My issue is that you said earlier that Becky was more at fault. I never stated that Becky didn't make a mistake, but I do think that Naeher should NEVER have put her in that situation to begin with. Hence, the majority of fault lies with the keeper who can clearly see who's in front of her. Why didn't she pass out wide to begin with? I could see that a mistake was coming before Naeher even passed it. The Spanish players were lurking and waiting for something like that.
Again, my point was not that Becky was blameless, but that Naeher should get the majority of blame. I don't think Becky expected Naeher to pass it to her, knowing there were several Spanish players around her. It was a bad decision by Naeher to begin with, regardless what Becky did with the "bad" situation she was put into afterwards. The only good thing is that this mistake happened against Spain. I don't expect to see something so stupid happen against France.
I totally disagree. If the reverse were to happen, where a defenders makes a bad backpass to the keeper who has a tough time clearing it and the attacker jumps on it and scores, you'd blame the keeper? Sorry, but that makes no sense. I always blame the person who starts the bad play, because the players around them are not expecting it and have less time to properly react.
Actually, Spain deserve more credit, because they played with more heart, grit, and determination today. It's embarrassing scoring only PK's to win. Although, I do credit Rapinoe's nerves of steel in making both of them.
On a much much lighter and happier note: I caught this engagement right after he proposed prematch!!!!! Got to blow it up quite a bit I mean, how was she going to say no before a Round of 16 Match. Best wishes to them. They were obviously happy and I served as their impromptu engagement photographer with their phone. Much more to follow
Sauerbrunn got put into a terrible position (dumbest pass ever), but she had the time and space to recover from it. Poor first touch and not aware of who was around her. I'd say it was 50-50.
Thanks although I wasn't a fan of our fouling tactics (mostly against Morgan it seems). Reminds me of our men's team back in the days of Clemente (pre tiki-taka). But our coach surprised me in how he tactically approached the game, probably gave us the best chance against you by playing a physical, high pressure game.
Can someone explain what Morgan's role was today? The US got nothing from that position, but I can't really tell if Morgan played poorly or if the strategy was wrong or if Spain was just fantastic. Rapinoe is not fast enough or quick enough to play the role she is being asked to play. Press or Pugh are necessary for France. Mewis and Lavelle were very good. Can Ertz switch seemlessly to CB and bring Horan in? Might need Ertz to cover for Dunn.
You are neglecting the good work that was done to get US players in the penalty area with possession of the ball. This is extremely important. I have always lambasted the USMNT for not dribbling more into the penalty area.
Oh, I didn't neglect them. The difference between the men and women is that the USWNT (as one of the best teams in the world) is expected to get into those positions and create scoring opportunities.
I felt bad for Spain. They were equal to the USA. Clumsy, unlucky defending resulted into 2 unintentional "soft" penalties. Just getting into the penalty area with possession of the ball is such a huge tactical advantage.
I actually think Rapinoe played well. One of those games where analytics will probably show how good she was, even apart from the two penalties
Pinoe is clutch as Hell. Even though she was on her last legs for about the last 25 minutes. Spain did a really good job of stretching our defense wide, and the defense and goalkeeper held up pretty well. However, you can't have that kinda howler by a goalkeeper in the World Cup. I disagree with the commentary that put some of the blame on Sauerbrunn, she was set up with a hospital ball facing the goal, and was probably unable to hear anyone vocalizing a warning or anything. We are really lucky it didn't cause us advancement. Teams that foul as much as Spain, need to be punished by taking free kicks better than the US did. Once again we were guilty of really poor finishing. I'm not all that impressed by 6 or 7 shots that missed by a couple feet, you need to make the damn goalkeeper work. We must have had at least 5 occasions where a midfielder either picked off an outlet pass or dribbled through the midfield, and was running at the middle of the goal, with a number of options, and either made an absolute terrible decision, a poor pass, or even poorer shot. Really need to do better in this situation. I would've strongly considered making my subs earlier than Ellis did, but they won. We're going to need to up our game considerably to beat France.
It won't happen but I would like to see a formation change vs France. A 4-1-3-2 sounds good to me. Dunn, Saurbrunn, Dahlkemper, and O'Hara in the back. Ertz as a defensive midfielder Mewis, Horan, and Lavelle Press and Heath If not that, Ellis needs to figure out a way to get Mewis and Horan on the field at the same time. I also like Davidson better than Dunn. I'm probably in the minority on that one, though. I think Davidson is a better defender and I would give Dunn the edge in the attack.
For me, debating whether Naeher or Sauerbrunn was more at fault is pointless. They both made bad plays. The goal is on both of them. Period. What worries me most about Naeher isn't her ability to make saves, but her poor judgment. (As was obvious today.) In the group stage games, I noticed a few times when Naeher almost lost long balls bouncing to her, with defenders charging at her. If I were the coach of France or any U.S. opponent, I'd be telling my players to put a high priority on challenging Naeher in any situation where she has to make a decision on what to do with the ball.
Heath as a central forward? If we think Morgan had it rough, I don't know how it's going to go for a player with almost no senior experience centrally and who's not particularly built for hold up play and aerial challenges.
I suspect she was so surprised by the pass that she flubbed it. Hence, why she deserves some of that blame, but she shouldn't have been put in that situation. I feel like Naeher wasn't respectful of Spain by making that pass.