She's the new Ellis favorite but I've no idea why--seems out of her element. Was a scoring forward--and a diver--in college but seems to want to play as a mostly static passer these days. Is smart, has ball skills--but not enough speed or athleticism for this level, I don't think.
46' 0-0 China subs in: - (1 of 6) #30 Li Yang for RF #11 Wang Shanshan - (2 of 6) #4 Li Danyang for #2 Liu Shanshan. 46' 0-0 USA subs in: - (1 of 6) #3 Samantha Mewis for RM #9 Lindsey Horan - (2 of 6) #14 Sofia Huerta for #26 Savannah McCaskill. Maybe Huerta to RB, and Dunn moves up? Yes.
So Ellis has Davidson playing outside back after being a good centerback since she joined the squad? Strange, IMO.
48' 0-0 Ertz dribbles leftward to 35m box left, pass up wide left to Davidson, flick ahead to Rapinoe at 6m wide left. Long diagonal backpass to Ertz, she settles at 22m arc left, then sends in a hot waist-high pass to Morgan coming back at 12m 6-left. Leg flick doesn't stop ball, wide left. 50' 0-0 Dahlkemper to S.Mewis, backpass to Sauerbrunn. China have pulled their two-line shell back to circle back at highest, smoothly dropping back to their own 30m -- ceding the entire center circle strip to us. 51' 0-0 Long switch bounces toward left corner flag. Davidson chases (that high up!), awkward scissor-trap doesn't work. China promptly hoof ball back to us, and resume the halfcourt drill.
52' 0-0 China steal at own 24m, counter through circle left. Dump-and-chase rolls too far, Naeher scoops it up. China must be deliberately giving us 60% of the field to open up our entire 1/2 for them to find 1 counter. It worked for Denmark that one time (actually, those three times or so ) -- 54' 0-0 Dunn offside. I see no system in our sequence of passes
55' 0-0 China surge up box right, pass ahead down wide right for #4 Li. She crosses from 8m wide right to 6-top right, Sauerbrunn slide-clears over endline right. Davidson had to run a long way just to apply some pressure from behind. 56' 0-0 Dunn steals at 30m box right, drives into a 1-v-2, fouled. 57' 1-0 Rapinoe fk at 27m box right, sent fast to 5m center. Morgan leans past #4 Li Danyang on the outside from 9m 1/3 left, shoulders her way centerward and nods a header past Peng frozen on goalline, into 1/4 right back.
58' 1-0 Huerta nutmegs _ through 6m box right, dribbles to 6m mid-right. Ground cross to 6-top 1/3 right, Rapinoe's sliding try blocked over bar. 61' 1-0 Morgan waits under a high ball at 6-top left, chases it to box left foot. Turn-and cross high, drops at 2m 1-right. Dunn wrestles behind her defender, jump-tucks and heads just wide right low, past Peng not decisive enough. 63' 1-0 USA send in a couple more crosses, cleared.
this color analyst is not very good. She does the NWSL national games, forget her name, but she's not good. She just said that China was pushing forward more to start the second half when that was not true at all--they were sitting back.
63' 1-0 China possess at our 32m mid-right. Zerboni finally slide-pokes ball free, Ertz collects. Zerboni switches right, but China intercept just past midfield. Fouled at circle top mid-left. 64' 1-0 China fk chipped high to 6-top right, bounces over endline past the scrum. 66' 1-0 USA subs in: - (3 of 6) #10(c <=) Carli Lloyd for #15 Megan Rapinoe - (4 of 6) #23 Christen Press for #7 Abigail Dahlkemper - (5 of 6) #20 Allie Long for #2 Julie Ertz.
68' 1-0 China subs in (3 of 6) #16 Yan Jinjin for MF #23 Ren Guixin. 68' 1-0 Dunn is on the left again. USA backpass to Naeher. Lloyd underhits a right roundhouse switch left toward Press, S.Mewis steals it back. Ground pass rolls up box right, too far for Press. Press => RF, Dunn => LB, and Davidson/Sauerbrunn slide inward to fill Dahlkemper's gap? I bet Ellis just loooooves the tactical flexibility of being a Transformer.
70' 1-0 Morgan comes back to ball at ~midfield mid-left, #5(c) Wu Haiyan slides poorly and sandwiches Morgan down in a tangle of legs. Morgan stays down on back, brief stoppage. 71' 1-0 Yellow card on #5 Wu Haiyan.
74' 1-0 Press dribbles to 6-top box right, cross blocked over by #6 Lin Yuping. 75' 1-0 Davidson(!!) right ck, inswings to 5m center. Lloyd runs on, header blocked over. 75' 1-0 Davidson left ck , to 7m center, Press jump leaning back but it's off her forehead and continues rightward. Backpass to Naeher, long punt to Lloyd ... offside. 77' 1-0 USA subs in (6 of 6) #8 Amy Rodriguez for #13 Alex Morgan. One for the home crowd!
