SheBelieves 2024

This is great! I was afraid that I could have missed Japan's second match, had it happened in the European night (so my dilemma was if I was going to hope for Japan to win the tournament or if I would have preferred to see them lose the first game to USA so I was guaranteed to follow both their games live).
Now, no dilemmas: I can comfortably root for Japan to beat the USA and then to play in the subsequent first slot anyway (European evening, well watchable from me).

 

To address previous questions about why Yohannes wasn't called in for the W Gold Cup, remember that the tournament was cap-tying. She may not have been ready to make that commitment so young and so quickly. This is a better chance for her to test-drive the squad.

 

This rosters shows me if you’re young and have the opportunity get yourself to Europe over the Nwsl.

 

Shaw 19, Moultrie 18, Yohannes 16.

When's the last time the three youngest players on a roster averaged 17 years old?

 

With an incoming EU coach... Am not surprised.

So good to see Macario and Swanson back in house.

 

I am not agreeing or disagreeing with this, but I am wondering why you say this.

It seems to me reaching a conclusion on this would involve looking at some numbers. For example, what do we define as "young"? What proportion of young US players in the NWSL get onto USWNT rosters and what proportion of young US players in Europe get onto USWNT rosters? Once we have numbers like that, we could begin to consider which is the better place to play.

 

I don't know the facts, but I thought a lot of angst that we might lose her to the Netherlands was based on the idea that she has NOT been called into US team youth camps. Is this impression wrong?

 

that's the Scuffed Podcast pov. And, it makes sense. Hopefully we win her heart. Wd love to see her and Olivia get some PT in SB.

 

She was called into US Youth camps twice, once the U-15s and once the U-16s. However, although born in the US, she has lived in The Netherlands since she was 10.

 

Kilgore said today that Yohannes was called into a US U17 squad recently, but wasn't able to make it.

Kilgore on Yohannes, mentions the 16-year-old has been part of U15/16 concacaf squads and they invited her into U17 camp but there was a conflict outside of official windows and her club responsibilities. (Q @HenryBushnell)

— Sandra💙💯⚽️ (@Sandherrera_) March 26, 2024

Kilgore has traveled to the Netherlands to scout her and spoken to her family as well.

Sounds like most (potential) dual nats -- rattle the cage a little bit to get the other fed's attention. She might still pick the Dutch, but she has managed to get the USWNT's attention.

 

Despite rooting for a different team from USWNT, I share this feeling.

I want all the good players on the pitch (although I am aware that some, as Sam Kerr, sadly won't ) and all of the teams at their best. Then, may the best win!

 

You need to tell that to their club teams. Well, at least in Swanson's case. Think her first time on the pitch she played 70 min.

 

There are multiple pieces to the recovery process. There is the playing time issues and there is also how hard the player plays and how good the player is at avoiding the worst kind of contact. Quality players are not always, even usually, good at reducing the effect of even bad contact on joints or muscles. To go WAY back in history the best I have even seen at minimizing the impact of impact was Sir Stanley Mathews. (Yes I typed impact of impact on purpose) He played during a period when defensive players could get away with a lot more than they can now (even in CONCACAF) and "kicking" a forward to control their advantage was more than common. I remember seeing him kicked HARD 10 times in a half and tackled with bone breaking power a half dozen more.
Another player very good at reducing the effect of impact was Mia Hamm. The technique both of those used was twofold: 1. They moved the ball quickly small distances that changed the angle of impact to a less dangerous one (Sir Mathews even had the primary move he used and the counter named after him as it was so effective) I do not remember Mia (who unashamedly stole The Stanley Mathews just from the other side) combined with that they both had the ability to use the soccer equivalent of the "Limp leg" made famous by several American Football players like Jim Brown and Gale Sayers which serves to take weight off the leg at the moment of impact. (People complained about both of those, particularly Brown) that he took a long tie to get up after a tackle. His coach, not so politely, told reporters repeatedly "He takes a long time to go down too."

