All this kvetching about "the world has caught up"

Getting out of a group ahead of Italy, Argentina is not a huge achievement. Argentina and Italy are mediocre at best, and none of them have a player of Kagtalana's calibre. Moreover, they were really near to be eliminated if Italy could put a ball into the empty net.

Their performance is also unconvincing. SA's defense is very disorganized and chaotic, their defenders are prone to mistakes, and the defense structure is easy to be dismantled, let alone their defense of free kick is abysmal. A capable manager with 7 years at her hand should at least make the backline coherent which Ellis failed. They are only decent at transition when they attack.

Ellis should be nowhere near the shortlist of the USWNT's next coach. The only team other than the SA NT she managed is a semi-pro women's club. This resume looks far inferior to any NWSL coach or NCAA DI coach. Furthermore, Ellis managed a team relied on low block, staying compact, and making Kagtalana's speed to take advantage of transition. This is not the style that any ambitious NT should try to imitate.

 

I was confused for long by the fact that you were all talking about the South-African coach and at the same time some were talking about Ellis. I didn't remember that South African coach's name was Desiree Ellis, and everytime someone was mentioning Ellis I was assuming they meant Jill Ellis and I was asking myself: "What the heck Jill Ellis has to do with this??? ".

Now I guess it all finally made sense. But to make it clear for dummies like me, I suggest using the full name of Desiree Ellis in a discussion involving USWNT, or Jill Ellis' specter could be looming around!

 

Kagtalana is not a average good player, she is one of the best winger in the world. The point is their opponents' talent level is even lower. No player is Italy and Argentina side is remotely close to Kagtalana's level.

Could you tell the difference between strategically staying compact and low down the pitch when France scored very early in the knockout games so they could make most use of Mbappe's speed and SA being constantly pinged down by opponents who lack any first rate talent? When playing opponents less capable than Belgium, Argentina, Croatia, France dominated possession and didn't play low block.

Desiree Ellis is a grassroot coach from a backward football country, her resume is unremarkable. You cannot seriously believe coaching a semi-pro south African women's club is of equal weight of coaching a NWSL or NCAA D1 side. It's also absurd a coach could not make her team's defense remotely coherent to be considered as a candidate for the USWNT.

Moreover, if Desiree Ellis is indeed good, why there's no interest from clubs in America or Europe after their run in the world cup?

 

Totally unremarkable record. Did you go through their rosters, almost everyone played in the not very competitive Seria A, and key players of two top Seria A teams are international players which says a lot about true quality of Italy.

 

For someone who appreciates her so much, you could make an effort to spell Kgatlana correctly!

 

SA did win the Africa championship last time around(turned out to be the 2nd best continent in making the WC playoffs round) iIf anything, the coach proved her mettle in an major tournament But African coaching can get sketchy; Monaco has just hired the disgraced Vilda/SA used to have the hated Pauw/Zambia’s been accused sexual abuse(yet still their coach)/Camaroon looked like they were maiming opponents back in 2019. Waldrum has been criticized for not showing up for some of Nigeria’s games

Italy’s league has recently surpassed Sweden as around the 5th best In Europe(practically all the Swede NT’s now are in the WSL). But until a couple years ago, their league had only an $35K max salary cap—hard to recruit your country’s best athletes or make it into an popular participation sport when that’s all your getting at the end of the rainbow!
At least this year, two Italians made the top ten ‘Golden Girl’ nomination(for best youth players) whereas zero Americans made it—so maybe an more brighter future for them

but after watching Italians the other day make Harry Kane look like an combination of Pele & Mbappe , it’s fair to say the famed Cantenaccio defense ain’t no more!

 

It's Morocco.

...or in Italy, indeed: Sembrant in Juventus, Asllani in Milan.

 

You understand Golden Girl is for Europe based player correct? How many US U21 players were playing in Europe, and how many Italians?

 

Good point!, since Colombia’s Cacedo & Australia’s Fowler made the top 10 list, thought it could be open to everybody(but those two play for Euro clubs)

 

If Carli Lloyd were elected President of the United States, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and the most important human being who ever lived she would still believe that she had not received the attention she deserves. Resentment fuels her soccer greatness.

 

I don't get your point about attention. She has a valid argument that relative to her levels of performance, she was under-promoted. Whether you agree or not is up to you. I don't see it as resentment. I see it as her reality. How you see it is up to you. I'm sure it is hard to appreciate unless you have lived it or something relatable.

 

The lack of an answer to the questions further illustrates what this forum has become to me. A place for people to promote personal agendas and existing narratives without any burden to back them up with rational analysis or fact. Respectful back and forth is rare. just another place for people to engage in soccer tribalism as opposed to sharing interesting opinions. For the most part, I find BS less interesting. Shame

 

"Soccer playing kids in the US are constantly challenged to perform under pressure in a way that they aren't in other countries."


