Instead, nightmares! I can't believe I got up at 4:20 AM to watch that rubbish. The entire team looks like it ate a batch of bad sushi! We looked dog slow, beaten on every 2nd and 50-50 ball, unable to combine, unable to tackle, and we look like we never defended a set piece or cross before, especially Naeher. . Our ability to properly weigh a pass, compared to Sweden's, was just embarrassing. They clearly have mimicked the men's team's inability to find a backup defensive # 6. It was definitely better with Ertz but our other problems remained. I thought the recent Portugal game was poorly as I've ever seen us play, but we just topped that by a degree of infinity. I don't know why we look so totally inept and unprepared, but really need to get our act together. The good thing is, with the third-place teams advancing, this probably won't hurt a significantly, if we take it seriously and improve.
Not sure it would have helped given how bad the midfield was, but Lloyd should have started instead of Morgan. Lloyd is a better defender, better at combining, showing for the ball and retaining possession. She's also been scoring more than Morgan. There's a lot of arrogance involved in taking your best creative outlet in the midfield and putting her at DM though. Vlatko better hope Ertz can get healthy and fast.
We definitely need to find Ertz replacement in future. Any ideas? Who in NWSL stands out so far that could do what she can?
Williams is a system player. She is in her comfort zone on a club team built to her strengths in a league that suits them as well. The international game is not played like a track meet. If she had really wanted to challenge herself and work on the glaring weaknesses in her game, she would have gone overseas at some point. All the best attacking players have done it.
While the result was a shock. It is still the group stage (and it wasn't a 7x1 at home). USWNT can and will bounce back from this game. I still think US is the team to beat in this Olympics. Europe is getting better and there are more support to the WOSO game around the world. USWNT dominance was unparalleled. You can make a top 10 W players of all time and have 4 or 5 Americans. The MNT of Brazil or Germany did not have the same dominance.
What happened to the impenetrable defense? I only got a chance to see the highlights, but both the second and third goals were defensive errors/poor positioning. What happened?
Those were breakdowns, but Sweden had so many chances that breakdowns were mostly inevitable. This was a failure of the midfield and Dunn to be able to to make two quick passes and then be able to switch away from the Sweden overloads, along with no creative runs/switching along the top to unbalance Sweden. At least to my eye.
Kornieck(Orlando) or Hubly(Portland)though they might not necessarily play for their clubs as DM’s. did you feel that Ertz was 100% fit today?
I think we need a better coach. Look at Brazil with the coach we once had and the Brazilian team played so well differently. For us US, our moves are so predictable. We are used to passing the ball from the center back to the outside back and when that predictable moves were blocked in the match against Sweden, we had problems in feeding the ball to the forwards and attack the goal.
Damn. It's not that they lost which is quite a shock but it's the way they lost. A complete beatdown by the Swedes. Remembering their last match few months back, I don't think Sweden really changed anything tactically yet they've subdued the Americans to ignominy. Coming from the reigning world champs though, it is rather so bizarre how they were just collectively disorganized and confused from the get go till the final whistle like they all needed an extra hour or two of sleep because of hangover. But I digress. Anyway, things that rise also fall and for all the USWNT fans, let's hope that only for this concluded game otherwise, Netherlands will win this one (I hope).
Players need to move into positions, even when they are without the ball, to receive the ball. And defenders need to foresee to which of the opponents is likely to get the pass and move in advance to tackle that and not trying to tackle after the player has already received the ball. We need a better coach so that players will learn to do this automatically and drill the players on the best ways to attack the different opponents.
Maybe, just maybe, with 2 years to study - quality teams who know just as well as any of us that Crystal done is not now, nor has ever been a defender - they've figured out how to take advantage of the situation. Crystal Dunn is a world class soccer player. And a well rounded one. She is pre-eminent midfielder, a top level front-liner, and a passable defender. We have had years to identify and develop world class talent at outside back - and allow Crystal to play in a better/more dangerous position, but have refused. And that's ignoring the best U.S. outside back who just retired when it was obvious (for some very valid reasons) Vlatko was not going to (or be allowed to) bring her in. The top teams weren't prepared to take advantage of Dunn in 2019. Now, apparently, they are. I think Dunn should be on the field, but it shouldn't be on the back line.
I'm a bit puzzled that Sweden did what I have been expecting someone to try against us, and no one seemed to notice here. They just, at every possession change in our end, denied the ball to Dahlkamper. Ball goes over, someone immediately went and stood by Abby, every time-- and so Brunn had to start the offense upfield, and their mids and backline could handle that. If we can't get the ball upfield, we can't press them and we can't recover the ball at the offensive end much... and that's largely how we win.
I think the Swedes learnt about Sauerbrunn way back in the day of Pia Sundhage. She knew that about Brunn.