79' 1-0 China chip up mid-left for a runner, Sauerbrunn(?) calmly heads rightward to Huerta(?). Square pass left to Zerboni, teammates alert her to pursuit arriving from behind. Zerboni hoofs a long pass up wide right that drops perfectly for Press, who accelerates past China's tired backline. Press arrives first at 5m box right -- then cuts back to 9m mid-right as defenders overshoot. Press shoots left foot to right post low, Peng smothers it -- and it might have hit the post instead of being on-frame. Dang -- maybe a one-touch cross would have found two runners in the box? Her own shot was surely not the best outcome there ...
82' 1-0 Huerta holds at 22m wide right, serves a fast cross to 6-top center. Lloyd splits the CBs up centerline, but it's about 2m too far for her head. 84' 1-0 Zerboni switches left, Dunn can't foot-trap the high bounce. (For her, the bounce is high ) 84' 1-0 China subs in: - (4 of 6) #29 Li Tingting for #7 Wang Shuang - (5 of 6) #18 Hang Peng for #25 Lou Jiahui.
87' 1-0 China cross from box top wide left to 5m 5-right, Dunn jumps with target and both go down, ball bounces untouched wide right. 89' 1-0 China whip a cross from ~25m mid-left toward box right foot, #29 Li Tingting offside. Getting ragged from both sides. 90' 1-0 China subs in (6 of 6) #21 Xiao Yuyi for #10 Li Ying.
90+1' (of +3') 1-0 Rodriguez dribbles to arc top wide left, bends a cross through 6-top center -- way too far for Lloyd through spot. Ball stays in at 3m mid-right, Press one-touch cross blocked over. 90+1' (of +3') 1-0 Davidson right ck, cleared over left. 90+2' (of +3') 1-0 Davidson left ck, short tap to S.Mewis(?). USA encamp in China's 1/3 ... 90+3' (of +3') 1-0 Rodriguez turns at 30m left touch, drives to box top left touch, pulls her cross square through 8m, cleared over left. 90+3' (of +3) 1-0 Davidson left ck, to 5m center. Lloyd front-cuts past 3 from 8m right post, arrives alone and drives a header to goalline 1/3 right low. Peng literally has no time to get out of the way , ball hits her, China clears. FT 1-0.
That is Ali Wagner, probably one of the tactically most proficient attacking minds the USA ever had. And she was correct...if you admit that there was only one attacking chance in the first half. She said China went forward MORE. It was a pretty low bar.
Apparently we weren’t giving cards tonight. Every time I watch this team, with the exception of Rapinoe and Morgan, they disappoint me. I feel like the only two times since the start of the 2015 World Cup where the whole team played well and didn’t disappoint me were the semifinals and finals of the World Cup. Every single other time I’ve seen them, they put 11 players on the field, but it always looks like only 2-3 are ready to play or even know how to play the position they are in. Let’s just say I’m not confident going into France next year.
Back in my day, players would sign fans' jerseys! Now, they take a selfie with the fan, using the fan's phone!
I think she needs more experience. Ellis needs to drop her, at least until 2020, and just let her play in the NWSL without the pressure of trying to perform for a NT spot.
This is the main reason why she was never ranked higher on the Movement Rankings as a post-collegiate player.
I am a McCaskill fan, but she was terrible last night. Ellis is funny though. I agree with your opinion in principle, but Ellis thinks players DEVELOP through their national team camps/friendlies. She likes to keep them in until she decides their game doesn't translate internationally. That may be true to some, much smaller than she thinks, extent, but most national teams, use the club leagues to develop players and their play therein as the measure of quality. We don't do that. The national team is instead the "club" for the USWNT. Having said that, I thought Zerboni was decent and her game translated at least against the Chinese. I am happy about that because I would like to see the NWSL truly become the incubator and showcase for USWNT players. That would entice more youngsters to throw their hat in for at least a year or two for a chance at the ring. I do think with our insistence of play making from the flanks, that we will have trouble against teams who match our pace and intensity. I hope to see lavelle at the 10, Morgan 9 Heath 7/11 and Rapinoe 7/11. Morgan's sophistication increased exponentially with her European training and play. I think she has become multi dimensional now and am liking her more and more. The chest to put Horan through was excellent.
McCaskill had a really frustrating first half. She did well getting wide and chesting the ball down nicely, but her decision making after that point was awful. She either tried to take on 2 players a la Heath or passed the ball to no one. The problem with giving these young players a chance to prove themselves against decent teams is that it could have the opposite effect and kill their confidence. McCaskill got pulled at halftime and may not see the field for a while after that really bad performance (similar to Tymrak against Russia). Zerboni was extremely tenacious and played like a gnat against China. She pestered the players until she intercepted the ball. That being said, her passing needs to improve for the next match. As usual, Pinoe is extremely frustrating with her corner kicks. If you just keep them simple and place them just beyond the goal keeper's reach (similar to Davidson's nice corner kicks), you give your offensive players a 50% chance to get off a decent header. Pinoe confuses everyone with her erratic corner kicks and tends to miss hit them when getting too cute. Every match she'll waste a couple of corners trying to score or hit them over everyone's head trying to go for the far post, etc.