When Swanson got so badly hurt i was surprised as her on field moves seem to have the same "limp leg" look as Hamm's and Mathews' and I was not expecting such a sever injury.
FWIW: The ligament Swanson tore was not any of the usual suspects and i have deduced that the impact was not the primary cause but rather more like "The straw that broke the camel's back" and there was, I think, even a pre-existing condition from years ago. That caused the ligament to be torn in an unusual manner.

The good news is that Swanson is moving very well. The bad news is that she seems a little tentative in contact. When she gets another match or two under her belt I think that tentativeness will go away and she could even be stronger than before the surgery. I have been told by a retired orthopedist that the torn patella tendon surgery is quite similar to the "Tommy John" elbow surgery and that often allows pictures to even throw better and faster after recovery.

Also she needs some "rest" to fully recover but playing will not increase the chances of additional injury.

My Dr. Friend even asked "How the heck did she manage to injure her "patella tendon" during play." He said that he would have problems injuring a knee like her's was from outside even if he had a club and the knee was held still exactly how and where he wanted it. It is a hard injury for doctors to both treat and explain.

Again I understand that simple use will not aggravate the injury and, if it is full healed, impact is no more likely to reinjure the knee than it was before the original injury happened.

That is she is pretty safe from reinjury but that says little about new injury. I think her ability to throw the limp leg will make new leg injuries less likely but nothing is 100% protection and she is just as likely to get hurt now as she was when she started playing.

As I mentioned earlier I think she can go as long as her club wants her too without reinjury risk.

Having said all that the biggest indicator is pain and, should the area start hurting she should get herself evaluated ASAP. Hopefully her club will exhibit care in when and how she plays.

Also I will add one Mia Hamm quote: “Soccer isn’t very social. Plus, if you don’t like someone on the other team, you can do something about it.” – Mia Hamm

 

Yohannes highlights:





Her YouTube highlight channel:
https://youtube.com/@MrDanyoh?feature=shared

 

Well, the club team is paying her salary.

worth watching.

 

Interesting. The two times I've witnessed the Patella Tendon snap where on a basketball court and both were non-contact snaps. Which could very much illude to the idea of "straw that broke the camels back".

 

all five Americans that played at the current Champion’s League, quarter finals, were called up. To be sure, I don’t think that as of yet, Johannes, Albert & Gaetino are right now among the US/twenty-three best players, but that they the nod over NWSL players shows the bold, new steps the USWNT is taking and obviously feel that the training & development from elite clubs like Ajax & PSG is currently stronger than what an NWSL club can give.

that’s not to say the NWSL doesn’t have its own merits; it’s still the highest funded , most balanced & possibly entertaining woso league in the world, but missing the high IQ soccer needed to compete these days for world titles—-it’s basically why the US looked so frustrated at the WC against three teams that aren’t even currently ranked among the top 4 Euro NT’s

she’s an excellent tackler & quick to pass the ball upfield to the open runner. She wasn’t rostered for yesterday’s game though, makes me wonder is she’s currently injured?

 

I had the same doubt, that was subsequently answered on the Champions' League's thread: she was suspended, for an excess Yellow Card in the last game.

 

It's good to see Pugh/Swanson's return from injury and hope to see her recover (although I don't expect her to score goals for the US at the pace she was because part of it was just simply being on a hot streak)

When I saw the replay of Swanson's injury, I always thought her knee buckled even before any contact from the Irish defender, who I thought was making a normal clearance and even pulled short on her follow-through to try minimizing the impact. I never blamed Ireland for the injury; it's interesting to see medical evidence to support that.

oh that's a great story. I don't follow NFL much anymore but I'll try to remember that one.

A propos of nothing except it's a story about a sport I don't follow a lot anymore, Mike ("the Moose") Mussina, the great pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles and the New York Yankees was once asked by a reporter if he would ever accept having a gay teammate.

Mussina thought for a second and replied, "I assume I already have"

 

All part of the international playbook. Dual nationals have more clout. Tend to get more opportunities than players of similar talent who dont have options.