SheBelieves Cup - March 1 thru March 7

CUJO?

 

My old brain failed me again. I meant that he played for Grenada. The name I was struggling for was Shalrie Joseph. I am sorry for the confusion. But if I cannot confuse people, what good am I and what am i doing on an internet message board?

 

Did we learn anything from those games?

 

We learned we have a lot to learn.

 

Actually, we need a 9. Macario can do the job, then Shaw. Sentnor can't. She works real hard , has decent skills but she is simply too small for the position.
Johannes needs toughness n improve her work rate, both sides of the ball. She has the skill, the vision when she has the ball but when she is marked, she stays marked. She does not work hard enough to free herself. She obviously not a strong defender.

 

Scurry was off once, and not very early. Hong was off on every shot IIRC. Try to hang on to some semblance of balance, couldja? We're not exactly the empire of evil just because we win a lot...

 

To quote Merle Haggard, "the wrinkles on our foreheads show how fast we're growing old...

I can hardly tell the difference between 30-year-olds and 15-year-olds these days.

 

Being a woman up helps?

 

The athletes on the team are not particularly technical, and the technicians are not particularly athletic. Coach needs to get the blend right.

 

I thought the match showed that Lily was under instructions to push the attack and leave the back four and Coffee to take care of the defense. I thought she was arguably POM, though Sonnet and Coffee, and Girma could all be made cases for.

Rudd certainly earned her spurs in this match. That was one heckuva play on the biggest threat of the game, and it wasn't her only moment.

I thought that just about everybody on our team had some trouble reading the surface-- at the start it seemed like every pass was overweighted, and then when we tried to adjust for it everything died before getting there. And then when we adjusted again, well it was back to too far again.

 

Lily was supposed to help more on the offense for sure but she didn't do that particularly well either. At least nothing like you 've seen from her from prev games. I think that was because Colombia crowded &marked the midfield tight. Lily didn't see the ball much. In fact we couldn't move the ball much thru the midfield. That was why you saw Lavelle dropped back deep to receieve the ball, more often than she should need to. That in turn caused Sentnor to be isolated up front, she couldn't do much without Lavelle, without Rodman!

 

I thought it was good window but looking forward to Japan. I think we need to be tested more, particularly to find out who our starting goalkeeper is going to be. Defensively they have been impressive but they are going to need to find a way to starting scoring more IMO. Maybe that will come from getting certain players back, or maybe Emma will have to tweak the system. Japan will be a good test too see where we are at.

I thought G Thompson had a very very good window. She could be starting at the next WC.

A. Thompson really needed that goal, and it was a banger! She is clearly in good form at Chelsea and Emma seems 100% committed to relying on her as one of our top attackers. It appears to me that things just haven't been completely clicking for her with the Nats however. Hopefully the goal will give her some confidence going forward. They need more consistent scoring out of her than she has delivered so far IMO.

I'm a big Lily fan but she is going to have to start showing more urgency out there IMO. I thought she was pretty aggressive and looked reasonably good defensively against Argentina but not so much last night. She needs to be more locked in both offensively and defensively. Off the ball, she kinda drifts around finding pockets but there are times when she needs to be more decisive with her off the ball runs IMO. I'd like to see her get a bit more assertive offensively. When Heaps came in there was big change in mentality. Maybe Emma wanted different things out of the players but I doubt it. She is the youngest player out there and it's easy to forget, you kinda get the feeling that she isn't always 100% sure as to what she is supposed to be doing. But man she is just so technical on the ball and is such a natural and fluid passer, just such a joy to watch her do her thing.

Sentnor kinda showed her limitations last night IMO. Obviously she had a great camp and there seems to be a place for her on the team. She sometimes struggles in holdup and against physical players and needs to get a bit tighter on the ball. She is relentless though and has natural nose for the goal which I'm not sure you can teach. She's young and will continue to get better.

 

It’s looking more & more like Japan going to win the Asia Cup, especially after that 11-0 demolition of India. I think these tri games will show where the US stands(I got Japan at top 3).

