SheBelieves 2021

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by lil_one, Jan 23, 2021.

  1. West Ender

    West Ender Member

    Dec 28, 2020
    Southwest
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #426 West Ender, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
    Just finished watching the replay and I had a couple of observations:

    1.) I pointed out a bunch of negative aspects to certain players' games while watching the match live, which is how my brain is geared to watch friendlies, but those same players also brought/bring a lot of positive attributes to the team.

    2.) Lynn Williams did a good job defending. She really put in the miles and effort to win balls back. A couple people asked about a replacement at right back. Could Williams work there?

    3.) Morgan and Sonnett both deserved yellow cards before Bruna, but that may have had more to do with Brazil's history. I think the U.S. got more free passes this match.

    4.) Horan is slow and gets burned a lot, but she is a great provider and drops pinpoint passes into the box.

    5.) Both Brazil and the U.S. like to play a mix of old and new, young talent and I think that's a very good thing. You need the older players to help guide the younger ones and keep them accountable. Seeing Marta and Carli defending at their age has to light a fire for the next generation.

    6.) We have been spoiled, and by 'we' I mean me. How many countries would die to have even a third of our bench players?

    7.) Brazil is better now than they were last year; I love that they were defending as a team, which I've criticized them for in the past. The final score should probably have been 1-0. All their defenders were in really good positions on that last goal, Brazil were really unfortunate that Rapinoe hit that one perfectly. In years past, seeing them lose 3-1 was the norm.
     
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  2. hotjam2

    hotjam2 Member+

    Nov 23, 2012
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Seems like Ellis paced the team a lot better than Vlatko does. It’s firing on all cylinders with Vlatko, But after using a lot of energy, it’s waiting to get that 2nd wind where the the US looks considerable coming vulnerable.
    Also noticed that Ellis pulled the back line higher so to condense the game to half field, thus making less space & less tiring to high press. Vlatko prefers letting the opponent come up so we got more space to work with when countering. But as I’ve mentioned; it seems like it’s tiring our team a bit
     
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  3. Patrick167

    Patrick167 Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    May 4, 2017
    Sonnet has always been a luxury and has never been able to stand up to play like last night. She is plucky comic relief, nothing more. It is a sign of the tremendous talent advantage we have all over the field that we can carry players that are fun on the team bus ride.

    The USA has been playing a lot of not great teams that haven't played at all. These last two games showed they have been getting some bad habits. Their rest defense needs work and they have been giving the ball away easy. Luckily, neither Canada or Brazil finished several golden chances and Naeher seems better than she was in positioning for shots.

    It was a mixed bag all over the field. Lavelle is getting a lot of props for her dribbles in the final third. But little came of them and she must have been easily dispossed in the center of the field 5 or 6 times. Over and over, a Brazil player just caught her and took the ball clean. She has not played much over the past year, but more than some. She did well in some defensive 1 v 1 with Marta, who is a shadow of her former self.

    But with Mewis coming back, I can't imagine we will want a player that lingers on the ball and has it easily taken for a counter attack. But again, Lavelle is a great player and maybe she just got lazy playing Colombia and such and Birmingham city or whomever she has played in England. With some time, and this game, she might remember to keep her body between the ball that the pressure. You can tell when she came off she was not happy with her performance.

    The midfield worked better as the game went on as I think Vladko just told everyone to pass to Horan and not go through Lavelle or try long passes from Dahlkemper. Horan kept the ball secure; especially in the second half.

    Williams is a weird one. She does somethings great and others not so. She is like Zardes in that respect. She makes a good 8 yard pass in the box, but she doesn't do much else well. Her breakaway was a disaster.

    I thought they were lucky to beat Canada. This game was more even. 2-1 or 3-2 would have been more appropriate.

    It is always funny when the play by play guy on these SheBelieves games tries to pretend they are actually competitive games. But then Wagner just reminds him that it is an evaluation tournament first and foremost.

