I think I would conclude from this tournament that Spain has little depth. They didn't look good until into the second half when they brought old-pros Putellas, Hermoso, and Corredera into the match. Suddenly, they were again the exciting team that played the US near even. If France isn't careful, Spain will displace it as the best European women's team to watch.
The could be true as the coach didn't sub in the U.S. game until late in the match--and I think then only made two changes. It was also almost 90 degrees when the match started, which might have contributed to the sluggish first-half play. I'm glad I'm not in Texas....
Parris had a great chance to equalize late off of an excellent free-kick that was roped into the box and right at her feet--but she botched the volley by using the wrong foot. Not a mistake a veteran player should make.
1-0 USA in the first 6 min. & lucky for Japan to not get a red on a nasty foul you can watch the game over here, but you go to get an Hola pin first SheBelieves Cup live - USA v Japan - Live - BBC Sport
2-0 US at halftime. After surviving the 15 minute uS blitz, Japan was playing quite good. But a poor, short punt by the GK landed in wrong feet! a lot of talk about playing behind closed doors, but the stadium is jam packed, it's redneck Texas, baby, a lil Corona beer ain't nuthin but a thang!
Japan naps one as the US looks exhausted in the 2n half, but thats what you when playing the same old lineup u can't put a snail in Bud Light(it just ain't culture!)
3-1 final, for the US, my two cents worth; Vlatko needs to pace the squad better, they looked dead on their feet in the 2nd half in just this 3 game tourney, what happens when they got to go 4-6 games?
Spain's Alexia Putellas voted MVP of the tournament. From what I have seen, it's deserved. Spain won't be ranked outside Top 10 on FIFA very much longer. I'm really impressed by the quality of their pass-and-move game. It's so difficult to master it. If they could become a tad bit more clinical in their finishing, they will be a very hard team to stop. They could very well become Europe's powerhouse woso team in the 2020s. Spain have been strong at youth level for years already.
for the umpteenth time---half of Spain's squad is from Barca, their chemistry is all ready inpreded. Their great in these quickie tournaments(when most other squads got only a day or two of practise in) but usually flop during the summer(as they don't got the talent or balance to match). Perfect example, won the 2017 Algarve Cup in dominating fashion, only to loose to Austria quarters/Scotland in group play later on that year everytime I've been Texas it's either hot or cold, but where the bleep is Frisco located? & why was the overwhelming color of the fans red?(looked like a Trump rally, lol)
That's three years ago. Euro 2017 was a crazy tournament with a bunch of underachieving teams. Even the Germans couldn't make the semis then. Hardly relevant in 2020. Spain have something in the making here.
they didn't improve at last year's WC; record was 1 win ,1 tie & 2 losses, coming out of a group that didn't do well in the playoffs(both Spain & China eliminated at round of 16, Germany by the quarters). Of course it's going to be hard to score against them; after all, all they do is pass the ball to each other for 90 minutes or until they've lull the other side's defense to sleep. They've done great at the youth scene, but main goal scorer/central striker, Claudia Pina just lingers on the bench at Barca all year(think she's just got one goal to her credit) possibly the winger, Navarro,might be better & might give them some much needed speed, but don't think she's made it yet to their senior NT. basically Spain is Barca with out Lieke & Caro.
Frisco is just outside of Dallas! And yesterday was an “average” for us! It definitely wasn’t as hot as many people think haha
Yeah Texas weather can be very unpredictable. Frisco is just north of Dallas. Very fast growing city that didn't exist back then when a couple of years ago it was just all farmland. It’s where Dallas Cowboys trained at also.
England seem to have a lot of problems. Neville needs to figure out who his best players are and start playing them together more often to develop chemistry. He's been mixing up his lineup a lot--sprinkling in young players--and the team just isn't very cohesive and doesn't seem technical and creative enough. At the same time, veterans such as Houghton and Parris have not been good enough. I'm not sure Houghton should be starting anymore--and Greenwood is not good enough, IMO. I'd play Daly or Stokes before her. Parris has talent but fails to make plays. I don't think Neville really has a grip on his personnel or his tactics.
Not sure if it’s the lost of the World Cup or something else that makes them look like a second rated team.
Didn't watch much of the SheBelieves Cup at all, but Parris probably is on some thin ice when it comes to the starting lineup. Once Mead is healthy again, it may well be Hemp and her on the flanks. Houghton hasn't been good for a while from what I've seen. Not sure why she's still getting so many minutes for club and country. Neville really should be getting a good deal out of his midfield. Even without the Scottish and Welsh players, there's considerable talent there, but I guess something's just not clicking.
She had many chances to score but fails. She has bad touches or not much football IQ when players were wide open to pass to.
A bad coach can take a group of players and make them perform below the level of the worst player on the team. A poor coach can take a group of players and get them to perform somewhere around the worst third of the players involved. A good coach can take a group of players and get them to perform at or near the level of the best third of the players involved. A great coach can take a group of players and get them to perform better than any player on the team. Neville is not a bad coach. Nor is he a poor coach. But he does not reach the level of a good coach either. He is somewhere between bad and good and that is not really good enough for the England team. They deserve better, much better.