2020 Olympic qualifying final, US vs Canada, Feb 9

Discussion in 'USA Women: News and Analysis' started by lil_one, Feb 8, 2020.

  1. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Thought the less experienced players struggled with ideas: McDonald especially, Sonnett coming out of defense, and Williams, although she played much better after her hustle turned into a goal. The 2 forwards need a fallback game when they play a team they cannot just outrun every time.

    There are games where Dunn is the best player on this team, and this might've been one of them. Such a strong two-way player and you could see how much smarter a player she is than Sonnett on the other side.

    Naeher came up big the one time she had to. Sinclair looks like a shadow of her former self.

    We have such a surplus of strength in midfield they really take turns the most effective although Ertz is a rock.
     
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  2. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    But also the only one where the competition is of any standard.
     
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  3. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    McHale was such a piece fo crap. Literally the last thing he did on a basketball court was to complain about a call.
     
  4. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    @taosjohn you were right. They are still thuggie. Sinclair's elbow was dangerous and unnecessary, it wasn't going to help her win the challenge, and she was always going to get busted for it. It was done just as a chance to injure another player. And, then she held her head to divert attention from her attack on Kreiger's head. She's scum.

    To me, Horan continues to look like a 9.

    For having a goal and and 2 assists, Williams didn't have a great game. But, that was a sweeeet pass to Pinoe and that was a nice soft header to Lindsay.

    I thought the player of the match was Canadian defender, Buchanon.

    Aside: Aly Wagner didn't bug me this match. She's improving.
     
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  5. Lloyd Heilbrunn

    Lloyd Heilbrunn Member+

    Feb 11, 2002
    Jupiter, Fl.
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just read @Beau Dure suggest the same thing on Twitter.

    It would be interesting, she is better in the air on headers than Lloyd is at Lloyd's stage of her career. And she seems to have some moves in the box.

    And it would let us start Mewis every game in midfield.
     
  6. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    Yep. And, I was thinking, well, when Alex comes back ….. but, Morgan could move to one of the attacking wing spots. I think it would benefit her game. Her game was always running at people and she almost never gets to do that as the CF. She'd have to dig in and do the defensive work required of those positions, but she could.

    But, anyway, at least in the near term, give Horan some minutes at CF.
     
  7. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
    https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...ing-final-uswnt-3-canada-0-match-report-stats

    "The U.S. Women’s National Team won the 2020 Concacaf Women’s Olympic Qualifying tournament title with a 3-0 victory over Canada in front of 17,489 fans at Dignity Health Sports Park. Lynn Williams, who also had two assists, Lindsey Horan (who scored six goals to finish second in scoring in the tournament) and reigning Ballon d’Or winner Megan Rapinoe all scored to secure the USWNT’s fifth Olympic Qualifying tournament crown.

    This was the USA’s thirteenth all-time Concacaf title.

    USA forward Christen Press, who finished as the tournament’s third-leading scorer with five goals, was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Her spectacular play along with that of her teammates saw the USA record a perfect 5-0-0 record in the tournament with 27 goals scored and none conceded."
     
  8. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    #83 Cannons, Feb 10, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2020
    I think Horan is a tad slow but somehow, she manages to score and not hurt us too much on defense. I do not see her as a #9 and dont think she really has enough moves to create a shot. She scores fro the edge of the goal area mostly. Rose is the one that needs to step up her game. Mostly invisible for long stretches and gets knocked off the ball easily do to her petite body. I think Heath may be finished .. Lloyd too possibly.both have slowed down. I'd keep Rapinoe for now as a late game sub or maybe as a 60 minute player but dont think she can go 90 anymore. Be interesting to see what happens next. We're still a little too old and have to get younger

    I like Dunn but OMG does she have a lot of bad passes. Im guessing its 50% bad to good. Still like her though... much more than Sonnett
     