I’m not getting is why Hayes decided to go with an 4-4-2 with two club playing AM’s in Lavelle & Sentnor at double 9’s?—-it looks Hayes thought the opponents would either bunker or we’re seriously short on strikers

 

We learned G Thompson has made a leap.

We learned that Yohannes isn't quite ready defensively for CM duties, despite some nifty work on offense. Though there was an important tackle & track back in the previous games.

I thought Sentnor was better than most, particularly vs Canada. But her tendancy to pass backwards is frustrating sometimes. Go aggressive towards goal.

We need to develop more #9s. Our top two CFs are out (Wilson & Biyendolo). Along with our top false 9 (Macario). It makes a difference. Wilson was our leading scorer in 2024 (9G, 4 A). Macario in 2025 (8G, 2 A). And despite Lynn missing a chunk of 2025, only Wilson had more across '24 & '25 than Biyendolo's 8.

But the D is really encouraging. Girma & Fox are obviously top notch. Sonnett is real good, too. Davidson is getting closer to a return and Rudd was pretty impressive. But FB is in a much better place than a year ago with G Thompson & Patterson & Reale coming along. Hope Reale is back for Japan.

My guess at Emma's 23 at full health,:
GK: PTJ, Dickey, McGlynn
FB: Fox, Reale; G. Thompson, Patterson
CB: Girma, Davidson; Sonnett, Rudd
CM: Coffey, Heaps; Hutton, Yohannes
CAM: Lavelle; Shaw (Heaps, Yohannes)
WF: Swanson, Rodman; Thompson, Sears
CF: Wilson, Macario

Bubble 23 in mix 24-26: Wiesner, Bugg, Sams, Shrader (should be but isn't), Moultrie, Cooper, Sentnor, Biyendolo.

I'd put eveyone else at least a tier down, atm: Wesley, Dahlien, Hershfelt, Jackson, Meza, La'Bonta, Bethune, Ryan, Joseph, etc.

 

Somebody will be hurt and Moultrie will be there if it isn't her; and it seems statistically unlikely that the 3E will ever be together again (to me, that is...)

 

You are higher on Moultrie than I am. But I disagree that they are competing for the same spot (though it could be #23 depending on how you list it).

Though Moultrie can certainly play wide, it seems Hayes uses her more as a CAM. Which is where she is better, IMHO.

Sears is an out and out winger/wide forward.

In my lineup, I am looking for a 4th wide forward behind Swanson, Rodman, and A. Thompson. For me, Sears is easily ahead of Moultrie in that role. As are Cooper & Sentnor, really.

For me, Moultrie is competing with the other CAMs: Lavelle, Shaw, Heaps, Yohannes, Bethune, and I guess Sentnor/Macario who can also play that role. Now each profile is a bit different. CM/CAM (Heaps, Yohannes). CAM/8-10/WF (Lavelle). CF/CAM/WF (Macario, Shaw, Sentnor). CAM/WF/8-10 (Moultrie).

Of those players, Lavelle & Heaps are clearly ahead of Moultrie to make a 23. And I believe Shaw and Yohannes are too.

Now, I certainly tiink it may end up being a distinction without a difference, as we probably have 26 person rosters. But it is a lot tougher for a player who is primarily a CAM to make the roster when there are already 4-5 players on a 23 who could play that role (Lavelle, Heaps, Macario, Shaw, Yohannes). Not to mention Bethune & Sentnor.

It is thinner on the wings.

 

Back in the day -- way back when I played -- we called the W formation positions center forward, inside left, inside right, left wing, and right wing. I played - not particularly well -- all but center forward.

 

Did we already not know that?

 

I don't think anyone "handled Caicedo". She is what the USA lacks, but her surrounding cast is not as deep or strong. Not convinced you learn that much from one game.

 

Sentnor cannot stretch back lines with pace and does not have the size/strength to be a target up top, bringing others in to play. So many of the attacking options on this team are used to being ball dominant CAMs or wide attackers who use speed and space in behind as a weapon. Even Coffey was a CAM. The team lacks attacking players who are used to creating space or others, or playing off the ball. The youth game does not produce that profile often.

It will be interesting to see how the USA set up with the current mix. For me, there are too many similar player profiles.