i just realized the swedish announcer could speak japanese and I couldnt tell the difference. remarkable resemblance
Thanks, W/B. Norway really looked like they'd already conceded defeat in that one, even when it was tied.
As predicted the most experienced and talented (in every sector) team will be at Rio...Kudos Sverige.
was kind of expecting Sweden to win this tournament with Netherlands having the outside shot as they were also hosting the tournament. Congrats Sweden!
oh, well, now Norway will focus on 2017 Euro. My question (hindsight) is: would having C. Pedersen on this tournament roster have made a difference (super sub, perhaps)? She could have been that extra goal or two? However, I think it ultimately boils down to mentality. Norway have a solid team but they still need to cultivate the killer mentality cool:they used to have it, BTW, they were afraid of no team and OFTEN beat the USA). The USA has that killer instinct/confidence - even if they are playing shitty at times, they come out the winner in the end almost every time/tournament! Overall, I like the look of this Norwegian team and it truly has some superb talent! I am optimistic!
a shame this tourney came and went without seeing any live streamed links/feed backs. Don't think any new fwds like C Pedersen would of been the answer/ I found two problems with Norway 1) they needed former coach Pellurud's more direct approach, the new coach went all 'technocrat' with a more passing game that took more time to develope and didn't give near enough chances to the Hegerberg/Hansen combo, who's services to them was poor anyways 2) Norway didn't have a strong midfielder this time like Stensland. She did a yeoman's job in the 2013 Euros, and was primary responsible for that teams success
All the games were live on Eurosport and local tv channels ( Swedish and Dutch), I saw bits of them without problems.
Hmm yes Norway's problems are due to missing a player who played most of the Switzerland match. Norway's main problem is mental, and this was true under Pellerud too. They just lose cohesion under pressure; we saw this with the early goals against Sweden in this tournament and Germany in the WC, and when England scored on their two first chances in the WC. Suddenly they just stop trying to win duels, and even when they do there's nobody to pick up the ball. At least with the early goals they manage to reset after half an hour or so; the end of the England match pretty much boiled down to Hegerberg chasing the ball all over the pitch while everyone else looked on. Against Switzerland (and Sweden, for that matter) they did generate enough chances to finish, but there was this sense that everything was a hail-mary where people would just shoot (and miss) whenever they got vaguely into position instead of trying to build up an attack or pass to teammates in better positions. That said, I do agree that missing a solid core is a part of this problem. Ahead of the WC Rønning got made captain for the first time in her career (over Mjelde, who had captained most of the earlier matches where Stensland was out), only to spend most of the matches injured and then getting subbed off for injury in the first half against England. Finjord makes Mjelde captain again and tries to build the midfield around her and Mykjåland, only for Mykjåland to be injured for most of the build-up to this tournament; barely getting cleared to play at all. So just having everyone available and being able to field the same team for a few months straight instead of constantly changing constellations (which Pellerud also did in the run-up to the WC) would probably go a long way.
Fun trivial fact: Sweden is the only team to qualify to all Olympic Women Soccer tournaments. Brazil and USA are the only other teams that been in all but as hosts they could skip qualifying for one of the tournaments, USA in 1996 and Brazil this year.
I was replying to the other poster/we're both from across the Atlantic, and I for one couldn't find a single live link to any of the games this last Saturday. Weren't they missing their sharpshooter, Gullbrandsen, too?/she got a few goals for Norway back in 2113/2115
I don't know as I'd say "skip qualifying." There was no qualification tournament for any teams in 1996 (or in 2000). Participation in those Olympics was based solely on placement in the previous WWC. So the US would have qualified anyway for 1996, having come in 3rd at the 95 WWC, but yes, they were automatically granted a slot as hosts...so your point stands. I just like to be precise (some might call it nit-picky...).
USWNT has won a medal in every World Cup, Olympics, and CONCACAF tournament they've ever participated in. Same for the Gold Cup, and now the SheBelieves Cup. They have always finished 3rd place or better. It really puts things in perspective for how bad Sermanni did at the 2014 Algarve Cup (finishing in 7th place). That was an absolute choke job.
Gulbrandsen wasn't missing; she was left out, and spent the tournament being the a TV pundit. Ditching her from the team was one of the first things Finjord did. Bauser and I had a bit of a discussion about it in the Norway thread, but it seemed like the right decision to me cos from everything that came out in the media she was turning into a locker room cancer. Didn't fit into the formation, generally negative attitude and it seemed like her main motivation for being in the squad was collecting the stipend you get from being in the squad.
the most exciting team in this tourney was Netherlands, but that was in part because their defense was simply atrocious! Where they concede the goal is one of the poorest give away's perhaps in the history of soccer! Despite missing such an important player like Lieke Martens in their offense, they were able to finish in 2nd place. But please. Dutch coach, if you want to win, find some more able defenders, at least, never start play from the back; I mean we've seen Japan got destroyed at the AFC simply because their opponents switched to high pressure on top/It's the IN thing these days! Another brilliant game from Manon Melis. Once she joins the Seattle, it will definitely be the strongest team in the world! Screw the NWSL, I would like to see the Reign take on the USWNT! here's highlights =p retty intense stuff(can't find highlights of the NOR/SWI game though)
I see your point. But using the top teams from the WWC as qualification for the Olympic is a valid qualification. UEFA still use that method And yes technically one could say that the USA did qualify but since they would have got a spot anyway I would not.