings of their own team until and unless they actually overperform. X'-D And don't forget the WWC Hosts Quarterfinal Curse! ;-D I definitely agree with this part... Even after all the spring tournaments are done, it's hard to tell who's best suited to make a deep run in the upcoming WWC I'm also a bit more interested (at the moment) in seeing which minnows and mid-tier teams are gonna make the group stage interesting.
Re: Overconfidence - you're right, but look outside of our sensible bigsoccer bubble. The overconfidence is rising everywhere around the globe! Canada "can win against any team on any given day", England: "I have a team that's ready to win", Sweden "can handle the best team in the world", Scotland "can go from underdogs to serious contenders", Australia...well don't ask Australia right now. ..... Real overconfidence is saying "we will win". Teams tend to say "we can win", so they aren't sued by angry fans. But they can't all be right. I didn't really think the Reggae Girlz would even make it, having been the world #64 team, but Jamaica did it, with a little help from the qualifying system. So, maybe Jamaica will top their group (They "can" top the group) Also, they've got this song to see them through
Why won't they let Ettie hold the trophy? - https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/news/fifa-women-s-world-cuptm-trophy-tour-kicks-off-in-paris The Cup will be in these cities: They haven't announced when they're lighting the World Cup flame
Why wouldn't she play? I'm not really up on the news on the women's side so this is a bit surprising that the player of the year winner would not play in the biggest competition.
Vera Pauw joins Thailand's coaching staff as technical advisor. #ChangsuekNews ยูฟ่า ให้ความช่วยเหลือสมาคมฯ ด้วยการส่ง เวร่า เพาว์ ยกระดับ ชบาแก้ว เตรียมทีมก่อนลุยบอลโลก!#ชบาเเก้ว #Thailand #TogetherAsOne #เชียร์ไทยใจเดียวกัน #บอลไทย #ฟุตบอลไทย #นักฟุตบอลทีมชาติไทย #มาดามแป้ง #Chabakeaw pic.twitter.com/LIjn3FwAk4— Changsuek - ฟุตบอลทีมชาติไทย (@Changsuek_TH) February 22, 2019
Ada Hegerberg is absent, and VAR is present. - https://www.philly.com/soccer/var-womens-world-cup-video-replay-fifa-referees-20190204.html (Thanks @lil_one for link/info)
From the tickets thread: 🚨 TICKET UPDATE 🚨Opening Match🇳🇬v🇫🇷2 x Semi FinalsThe Final.Tickets are now unavailable for 5/52 #FIFAWWC games. ----Match d'Ouverture.🇳🇬-🇫🇷Les demi-finales.La finale.Il n'y a plus de billets disponibles pour 5/52 matches de la #FIFAWWC.Ettie is very happy!🐥🙌 pic.twitter.com/EnNaIwOxoC— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) March 9, 2019
...thought she had said she wanted to spend more time with family. maybe the thais twisted her arm by offering a pretty penny for tips on how to beat the u.s.
IFAB has issued today changes to LotG I'll leave this here with suggestion to read the summary before WWC... ⚽️ NOW AVAILABLE: summary and detailed explanation of all changes to the Laws of the Game 2019/2020, including:➡️ Handball➡️ Yellow/red cards for team officials➡️ Substitutions➡️ Goal kicks and free kicksFind out more: https://t.co/X5R8FxuC4x pic.twitter.com/Vwyp8i9UW0— The IFAB (@TheIFAB) March 12, 2019 Summary of the main changes 2019/20 (PDF) Changes and clarifications 2019/20 (PDF)
some excerpts: DROP BALL •If the ball touches the referee (or another match official) and goes into the goal, team possession changes or a promising attack starts, a dropped ball is awarded FREE KICKS • When there is a ‘wall’ of three or more defenders, the attackers are not allowed within 1m (1 yd) of the wall; an attacker less than 1m (1yd) from the ‘wall’ when the kick is taken will be penalised with an indirect free kick HANDBALL • Deliberate handball remains an offence • The following ‘handball’ situations, even if accidental, will be a free kick: • the ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm • a player gains control/possession of the ball after it has touches their hand/arm and then scores, or creates a goal-scoring opportunity • the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which has made their body unnaturally bigger • the ball touches a player’s hand/arm when it is above their shoulder (unless the player has deliberately played the ball which then touches their hand/arm) • The following will not usually be a free kick, unless they are one of the above situations: • the ball touches a player’s hand/arm directly from their own head/body/foot or the head/body/foot of another player who is close/near • the ball touches a player’s hand/arm which is close to their body and has not made their body unnaturally bigger •if a player is falling and the ball touches their hand/arm when it is between their body and the ground to support the body (but not extended to make the body bigger) •If the goalkeeper attempts to ‘clear’ (release into play) a throw-in or deliberate kick from a team-mate but the ‘clearance’ fails, the goalkeeper can then handle the ball KICK OFF • The team that wins the toss can now choose to take the kick-off or which goal to attack (previously they only had the choice of which goal to attack) PENALTY KICK • The goalkeeper must not be touching the goalposts/crossbar/nets; they must not be moving • The goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot on/in line with the goal line when the kick is taken; cannot stand behind the line SUBSTITUTES • A player who is being substituted must leave the field by the nearest point on the touchline/goal line (unless the referee indicates the player can leave quickly/ immediately at the halfway line or a different point because of safety, injury etc.) TEAM OFFICIALS • A team official guilty of misconduct will be shown a YC (caution) or RC (sendingoff)*; if the offender cannot be identified, the senior coach who is in the technical area at the time will receive the YC/RC
