I'd like to see a replay on the Lloyd offside that just happened near midfield. The camera work has not been good.
What a horrendous game tonight. That might be as bad as I've ever seen us play. Just way too slow, way too many players too close together, and the crosses were ridiculously bad. How does a player with Carli's experience stand offside in a wall on a free kick?
Damn good thing that Vlatko listens to all the fans who don't want to see Lynn Williams in the starting lineup. Can you imagine having to wait until the 70th minute to score against Portugal, a team we're rated more than 500 points above? Seriously, I don't mind at all seeing Christen Press on the right wing against a team like Portugal, a team which will pack it in against the US, but a lot of fans got their wish list seeing Rapinoe/Morgan/Press start together against a relatively weaker opponent and yet they still had difficulty scoring goals. That wasn't supposed to happen.
In their last six games, the U.S. Women's National Team has scored 13 goals. That ain't great. It's even worse when you consider that six of those goals were scored against Argentina on Feb. 24th. Otherwise: one against Canada, two against Brazil, one against Sweden, two against France, one against Portugal. And some of those games probably should have been easy wins--but weren't. Definitely worrisome.
Very disappointing outing. Yes we dominated in possession, who cares about that. More shots too but only one goal? Not good A few comments on the game; 1) Rapinoe - is bad at direct kicks. The very first corner she DIDNT kick... we score. She should be a spot player now 2) Horan - never liked her much but hate her as the replacement for Ertz. Too slow, way too many bad passes. Find somebody else 3) Morgan - if its a 1/2 field game, she is not the forward you want. She had one good chance and shanked it. Not sure Lloyd is the answer but a change is needed for a 1/2 field game Lack of our goal scoring has to be a concern. We knock it around well but it doesnt score goals. Too much reliance on cross and pray. We need to get a better ground attack. We should have smoked Portugal and instead a 1-0 result. Feels like a loss to me. Lets see what adjustments are made for Jamaica (if I can stay awake that long)
We did not look great - with our best 11. As mentioned, the passing was way too slow. I think Mewis would be better as the 6. Horan's edge in passing ability was not apparent and I'd rather have her closer to goal. Aside from Dunn and Lavelle, we have no speed outside of our forwards. Williams' speed really is needed to help track back on defense. Jamaica will be a better test for our defense.
Horrible performance. Too slow in getting the ball to the forward from the two in the back defense who enjoyed passing the ball to each other instead of sending it up field. Have no imagination in the way to attack and get through the pack defense. I wonder what the new coach is doing.
#3 is especially true when Press is on the right side. It seems like on the left she is willing to move into space to get a curling shot in, but on the right she seems to just want to get behind the line like she's a striker. Against a team playing a low block, I don't think we can play both Morgan and Press on the right. Maybe it will work with Press on the left, but I don't see that side being a problem either way and I don't see any other option on the right that would work if Heath is still injured. Maybe Lynn Williams actually could work in that position if her, Rose, and Sam have a weird sort of rotational triangle. Lynn could almost drop into the right midfield (which I have seen happen before) to be ready to stop a quick counter down that side while Rose plays more of a right wing and Sam gets more of the middle of the field. My worry about it would be that Lynn could more or less be ignored by the defense which leaves us outnumbered. The real solution might be to play Macario as a false 9. I feel like her movement would drag a defender enough to get some open space for one of the other attacking players while also having the ability to play in a good ball to that player. She doesn't seem like the type to try to get in behind the line and she also doesn't seem great for a high press, so I worry about that allowing teams to move their backline further up which could hurt our field position advantage. Maybe if we play Press and Smith or Williams that could negate that.
I have don't think Lynn Williams is any sort of solution to a team that lines up their whole defense between the penalty spot and the top of the D. Her strength is purportedly getting behind the defense, that's an impossibility under those circumstances. Need better execution of passes, execution of crosses, and shooting from outside the box to open up the bunker. Scoring only one goal on that number of corner kicks with our height advantage and a short goalkeeper, is just flat out poor execution no matter how much they bunker.
