I believe it’s complex. But I also think some of the new players are not great “footballers.” They lack a sense of position and lack quick decision making. It’s a rare skill, but I think the US has been enamored with speed so much they forgot that’s a critical part of top level soccer. The old guard has to phase out, but is the Fed identifying the right new players? Not convinced yet.
How many players that saw the field were born and raised in the US and/or played college ball in the US? Palacios: Born and raised in the United States to Mexican parents, Palacios played college soccer for the UC Irvine Anteaters Sanchez: raised in Idaho, played at Idaho State and Santa Clara, plays for Houston Hernandez: born in Illinois, played at the University of Michigan Delgado: played at ASU Ferral: University of South Florida Rodriquez: born in Torrance, UCLA, Washington Spirit Ordonez: born in Riverside, UVa, Houston Casarez: born in Moreno Valley, Radford University. Espinosa?
well you got to remember most US players & NWSL are currently pre season & not looking at their best, France used to give them an regular spanking but by summer the US showed its more true form ala the 2019 WC. the NWSL is not designed to compete with clubs from Europe but to rather compete with other pro sports in this country for the US dollar, so that’s why we have all these trades, drafts, allocation & salary caps(designed for an more balanced league) Outdated UEFA rankings is why England got stuck in such a tough group & couldn’t qualify for the Olympics. But they’ve just debuted 20 year olds Grace Clinton & Beever-Jones and they played as terrific as advertised and would personally give the Lionesses the number #2 ranking NT in the world-/France ranked # one for CB’s for sure with that phenom Lakar/MBock duo & could actually pass the US in official FIFA rankings(dunno what that home loss will cost the US in points?) Macario had GOAT spelled all over her & should have been considered for Balon D’Or after that brilliant season at Lyon. But I do wonder if she can compete at the same level again after being gone for two years? I mean the woso world looks like a completely different landscape these days & it’s not Miedema & Putellas like been on fire since their return from ACL t
regardless of where they were born, Mexicans-Americans are very proud of their heritage and would honored to play for Mexico—especially if over looked over here remembering the days when half the USMNT was foreign born or when Klingman took one look at the messy American soccer scene & headed back to GER to scout for GI babies? lol I give creds to coach Lopez have fantastic scouting abilities, he’s scorched every corner of MEX & AM to find players like Luna(born in San Nicholas De La Garcia, Nueva Leon) & how about the world class performance of Pelayol? she’s plays in Tijuana—-I mean I like to see our coaches fo into an hell hold like Tijuana to scout for players! ah oops forgot to mention; both Luna & Pelayo weee on around their third NT caps, so excellent pickups from Lopez
Fair. speed and power can work. I don't think they forget, the system here has a hard time developing that type of player. they are not celebrated.
Yeah no doubt Alex is well past her prime. The problem is that there is nobody to replace her with within the context of the system that the US is playing. I heard some very similar rhetoric to what we hear from GGG during Kilgore's post game presser. She talks of possession, unbalancing the opponent with the ball to create holes in the defense that can be exploited. About how things broke down because of missing the final pass and not being brave with incisive passing from the midfielders and CBs. Her fix at the end was to try and change personnel in hopes to get the wing backs in positions where they could get to the end line and lob crosses into the box. Smith, Rodman, and Williams for that matter can all run, press, and are adept at getting behind the line of defenders. They are not good with their back to the goal, don't combine particularly well, and are not a great target in a crowded box. None are a good fit for what Twila was trying to do IMO. Rodman is probably the best of the three. Seems to me that all three are actually a better fit for what Mexico was trying to do. So I think the coaching staff is in a bit of a pickle when it comes to the 9 spot. I think they understand that Morgan is declining but the attack as a whole seems to function better when she is in the lineup. Seems like maybe the plan was to try Fishel at the 9. Emma will have her work cut out for her and we will see what happens. It's unfortunate that she will not be on the sidelines until May.
You could look at it that her playing from 5-12 in professional brazilian academies with boys was sufficient so that the ensuing 6 years in ECNL couldn't ruin it...
Delgado was born in Tepic Mexico. To my knowledge only Pelayo and Karina Rodriguez had a little involvement with the USWNT in lower age groups. 98% of the team is made up of ligamx player and lets not forget that Maria Sanchez is the highest paid NWSL player at this time.
Didn't say she wasn't. Said she played at ASU. That's not the point. Rodriguez was born and raised in the US and plays in the US. I didn't say anything about Pelayo, who is she? better check your numbers Why wouldn't she be, she was raised in Idaho, played at Idaho State and Santa Clara, plays for Houston
Maria Sanchez is an interesting case. By far the best women's soccer player in Idaho in high school -- but ignored by major college programs. Then, by far the best player for Idaho State for two years. Transferred to Santa Clara and led the nation in assists in her senior year -- but still not a first round draft choice by the NWSL and ignored by the national teams. Was drafted by the Chicago Red Stars, but hardly played during her year there. (why?) Went to Mexico, starred in the Liga Mexicana, and now playing for Houston and the Mexican national team and cashing in on her abilities. Sanchez never caught the attention of the powers that be in U.S. women's soccer. Till now. I wonder if several of the other Americans playing on the Mexican national team were similarly ignored? Is the U.S. missing out on some good players?
Didn’t Sanchez’ contract get beat by Swanson and Kundananji’s? She definitely opened the purse strings though…
Maybe the bigger question is who is scouting for the USWNT? Still picking exceptional speed for forwards, aka, Alyssa Thompson, and/or athleticism instead of looking for soccer IQ and skills to go along with it. US soccer men's and women's has always been dazzled with speed. Until that mentality changes to looking for well-rounded players, nothing will change with the USWNT.