    Brazil was good but you just see such a clear difference between the USA and these other teams. The team seems better tactically. When it did get hairy or chaotic, the team knew there was a weakside winger on the touchline. How many times did the USA hit a diagonal ball to Press, Dunn, or Williams to relieve pressure and create a big scoring chance? Definitely something Vladko is stressing. Diagonal passes in general seem to be a thing.
     
  4. Patrick167

    Patrick167 Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    May 4, 2017
    Both teams pressed and both teams got tired. But then the USA got fresh, world class legs, onto the field and Brazil got their second stringers. It might be clever of Vladko to use our depth as an advantage this way. Ellis going into her bunker in the second half had the opposite effect. It helped the tired opponent and minimized our depth advantage.

    I think what is a problem is the rest defense. The team was tired because of having to run back so much on transition defense and scrambling. There were many poor giveaways in possession. For instance, many times a CM simply was caught from behind and had the ball taken clean. This made everyone have to scramble and sprint. But not only because the giveaway was unexpected, but because the team shape in possession is too open to counter press effectively or get back into defensive shape easily.

    Vladko has plenty of tape from the past two games to use to show the team how to do this better.
     
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  5. PortiereNuovo

    PortiereNuovo Member

    Jun 20, 2019
    Given the COVID limitations, we can expect better in the Olys. I'm fine with this if we can have the level we need in July.

    Some of the things are so hard to evaluate not being live, but I'm not convinced by our defending. The good thing is that some of the likeliest suspects to punish us are not going to Japan. GB worries me--they have a much better coaching setup than Phil--and Aus as well--in terms of teams that can hurt us with speed.

    Outside back continues to be a problem. I've long wondered from a soccer perspective if Ali Riley should have chosen NZ a such a young age. I suspect that she would start for the US right now on one side or the other. But maybe the caps from NZ early in college are what let her have such a long and successful pro career.

    Horan does a lot of things well that are sometimes hard to see on screen. We are spoilt for choice when everyone is healthy. Given that the Olys will be 6 matches (hopefully) over three day periods, we will need everyone to rotate through.

    I actually think Morgan had an ok game, and I expect she will be sharper in the summer. But I'm not really convinced up front (I think Heath is really unlikely) and think we will be looking for our midfield to win us close games. Which might be just fine.
     
  6. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    #431 hocbz, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
    Wow I'm not sure how familiar you were with Press at age 26 but she was far more skilled than williams at finishing. She was more skilled at age 22 went she went to sweden. She was forced to become a winger because Morgan always has to play, and adapted very well, but she's always been this good. She's just getting a chance now.

    Williams is a great athlete but her lack of finishing and game iq will prohibit her from ever reaching the highs some others have internationally. I think she's too old to develop the technique to be truly world class.
     
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  7. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    I think that from an offensive standpoint, the high press favors old/slow/tricky forwards over young fast direct forwards. Seems like I'm stating the obvious.

    So, high pressing would favor Pino, Lloyd. And, it will not show Morgan, Press, and especially Williams in the best light. High press would also really favor Tobin, offensively. Problem is, defensively, it's Morgan, Press, and especially Williams who are best suited to execute it.

    Maybe Macario would be the ultimate high press front line player? tricky, yet fast and energetic. And, I keep hoping for Smith to start to shine.
     
  8. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    #433 Cannons, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
    I thought that Sonnett was terrible on defense and ok on offense. Too many times she got caught up field and hung her teammates out to dry on numerous occasions. One being when Dunn had to come from left back and make a cliding tackle to save the day. Another required Ertz to cover her position when she trailed the play. There were many others. A weak pass to a teammate in front of our goal that almost resulted in a chance. I really thought Brazil would score off Sonnett's side I dont think she should be in the Olympic mix. Shes too slow and weak on defense
     
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  9. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    Williams' game IQ is fine. She could do 2 easy things that would improve her game immensely. 1) keep the damn ball down. It's not hard, it's just a matter of prioritizing it. If she went through several months of practice with the mentality that "I will never shoot over the bar" she would get there. Like, run a lap if you shoot it over the bar 2) when you shoot, aim a little left or right of where you naturally would. Assume the keeper is well positioned. If you just blast away, you're going to kick it right at the keeper. Make the keeper move, even a little, and your chances go way up. When I coached (and this was just rec league women and ayso - but I think it's effective) I put a cone in each corner of the goal (actually, about a foot inside of the corner). Told them to aim for a cone when you shot. It helps break the habit of shooting right at the keeper.
     
