Unless she in the mean time broke her toe it will be until the last hour before decisions will be made about starting or not.
Yes. Even if it was true, why would Netherlands announce it beforehand and help the US with their preparations and planning?
I didn't agree with quite a bit of Henderson's last WoSo Independent Podcast, but his wildest take was the Dutch starting Spitse and Dekker as a pivot with van de Donk ahead of them. Both he and his co-host have seriously undervalued the tournament Groenen's had so far, but if they think Dekker can offer more physicality while not losing too much of the box-to-box work Groenen does, then alright. (If Groenen doesn't start, I'd still put Roord in her place ahead of Dekker, but I suppose I also wouldn't rule out Roord on the left if Martens can't start.) They said they'd put Ertz on van de Donk and Mewis on Spitse while not specifically mentioning putting anyone on Groenen. Maybe Groenen has an absolutely terrible game tomorrow, but based on what I've seen, I don't see why they think she doesn't require just as much attention as her midfield teammates do. Then again, they think Rapinoe's had a fantastic tournament outside of half an hour against Sweden while I thought Rapinoe wasn't particularly good against Thailand or Spain despite her output numbers. Some people just disagree a lot with each other, and I suppose I could be more understanding. Just frustrating though.
I listened to some of this and others of their podcast. The second guy is former Univ. of Kentucky coach Jon Lipsitz--who was a good coach in the Southeastern Conference who did a good job but got badly treated by the university, IMO. I think he now works as an assistant/volunteer assistant at Cal. In any case, I enjoy listening to their opinions, and certainly the coach knows a helluva lot more than I do about the tactical aspects of soccer, but the two of them most definitely get things wrong, miss things, and of course different people always see and analyze things on a soccer field differently. I think Henderson bases a lot of his opinions on Instat game metrics--and while it certainly is valuable to have matches and individual play broken down with metrics, I do wonder how accurate their numbers really are. I can't say--but I'm a little skeptical. I'd like to know who the national teams rely on for metrics--maybe it is InStat, in which case maybe the company does good work. I don't know. Beyond that, the two of them almost always agree with one another--on every point, practically--and that's a little dubious. I mean, c'mon--you can't agree on everything. The two of them did rate The Netherlands pretty highly going into this tourney as a team that could do well--full credit. They've kind of missed the fact that Sweden was much better and dynamic in attack and with the ball than it has been in a long time. They ran rampant on England in the first 20 minutes today--and yet Sweden could do very little against The Netherlands. Of course, one can't too much stock in a third-place game, I realize. Henderson has been raving about Spitse's play--and she has been good. It's really the midfield trio that has carried this team, and in particular their defensive work. Henderson doesn't rate the Dutch fullbacks very highly but I doubt he's seen enough of Van Lunteren to realize what a rock she is on the right--and she was excellent against Sweden. She's no Bronze in attack, but Bronze wasn't great in this tourney and was responsible for the first U.S. goal in that semifinal. I do think left back is a Dutch weakness. Liptsitz threw out one metric to watch for tomorrow. He thinks the Dutch need about 55 percent possession in the first half to have a chance--meaning they can't be chasing a lot in the first half or they must certainly will run out of gas in the second half. I think that is a good point. I mean, fatigue could be a problem for the Dutch tomorrow, so possessing the ball will be important--but it's going to be a challenge given the athleticism and pressing tactics of the U.S. In the end the Dutch may be two players short of where they need to be to beat the U.S.--but we shall see!
Henderson said one thing that I think is rather crazy: He suggested that if Ellis retires as U.S.A. coach, the U.S. Soccer Federation should recruit Wiegman. What!? Has the very successful coach of any national team jumped ship to another country/program? Maybe it's happened, but I can't imagine it. An //unemployed// foreign coach with a good reputation would take a NT job in another country--that happens a lot--but not a //current// successful NT coach. The Netherlands is one of the great footballing countries; they've been on a roll. Wiegman played a year in the U.S. in college, yea--but I'd be super-shocked if she left her current job for any other. First, the USSF surely has too much pride to try and steal a successful /current/ coach from another nation--it's a bad look, really--and Wiegman wouldn't leave.
Why do people keep overrating the second half of US-England? I thought that was as cagey as it gets. The first half was indeed very good; I didn't enjoy the second half at all. I actually enjoyed the whole of the Netherlands-Sweden far more than that second half.
the problem with the English is there so.......stuffy! Look how cool & collected Alex Morgan is next to Phil Neville
interesting enuf, Dutch woso had influence on America's top pro league, NWSL, in the form of last year's Houston Dash coach, Tessa Pauw. She had them play an attractive, long balling style very much like Wiegman, Unfortunately, the Dash didn't like her 'stern' personality & players a revolt ensured to which she resigned even though she lead the usually underwhelming Dash to their best season ever. This article isn't about that, but Pauw's insight on why Dutch soccer has risen so well. Let's hope though the Dutch today can get some revenge for Pauw & the shabby way she was treated in Houston USA vs Netherlands: Dutch World Cup success was decades in the making - CNN
Orange Lionesses with a video message for the US Women: https://www.ad.nl/wk-vrouwenvoetbal...e-video-voor-finale-vs-tot-vanavond~abf45d02/ 'You showed us that dreams do come true. Thanks for that' #OnzeJacht pic.twitter.com/GnpzjIZkj1— OranjeLeeuwinnen (@oranjevrouwen) July 7, 2019
L’orange, props for the Bloodworth to leftback mention for the future; it’s already happening this match. Of course, that means we get the CB pairing that worries both of us a bit. Both Martens and Beerensteyn start.
big mistake starting Berrensteyn, Holland needs somebody fast up there to counter the early blitz that will surely come, Berrensteyn ain't it! I'm afraid the game might be over when VDS finally comes in. Only keep hope is if Ellis decides to slow down the pace till later. I'm calling on BS super poster, @Lechus7, whatever happened to the supposed genius behind Euro 2017, the Foppe dude? It just doesn't seem like Wiegman is following his advice this time arounf
0-0 halftime, the Dutch holding on despite US domineering. The 4-5-1 straight lines are stopping the US passing lanes. now please send in van de Sanden(as she could gotten behind some of those long ball instead of the slow poking, Bereensteyn
Now the Netherlands have hold USWNT goalless longer than the other sex team they played this WWC put together.
You're exagerating man However she should have subbed van de Gragt 10 minutes before the 90 minutes mark as she was totally spent and of no use going forward.
They were all spent. The passing in the last 15 minutes was very weak. Six shots and only one on goal are not going to win any games. Good effort to make it to the finals and let's hope that this moves things forward in Holland.
Feyenoord has finally decided to become a player in women soccer too with a plan to build a team in the next few years to become an Women Eredivisie player.