Who's yer Olympic roster if it was chosen today (when is it chosen, anyway?) I'll take a shot at it: Naeher + 1 Brunn, Abby, Davidson, O'Hara, Sonnett, Dunn Ertz, Mewis, Horan, Rose, Carli, Pinoe, Tobin, Williams, Press Last one is Sullivan, I guess. I'm a Brian fan. I think she's great when healthy. But, I've always liked Sullivan's game too. I'm going with Andro's choice.
Differentiating like this never quite works in practice, but I would like to see each poster's prediction (of the coach's final roster of 18) and his/her own personal preference (if he/she were the coach) - assuming those two rosters are different.
Politics and USSF salaries play more into this than just form or skill or potential. But I would do: Naeher, Franch Brunn, Abby, Davidson, O'Hara, Short, Dunn Ertz, Mewis, Horan, Rose, Sullivan Pinoe, Tobin, Williams, Press, Pugh Sonnet is more of a mascot, and is making a good living being the comic relief. But she is not on the same level as the other women on the team. She is a fighter though. Carli is in decline. Pugh could do what Vladko was asking McDonald and Williams and Press to do from the wings. Hopefully, her move to SBFC flips a switch as she is better technically than McDonald. But, like I said, I doubt Sonnet is dropped. Carli is being paid too much, and Morgan will be brought back no matter what.
Harris and Krieger will be on the roster over Franch and Davidson. They have attended the Alex Morgan school of self promotion over the past year or so and are very, very popular and money makers. They will not split up the couple. And yeah, unfortunately, Morgan will go no matter what. Everyone hold your breath and pray Crystal Dunn doesn't get hurt, because there is no real back up that can do what she does and she is not going to get a break until Tokyo is done. At the end of the day, Vlatko does not have full control over his roster or even who gets to play. Markgraf is the stand in for USSF.
I find this group more likely than the others. I'm thinking McDonald gets a spot. She can do something in the end period of a tie game or a game when the US is down a goal that no one else can do. She can throw the ball from the sideline into the goal area. Under those circumstances, that is an extremely valuable skill.
I doubt McDonald makes it especially if Morgan returns, and she will. Assuming no more accidental pregnancies or catastrophic injuries, the roster IMO will be: Naeher - Harris Krieger - Davidson/Sonnett - O'Hara - Dunn - Sauerbrunn - Dahlkemper Ertz -Mewis - Horan - Lavelle Heath - Rapinoe - Press - Morgan - Williams/Pugh - Lloyd I think if Williams doesn't do well against SBC opponents or Pugh has any kind of resurgence, they take Pugh. Davidson vs Sonnett will probably come down to form in the coming months and Vlatko deciding whether the LB or RB needs more cover.
Naeher, Harris O'Hara, Abby, Brunn, Dunn, Davidson, ,Ali, Sonnett Ertz, Mewis, Lavelle, Horan Heath, Lloyd, Pinoe, Press, Williams or Morgan depending; probably Williams. I came out of the WC thinking it should be Franch, because there is a slight advantage down the line to having her get a little more road time. But if it were decided today I'd weigh the slight advantage down the road against the slight risk of upsetting the team ecological balance which is already proven, and figure the gain isn't worth the risk. There's lots of time. Sonnet's playing too well to cut. I'd embrace the idea that this team makes its primary living on defense, and that's where I want the extra, even at the expense of the midfield. O'Hara and Dunn are both able to give a little cover there. So Sullivan and Pugh both get told, "You are highly likely to be core participants in the coming cycle, so point for that; there's lots of time there; but right now it is a numbers game." Williams has played well enough, and Vlatko is clearly adept enough finding uses for raw speed that I'd want her there. McDonald, who I thought should make it, has pretty much played her way out of contention in my eyes, at least for the moment. There's a little time yet, and we are just pretending there isn't...
Sonnett's done that. And you have to already be on the field to use that skill. But that is one of the reasons I hoped McDonald would really be considered
Mine was pretty much my personal preference. If I thought there was time, I'd start playing Horan as the 9. and maybe dump Carli depending on how things played out. If I dumped Carli, I'd replace her with a m/f, since I'd be moving Horan up the field. If I were to do that, it would be Brian. After Patrick suggested it, I'd be on the fence on the Sonnett/Short choice.
?? Krieger's about as far from a self-promoter as it is humanly possible to be. In the classic phrase, she wouldn't say shit if she'd a mouthful... And Harris seems to have gotten her nickname from her penchant for saying unpopular things... a "pookie" is a sort of malevolent spirit in Irish folklore...mostly impish, but can be destructive. Around here we call them "Duendes.'