  9. blissett

    blissett Member+

    Aug 20, 2011
    Italy
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    It's what I say to myself in the mirror every morning, but apparently there's no way I can get any younger... :x3:
     
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  10. TimB4Last

    TimB4Last Member+

    May 5, 2006
    Dystopia
  11. L'orange

    L'orange Member+

    Ajax
    Netherlands
    Jul 20, 2017
    The U.S. is simply too athletic and physical for other teams. Canada has quite a bit of athleticism and talent--but when I tuned into the game in the second half they were struggling mightily to cope with the very effective U.S. press and to get the ball out of their own end. Within minutes the U.S. scored two goals. Ertz, Horan and Mewis are big, strong, athletic; throw in Dunn, Williams, McDonald, Lavelle (quick, not strong), O'Hara, etc.: It's a hard group to play against. The U.S. doesn't play the prettiest soccer, to be sure, but it's solid soccer that, combined with the team's off-the-charts athleticism, makes for trouble for opponents. You've got to move the ball brilliantly to cope with the U.S. press; a small number of teams are capable of doing that on a good day--but even then you can't avoid 1v1 battles, of course, and those are tough to win against U.S. players. Have we seen the last of Rapinoe and Heath as starters? Rapinoe can't play 70 minutes anymore, much less 90--not with our pressing style--and Heath is past due date as well. Nice players to have for the second half, however. I doubt Rapinoe would be happy starting the Olympics on the bench--so will be interesting to see how Vlatko handles that one.
     
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  12. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    fwiw, I think Wagner was unfair to Dunn in the 1st half. Aly was criticizing Dunn's crosses, but you gotta consider they were from wayyy out. And, they were the only thing we had going on for about the 1st 30 minutes, and if Crystal was repeatedly putting in crosses 35 yards from the endline, that was a coaches decision, not Crystals.

    I wish Dunn would get a chance to reestablish her in the attack rotation and I was disappointed when O'Hara got moved up top instead.
     
  13. FanOfFutbol

    FanOfFutbol Member+

    The Mickey Mouse Club or The breakfast Club
    May 4, 2002
    Limbo
    Nat'l Team:
    --other--
    It is quite a bit of a quandary for any coach. You have a player that has been quite productive in an offensive position and that player gets moved to defense and proves to be one of the best on the team defending. (I believe she was the US's best player in the defense at the World Cup.) That player does lose concentration a little at times and fails to recover correctly when facing weak opposition but still remains in the top two defensive players on the team and she gets forward very well and provides good offensive support and danger out of her defensive position.

    She obviously wants to play more offense but she almost always makes the team better, often a lot better, when she is playing wing/back.

    So what do you do as a coach? It is hard and I think both coaches of the US have done correctly with Dunn. It is like moving Akers back in the formation when she was still productive playing forward. It is a greater benefit to the team and, right now, the US is a bit thin at left back.

    It comes down to the question: Do you play a player where she wants to be or do you play a player where she helps the team the most. Yes, I think she would be productive at forward but I think she makes the team better at left, or even right, back.

    In fact, except for her lack of height, I can see her moving central in a few years when she loses half a step or so in speed and I do not think being short is as much a handicap in the center of defense as many make it out to be.
     
  14. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    My daughter sat down on the couch when Rapinoe had been in the game for about 15 minutes and said, of Rapinoe "She looks tired."

    On the flipside. Rapinoe came in and scored and immediately made us more dangerous. She's going to be hard to replace.

    I gotta add, even though Williams didn't actually look that great much of the time (over-dribble), not enough is being said about her having a goal and 2 assists against a decent opponent. She will be hard to leave off the Olympic roster.
     
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  15. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    My head agrees with you. My heart says try her as a wing/forward and let O'Hara, Sonnet, and Krieger hold down the fullback spots. Would she add more to the team as a winger than McDonald? yes Williams? maybe Press? it's possible (Crystal is a better passer than Christen, and it's not like Crystal can't score).
     