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  10. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    In this case, I like the idea of a chiding tackle.
     
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  11. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    #436 hocbz, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
    It's not just her shooting though, there are certain technical skills she really struggles with. It's like her brain is not functioning as quickly as her feet. she tends to stutter step before she decides what she wants to do, and by that point is closed down rendering her speed useless. She's not very good at 1 v 1s or dribbling, which is a problem on the wings. It's a problem in general against teams that set up very defensively and one of the reasons Jill cut her. I wonder if she would be better playing centrally where Morgan does. She's has a similar skill set in terms of being very direct and not the most technical, but is faster and better at staying onside. She has worse finishing than peak Morgan, but Morgan hasn't really been scoring in buckets recently either.

    I much prefer Pugh to Lynn as a winger. Not sure what is going on with her. She definitely doesn't do the defensive work Vlatko likes though, that Lynn does well.
     
  12. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    Oh, for sure, she's not a good attacking dribbler.

    I'm just saying there are things that are easy to fix. Could be fixed in like 8 weeks.

    The dribbling is much tougher. I don't think it's a "soccer IQ" thing, I think it's a soccer ability thing, which also leads to a lack of confidence. Even her body language - my 12 year old daughter pointed this out to me - when she's 1v1, she bends her wrist down, like she's trying to will her self around the defender. This is a terrible analogy, and I'll - probably rightfully - get crap for it. But, you know when you start off playing video games, and in key situations you contort your body all over in an effort to "make it happen." Williams kind of does that with her wrist when she's 1v1.

    The problem, obviously, is not with her wrist. The problem is with 1) attacking dribbling ability; 2) confidence when attacking dribbling is required. I think part of the problem is she never (had to) learned to use both feet at the same time. It's all either left foot or right foot. A simple thing that she could do that would make a big difference is just practicing dibbling alternating feet. Left foot, right foot. Do it going forward. Then go to the end line and practice going side ways. If she did that for a month, it would make a big difference. If she did it for three months, it would change her game.
     
  13. BrooklynSoccer

    BrooklynSoccer Member+

    Jan 22, 2008
    Abby make really basic mistakes often. She did so in the WC as well, often loosing her man in the box, etc. I'm surprised she's still our starting CB.
    Becky though - she's iconic.
     
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  14. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    Reminds me of Adama Traore. Got speed but doesn’t have high IQ. But still dangerous for any opponent.
     
  15. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    Yeah Abby doesn’t impress me with her defense.
     
  16. Patrick167

    Patrick167 Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    May 4, 2017
    Maybe the way to go, when Sam Mewis is back, is to have Horan and Mewis as 8/10s, with Ertz behind them. Then have Lavelle as a RW that pinches in and becomes a 10 in possession. This would work great with O'Hara. Purce could work with time. We should try Short (Reuger?) and not try Sonnet again.
     
  17. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    My only familiarity (except for seeing a little of her club play) is with the national team. Up until just before the last World Cup mostly all she produced on the field was missed shots and killed attacks. She may have been better at the club level but that did not translate to much quality for the USWNT.

    She, as I stated several years ago, reminded me of Josh Wolff from the USMNT in that he was "almost" good but a large part of the time he killed attacks in a variety of ways. It seemed like he was always met with the announcer's phrase: "That was bad luck." Luck has NOTHING to do with missing the goal or dribbling out of bounds, it is bad skill.

    She obviously made some effort to get her speed of play up to the National Team level and is now no longer that player that kills attacks, something Wolff was never able to do.

    Before she was, as Williams is now, just a little behind in her timing of execution which meant the her shots and crosses were often rushed. Just like Williams' final touches are now.

    I was praising Press for the work she did to get better and I was saying that Williams needs to do the same kind of work to move her game to where it needs to be to be effective with the USWNT.