Constructing the 2020 Olympic Roster (thinking out loud) Let’s start by agreeing on the terms – please correct me if I’m wrong. 18 players total, with a minimum of two goalkeepers – so 16 field players. 12 teams in 3 groups of 4, top 2 in each group advance, plus the two best 3rd-place teams = 8 quarter-finalists. Group games are every 3 days - Wed July 22 | Sat July 25 | Tue July 28 KO games follow, every 3 days – QF Fri July 31 |SF Mon Aug 3 | Bronze Th Aug 6 | Gold Fri Aug 7 (a bonus 4th day off) We’ll need to rotate starters and subs to keep fresh legs heading into the KO rounds. Depth is our big (theoretical) advantage, but we need to choose the right mix of players to take full advantage. When choosing between players, look at fitness and versatility: 6 games in 16 days (to win the Gold Medal). I don't like using age as a (simplistic) proxy for fitness (or experience), but it's a factor to consider.
Maybe Krieger herself is not a self promoter, but they have been doing about 10x more media than they have done their entire career over the past 8 months. The human interest story with their wedding has been sold. This is by design.
With the caveats that I'm bad at predicting and I don't think Andonovski's really shown us his preferences yet since he basically had to jump into a competitive tournament that he had to win (I think the SheBelieves tournament will tell us more), here's a guess at the Coach's 18, provided all stay healthy. I also added alternates in parenthesis because they travel with the team. Coach's 18: GK: Naeher, Harris (Franch) D: Sauerbrunn, Dahlkemper, Dunn, O'Hara, Sonnett, Krieger (Davidson) M: Mewis, Ertz, Lavelle, Horan (Brian/Sullivan) F: Press, Lloyd, Heath, Rapinoe, Williams, McDonald (Pugh) I admit that roster is a bit skimpy on the midfield, but Lloyd, Heath, Rapinoe, and Press have all subbed in there. And I think both Williams and McDonald could make the roster, so I had to cut one from the midfield. Fingers crossed Ertz doesn't get hurt though! I guess a slightly less risky one would be to include Sullivan (or Brian, if healthy), and then take McDonald or Williams as the alternate. My preferred 18: GK: Naeher, Franch (Harris) D: Sauerbrunn, Dahlkemper, Dunn, O'Hara, Davidson, Sonnett (Krieger) M: Mewis, Ertz, Lavelle, Horan, Sullivan (Brian) F: Press, Lloyd, Heath, Rapinoe, Williams (Pugh) I, for one, don't think Morgan will be ready to play, and I don't see her willing to travel as an alternate with a baby. Also I think the Olympic roster is just too small for Short to make.
Morgan either goes as a rostered player or not at all. If she's not fit enough to make the roster she's not fit enough to be an alternate. I also think she has no interest in being an alternate because it implies not being as good as the others, not that she isn't fit.
For reference ... USWNT ROSTER – JANUARY TRAINING CAMP (CLUB; CAPS/GOALS) GOALKEEPERS (4): Jane Campbell (Houston Dash; 3/0), Adrianna Franch (Portland Thorns FC; 3/0), Ashlyn Harris (Orlando Pride; 24/0), Alyssa Naeher (Chicago Red Stars; 57/0) DEFENDERS (9): Abby Dahlkemper (North Carolina Courage; 53/0), Tierna Davidson (Chicago Red Stars; 25/1), Crystal Dunn (North Carolina Courage; 96/24), Ali Krieger (Orlando Pride; 104/2), Kelley O’Hara (Utah Royals FC; 125/2), Margaret Purce (Portland Thorns FC; 1/0), Becky Sauerbrunn (Utah Royals FC; 171/0), Casey Short (Chicago Red Stars; 31 /0), Emily Sonnett (Portland Thorns FC; 40/0) MIDFIELDERS (7): Morgan Brian (Chicago Red Stars; 87/8), Julie Ertz (Chicago Red Stars; 95/19), Lindsey Horan (Portland Thorns FC; 78/12), Rose Lavelle (Washington Spirit; 38/10), Allie Long (Reign FC; 51/8), Samantha Mewis (North Carolina Courage; 60/14), Andi Sullivan (Washington Spirit; 15/0) FORWARDS (8): Tobin Heath (Portland Thorns FC; 162/32), Carli Lloyd (Sky Blue FC; 288/121), Jessica McDonald (North Carolina Courage; 14/2), Christen Press (Utah Royals FC; 130/51), Mallory Pugh (Washington Spirit; 62/18), Megan Rapinoe (Reign FC; 160/50), Sophia Smith (Stanford; 0/0), Lynn Williams (North Carolina Courage; 21/6) CONCACAF qualifying roster bolded. Dropped from 28 to reach 20: Jane Campbell Tierna Davidson Margaret Purce Casey Short Morgan Brian Allie Long Mallory Pugh Sophia Smith Unavailable Alex Morgan Who else has a shot, if anyone?
