ENGLAND v. SWEDEN All due respect to @Gilmoy, I need to start the threads going forward due to the nature of the conversation. Y'all, please consider your tone in discussion, and that most of you are not regular visitors to this forum. Please lower your hostility and aggression (yes, I have seen it increase). But, I will note that this is largely surrounding officiating decisions. Please use this thread. Please take all ref discussions/opinions there. And, as a reminder: Please read the the Mod Warning.
Both of those crosses on them flags are playing tricks on me...as an amateur filmmaker, Sweden's cross feels more comfortable in that it has a more natural composition than England's dead center cross. Based on these observations, I believe that England will go through since they are more of a disturbance in the force.
To me this should be a quite close match, despite England being way ahead of Sweden in FIFA rankings. One nice advantage to the Lionesses could be... that they are forced to put Millie Bright out of their starters, since she's got the Red Card in the semifinal! Asllani was said to actually not having picked a critical injury, but I have to wonder anyway if she'll be ready and 100% two days from now. All in all, I predict England should manage to win this one. Unless they have to take a penalty, of course. Also, I'd strongly prefer White to win Golden Shoe over Morgan: no offense, but I don't like the winner being the player who raised up her tally with 5 goals vs Thailand. White was more dependable throughout the whole tournament: she scored vs Japan and vs Cameroon, vs Norway and vs USA; a much more complete achievement, in my eyes. Unless Morgan does something absolutely astonishing and spectacular in the final match, I see White as more deserving than her as a top-scorer in this WWC.
I give England an advantage in this match because Neville can rotate his squad, get some players in who did not play in the semifinal, and still have a high-quality squad on the field, thanks to their depth. I'm not sure Sweden can do the same, and I doubt the injured player (Asslani--sp!) plays. Playing for third as always struck me as an odd sports thing. For one thing, I don't think the motivation level for the players can really be very high, at this point. Beyond that, if I'm a coach I'd want to play my second team, for the most part--get players in who've trained and been supportive of the squad for a month but played little or not at all; let them have a WC playing experience. It might be their only chance. Some won't be on the squad in four years, for sure. And, yet, I guess because you get a medal for third--a tangible remembrance--I suppose you as coach feel you have to go for it. If there were no medal awarded for third, I wonder would anyone really care if they came in 4th as opposed to 3rd?
I am happy that they still have something to fight for instead: after having gone so deep into the competition, guess they deserve it. If I was a player, I guess I would care for third place, although being obviously gutted not to be in the main final. Also, there are still individual awards at stake, and I guess they reward both the single player and the whole team. I am sure White is highly motivated by the possibility of winning the Golden Boot at this WWC and her team-mates would be happy to help her reaching this achievement.
I think Neville will drop White for Taylor. Earps, Staniforth, Stanway, Williamson, McManus and Carney might all start.
Yes it does but Neville is always altering the team. I think he’ll think Taylor deserves a start and White will come off the bench.
Yes, absolutely. Especially if the 3rd place winner had lost in the semis to the eventual champs. In that case, I think, they could almost feel like runners up.
This goal only feels like it happened yesterday to me. Good bye Karen ▶How thrilled are @Lionesses🏴 to host #WEURO2021❓ As much as @karenjcarney after her winner against FInland in the 2005 opening match at @ManCity😍 pic.twitter.com/YV3EUUmdgR— UEFA Women's EURO (@WEURO) December 3, 2018
You wouldn't announce it prior to a final. However, it is common in other situations. For a third place match it is an opportunity for the manager to say, "do it for Carney!" A little bit of extra motivation when it might be a little lacking. If she is subbed on or off she can be given an extra ovation. There really isn't any harm in announcing it.
The manager could bring her on one last time for a standing ovation to her successful career on the nat'l team.
I like this idea. So Sweden has to give the US players their silver medals from 2003? We did top Sweden in the group stage.
I think the players do care, or at least they talk a good game on social media. There’s a lot of, “last chance to win something...last chance to play together.” Both teams have brought so much to the tournament, I do believe them when they say it matters to them.
If FIFA make sense, they’d would match the round of 16 bracket based on 1. Points 2. Goal differentials 3. Rankings. Very similar to how the NFL does their playoff format without byes in the first round.
Line-ups are out: ENG: Telford - Bronze, Houghton, McManus, Greenwood - Kirby, J.Scott, Moore - Parris, White, Mead. SWE: Lindahl - Glas, Fischer, Sembrant, Eriksson - Seger, Asllani, Björn - Rolfö, Blackstenius, Jakobsson
And I am very interested in this game. Of course it doesn't generate anything but a tiny fraction of the excitment and of the anticipation for tomorrow's final, as seen on these boards also (and it totally makes sense), but it could be a very entertaining match and I can't wait enjoying it. Wow, after the hit on her neck in the semifinal, I wouldn't have bet on Asllani's presence! Yes, we knew she had been cleared by the medical staff, but I had the feeling she could have been not at her 100%. I hope she's ok and she's going to play well: a key-player for Sweden, by the way. Also, after the good display from Hurtig in the semifinal I had an half-hope she could have started anyway over Rolfö (who didn't impress me much in this World Cup), despite the fact that this one had served her stop for accumulation of Yellow Cards.
Yup, I'm surprised that Asllani is starting...or playing at all. For all intents and purposes, this is a meaning less match other than for pride (apart from White and her attempt at the Golden Boot).
I'll admit to being only mildly interested in this game, but I think I'd rather see England win but without White scoring... #goldenbootrace