2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup

I hate to see Mal rushed back. I mean, if she's ready, ok. But, I hope they are being very cautious.

Savannah McCaskill on the prelim. Glad to see that. when she was in college, I thought she had a lot of skill. I don't watch much NWSL (I had more free time when Savannah was in college), so I don't know how she's progressed. But, good for her for getting this far.

I'm surprised Macario is being pencilled in as a starter by so many. I'm a fan, but to me, she still has something to prove.

 

Down to 23…

 

Once again strong on defense, short on offense….and apparently no amour anymore for Demalo, Sanchez & Sullivan at mid

fortunately the opposition gotten weaker, or at least FIFA rankings wise; Brazil no more in the top ten(ranked #11), Canada holding on by an thread(#10). Colombia at #23, Mexico at an dismal #35

most likely US will win, just don’t let it go to any PK shootouts, lol

 

Looks like a blood-letting to me. No Sanchez, Demelo, or Sullivan. No Morgan, O'Hara, Sauerbrunn (have they retired?), no Huerta, A. Thompson (why was she on the WC team?), K. Mewis, Kingsbury (no surprises there)

What happened to Ashley Sanchez? She looked like a star from age 10 on and just faded away during 2023. I'm surprised that DeMelo and Sullivan aren't on the roster. And the mystery of Macario continues.

We go from a team that was too old to one that may be too young and inexperienced. Still, solid at every likely staring position, but the bench is full of newbies. I wouldn't go with such a young team if the competition were better in the Gold Cup, but we should do okay.

 

Swanson, DeMelo, and Gisele Thompson are the 3 non-rostered players who will train with the team. Yeah, we’re definitely looking at options now…

 

Love this site for the info it provides. Well done people!

 

I like the 23 women roster except why 8 defenders& 6 mids? I would drop Crysral Dunn n take Demelo..

 

Maybe defenders is where the most open questions are.

 

I recognize Dunn is listed as a defender, but wonder if they will give her a run in the midfield...

 

I don't think this roster is a sign of much other than they are trying to get a look at some players in competitive situations. I am not advocating for players like Morgan, but they do not need to see those veteran players right now. They need to know if Fishel (who has no business being on this roster based on her poor club play), Albert, etc are ready for an event as soon as the Olympics. This looks to me more like a prove it camp for several of them, or we move on without you until post-Olympics.

I am a little surprised by the Demelo omission since she is one of those young players. I am less surprised about Sanchez, even if I prefer her over Demelo. Sanchez's weakness is her defending, and I think that affects her at the USWNT level.

 

This squad is way too young for my taste but I'm curious to see how they do at the same time.

 

And, I'd add Huerta at FB.

General reactions, I hate to see Sully go. But, that late arriving 6 has to be able to put a shot on frame. You can count on Sullivan to sky it. And, she's kind of ok, at all the 6 stuff. Time to try other 6's that are at least ok and can put a shot on frame.

I'd like to see Crystal given a chance in the midfield. Imo, Rose's spot of up for grabs. Crystal could compete with Rose, Olivia, Korbin, for that spot. And, she could spell Linday "American fans are dumb, ffs at least don't listen to Julie Foudy" Horan.

Love Mal, but glad she's not rushed into this roster.

Ya, this roster is weak on scoring forwards. Lynn is the pressing Queen. Midge is the crossing Queen. Mia is an unknown. T is a crossing Queen who we hope will become a scorer. Sophia is inconsistent. Jaedyn is the Hope.

Surprised no Kristy Mewis.

 

with all those “Cossing Queens”, we’re sure missing an striker with an great ‘header’ game as the final target(for crosses). Arguably Morgan, Hatch & Balcar would have been best suited for central striker(but didn’t get picked)
Probably don’t matter though since Central & South American aren’t known for their exceptional defending against high balls.

Watching extended highlights Chelsea last match(though only against 2nd Div Sunderland, Fishel gifted with the opportunity to be lone striker(thanks to Kerr’s ACL) couldn’t for the life of her get an goal or even get an shot off. But playing against an obvious bunkering opponent, her positioning suggested more like an basketball center playing at the top of the key instead of low posting, thus opening more space for the wingers & attacking mids to penetrate & go 1v1 vs opposing defenses.
But this feels very Vlatko-ish with his false #9 narrative that basically flopped at last year’s WC. So with the way they keep pushing Fishel up the ladder, wonder if we’re ever going see much of a change to our game plan?—-i mean we used to be so much better when we used to use play faster transitional, direct soccer, but then the rest of the world has caught up to that

 

Pretty much agree. I'd say that my post was limited by my lack of soccer vocab. From what I've seen, Midge and Trinity are playing the balls in on the ground, rather than in the air. I called that "crossing" b/c the only other description I can think of is "centering pass." And, that sounds like back when the sports guys knew nothing about soccer and they borrowed that from hockey. So, if anyone has another way to describe a centering pass, other than "centering pass," I'm all ears.

 

Can anyone tell me what happened to Jamaica - why they are not in the GC?

 

I'm not saying Hayes is going to play this way, but historically, the USA has been a get-in-behind team. Vertical runs from a striker exploiting space behind the last defender and wingers/wide players breaking the last line with the ball, turning defenders and cutting the ball back. As coaching has improved all over the world, teams have responded by dropping deeper, compressing space and forcing the USA to create in a less "direct" way. Some of the tactical solutions the USA deployed resulted in more players pushing higher in the attack, making them susceptible to counters and making the amount of ground the #6 had to cover, immense.

Sounds simple, but the challenge is to find players that can execute in tighter spaces, move the ball accurately and quickly to move defenders and then exploit the spaces.

 

They didn't qualify. Their world cup players didn't play in qualifying due to disputes with their federation.

 

...that have spent their entire youth/college careers playing in a system that encourages the direct/get in behind/count on naive defending style.

Not worried about the GC. Olympics should be interesting...

 

I watched some of the U-17s vs Haiti today. I saw nothing that would lead me to believe we are trying anything different. If winning CONCACAF is the goal, then we don't have to. Playing these teams in the manner we choose to is only helping them get better. The passing, decision-making, ball striking and general comfort on the ball are spotty at best. The ability to run all day, depth and toughness are there. I paid particular attention to Barcenas and call me a hater, but I'm tired of this approach. Type in her name and you get this

What is Melanie Barcenas known for?



At the youthful age of 15, Melanie Barcenas is already leaving a mark on women's soccer. From becoming the National Women's Soccer League's youngest-ever contracted player to landing a game-changing deal with Nike, Barcenas' rise reads like a Hollywood script.

She may be good for her age, but other than marketing value, what is the rush? Leaving her mark on women's soccer? Are we serious? Our system is back to front. It overly rewards early. From a contract PoV, and I know its early, but the big NWSL contracts seem to go to USWNT players or Internationals who have gone elsewhere with varying degrees of success and returned. The bar for a US player who would walk on to say the Mexico, Jamaica or Venezuela teams is ridiculously high if you have not been preordained by the USSF by the time you hit the League.

 

oh, that's a bummer. Thank you.

 

Barcenas has definitely developed a cult following, which could be interpreted as slightly creepy given her age and how she’s continually hyped via Nwsl/club/us soccer on social media.

Obviously she is unique in her ball skills which maybe is the only thing driving this… but no doubt us soccer picks these 13, 14, 15 year olds and do everything they can to make them marketable stars.. will be interesting how some of them turn out.

 

Ball skills?