Sooo, SWE-Aussie stalemate for 20', SWE down the the right side, cross into the box....1-0. Sound familiar?
This game is fun (also fun in that I'm not as emotionally invested in the result). Australia has made the most of their limited chances, other than missing the PK. Also what the hell happened in the China-Zambia game? Zambia has had some wild scorelines.
It's an oversimplification, but you have to limit the Blonde's corners, crosses and attacking set pieces. A thing of beauty so far. Asliani's corners will give me nightmares for months.
Meanwhile, that Brazil-Netherlands game looks very interesting. Why do they have to be at the same time?!
PSA: A replay of the Brazil-Netherlands game is starting immediately after the US-New Zealand game on NBCSN.
She has the bad luck with her qualities to be with a nation not really good at all. Something like Bale being with Wales.
OK. I try very hard to avoid seeing spoilers and I have been successful so far in this tournament. I have watched each US match live and all the rest on demand and I have managed to watch each match without knowing ahead of time the results in that match. I am, except for a few notable exceptions, impressed by the overall play and some of the matches have been highly entertaining. I believe the most dangerous team we (the US) are likely to face before the final is Brazil. While Brazil did not dominate against The Netherlands they did look the more likely to do something spectacular to win. Even when they fell behind they looked like they were in control. They are also What makes Brazil so dangerous is their weakness is also their strength. That is they are unpredictable mostly in a good way. I also think Brazil will beat the hapless Zambia much worse than The Netherlands will beat the nearly equally hapless China. So, if the US wins as expected and Sweden wins as also expected then the US ends up 2nd in their group while Brazil beats out The Netherlands on goal differential that sets up a quarter final between the US and Brazil. I have not really looked at the details of the remainder of the groups but if things go as expected there should be no surprises. The one real remaining question for me is exactly how bad will Brazil trounce Zambia. I could see them running 12-14 against that hapless side and, unlike The Netherlands, I do not expect Brazil to let Zambia score even one. (Except, maybe, a PK as Zambia will get frustrated and Brazil could give up a PK from retaliation. (Assuming that Zambia retains enough players after the red cards to even play.) That will be a very "interesting" match. My old brain is kind of fuzzy on the issue but is there not a minimum number of players required for a match to continue? The most interesting thing right now becomes "the best two third place teams.." It will not be Zambia or China but any of Australia, Chile or Japan are possible. Of course some of those could move into a second spot but if that happens the the team they pass would be a probable best third. There are some situations that become a lot more complex but those are unlikely. The format of this tournament is quite forgiving but that is what make the last group day so interesting all the way across the board.
I think the only team in the world she hasn't scored against yet is the US. Ultimate goal machine and she's only 25. What is it with Japan and their inability to score. They really haven't been a threat whatsoever after WC2011.
I believe that the renowned Japanese "politeness" is part of the problem. Really top scorers are mostly selfish. Also top scorers are not bothered by misses. If they miss five times in a row they will be shooting again the very next time they are at all in range. The Japanese team is a bunch of midfielders that value assists over goals.
I do get what you're saying, but the two spectacular goals from that match came from Miedema (her first) and Janssen. If you call relying on poor giveaways from your opposition to get back in the game as being in control, then Brazil were in control. Of course, it takes skill to press well, but not every top team will turn over their own throw in that easily and pass blindly back to their goalkeeper. Actually, looking back at the Brazil-China match, almost all of Brazil's goals there were also due to giveaways and poor goalkeeping. That being said, given Dahlkemper's current play, that is arguably a notable concern. I wouldn't rule out Banda having another field day for Zambia vs Brazil, but I'm all for Brazil taking on the USWNT in the quarterfinals.
But an assist has to precede a goal otherwise it is not an assist. I swear they just mostly pass the ball around in the midfield until they get intercepted. They are indeed just a bunch of midfielders and defenders and certainly have no legit forwards/strikers.
Ah, the Swedish tactics from Womens EURO 2009. I actually think they waiting for great opening before going for goal. It works great against team that is not very good but against good teams it mostly goes as you described.
Sooooooooo anyone else planning to roll out of the rack at 4:00 ET - 3:00 CT to catch Ohhhhhh Cannnnnnnnnnada vs. the Diving Divas on NBCSN?????? What's at stake............Finally settling that Tie for 8th in the FIFA World Rankings for what seemed like 6 1/2 years.
My normal wake up time is about 06:30 EDT and I do not see any reason to alter that. I simply will watch whatever replays are available as NBC has been pretty good at getting replays available in good time and I do not have to watch anything live. I also will pretty much watch the quarterfinals in order and hope the announcers do not spoil the overlapping matches by having the "runs of the mouth" they often have. I do not need "live" as long as I can avoid spoilers. Besides, for the US match, I am not real sure that we are not watching the soccer version of "The Walking Dead" But I am unsure if any US player could qualify for the cast as they move too slowly under the direction of Andonovski.