This is a completely sllly comment when placed against the soccer cultures in the best European countries. You don't think young players are challenged to perform under pressure in Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, France? Please.

 

The ability to switch teams, enter a portal etc at the first sign of difficulty suggests the US environment has its challenges and is certainly different. There is pressure, but the comment implied it was "harder" there I disagree. If that was not the intent then ignore me

 

It's quite simple really, football in Europe, until very recently was NOT a game played by women, in fact in the UK (for example) it was actually banned until 1971! It's easy to be the dominant team when nobody else is playing!

Womens football has only been a 'thing' in most European countries for about 5 years (if that!). My kids were never given the chance to play football and they're both under 30! Now, it seems that finally womens football is being given a chance and let's be honest football (mens) has been a 'thing' in Europe for 100 years+ - & 150 years+ in the UK! Because of this there is a LOT of experience in the men's game AND a LOT of money! When you consider how (even now) there is minimal support of the womens game in Europe and how much improved the womens national teams already are you can only imagine how good the national teams will become when global clubs like Manchester United or Bayern Munich properly support their ladies!

This is why already the US womens team is finding it more difficult than before, and the competition will only get more intense. If anybody thinks that the US womens team will always be the top ranked team once the rest of the world start taking womens football seriously then they're in for a shock!

Of course the US women can and probably will be among the top teams, they could also sometimes get back to being ranked no.1 but if the game continues to grow in Europe (and eventually South America) then I think you'll find that the number one ranked team is going to chop and change and that can only be a good thing for the womens game.

Spain, it seems are currently no.1, with England, France and the US also 'up there', I wouldn't be surprised to see European teams now start to dominate international competitions for the next few years.

 

I expect Latin America to pick up to as well very soon.

 

Good post. As the sport matures world-wide, it is less and less likely that any country will dominate for very long.

 

Lets be honest thinking you are fitter, more skilled, work harder, stronger (or anything else) than human beings from 'other' nations than your own is nonsense. The Nazis were the last people to believe they were 'superior' beings based on nothing more than the part of the world they lived in.

The reality is that EVERY country on the planet has the capability of putting together a winning team in ANY sport. The only advantage the US (and some other) countries have is a very large pool of players to pick from but as the Netherlands, the Croatians, the Uruguayans etc have shown us in the past that while it may be a bit 'easier' when you have a large country and a larger population to choose from it is no guarantee of success.

If anybody in US football (or soccer if you prefer) actually believe the 'Americans are fitter/stronger/have better mentality' and that this is the thing that's going to propel the team to success, that it is the 'key' to winning football matches then they are in for a shock sometime down the line.

There is no reason why the US can't be no.1 in the football rankings but there is no reason why, for example the Italians can't be either.

Womens football in Europe is on the 'cusp' of finally becoming a 'thing' for the first time EVER its getting some exposure in the sports news, for the first time ever crowds of thousands are starting to watch the games and if it continues this way then I can only see growth for the womens game on this planet, when that happens womens football 'may' one day become as competitive as the mens and that will only be a good thing for the sport both here in Europe, in the USA and probably in other parts of the world (specifically where the sport is 'big' in the mens game) too.

Here, compared to the mens game the womens game is still 'tiny', 40 million English people go through the turnstiles of the mens games every season, thats 40 million people out of a population of 55 million, if the womens game ever became even 1/2 as popular as the mens game, if it even got 1/4 of the funding then it is going to really flourish.

As a side not I just want to say that some of the 'comment' made by men when the womens team get any coverage here are pretty vile still! There is a percentage of the population here that seem to have trouble with there masculinity! Its like they feel threatened by the womens game! Womens football will be held back until these idiots mature enough to appreciate the womens game for what it is! Personally I've only recently seen womens football and I have to say I quite enjoy it and am proud of the women that dedicate their lives to their sport without the obscene riches the men get!

 

Not sure how to take this as a male that does not follow the men's game at all but cheers relentlessly for the USWNT. And, I will add, it does not bother me one bit, the World's women Soccer teams are caught up.

 

there’s signs that the US/NWSL are fighting back though;

The NWSL now recorded the 3 highest transfer deals on record earlier this year

14 full time professional teams

Competent coaches including 3 from Spain

minimum age reduced to 15(thus we can start developing em at a younger age)

signing Yohannes is an big coup(she had 2 other nationalities to choose from)

Right now Spain is a cut above everybody, but several of the other top Euro leagues are struggling with being all professionals. Maybe WSL only full time pro league but got a ratio of only one English player for every two foreigners(West Ham started 0 domestics)—-the league got an heavy dose of criticism from its fans after the France loss on why their not producing enough local talent

 

From what I understand, Ethiopia doesn't allow dual citizenship, so she's only a US citizen at present.