The US will face Canada in the CONCACAF Olympic qualifying tournament final on Sunday, Feb. 9. The game is at 3 pm PT in Carson, CA. It'll be on FS2. This game might not matter in the sense of both teams having already qualified. But it is still a competitive match, and there's a rivalry here. I expect a good match, or at least the best challenge the US has gotten yet this year.
The announcers suggested that this game was literally ONLY for bragging rights as the tournament winner. Is that true? Or does the outcome affect the placement of the teams at the start of the Olympics at all?
The match is nearly totally meaningless. Seeding is only impacted by FIFA ranking and Canada are not close enough for their retaliative places to change based on this or any other match before the Olympics. Canada has a bit, a tiny bit, more incentive as they can, maybe, move up a bit before the draw. My biggest hope for this, and every upcoming match before the Olympics, is that everybody avoids injury. The matches are necessary to gain sharpness but the US has suffered before from key injuries before major tournaments.
News Flash.... Both teams will play 100% to win. I would think he would start his top team... in his opinion. I will be disappointed if that means Lloyd, Rapinoe and Heath. All three are now too slow to be starters. I hope that Press has earned a start as her and Mewis are the most dangerous. Anyway... the 3 that I named all played on Friday night and didnt have good games. It will be interesting. This should not be a hard game based on common foes, leading to this point. Canada beat CR 1-0, we beat them 6-0. Canada beat Mexico 2-0, we beat them 4-0 and Mexico was never in the game. However, Canada is a different animal and the second best team in this tournament. I do not expect a blowout and if our starters include Heath, Rapinoe and Lloyd... it could end up close He must move those 3 to late game subs.... after the other team is tired
Is that Fox Sports's excuse for relegating it to FS2, a far less accessible network than FS1, in favor of NHRA Drag Racing, which is definitely far more of a real sport than international football will ever be? (I know it's accessible online for people who have FS1 but it's the principle of the thing.)
1. NHRA surely has more fans than Wsoc nationwide, they are very likely more desirable fans for advertisers to reach, and the event was already scheduled. Blame Concacaf for not getting on the stick until very late. 2. FS is not a public utility; their incentive is to get you* to subscribe to somebody that carries FS2 so that they can raise that carriers' rates ASAP. This event, because its fans are more fanatical if less numerous than NHRA is probably well-tailored for that, and that was probably part if their incentive to carry it at all. * You specifically, because they already have me, and got me by carrying other USWNT events... (Incidentally, while I don't watch NHRA very often, it is fairly entertaining, you know. It ain't bowling or X-games...)
There is indeed a pretty serious rivalry between the u.s. and Canada. We never want to lose to them. This will be the only game this tournament in which our defense is tested. And o n o v s k i has consistently rotated players throughout the tournament. I'll be interested to see who he starts tonight since what might be considered our defensive starters played Friday night.
While you and I might disagree with Fox's feeling that drag racing is more "important" than a women's soccer match with nothing much on the line it is a fact that drag racing is a much more popular draw on TV. I do not like it and you don't like it and I believe most that read this do not like it but it is a fact that we have to live with. I am actually surprised that it did not get relegated to Fox Soccer Plus or even to not on any TV at all but only available through the Fox Sports app. Soccer is simply not very popular in this country and particularly women's soccer. We have come a long ways in the time after I began in soccer after I returned from the military in the early 70's but soccer is still a third level sport at best. It is played by much of the youth in this country but that has not really translated into the growth most soccer people expected. There has been growth just slower than I expected. I did notice that FS1 has a replay showing at 22:00 (10:00 PM) EST and that actually surprises me as that is still pretty much prime time for FS1. I am pretty happy that I have been able to watch every match of this tournament with little trouble. That is better than I ever remember in the past. Heck, there are even several English language soccer channels available in the US now although a lot of their programming is taken with Rugby or Australian Rules Football or some such there is still a LOT more real football available now than ever has been in the past. If I choose to I can now watch soccer 24/7 with very little trouble. Having said all that I think network people are misjudging the real growth and should show more in an easily accessible manner. It does not help that people seem to be staying away for this tournament in droves. I would expect that in southern California and even Texas the attendance would be good for all matches and the large swaths of forlorn empty seats does not inspire advertisers to want TV spots and they believe, with some justification, that people in the seats directly relates to people watching on TV. I would bet that matches even at the level of Canada vs Mexico do not even wiggle the needle on the Nelson ratings meters. My feeling is that things are better but that could change for the worse rather quickly if the WNT were to fall from grace and not do well. The recent lack of performance by the men have had an adverse impact and if the women were to fall interest would drop rapidly. I guess we are lucky that the matches are available at all and we should be happy that we are allowed to view them.