Let's be honest, if Lynn Williams had started yesterday, there would be no end to the Lynn Williams- bashing from fans and analysts alike. She wasn't, so who are we all going to throw under the bus? Obviously some constructive criticism of the team last night is warranted, but sometimes soccer is soccer; you know, a game in which practically by definition it's hard to score. Portugal isn't a strong side but they're a fairly decent team which is expected to give some of the #10 to 20 teams trouble. I expect to see pretty much the same attacking lineup in the next game because, after all, the whole point of this series is to simulate the short turnaround times between matches. Let's see how much energy 36-year old Rapinoe, an almost invisible Alex Morgan, and an unattached Press can bring on 2 days rest.
Lyon has found success using Marcario at a false 9. She would have been Vlatko's alternative for bunker busting. Her willingness to take on the backline is what was needed in this game. I am sure this is what he would have liked to have done. However, the report that the reason she and Cascarino(scratched from the roster for France's National team) was not on the roster for the final game, was due to an injury sustained during the week leading up to their last game. Was the injury ever mentioned by Vlatko and how severe it might be?
And I have no idea how they failed to notice that the restart was a goal kick, not a kickoff... embarrassing...
Yeah it's bad, but I don't think they were at the stadium judging by the fact that they did the opening in the equivalent of Zoom boxes. I think it's inexcusable for Fox to cover this way, when the stadium is open, but it explains why they couldn't see a linesman flag the offside, or the indirect kick, if it was out of camera view...
This game was exactly why Vladko started who he did... They need time to sort some rust out. They didn't look ... right... Also, felt that this game was/is the exact reason Tobin is missed. Do not think the USWNT has a better player to break that bunker down off of the dribble. Passing didn't look particularly sharp. Really nothing looked good except for Abby's long booted passes.
Clearly we need to do better at breaking down the defense, though we could have had a couple of goals rather earlier if not for solid goalkeeping. The question is if we are able to fix the problems. I'm not sure the other sides are going to tell us much--did Shaw make the trip for Jamaica?
No, she requested a break after a long season in France, which just ended. She's taking the time to rest and also (rumour has it) prepare to make a club move this summer. She won't be in the squad to face the USA.
It’s nice to be reminded and experience what Heaven on Earth feels like. Even in a place like Houston. The Country of Japan and the IOC should increase their participation’s to try keep my Czechoslovakian *ss out later this Summer. The ends justify the means.
So. Coupla things: 1. The disparity in rankings is deceptive-- That was not last decades' Portugal, and it is last decades ranking. They are much bigger, stronger, faster, have better individual ball skills, and are much much more disciplined defensively. Thing is, the ranking system is designed to react slowly to improvement lest it prove temporary-- it is designed to reflect the strength of the program, not this year's team. And you not only have to get better to move up, you have to start beating people, or at least stop losing to them. And everybody's getting better. So present day Portugal aren't yet a velociraptor of a team, they, whatever saurus they might be, are dragging around an Anklysaurus' tail of a ranking still. 2. They did not really bunker-- when they got the ball across midfield they were perfectly willing to bring people forward; they just couldn't manage it very often because the US' front end defense was just too good. Same effect as a bunker, but a self-caused problem rather than a tactical decision from Portugal. 3. I was actually looking right at Mewis in the corner set up, and actually said to my companion "this should be it" -- because what I thought I saw was Sam realizing that someone toward the center of the goal was doubled, and no one seemed to be taking direct responsibility for her, so she was likely free either by design or mistake. Then there was some shuffling around and that space opened up right on the line, and she kind of sidled into it quietly trying not to draw attention from Portuguese players who were focused on their own responsibilities. And "voila!" A tall, strong person in a prime location for corner service. Exactly the kind of thing that world class players are expected to find in the 80th minute of scoreless blowouts. 4. Horan played good; the different responsibility took her out of some of the offense she usually provides, and she's not Ertz-- but neither is anybody else. As Joni once sang, "Something's lost and something's gained/ in living everyday." I still think Sonnett should get a look there too, and I wonder if Krieger might be able to play there in a pinch. "Where have you gone McCall Zerboni-- Joltin' Zerbohawk has gone and went away.,"