With the roster changes, here's what I would do. I know there is no chance Pia does what I would. ----------Solo Mitts Bock LePeilbet Chalu HAO------Boxx-----Averbuch-------Heath ---ARod----------Abby I'd like to play HAO up top but I'm not sure White is defensively able to cover Laudehr. Watching HAO & Laudehr go head to head will be fun. And ARod is the only other forward from the original list. There's no way I'm starting Masar. I'm tempted to move Bock to the midfield and start Whitehill in the middle. There's more German speed coming through midfield. I'm not 100% happy starting newbie Averbuch but Lloyd will not consistently defend Kulig or Bresonik running through the middle. And she played like crap during the WPS season. Subs: White for ARod at some point. Someone for Averbuch -- maybe send in Whitehill and move Bock up. Maybe move Lloyd in. Depends on how the game goes. Here's what I think Pia is likely to do. Solo Mitts Buehler LePeilbet Chalu HAO Boxx Lloyd Heath Abby ARod I assume the German lineup will look something like this: Angerer Peter Krahn Bartusiak Schmidt Garafrekes Bresonik Kulig Laudehr Prinz Grings Bajramaj and Mbabi will be two offensive subs. Lots of speed. Mittag could come on instead of one of those. The question is whether Bresonik is shifted to the backline since Hingst is out. She played left back at times in the Euro final to help cover Carney. She's also been a CB from time to time.
Are you presuming there that Peter will be right back and Schmidt left? Because I'd certainly expect it to be the opposite. I can't see Bresonik going in at left back instead of Peter, unless there's an injury involved. Since Neid loves Bartusiak, I can't see Bresonik going in for either her or Krahn either. Neid also has the defensive option of Fuss, who can play in any position in the backline (albeit with varying success...). Bresonik played at right back in the EURO final, which might be a possibility if Neid didn't trust either Schmidt or Fuss from the start. However, with Behringer out, my guess would be that Bresonik will be needed in the midfield, only moving back if/when Schmidt goes off. (I'd also expect Bresonik and Kulig to swap places in your diagram .) But all of this is pure speculation, of course . If I knew how Neid's mind worked, I'd be able to explain why Bartusiak makes the team.
Yes, you're right, of course. I did get it all backwards. I have trouble sorting out my left from my right. :blushes: Who would you start for the USA? You've watched enough WPS games (and soccer in general) to know the players. Come on. You know you want to
Yep, could see this happening for sure. Buehler and LePeilbet have played a few games together, so I see them starting together for that reason alone. Pia is in love with Lloyd. I was hoping Heath would take her place and Rapinoe would be a winger....but.... I'd be happy with White starting over Lloyd. I dont want Averbuch and Boxx on together... Maybe worst WNT team ever assembled to play an international friendly? ;-) sighs....
Originally Posted by kool-aide : Here's what I think Pia is likely to do. Solo Mitts Buehler LePeilbet Chalu HAO Boxx Lloyd Heath Abby ARod I agree. If I had this 18, I would go with Solo Mitts LePeilbet Whitehill Buehler HAO Boxx Heath Chalup Abby White And just so I get to say it first, Abby moves to midfield for the 2011 WC a la Akers. (laugh if you must........)
well, maybe not the worst. but i have no confidence in this team. the back line will be experimental, only one person in the engine room has been playing well, one wing player will definitely be starting only because rapinoe is injured, and up front, in my view, abby's size doesn't bother the germans as much as it does other teams. i like whitehill and lepeilbet in the back. buehler always looks clumsy to me. but pia seems to think that she's an international center back, and she sees them in practice every day during camp. so i defer to her. coach jon's first pia team is what i expect too. i just prefer whitehill to buehler that's all.
lol, ok, maybe not the worst..but..you know what i'm saying.. What i do love about this team is they always find a way to win...ie Olympics.. so, I'm looking forward to a good match. (please god) Nobody has really mentioned Wagner being completely shut out....
i'm hoping against hope for a good match too. even when she played for the sol this year, after being totally healthy, wagner was often just a step slow or just a class below what an international caliber player should be. maybe it will take her a full year to be back to the pinpoint passer/shooter at international speed of play that she needs to be on this team. i'm not surprised that she's not included. i'm surprised that lloyd and arod are. but, once again, i always say, the coach sees them in practice every day during camp. she picks the ones who play well there.
I think Wagner has had too many injuries to keep her at the international level. Too bad, but reality. I agree that this team is not that strong, but I think it has more to do with the gap in talent between the vets and the newbies. It's almost a half-generation thing where the most recent college grads (ages 22-27ish) aren't of the same talent as the older players. That's a rough age range and there are exceptions (Chalupny) but I don't think this group has tons of talent and depth. I blame April and Ryan for not developing this group. We are paying that price now. I do believe there is talent on the way. I like what I see in the college ranks right now I only wish Pia had called upon them for the Canadian games. I'm not sure a game vs. Germany in Germany is the smartest baptism for a newbie - that and it's during a crucial part of the college season.
With Silvia Neid being notoriously predicable, this will almost certainly be Germany's starting line-up. Unless of course Neid wants to experiment, but I doubt that. Germany will take this game seriously - maybe not quite as serious as the US, but seriously enough that they want to win. So expect this German line-up: ------------Angerer------------ Schmidt--Krahn--Bartusiak--Peter ------Bresonik------Kulig------- Garefrekes---------------Laudehr --------------Prinz------------- -------------Grings------------- Plus Bajramaj, da Mbabi and probably Mittag coming on in the second half.
Our back line is in a much better position then Germany's. Not having Hingst out there is a huge loss. She is the heart of their defense. We will be fine with amy, mitts and chalups out there. While Germany managed to beat norway without Hingst in the euros, they had some serious defensive breakdowns. Honestly, I think angerer owes Ariane for having such good keeper stats. Without her she suddenly looks very scorable on.
The problems Angerer had vs Norway on the corners stemmed in part (imo, of course) from the way Norway basically set up a semi-wall in front of her. That forced the German defenders to also setup right in front of her. And Hingst had little to do w/ that great save to preserve the win against Italy. That was all Angerer.
I've thought about the lineup some more. I'd like to see White start up top w/ Abby, not ARod. ARod is faster for straight speed than White but White is much better technically w/ the ball and her runs. (yes, I'm basing my eval on WPS games). I don't think Pia will do that (my thoughts on what she'll do remain unchanged--although, maybe she will start Whitehill in place of Buehler). I think we all hope Lloyd doesn't display her WPS form. eta: I think Buehler might get the start. There's a video up on ussoccer interviewing LePeilbet & Buehler in a way that makes me think she's getting the nod. sigh.