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  1. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    I think that's more the US media and some fans. Rapinoe can come across as pretty arrogant, but she doesn't really bother me in that sense. I did want Lalas to stop talking about the US lounging at their hotel during the Sweden-Netherlands match and thinking the World Cup was theirs. Van de Donk can call him rather arrogant all she wants.
     
  2. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    I agree that van der Gragt has an outside chance. Before the semifinals, I was going with Dahlkemper and Houghton. However, Dahlkemper lost White for England's first, and Houghton missed her penalty.

    Agreed on van Lunteren, but the problem is she's going up against Bronze, who's been pretty good and has gotten a lot of plaudits for her performances this World Cup.

    Agreed again on Groenen. I feel like there's going to only be enough room for one Dutch midfielder though, and that would most likely be Spitse. Chris Henderson and InStat have her highly ranked/rated throughout the tournament, and she's been pointed out a lot by the commentators and FOX crew. I did think Spitse was very solid against Canada and Japan, but Groenen's had the better tournament in my opinion. However, four assists will speak volumes to the people who decide the Best XI; it's kind of like Griezmann getting the Bronze Ball for his impact from dead ball situations.

    Edit: Unless the final goes terribly, I think van Veenandaal will be on the Best XI.
     
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  3. She has been like an octopus.
    Dreaming of Miedema grabbing the golden boot and Veenendaal having a clean sheet.
     
  4. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    Dreaming is an understatement in this case, but I suppose anything could happen.
     
  5. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    Where do those InStat statistics come from that Henderson publishes? Does he do them himself--or get them from a third party? If he compiles them himself, how: Does he watch every match in slow motion or what? I'm curious. I'm never quite sure what to make of his "top-rated" list for a game, either: Scoring a goal will almost always gets a player on the "top-rated" top 5, even if the player seemed to have a very average or weak game otherwise.

    It's funny how it takes a while sometimes before one notices the consistent contributions of some players. For it me I came to appreciate Bloodworth and Groenen at about the same time, and starting about a year ago, Van Lunteren, who is a friggin' rock on the right. She gets beat once in a while, isn't great all the time--who is?--but she brings it almost every game. It's a weird thing about the 4-3-3: It is a classic soccer formation, and fullbacks are very important to its success, but it is a /very/ demanding position to play and really good outside backs are not easy to find. You've got have some pace and athleticism, for sure, have a big motor to get up and down the field for 90+ minutes, be physical, get into the attack. It's hard.
     
  6. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    Alex Morgan could end up with the Golden Boot but England's Ellen White easily has been the best forward in the tournament. Morgan scored 5 of her goals against Thailand.
     
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  7. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    He just posts the statistics and rankings. InStat actually does them. I generally look at them with a grain of salt. I do find the team comparisons (key passes charts and major stats tables) a bit useful though.
     
  8. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    Yeah, that's how it is. I thought Groenen had better matches against Cameroon and Italy than she had against Sweden, but no surprise that the Sweden match is the one where she shows up in the top 5. (That strike is her single best moment this World Cup so far though.) On a larger scale, I haven't been crazy impressed with Rapinoe's play as a whole this World Cup, but with five goals scored and Lieke Martens not replicating her Euro 2017 level, who else do you put in the Best XI at left forward/winger? [If they don't use a 4-3-3, I think Rapinoe would find her way onto any Best XI formation (i.e. left sided flank player in a 4-4-2, left sided shuttler in a 4-4-2 diamond, left sided attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1, etc.).
     
  9. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #334 kolabear, Jul 5, 2019
    Last edited: Jul 5, 2019
    I'm not thinking right now of "going forward", I'm thinking of Sunday and what tactical options Wiegman has (besides Roord and Beerensteyn who are both practically guaranteed of playing a large role in the Final)

    Having read this reply, I really hope Wiegman's considering among her chess moves playing Dekker sometime in the 2nd half if Netherlands is behind. Even if she rules it out, knowing she has something better, it means to me she's thinking with the necessary amount of creativity when you need to change the game.

    You bring Dekker in and reposition Bloodworth either to a) midfield, pushing up Spitse or van de Donk to get them closer to the attack, or b) Marten's spot on left wing on basis that she has "the ball skills, a strong leg - and she's left-footed"

    I agree it's very risky to play Dekker and Van de Gragt together, but I'm talking about situations where you have to take risks, situations Netherlands are at great risk anyway of finding themselves in - down a goal or two in the 2nd half and not getting enough on the attack, needing to get players who can be gamechangers in places on the field where they can change the game.

    I'm guessing here, but it seems to me that Bloodworth (played somewhere higher up) and Spitse or Van de Donk (also played higher up) have a better chance of changing the game than anyone else on the bench besides Roord and Beerenstyne, who I assume are going to be already on the field when it's time for one last tactical gamble. That's why I think subbing in Dekker could be a creative yet logical solution.