LOL. Google Voice typing has attached itself to my phone and I cannot be rid of it. I have since edited that post. it is always entertaining to see how the voice typing interprets what I say.
English pronunciation is such a subjective thing that I have pretty much given up on using any form of voice recognition to type for me. I get most all my information from reading and when I run into a new word or name the way I think it is pronounced is very often WAY off. I do not listen to news or just about anything else. However my eyes have weakened to the point where I am now using audio books and that has improved my pronunciation quite a bit but I still get too many errors when using voice recognition software. Even my Echo's sometimes have trouble with my old voice even though I have spent time training them. I screw up my typing enough without a computer helping me do it.
[QUOTE="FanOfFutbol, post: 38486722, member: I screw up my typing enough without a computer helping me do it.[/QUOTE] Yes, we know, it's Haiti not h a t t i.
I know that, sorry. Like I have said before I should never trust machines to correct my typing. That was a spell check error. Spell check without context checking is a REAL dangerous thing. Kind of like a little knowledge. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. So is a lot." Albert Einstein
My post wasn't entirely serious and I wasn't expecting it to prompt two well-thought out essays pointing out the rationale it failed to acknowledge. My own personal overly simplistic and only slightly twisted perspective as a subscriber to the statement in @jackdoggy 's signature is that the USWNT has an indisputable right to bump any sporting or non-sporting event with which it happens to compete for live air time on a channel to which the average household has access. Of course, I would probably run any given broadcast company into the ground with that perspective, especially since in this case it might also have involved leaving a massive pile of cash on CONCACAF's desk to secure the TV rights a lot earlier.
Lineup out: Starting XI vs. Canada: 1-Alyssa Naeher; 2-Emily Sonnet, 7-Abby Dahlkemper, 11-Ali Krieger, 19-Crystal Dunn; 8-Julie Ertz (capt.), 16-Rose Lavelle, 9-Lindsey Horan; 20-Christen Press, 13-Lynn Williams, 14-Jessica McDonald
Saw that and felt compelled to post here. I agree with most of it. Rapinoe, Lloyd and Heath were like molasses on a cold day last time out and I posted earlier they should sit. What I dont agree with in Mewis not starting. She scored two of four goals against Mexico.... what more does she have to do? The only thing that I can think of is that since she just played 90.. they may give her less minutes? Who knows. Horan is ok but doesnt have the shot Mewis has (unless you count shots into row 30) and is a more like the three turtles that arent starting. If Horan is getting run over by Canada (likely).... expect Mewis off the bench...at 60 no matter what. Mewis and Press are the most dangerous on scoring. Im a little surprised at Ohara
They're playing on only one day's rest. USA is making 6 changes to Friday's starting lineup and two of the remaining starters didn't play a full 90 on Friday. This is a lineup which shows the big depth advantage the US has. Although it's soccer and I wouldn't be completely shocked if Canada got a result today - soccer, law of averages, that kind of thing. From a ratings standpoint, USA has a 200 point rating advantage; with homefield advantage as well, they have roughly an (.85) expected win percentage.
So far the US cannot solve the problem that Canada is presenting in the final third. In spite of a lot of possession by the US Canada has actually looked the more likely to score. Nearly all the US chances have been headers well away from goal that give no problem to Canada's keeper. But it is still early and Canada may tire, or the may not and the US could be the ones slowing down.
A lot of lip service has been given to the players wanting to win for pride or the trophy or whatever but the reality is that everyone seems to be holding back just a little. That is they are playing like this is a game with no real meaning, and they are right
The way Canada is defending the only real chance for a US goal is a shot from distance and Press nails one off the post and then follows it up with a horrid attempt to chip the keeper. Still 0-0