Unpopular opinion, but I don’t think anybody will win the next couple World Cup’s cept Spain!—-in one short year they’ve won both the u17 & u20 World Cups to go along with winning the Champions League ala Barca & now even conquered the US ala an Spanish coach winning the NWSL/Spanish player scoring the game winner. They got now the last two reigning Ballon D’Or winners in Putellas & Bonmati/their athletic monster Paralleulo just turned 20 yesterday/the FB Olga scored 2 goals yesterday against the very coach we’re hiring…and still they yet to incorporated into the senior NT, the 17 year Vicky Lopez, who some are hyping as the future Messi of woso! all I ask of Spain, show some mercy, the rest of us like to win occasionally too! Saw this game too, on the con side; Hayes using only one sub even though she’s got an star studded bench…and then that one sub, Lauren James, should of been an starter, as it usually takes her time to get more involved into an match Pro side; a more uptempo style would suit the US. She’s getting strong performances from some of her not so hyped players from her squad Charles, who clearly dominated from her FB spot(surprisingly barely used by Wiegman/ENG NT Nusken, very steady at AM(completely misused by those nutty German coaches) and then not shown yesterday, 20 year old Beaver-Jones, so far 3 goals in the WSL in only 72 minutes of game time!) Big Fish didn’t play yesterday as well, but wonder if others like the Beaver are advancing over her in playing time pecking order? why Hayes kept Kerr & Fleming in there when they flopped their chances numerous times?—so showed maybe Hayes didn’t have enough confidence in putting Fishel in there…. Real Madrid has some outstanding players like Olga & Caicedo, but a lot of journeyman types is why they’re not at the very top. At least my girl, del Castillo(I’ve hyped her many times), with a brilliant dive!—-she might of learnt from the best—Ronaldo, during his long reign at RM
But, although the Olympics mean more on the women's side than the nearly meaninglessness the men's side has become, it is still quite without real meaning. Yes it will be fun to watch but it just does not really mean anything. I, too, would like to have the new manager available a bit quicker but I also very much respect that she takes all her responsibilities seriously. Also in the modern world you do not even have to be on the same side of the planet to interact with others. It would not be surprising to find that the new manager made roster selections and made offensive/defensive choices for each match between now and when she actually gets here. She also, probably, will immerse herself in a virtual flood of video to try and figure exactly what she has available and what she still needs to search for. There is a LOT to do before she arrives and only a tiny part of what needs to be done, at this point, requires personal presence. I feel a LOT better about this hire than I did about Vlatko. I felt he would drastically weaken the team and it appears I was right. This time I feel that we have a good chance of returning to the ascendency in women's soccer. But this is soccer and sometimes a coach is successful at one level and cannot hack it at a higher, or just different, level. We just have to wait and see.
I find one of your points intriguing. You're right, if you're going to pay "record salary" type of money, how wide was the pool of talented coaches that the USSF was looking at? I find it hard to believe there were not equal or better coaches available to take over right away, for that amount of money. I wouldn't call the Emma hire "trash", but I would call out the hiring process and those involved.
Very happy with this appointment. As I said back during the WWC .. Only her or Tony would have been a step up rather than sideways. I tend to agree with Tobin as she says this arrangement is sacrificing the Olympics for future greatness. Emma will change up the selection process to a point where players will have to work for those positions. The world has not only caught up with what we had for so many years but now surpassed us. The only way is UP
I would expect some big surprises in the reconstruction of the team. I think we will see major changes in the midfield from a technical and tactical standpoint.
I would love to see the USA focus on midfield play. The best matches to watch are the ones with strong midfield play.
Hayes era in full effect. Check out the recent call ups: https://www.ussoccer.com/stories/20...ster-for-december-friendlies-against-china-pr
I think that the USWNT players don't really give enough of a shyte about club play for them to truly develop as players, or as a collective. Other nations' players seem to have a greater emphasis on their club play, and in the development that occurs while playing in a competitive environment, especially in the Champions League. The USWNT seem to see their club play as their "part time gigs," or a sort of annoyance between their call ups. To them, it seems as though the "She Believes" friendlies and all that sweet, sweet cash >>>>> anything their clubs do or don't do. Yes. Andonovski sucked out loud and was a running joke. Just getting the team to play together would have been a big boost over the "hero-ball," and 9 field players standing around, waiting for "someone else" to do something we all saw in the WWC. I think there is still enough talent in the pool to contend for big things. But other sides are moving forward in their development and tactics faster than the USWNT side have in recent years. When a lesser-talented side can out-possess them, and reduce the USWNT to 1990's Big Ten-style/1980's League One-style Route One, its a problem. And we shall see if a coach can change the mentality on the womens' side or not.
At least she is including in the rebuilding process the calling up of players currently playing in the top leagues in Europe: Horan and Fishel, and now 20 year old Korbin Albert. Could be the start of more young players bypassing the NWSL and heading to Europe.
I do not know why but it appears, from watching matches, that NWSL's matches are of lower quality than much of European women's soccer. That is more than a little concerning. Right now the difference is small but it really appears that the number of quality players on each team is too low. That means that the few quality players are so isolated that they have no real support of a quality to allow the "best" to actually learn how to be better. I have some concern that the USA is dropping mainly because the players are not "stretched" when playing with their clubs. It is much like the way the MLS only develops players to a level where they become attractive to European clubs. The NWSL formula seems to be get potentially good/great players and place them in situations where they get no better once they develop to average.