This is not a "normal" coaching job. The team is run like a marketing product more than a sports team. The talent gap w/ the rest of the world has been sufficient that it (usually) works, but it looks like those days may be coming to an end. Vlatko will be the scapegoat for fans -the coach always is - but I'm not convinced this is the roster he would pick if he had full decisionmaking abilities, and of course more time. He doesn't seem to be happy with either of his no. 9 options, for starters. He's stuck with multiple unfit players who can't be tactically managed because they can only play so many minutes, putting a huge burden on the only fit winger in Christen Press. Why is Markgraf there if she has no influence at all on the roster? It would be interesting to see what changes would be made if the team crashes out early again. Would certain players be pushed out or would the coach fall on the sword? Would Markgraf remain in her lord overseer position?
Sullivan and Howell are both very good 6's. Vlatko seems handcuffed or too scared to bring in too many new faces after this team won the WC. Which may have worked for a tournament in 2020. But for a tournament 6 months into 2021, and a really old cast, it may come back to haunt us all
Well I watched the match last night, in a "fuzzy" condition due to pain meds and now I have watched it again this late AM and I think most of the criticisms of the players is misplaced. The players, mostly, played EXACTLY how they have been trained. The made many many meaningless and ultimately worthless back passes and sideways plays slowing down the play in order to get "organized" and regroup. That worked. It allowed Sweden to get their defense "organized" and Sweden did that quite well. Vlatko Andonovski has the team playing just how he wants it to, I hope he is happy. All the problems we have seen in this match are the direct result of playing weaker teams and striving hard to keep the score low. It means that the first time we face a good team in a match that matters we just simply have no idea how to play hard and salvage a result like we usually have in the past. Andonovski has drained the Juice from this team. Since it is clear we cannot play the coach's "style" against good teams, at least this one good team, I hope that the leaders on the team will get the players to at least partially ignore the bad training they have been receiving. I know we will, most probably, advance from the group because not only will the first and second place teams in each group advance but, also, half of the third place teams advance. The only real danger is that we slip up against Australia and lost something like 1-0 and beat New Zealand by 2-0 and we end up with three points and a -4 goal differential. That would, probably not be good enough to advance. However if we manage to beat New Zealand even 1-0 and tie Australia we end u with 4 points and a -2 goal difference which, probably, will be good enough to advance. This tournament is one of the easiest to screw up badly and still advance. I just hope we win the last two matches and end up with 6 points thus assuring advancement. I believe we will advance but the team is going to have to really suck it up and ignore much of what Vlatko Andonovski has tried to implement. We are a LOT better than we showed it is now up to the team to prove this lamentable performance was an anomaly. One more thing: Dunn has been criticized a lot but much of what she is being blamed for is the fault of leaving her isolated against really good and/great players. She is not at her best when asked to play slow. She needs a up tempo match to be at her best. That can also be said for most of the rest. If Vlatko Andonovski continues to get what he has trained the team for then we really are in danger of not advancing. But if the players step out away from the "plan" just a bit we will be fine.
I'd also like to point out that Abby was involved in all three Swedish goals. The first goal was really beautiful. There's not much Abby could have done, but she did let the Swede get near post and in front of her. The set piece goal Abby completely lost her mark and player - she was neither near post nor fronting the Swede. The third goal, Brunn stepped to cover for Dunn, and Abby stepped away to cover for a non-existent Swede making a run through the box, leaving her player in front of Ohara and unmarked. Also - Mewis even Press did an awful job tracking back to help Dunn.
I mean just think about the asburdity of having Rapinoe who can't run for more than 30 minutes, Heath who hasn't played a competitive match since December, Ertz who is being brought up to fitness DURING the tournament. You know they would have brought Morgan two months after giving birth, too, had the olympics not been delayed, and quite frankly she has not shown anything since she came back anyway. I don't want to quote Twellman but I'm going to do it anyway... WHAT ARE WE DOING? Now they will probably go on to win gold since I said that, but only because other federations appear to be as or more dysfunctional. He is very lucky he can dress the alternates, too - a change that came after this unfit roster was picked.
Yep. I forget things from time to time to time. I plead old brain syndrome once again. We may well advance but it is no longer "easy" or "certain." 3 points and a -4 goal difference might be enough since it is harder to not advance than it is to advance.
Main thing that changed from Swedens point of view; 1.It was a Championship game. It is almost impossible to get Scandinavians to give 100% in friendliess, regardless of how much the coach or even the players try. Even if the players NT-career is on the line, that is just not as important as when it is a Championship at play. Putting the team ahead or yourself goes deep up here. 2. Used all subs to keep the speed up the entire match. Only used two in April and that gave US an in in the last 10-15 min then, big mistake. 3. Even the Sweden based players are in season now.