  16. Crazyhorse

    Crazyhorse Member

    Dec 29, 2007
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Absolutely 20 years ago, window is closing rapidly lately. Soon we will not be able to out athlete other teams, coaching will be paramount.
     
  17. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    So you figure Press will be done in December? That's the difference in their ages...
     
  18. Cannons

    Cannons Member+

    May 16, 2005
    O'Hara was a forward in college that got moved back to defense with the NATs
     
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  19. cpthomas

    cpthomas BigSoccer Supporter

    Portland Thorns
    United States
    Jan 10, 2008
    Portland, Oregon
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    People have been saying this for a long time. Yet this year, the US won the World Cup on French soil. A lot of European fans thought the US was by far the best team. And, the US won in 2015, too. If you're right, which is possible, the last five years don't show it.
     
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  20. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    I know that. But, Dunn was an outstanding offensive player in college, too: She led the team with 14 goals and 34 points, including six match-winning goals.[17] Dunn was named ACC Offensive Player of the Year,[17] NSCAA All-American and First-team All-ACC for the fourth consecutive year.[17] She was a Hermann Trophy finalist[17][18] and a nominee to Honda Award.[17]

    And, she's been a forward in the pro's and done pretty well: Dunn finished the regular season with a league-leading 15 goals, giving her the 2015 NWSL Golden Boot and the league Most Valuable Player award.[6] She became the youngest player to win both awards at age 23 and broke the league record with her 0.77 goals-per-game average.[5]

    source: wikipedia
     
  21. Slowpokeking

    Slowpokeking Member

    Jul 18, 2011
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    Great Game!
     
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  22. Crazyhorse

    Crazyhorse Member

    Dec 29, 2007
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You are correct people have been saying this, however womens world soccer has gotten better by leaps and bounds since say 1998.
     
  23. Cliveworshipper

    Cliveworshipper Member+

    Dec 3, 2006
    #98 Cliveworshipper, Feb 10, 2020
    Last edited: Feb 10, 2020
    I’m not sure that’s demonstrable when measured against the USA. More teams have gotten better, but for most of the World that was a pretty low bar.

    a case can be made in Europe, for instance, that while some teams have gotten better, others are worse. Germany, for instance, is a shadow of the early Millenium teams. Norway is worse also. They were powerhouses in the late 90’s.

    not so much now. It’s actually a little shocking that the USA made it through the WC without a loss or tie. That’s the first time, I think.
     
  24. taosjohn

    taosjohn Member+

    Dec 23, 2004
    taos,nm
    1991
     
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  25. RalleeMonkey

    RalleeMonkey Member+

    Aug 30, 2004
    here
    Both Germany and Norway were without their best weapon. Norway's opted not to play. And, for Germany, (I don't know how to spell her name) Gzenifer Maroszan? was out injured. They weren't at their best. And, oddly, France left their top scorer home. And, I might be wrong, but didn't Spain?

    It was a weird world cup in that respect.

    It's unlikely that Norway will ever return to being the power they once were. But, I'd be very surprised if it doesn't turn out that this was merely a trough in Germany's cycle, rather than the start of a trend for them.

    Yes, the U.S. is in the middle of what is probably the best run in our history. And, this squad may go down as the best in history.

    But, so many teams are on the rise. And, next WC it would be surprising if any of Lloyd, Pinoe, Heath, Press, Brunn, Krieger, O'Hara, are there.

    At any rate, there are so many teams that are dangerous now, and whose programs are on the rise, some of them are bound to rise up each cycle and be a threat. Just naming off teams that could, three years out, be a threat to win the next WC: Germany, France, England, Netherlands, Denmark, Japan. Maybe Sweden. And, Spain will be a team that could knock off one of those.

    And, maybe.....Maybe? Brazil could return being a team capable of - not winning a WC - but knocking out one of the big guns.

    I'll say this, Women's soccer is going to be super fun to watch.
     
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