They will win it one day (I'd say within the next decade). They certainly have the talent and depth. I just think the French league needs a little more depth with its teams. I believe A. Henry was really benefited from playing in the NWSL for a short while. I recall reading a comment she made about how intense the American girls train. I would like to see more French players come over and see how the training and competition is in the U.S.
Yes. And I hope Neville (or whoever is coaching Team GB) doesn't just pick England players with a token selection from Scotland or Wales (no offense to Northern Ireland, but they don't have any players who are on the same level as the other 3 federations).
I’m pretty even handed. A PK would have been contrary to the handling law. The law is what it is, not what you want it to be.
This is false. If you read through the entire REF thread for the 2019 WWC, you will see comments made for all matches and they are fairly consistent in their interpretation of the laws, changes, or clarifications to the rules. Please don't diminish their professionalism on a whim that they are bias.
We fans certainly hope so! GB fielded a combined team in London'12 because they were host. The team actually chosen was 16 from England + 2 from Scotland (Kim Little, Ifeoma Dieke). IIRC, Fishlock was injured during that time frame? For Rio'16, Scotland, Wales, and N.Ireland's (male-dominated) FAs vehemently opposed it, fearing that FIFA would use Team GB to chip away at their independent FIFA/IFAB status, so they didn't even try. (Then England finished 3rd in Canada'15, which would have qualified GB.) Apparently, those fears have largely been disproven, and last October, the four FAs agreed to let Team GB rise again iff England qualified via this WWC, which they just did. It isn't clear yet whether Team GB can freely pick from all 4 home teams, but they'll be there in some form.
OK, thanks. I thought the article mentioned something about the other confederations not minding being pooled together into Team GB, but that Scotland and maybe Ireland federations wouldn't send any players. I could be wrong, though. I hope I'm wrong.
Does anyone know, roughly, the breakdown of USA to French fans in the stadium? It sounded pretty ruckus for both, so I'm assuming about half and half.
Ireland isn't part of GB, Northern Ireland is. And FIFA has said that any player participating will not jeopardize their international status.
Very true...and just like Master Card at WC '98 it was everywhere you wanted it to be. Unfortunately nobody was able to use American Express. Ps...any takers?
Oh lord..... "If the U.S. win tomorrow, I will put on a wedding gown and I will pose for a picture in front of the Eiffel Tower."@AlexiLalas is really confident France will beat the U.S. 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/ok5BTcLeQ3— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 28, 2019
I absolutely disagree. This is about winning. The US team has the talent and experience to to just that, 9 times out of 10.
I just want to say I’m really sad to see the French team go. You want to see the host team have success and I really enjoyed watching Le Sommer, Henry, Gauvin, Diana, and Cascarino. Who knows what might have been had they met us in the final instead of the quarters.
I still can't understand why did they give themselves such a strong bracket half as the host. Even their group is one of the toughest.
Oh, it was definitely changed. The fact that any handling that scores a goal directly, or gives a player possession and leads to a goal or goal scoring opportunity is now illegal even if totally accidental, is a major change to the way the law has been for nearly 125 years, ever since it was changed in 1897 to make only willful (deliberate) handling illegal. Also the fact that a goalkeeper can no longer score a goal by throwing it from within their own penalty area, is a change. Admittedly it was an unlikely scenario but it was permitted. Now it results in a goal kick. There were a bunch of changes to the interpretations surrounding deliberate handling as well, but to say the law was not changed is inaccurate.
Wasn't it you the one claiming, in another thread (Norway-Australia, I guess) that the game would have been rigged to allow France to reach the final?
The americans are physical the strongest team, athletically strongest. They have the best condition values. That means they can run, run, run. Wherever the ball is, there are already 3 americans nearby. They do not need to win the ball. They just need to bother. Then the French can not play what they want. The americans are still relatively good at passing. That is the difference. Evil awakening for France. Lyon wins the Champions League almost every year. But the best players there are Hegerberg and Maroszan. Ultimately it stays the same. The two heavyweights in women's football are No. 1 USA and No. 2 Germany. Since the first World Cup either Germany has won or the team that Germany has beaten. 91 USA vs Germany 5: 2 USA world champion 95 Norway vs Germany 2: 0 Norway world champion 99USA vs Germany 3: 2 USA world champion 03 Nobody beats germany 07 Nobody beats germany 11 Japan beats germany. Japan world champion 15 USA vs Germany 2: 0 USA world champion. The americans have the most world championships and the most Olympic victories. These are the two teams you have to beat to become world champion.
Yes, I would agree with those. But I think the interpretations surrounding deliberate handling were already understood by those who actually knew the law. When I first read the “clarifications” my response was “No duh”.
The americans are physical the strongest team, athletically strongest. They have the best condition values. That means they can run, run, run. Wherever the ball is, there are already 3 americans nearby. They do not need to win the ball. They just need to bother. Then the French can not play what they want. The americans are still relatively good at passing. That is the difference. Evil awakening for France. Lyon wins the Champions League almost every year. But the best players there are Hegerberg and Maroszan. Ultimately it stays the same. The two heavyweights in women's football are No. 1 USA and No. 2 Germany. Since the first World Cup either Germany has won or the team that Germany has beaten. 91 USA vs Germany 5: 2 USA world champion 95 Norway vs Germany 2: 0 Norway world champion 99USA vs Germany 3: 2 USA world champion 03 Nobody beats germany 07 Nobody beats germany 11 Japan beats germany. Japan world champion 15 USA vs Germany 2: 0 USA world champion. The americans have the most world championships and the most Olympic victories. These are the two teams you have to beat to become world champion.[/QUOTE] For years, I've implored the French to focus more on fitness--mental and physical. A few French fans scoffed at the suggestion but those points come up each France loses a match, in which they were technically the better team.They weren't mentally prepared for the moment and that's on the FFF and the players, especially the ones who have been to the rodeo multiple times. This weakass circuit training ain't going to cut it. https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=1251291491610814