I would not say Sanchez got missed by the powers that be. Santa Clara picked her up after her first two years in college play, and she was a great player there. Santa Clara is a top program and definitely on the radar of the USSF talent identification group. They did not pick her up for some reason, but I am confident it is not because they ignored her. I have a recollection hearing that she was very hot and cold as a player when she was younger, but I am not sure that is right. When I saw her play for Santa Clara, she was really good.
I hate to even think this, but one wonders if maybe Sanchez has too much melanin for USSF. Or not enough money in that family in her childhood. Or more likely, not the right ratio of Cash:Melanin in her case. I mean, there's a distinct vanilla flavor to that roster, moreso than on the USMNT side, and moreso than at the younger levels as well. There's also a lot of representation from the players of wealthier backgrounds, who could get noticed while playing paid travel ball as a youth. Over time perhaps the recruitment maybe focused too much on the rich kids whose parents could afford travel ball, which then leads to more recruitment of more rich kids who played travel ball. Sanchez was none of those things coming up through high school, but when you see her game, she'd fit in EASILY ahead of some in the USWNT. Shame she got overlooked, and one wonders if some of the other players playing for other nations were similarly overlooked. [Yeah, I always start with the assumption that USSF are stoopid, weak, and incompetent.]
Her dad was an Engineer, not some campesino. Her mom is a woman surnamed, "Jensen," so that cuts down the melanin in her mix. Maybe it made her acceptable to USSF? Or maybe it made her fit in with all of the rest of the wealthy vanilla in that roster? Even though Huerta had BOTH money in her family and less melanin than Sanchez, she STILL had to go rep La Tri before USSF/USWNT bothered to ask her in. Can't have too many brown people in the team, amirite USSF/USWNT?
This is in answer to questions about Maria Sanchez. Do I think she could have made the U.S. national team? I think she deserved callups for what she did in high school and college. I don't know whether she would have made the senior team or not. I have the impression that she's not very fast, but operates on guile and foot skills. Sanchez plays for Houston in the NWSL and Houston is a terrible team. Last year they only scored 16 goals. Sanchez scored four of them and had four assists, so she played a hand in one-half of Houston's goals. That's pretty good. It's a bit difficult to judge a player on a lousy team. Is she merely the best of a bad roster? Or is her performance less stellar than it would have been if she were on a better team? It would be interesting to see how she would do if she were playing for Portland. Was she the victim of discrimination in her career? I would say yes -- but not necessarily for the color of her skin. More important, I think is that she grew up in a small town in Idaho, hardly a soccer powerhouse, and her parents were working class, She didn't play club soccer (to my knowledge) so she wasn't on the radar of the best coaches and the best colleges. I have heard high schoolers say that you have to pay-to-play on club teams to get college scholarships and even to get a fair shot to play on good high school teams. (After two years at Idaho State, Sanchez finally came to the attention of elite soccer schools.) There may be an ol' boys (and ol' girls) network operating there -- as there is in many fields of human endeavor. Soccer in the U.S. is an elitist sport. That's changing but If you're not part of the network, the road to get ahead may be a lot harder. A mystery to me is why Sanchez rode the bench the year she played for the Chicago Red Stars. It possibly had something to do with the scandals in which the team became embroiled that year. As I recall, several players, including Sanchez, moved on quickly from Chicago.
One thing stands out to me is Mexico was the team that played faster, more direct, and attempted more long passes. Every Mexcian scoring opportunity came from counter-attack and transition, not through their own possession and build-up. In other words, USWNT lost to speed, physicality and directness. The issue is less of techinical sophistication that fans are obssessed about but the lineup gravely lack any physicallity and athleticism, espeically on the backline and center midfield.
Overall the USWNT/YNT scout and coaching staffs must be very very bad. Tracy Kevins is a literally moron, but she is still in charge of the U20 YNT. Her game plan and match management in their loss to U20 Mexican YNT last year is amusingly bad. I doubt she even could coach a USL-W or D2 side successfully, but she is the head coach of our U20 YNT. As for scouting, I don't understand why neither U17 nor U20 YNT call up Lilly Yohannes in their most recent camps, a literally generational midfielder that is killing in the UWCL rn got passed over in favor of some random ECNL stars or college freshmen. The coaching, scouting and development aspects of the NT are fully broken. Seriously, a lot of people occupying those key positions will find it hard to be employed in any serious professional league throughout the world.
Interested in how some people claim where development began something I notice is how so much of the youth soccer industry is based on taking sole credit for a process that has many many inputs.
there are a lot of good players. It’s all about how you combine them to make the sun greater. The fixation on individuals is the issue. As ability levels off, teamwork, coaching and chemistry matters. As long as we pay “stars” disproportionately what will change? Players are incentivized to build their own brand and cash in.
who would she fit in instead if and do you think she would have a team around her that leveraged her skills?
are you making assumptions or stating facts? It’s a massive country. Scouts will make mistakes especially in a system that favors early developers over late bloomers. I don’t think it’s fair to trade on hindsight. Look at Ordonez. She was in the uswnt system till u20. Was not capping her at full level a mistake? There are quite a few college players who could argue for a chance. Very few will get one and the ones who can default to another country are blessed. I think Sanchez is in an ideal situation for her. Happy for her. Hard work paid off