All this kvetching about "the world has caught up"

oops; I was writing about the current trends/changes in the women’s game(not the men’s)

 

Men or women it makes no difference.

 

It doesn't seem like it. Despite having neutralized each other, France and England remain ahead. And Germany which gained more points than USA moved to 4th. First ever time USA is 5th.
Spain reached the 2100 points mark

 

That’s cuz the US insists on playing game at home/refuses to go on the road. So despite Canadians loosing to the US, they gain points from that particular game/US looses points

 

If indeed Spain reaches the 2100 mark in the official ratings, they'll find themselves in elite company. As far as I know, only four other teams have ever reached the 2100 plateau: the US, Germany, Brazil, and Japan.

But now that FIFA publishes the ratings to two decimal points, will Spain be denied because of rounding (or lack of it)?!

 

France also reached the 2100 plateau in 2015 (2103 pts, march 27 2015 ranking). This time was for me the strongest french NT, with notably Louisa Necib. I remember the drama against Germany at the 2015 WC, France had dominaited the match until a stupid penalty given at the 83", Germany equalized then won the PKSO...

Possible. But if not now, it's just a matter of a few months...

 

I know you more into the point system of it but Spain can look vulnerable at times do to maybe a lack of competition(when your so much better than anybody else). They certainly needed a wake up call in their last outing; trailing 2-0 late in their home game vs Denmark. But finally scoring 3 goals in the last 15 minutes to win it.
Even though France jumps past England in rankings, I feel the Lionesses are the better team. The problem is that while Sarina Wiegman is an excellent ‘tournament’ coach, but not quite as good during FIFA one week/open window matches(an home tie to Sweden is why they were overtaken in the rankings). Evrn though Wiegman the ever so meticulous tournament coach, doesn’t have the preparation time for the Euro qualifiers and suffers ranking wise accordingly.
So how well a coach prepares their squad for the Olympics will be an major X factor

and got to add; don’t watch much men’s soccer, but did watch last nite’s Brazil/USA match. My surprise was how superior our tactics & formation were to the Brazilians(who were really only better/well versed in ball handling). They ran out of ideas by late first half on how to penetrate our defense other than taking nose dives,

Likewise in woso, we usually have strong tactical formations/defenses but the key would be more on how good Emma’s preparation is for sn major tournament(.obviously Vlatko was miserable at this)

 

And yet, I'm OK with that, in the lead up to the new coach. Going forward, post Olympics, I would expect more international play abroad.

 

Paris 2024: Hayes bemoans 'disrespectful' USA expectations - ESPN

 

She's mostly right. We, in the USA, disrespect and undervalue virtually the entire world in virtually everything. "The Ugly American" was based closely on truth.
I have heard, in other countries, Americans saying "Why don't they (the local citizens) speak English like civilized people."
Many people really don't know just how arrogant we (USA citizens) sound and behave when not at home. It is only the French that exceed us in arrogance and we are rapidly descending to their level.
My only real question is why anyone would expect different behavior. The basic personality of USA citizens has not changed much since the early 1800s.

Shoot, we have even lost a couple of wars this century. (But we can still really clobber most Central American countries in any fight.) As in most soccer matches.
Yep, if the country is small enough we have a good chance of winning in war or soccer. But that is for the men. Fans of our USA women still think they should beat everybody. It is just not that easy anymore.
Our rep only gets us so far and then we have to perform.
The new coach is still learning and the players are still adjusting.
I think we will get better each match unless we get a number of injuries or draw stupid cards.
I am not even particularly worried about Germany except it would be better to play them third instead of second. We may lose to Germany but we can assure advancement with even one draw. Four points should be enough but nine would be better.

 

I have traveled to many other countries and never have heard Americans say anything like this. In fact, most Americans I have seen are impressed and appreciative if those from other countries speak English.