    Again performance at the club level is NOT what a national team player should be judged for. Club performance shows "potential" but few players can translate "potential" into fact. Press has done that and I hope Williams will as well.
     
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  18. Cliveworshipper

    Cliveworshipper Member+

    Dec 3, 2006
    #443 Cliveworshipper, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021

    I think you might be making judgements based on your preconceptions. A fullback who is pushing forward will be vacating space, and it is up to teammates to cover it. No attacking formation is designed to have a player at both ends of the field at once. And fullbacks don’t push forward unless a coach wants them to. It might be better to identify which players were supposed to cover when she did go forward.
    At first I thought Dunn short passed back to the keeper. On replay it seems clear she tried to get it to Brunn, but it was such a bad pass that wasn’t obvious.
    and while Dunn is occasionally brilliant and fun to watch, Canada’s best chance for a score (and probably the best opposition chance for a score in the tournament so far) was on a Dunn back pass dirctly to a Canadian player behind the defence. Almost any other choice she made would have been better. We were just lucky their forwards were inept and that Dahlkemper was able to track back and disrupt two forwards.
     
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  19. Klingo3034

    Klingo3034 Member+

    Dallas FC
    United States
    Oct 11, 2019
    Sophia Smith had two good chances. One was good dribble but blocked shot and the other one Marta preventing her from shooting.
     
  20. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    #445 hocbz, Feb 22, 2021
    Last edited: Feb 22, 2021
    That's what I mean about her dribbling - it's a technical skill I think she is going to have trouble mastering at this late stage of her career. She is not a young player anymore, despite her age relative to the other forwards. If a 27 year old was struggling as a dribbler in the men's game, you'd kind of just write it off as something they aren't going to master as a mid career player. I have no doubt she has worked on it and been told to work on it, especially by the national team, but my guess is as a younger player, in college, or even with the courage she never actually had to use dribbling skills to be effective, so she's never really mastered them. Career strikers often aren't the best dribblers. Morgan has been a pro for 10 years and she still can't dribble or easily take players on, and I'm sure it's something she's worked on over the years. She's better in tight spaces than she was, to her credit, but still not someone I would play as a winger. So I'm not convinced Lynn will develop into an elite winger or if it even makes sense to try to make it work. Square peg, round hole.

    Lynn reminds me a lot of Timo Werner. Both work best paired with another striker. Neither fit that well into a 4-3-3 as a winger. Both need space to be the most effective. Space isn't a luxury in the international game like it is in the NWSL.
     
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  21. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    I thought Smith looked out of her depth. She doesn't look ready and to be honest Macario does not look ready either.
     
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  22. Patrick167

    Patrick167 Member+

    Dortmund
    United States
    May 4, 2017
    Rarely has anyone looked ready to get into this team without 5-10 games. For most, closer to 10.
     
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  23. hocbz

    hocbz Member

    Feb 15, 2016
    Press and Williams are very different players. Press has always been a highly skilled, technical finesse player. I think she struggled to fit into the USWNT before because the team was not set up to suit her strengths. While she had a lot of success as a striker throughout her career, she's not a typical 9 like Morgan that thrives on aerial crosses and crashing the box. She plays more as a false 9. Jill built her team around Morgan. Vlatko is trying to implement a more free-flowing style which is why Press is thriving more, either as a 9 or a winger. Press had the fundamental technical skills to adapt to the winger position. I'm not sure Williams does.
     
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  24. PortiereNuovo

    PortiereNuovo Member

    Jun 20, 2019
    This is a bit unfair on Sonnet. She is an above average pro player, but the question is if this is enough at the elite level. Sometimes we act like players who aren't quite good enough for some reason at the elite level are Saturday afternoon hacks like most of us.

    We need some specific skill sets for our outside forwards and we are struggling the get offensive production, defense grit, workrate, and form together.
     
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  25. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    I mostly agree. I'm more optimistic that she could significantly improve. I mean, it looks to me like she has never practiced using both feet (as opposed to either left, or right). I know she's a coordinated woman. I feel like she could significantly improve this. I could be wrong. And, I'll never know, because no one is writing down my advice and saying "ok, what next?" :)
     

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