    The other 2nd half possibility is van Es on the left wing since she's "a good crosser of the ball"
     
  10. Gilmoy

    Gilmoy Member+

    Jun 14, 2005
    Pullman, Washington
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Does she really use the umlaut in her own name? She uses 'oe' on her own jersey, team bio page, her Twitter, and her Instagram. I trust she knows how she prefers to spell her own name :)

    I understand that the name may originate from German with 'ö' (and others in Germany may still use that spelling), but perhaps her ancestors have been in the Netherlands (or elsewhere) long enough that they changed it themselves.
     
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  11. Orange14

    Orange14 Moderator
    Staff Member

    Apr 27, 2007
    Bethesda, MD
    Club:
    AFC Ajax
    Nat'l Team:
    Netherlands
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  12. kolabear

    kolabear Member+

    Nov 10, 2006
    los angeles
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That's interesting and I never thought of that. Is Dutch the only Germanic language which has dropped the umlaut or other diacritical marking ( like ø ) in favor of the spelling "oe"? Making it look more like English? (And I'm not counting English because the "oe" or "ö" sound isn't native to the language but is only used in transposing or transliterating from other languages)
     
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  13. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    One thing the Dutch HAVE to do defensively in this game is mark Lavelle tightly, assuming she plays, and I (unfortunately!) heard that she seems to be OK after being pulled against England after apparently tweaking her hammy. Lavelle is elusive and dangerous with the ball and will go to goal. She's been good in at least two U.S. matches because she's found to receive passes in the U.S. attacking half, and then she makes runs with the ball and causes problems--and she is a pretty good striker of the ball.

    The Dutch did a good job of marking Asllani--the Swedish playmaker--in the last game. I think it was one reason for the victory. Spitse and Van de Donk absolutely dogged her in the match. They need to do the same with Lavelle--put a body on her, make it hard for her.
     
  14. Lambik

    Lambik New Member

    NAC Breda
    Netherlands
    Nov 10, 2018
    “Oe” in Dutch is native to Dutch and is pronounced as in “shoe”. The “ö” or “ø” sound is transcribed as “eu”, same as in French. “Groenen” is a normal Dutch name - it doesn’t even make sense to write it with umlaut as it would change the pronunciation.
     
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  15. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    totally agree with your assesment of Rose Lavelle, her emergence of a solid play maker has definatly giving the US a step up. She's now starting over Mallory Pugh, who was more of a one dimensional, slasher type who starting from about 2016-18,

    Disagree with Asllani, I think she actually looked good vs Holland as compared to other games. While she's played for some of the major pro clubs, she was only a half starter. So her playing a major factor was kinda of scary, but then what would you expect if we only got 3 midfielders to deal with her or/vs other squads with 4-5 mids? And that's why I'm surprised with some of the other posters talk about how the mids need to take charge when the Dutch briliance in the past was about for going the midfield & shooting out directly to the 3 fwds on top/ If Martens isn't available, then she needs to be replaced by a genuine/natural fwd. Not finding one/or Wiegmann giving zero playing time for any possible fwd replacements has to fall on her(wasn't there a promising striker with an eastern euro sounding name?)
    the only reason Ellen White scored all those goals cuz with Neville's plan, it was all about getting the ball to her. So it was almost like nobody else was allowed to take a shot on the team, lol
    when opposing teams were bunkering, it's like Wiegman decided on the sam type of game plan & only get Miedema to take the shots. But again, the Euro 2017 success was about getting the ball to the wides(hence Martens won mvp of the tourney as well as poy from FIFA)
     
  16. Afaik we never used the umlaut, not even in "proto" Dutch. It is only used in words that originate from foreign languages.
    We always used a combination of vowels to express certain sounds.
     
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  17. Lambik

    Lambik New Member

    NAC Breda
    Netherlands
    Nov 10, 2018
    Absolutely right. Funny how English native speakers try to change Dutch “oe” into “ö”, yet forget they have the same spelling and pronunciation in “shoe” :)
     
  18. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    It's Victoria Pelova, member of the Dutch team at U-20 WWC last year.
     
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  19. With such a first name we should field her asap:D
     
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  20. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    Pelova is a very promising talent--played some in the Algarve Cup--but she's a midfielder and not a forward. Beerensteyn is the only squad forward other than the two starters who has played in this World Cup. There are a pair of Jansen sisters on the squad who play in the Dutch league and who are both forwards--and pretty decent ones--but neither has played a minute in the tournament. I think both are on the roster--it might be only one.
     
  21. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
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  22. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    I was getting ready to post that the Dutch win against Sweden was looking better and better as the Swedes were dominating England and up 2-0--and then suddenly England came roaring back.
     
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  23. Ethan Frank

    Ethan Frank Member+

    Chelsea
    United States
    Jun 11, 2019
    From the little I’ve seen, Pelova indeed doesn’t look like a forward at the senior international level.

    I think one of the Jansens has gotten a few minutes this Cup against Canada.
     
  24. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    What is,the Swedish for bunker? As it pretty much covered their entire vocabulary in this game lol

    But the world take note; three 'direct' style teams go 1, 2, 3
     
  25. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    BUMMER this one facebook page called World Wide Soccer, has just posted "Lieke Martens has been ruled out for the final"

    on the other hand it is facebook, it could be fake news!
     

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