The roster is stocked with NWSL award winners, led by NWSL Defender of the Year Naomi Girma, who won it for a second year in a row, as well as Rookie of the Year Nighswonger and Goalkeeper of the Year Jane Campbell. Six NWSL Best XI First Team selections are on this roster in Campbell, Girma, Shaw, midfielder Sam Coffey and forwards Lynn Williams and Sophia Smith. Smith also won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the league, tallying 11 goals in 17 regular season appearances. Defenders Nighswonger, Emily Fox and M.A. Vignola, midfielder Savannah DeMelo and forwards Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman made the NWSL Best XI Second Team. Campbell, who recorded a career-high eight shutouts for the Houston Dash, returns to the roster for the first time since November of 2021, when she was in the training camp in Australia but did not play in either of the two matches on the trip. Her most recent cap was Oct. 26, 2021, vs. Korea Republic. She has four shutouts in her seven career appearances for the USA. Thirteen players called up for this camp were on the USA’s roster at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup and five – Dahlkemper, Davidson, Horan, Lavelle and Sonnett – were on the roster for the 2019 Women’s World Cup champions. Twenty-three of the 26 players called in for this camp compete domestically in the NWSL with Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Mia Fishel (Chelsea FC, ENG) and Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), a former Notre Dame star who signed directly with PSG out of college, as the only players currently with clubs outside the USA. Albert’s call-up makes four players in this training camp who played at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica, along with Olivia Moultrie, Jaedyn Shaw and Alyssa Thompson. Moultrie, Shaw and Thompson were all on the team that won the 2018 Concacaf Girls’ U-15 Championship in Bradenton, Florida. Ten different NWSL clubs are represented on this roster. NWSL champions NJ/NY Gotham FC, the Washington Spirit, OL Reign, the San Diego Wave and Portland Thorns FC all have three players each. Jenna Nighswonger, the fourth pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft out of Florida State, appeared in 20 games for Gotham while playing more than 1,500 minutes in her first professional season. She scored three goals, tied for second among all rookies. Nighswonger has played for the USA’s Women’s Youth National Teams at the U-16, U-17, U-18, U-20 and U-23 levels. She helped the USA win the 2020 Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship, starting all six games, but the World Cup for that age group was cancelled due to the global pandemic, so she never played in a youth World Cup. Korbin Albert, the other first-time call-up, has experience with the U-15, U-17 and U-20 Women’s Youth National Teams. She has six U-20 caps and one goal. Two of those caps came at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Albert had two more seasons of eligibility left at Notre Dame when she signed with PSG in January of 2023. Since then, she has played in 17 matches for the Paris club with 10 starts over the second half of last season and the start of this season. Of those 17 games, 12 have been in league, three in UEFA Champions League and two in the French Cup, including last year’s Final in which PSG fell to Lindsey Horan’s Olympique Lyon, 2-1. China had a hard time scoring goals at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, falling to Denmark, 1-0, beating Haiti, 1-0, and then losing to England, 6-1, to finish third in the Group D and failing to advance. Wang Shuang of Racing Louisville FC scored both of China’s goals in Australia. China will miss out on the 2024 Paris Olympics after finishing third in Group B during the Second Round of the AFC Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Despite hosting the group in Xiamen, China lost to North Korea, 2-1, beat Thailand 3-0, and then drew South Korea 1-1, in a game it needed to win.
None of the really older players made this roster. Should make @Cannons happy. I'll miss Julie Ertz the most.
Why? What does Europe offer that NWSL doesn't - besides cold, rainy games in high school size venues away from family and friends? Horan fits into Lyon because it is easy (zero competition in their league) and she is slow.
I love the new roster call up. Nó Morgan, Naeher, Sullivan. A little disappointed for Huerta, Sanchez but they are weaker choices.
I think people are forgetting that one of the biggest reasons the USWNT was successful was because USSF ran the national team like a club, basically. They stayed and played together more than any other national team by far. This familiarity helped them play much more cohesively than other national teams. Many players and pundits alluded to this in interviews and during matches. Regarding the quality of clubs in the NWSL, I think the draft systems really hampers how good any one club can get. Had the NWSL been setup like the Euro clubs, where the rich clubs buy up all the best players, I think there would be 1-2 clubs in the NWSL that could easily compete with the best clubs in Europe, and they would win the NWSL championship every year. Although, it would be boring as heck for fans of other teams.
I like Naeher, even at her age. I'm glad Huerta was not chosen. I'm a fan of Huerta as a person, but she was slow and made mistakes. We need someone to fill Sullivan's spot, so I'd like to see more competition for her spot. Especially since Ertz won't be back.
“None of the players left off the roster are out of the mix,” says Twila Kilgore on today’s USWNT call.— Claire Watkins (@ScoutRipley) November 20, 2023
The last window of the calendar year is frequently used to get new faces into camp, wouldn’t overthink the veterans not on this list until January https://t.co/1GF2jOH6Ay— Claire Watkins (@ScoutRipley) November 20, 2023
Just curious who you watch in Europe. There are very few quality "teams" there. Did you see Rachel Daly tear through the WSL last season (golden boot winner), yet she never came close to that in the NWSL. The International Champions Cup games between NWSL and top European clubs do not show any Euro dominance. Let's look at a few players who have developed through NWSL: Jaedyn Shaw Sophia Smith Naomi Girma Rose Lavelle Emily Fox Nighswonger Nothing average about them.
I count 6 players on the 2023 World Cup team who are not on this roster: Naeher, Dunn, Huerta, Sullivan, Sanchez, Morgan. I'm not surprised that the process of weeding out the over 30s has begun, but I'm surprised that Sanchez is not on the Roster. Not that she's been all the great -- but she is young and talented.