It's official now! CONFIRMED: The FIFA Council today ratified that Video Assistant Referees (VAR) WILL be used at the #FIFAWWC this summer in France. pic.twitter.com/qSX10wIGjL— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) March 15, 2019
Can we please, please talk more about the teams and players, not the refereeing or how men's football needs more money? These were the February/March tournaments: The Algarve Cup in Portugal, with 7 World Cup teams The SheBelieves Cup was won by England (7pts) ahead of the USA (5pts) - the hosts drew with England and a young Japan team. The Cyprus Cup was won by non-qualifiers North Korea on penalties over Italy, in a 3-3 final with 2 Korean red cards. The other WWC teams did poorly - Thailand, Nigeria and South Africa. (In the WWC Asian qualifiers, North Korea were ousted by South Korea, after a ban on the North meant their team was unseeded.) Australia looked as strong as ever in a home Cup of Nations tournament, and beat 2nd-placed South Korea 4-1, ahead of an unimpressive New Zealand and Argentina. About the Algarve and the U.S. women's team: Do you think it might harm the U.S.'s World Cup chances that they make so few away trips? It's totally understandable that they hold so many games and tournaments at home, there are lots of reasons to. (They've got 5 home friendlies coming up.) Maybe they would've learned more this year by playing in a less glamorous tournament overseas, at the Algarve Cup or something like that, against teams they don't meet so often. The SheBelieves this time really felt like the same old, same old.
I am not sure about what the ideal mix of preparation-matches to WWC should be for USWNT. It has to be said that recently they had made a trip to Europe also, and it hadn't been brilliant (indisputable loss to France, minimal-margin win to Spain). I wonder if they'll somehow manage to peak in June or if France 2019 could happen to be the first Women's World Cup without USA in the top 4... It's some days I wanted to ask you, @sbahnhof, and a WWC 2019 thread looks like a good place to do it: why Footix and not Ettie, in your new avatar?
No.The team they play wouldn't improve playing elsewhere but probably the time to adapt to new surroundings would be shorter if they did it more often. The veterans have done it so often, and mostly lived abroad too, so the impact will not be big and only the first or possible first two games should be impacted. But USA will win their first game anyway and a slightly higher risk to loss point against Sweden should not really change their chances to go all the way in the WWC.
Well, I'll have to play the long game The U.S. haven't looked very strong away from home (they've only had 7 away friendlies in 4 years: five 1-0 wins, the draw in Canada and the France defeat). It's a shame the U.S. aren't playing the Netherlands anytime soon. Assuming they both win their World Cup groups or the Dutch finish 2nd, they can't meet in the tournament unless they both reach the final. (They've played each other once in five years)
News this week: FIFA rankings, updated this week, have the USA 1st, Germany 2nd, England 3rd and France 4th, but it's very tight. The England men's manager Gareth Southgate has offered to help the women's team. Champions the U.S. remain top, while Japan have risen to 7th (photo: Nicki Dugan Pogue, cc-by-sa) The "FIFA President and Secretary General earn more than Women's World Cup winners", oh that's not good China: Coach Jia Xiuquan is really playing up the team's chances at the World Cup, which is...just... please play down their chances! I'm begging you. Now is not the time for overconfidence. South Africa and Jamaica will meet on 7 April in a friendly in Durban. Both teams are tournament debutants: - https://www.iol.co.za/sport/soccer/...ild-up-to-womens-world-cup-in-france-20043584 (Archived) Japan: Aya Miyami talked about the team's 2011 World Cup victory. The 2019 match ball will be the "Adidas Conext 19". It's got a "Thermally bonded seamless construction for a more predictable trajectory", which sounds a bit boring, but they've also set the ball on fire to add excitement.
I have an issue with this idea, at the start of the article: "six words destined to follow Hegerberg for the foreseeable future" Why? The sexism by the Martin Solveig should be the one answering for that question, not Hegerberg.
Mod note: modified thread title to include "news." If anybody objects, let me know and I'll remove it.
🙏 Tout le Paris FC souhaite bon courage à toutes les personnes mobilisées pour ce drame qui touche l'un des plus beaux monuments de Paris. https://t.co/0bhiU0p11L— Paris FC (@ParisFC) April 15, 2019 The Paris Saint-Germain family will provide long-term support for the reconstruction of Notre-Dame de Paris.For more information: https://t.co/2IRVVtjQi8— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 16, 2019 Also, a lot of U.S. sports fans were sad because they thought someone burned down Notre Dame College in Ohio, so they've donated $2950000000000000000 (that's not true)