[NDR] Cafe East or WWC 07 (R)

I watched the replay of the U.S.-North Korea match and it didn't seem to match the news reports I'd already read.

Yes, NK attacked with pace and skill but the U.S. seemed to handle it well. If not for the goal that went through Solo's hands, U.S. wins 2-1.

The reports throughout the day made it sound as if the Americans were completely overwhelmed and outplayed.

As women's soccer continues to grow and develop around the world, it is going to be more and more difficult for the U.S. to dominate.

Heather O's goal was very nice. One-timer off the outside of her foot into the top corner of the net ... not easy at all.

 

I only saw the second half, but I agree. It was definitely a close game in which both teams created chances and the final score seemed very fair to me - at least as it reflected the play in the second half.

There's still a huge gap between the top teams in women's soccer and the next tier, but North Korea may end up in that top tier after this tourney. Sweden apparently also had all they could handle from Nigeria, which has never performed well at the WWC. And England may be ready to challenge to establish itself among the best teams. Each WWC has more competitive teams than the one before and the overall quality of play keeps improving.

I also agree that the US will find these events more difficult. Unfortunately, the US tends to play too many games at home against dismal teams. I have no idea why the US schedules opponents at home that they know they're going to blow away.

 

Two more finals from Wednesday.

Norway 2-1 Canada. Canada had the early lead but Norway gets two in the 2nd half.

China 3-2 Denmark. Back and forth game with China getting the winner in the 88th minute.

Group C
Australia 3 pts
Norway 3
Canada 0
Ghana 0

Group D
Brazil 3 pts
China 3
Denmark 0
New Zealand 0

Next games are on Friday in Groups A and B. The U.S. plays Sweden at 4 am CDT.

 

Evan and I have been spending our early,early mornings watching the games live His sleep pattern is so off now so we decided to just enjoy the Cup and sleep off and on during the day.

 

Agreed. The weather played a huge factor in the game. It helped that the other teams in our group tied as well.

 

We played much better today. We need to make sure we take care of Nigeria and hope that Germany takes care of England/Japan.

We also need Sweeden to play well vs NKorea.

 

There's a fair chance for an interesting US v England match up in the second round. I think the other side of the bracket may be a bit easier.

 

Curses! I opened this thread in a tab along with my other subscribed threads. Oh well, good to hear that the US came out strong today.

 

Just a reminder that the US plays Nigeria on Tuesday:

(from www.soccertv.com)

Brazil is also looking good, blowing out hosts China 4-0 over the weekend.

 

I think the US game will either be played a few hours earlier or postponed due to a huge Hurricane.

 

*smacks head for going to the soccer section on the Chronicle's website*

Oh well

USA! USA!

QF against England is Saturday IIRC.

 

COME ON USA !!!(See you in the semi - final )

 

I haven't kept up with the WNT, but it seems that without Wambach we'd fall apart. I mean, when Hamm was playing she was a big part of the team but she wasn't THE team. It just seems that in the few games I've caught this WC that everything funnels through Wambach. Thoughts?

 

I kind of agree. Wambach has really stood out.Not really a surprise but I did expect to see more from the rest of the team toverall we haven't played as well as I thought we would. Today's match was a lot harder on the team than it should have been. Very disconnected and choppy.

 

I think you're right about Wambach. It makes sense to feature her, since she's physically overwhelming for most teams and also happens to be an outstanding finisher. If I were starting a women's team and could pick any player in the world, she'd probably be my pick.

But everyone knows that if you slow her down, you give yourself a pretty good chance of winning. And the level of talent of the other top teams (and even surprises like N. Korea) continues to improve.

I think the main difference with the Hamm Era teams is that the rest of the top teams have continued to improve. The Hamm teams got a lot of contributions from other players, in large part, because most opponents didn't have enough quality defenders or midfielders, or even lacked tactical awareness. I'm not sure that most of the other US players from the Hamm teams would enjoy as much success if they were playing in their primes today. The competition is just so much better (and, unfortunately, the US continues to play too many crappy teams at home for preparation and running up scores that mean nothing).

I think another problem for the US team in this tournament is the lack of substitution. You have to distribute playing time in a short tourney like a world cup. It's not a three game event - it's a six game event. I think the US may pay for the lack of substitution in the first round in one of the later games.

 

For the Semi final against the USA team, we'll bring our east-german "ladies" in,
hope they hide their beards ...

 

Damn german beer, have to change to an american light beer.... (Puke ...)