I can't find the date, but its usually only a couple of weeks before the competition. For example, in 2016, the deadline was July 18, and the competition started August 3. The competition starts July 22 this year, so I'd expect a deadline around the beginning of July. The USWNT though has usually announced the roster before the actual deadline.
There may be another factor for Morgan. Presumably, Vlatko is in the early stages of implementing some new tactical things with the team. The players are working on implementing them. The more they work on them, the more automatic they will become. Morgan may be hearing what he's asking them to do, but that's different than working together with teammates over a period of time.
It's not recommended to travel with a newborn anyways, she would have to leave baby at home while she's in Japan if she wants to try and make a go of it. That means that if she is breast-feeding, that's not going to work. I don't have anything against professionals wanting to jump back into their careers right after having a baby, but there's more to giving birth, it's all the caring and attention that a newborn needs and one's life changes in just a heart-beat if any complications occur. Plus, if she has a c-section, she might not be able to do it as well.
She's due in April. The child will be 3+ months old by the time the Olympics start; usually you can fly with a baby who is at least 2 weeks old. (Some say after 6 weeks.) I still don't think she would want to do it (and I don't think she'll be fit anyway). Traveling with an infant is not fun, but she could as far as the airplane travel goes. However, I think its actually the USWNT that has a restriction on children staying with the team during the WWC or Olympics. Obviously children travel with the team during camps and friendlies, and USSF pays for the childcare, but not during tournaments. I don't know all the policies around that, of course, just that its a general rule. Frankly, that's only one complication that can prolong recovery time. There are SO many more. (but I realize that this probably not the proper forum to list many of them)
Can you all cut with the mom away from her baby for two weeks crap. Would you say the same about a father? For Pete's sake. If she is fit and ready to play in the Olympics for her country she will. Stop acting like women cannot do the same thing men can when it comes to parenting.
Just in case you were misunderstanding my post, I actually said I don't think she would want to travel to the Olympics with her infant. I think she definitely could travel without her child. (even if breastfeeding, which was mentioned above; maybe that poster isn't aware of pumping?) I still don't think she'll be fully fit and ready to play though, and I don't think she should make the roster if she isn't ready. I'd rather not have a repeat of Rapinoe in 2016.
I think Krieger makes it based off her on the field play in this tournament and versatility by being able to play multiple positions. Look at the last WC final when O'Hara was injured and there was no drop off in the second half or now just in the last few days when she played both CB positions and OB. With Brunn and O'Hara having nagging injuries this is a safe and smart tactical bet. Last, in a way this caps a stellar career so there is a sentimental goodbye as well. She has two WC titles but was injured in a cheap shot in 2012 so missed that Olympics, sat on bench when they lost in 2016 and can go out - hopefully - a winner in 2020.
Krieger and Sonnet are basically competing for the same spot. Someone who can back up all the positions along the backline. Krieger was poor versus Canada with many weak clearances into dangerous areas and was beat for pace by Sinclair, who is not fast. Sonnet was poor also versus Canada but more in trying to do things like progress the ball or attack. Sonnet is a team mascot and Krieger is a fan favorite. Sonnet is younger, but not so young that she has potential for 2023.
Krieger is not a favorite of mine, she was before the WC, but that's beside the point. I'm not sure she's getting a fair shake for the Canada match. Abby was invisible, which yes, is good for a CB. But, it felt to me more like Kreiger was exposed more because of our tactics and/or Canada targeting her. It's just weird that AD was completely invisible, while Kriegs was front and center, so to speak, all match. She was always the one playing it out of the back, I don't recall AD doing that once. They must have kept a player on AD the whole game to force Ali to be the one to do that. And, I thought she did a good job of it. She seemed to get all the pressure and handled it well. Yes, her clearances are short* and not as effective as they could be. But, she was under a lot of heat. I'm just saying that the game was weirdly structure - by our design? by their design? - to make her the focal point, and I thought she held up alright. Given the number of attacks she faced, she did better than she's being given credit for. (Still would pick Davidson over her, for the roster). (and that's a weird thing I really appreciate Brunn for, when she clears it, she clears it as far up the line as possible. She's the only defender I've ever seen who isn't happy just getting the ball up the field and OB. Becky get's it wayyyyyyyy up the field when she clears)