Tokyo Olympics SF: USWNT vs Canada, August 2, pre/pbp/post

Come on, you know everyone here is an expert....!

 

Yep.
Expert - "X"-"Spurt"
"X" is a mathematical term for something unknown.
"Spurt" is a drip of water under pressure
Therefore an expert is an unknown drip under pressure.

That does kind of fit most of us does it not?

 

LOL. Thank you.

 

Canada has fast forwards.

 

Only catching up because of age of course.

 

No they don't. And even if they did, they'd have to wait half a minute for Christine Sinclair to catch up on the play (tee-hee!)
And even if they were fast, they aren't dangerous and fast, not like what Netherlands, Sweden, or Australia has.

But, all in all, you may be right. Which means we're expecting Crystal Dunn to play in 6 straight matches in our quest for the gold.

 

For me the back is mostly easy. Naeher, Sauerbrunn, and Dunn are no-brainers unless they need a rest. Abby has been struggling and O'Hara gave up a bad penalty last game. I play Davidson for sure and would lean towards sitting O'Hara as well. UNLESS, you wait till the Final, and then plan to start a fresh Davidson + Krueger/Sonnett. But Davidson is young, she can play the SF and final no problem. With some rest, I think O'Hara will be OK for the final.

Heath, Lloyd, and Williams only played 60 minutes or so last time & should be good to go. And all played better than their replacements besides. And I'd wait till 75 min to sub Pinoe in if extra time is still possible at that stage.

In MF, I start Sam Mewis again for certain. I know Ertz is a machine, but considering she had not played in a long time before Tokyo, this is getting to be a ridiculous ask. Still, I don't think we can afford to rest her. But I want to if we can get a lead. To that end, I am tempted start Lavelle for Horan, hoping to bring Horan in for Ertz when we have a lead later. But we olayed really well out of the gates last game, so I will keep the MF the same. If Julie needs rest, I will move Davidson up.

Except for RB, I feel good about these calls.

Naeher; Sonnett, Sauerbrunn, Davidson, Dunn; Ertz, S. Mewis, Horan; Williams, Lloyd, Heath.

 

Thanks for the comment.

Would you start Rose Lavelle instead of Lindsey Horan or Sam Mewis? I know Lavelle is important. As you said, she’s creative, and this team lacks some creativity without her on the pitch. She's also skillful and a good dribbler.

But should she start against Canada? I had Horan and Mewis in the starting line-up partly because the team played so well in the first half against Holland (when Horan and Mewis were on the pitch), and I felt that, during that period of the game, the US had the better of the play in midfield. Against Holland, Mewis also scored a terrific goal and had the pass to Lynn Williams that led to Williams’ assist to Mewis. Finally, on Williams’ goal, Mewis challenged the Dutch defender in the air for a header so that it was hard for the Dutch defender to do much more than just pop the ball up in the air. The ball then dropped to Williams, who nailed the shot. Also, Mewis adds a dimension of physicality without being a card risk. Finally, Mewis played only 58 minutes against Holland, so she should be fairly fresh for Canada. So, I wanted to get her in the starting line-up.

As for Horan, she’s been solid this tournament. For instance, she has passed the ball well, been good at winning balls and been hard to dispossess. She also scored a nice goal against New Zealand. Like Mewis, Horan adds an important physical dimension. But she’s got to be careful that she’s not too physical. Against Holland, Horan had some hard challenges involving Danielle van de Donk, and she got a yellow card in the match. Fortunately, in these Olympics, yellow cards expire after the quarterfinals, at least according to Wikipedia. So, if Horan were to get another yellow against Canada and the US would advance to the finals, she would still be able to play in the finals.

Horan did play 120 minutes against Holland. So, she probably won’t be as fresh for Canada as Lavelle, who played only 62 minutes against Holland.

I don’t know. I can see the case for starting Lavelle. She is the best dribbler of the three. However, it seems like she’s being dispossessed more this tournament than she was in the 2019 World Cup. And she’s slight physically. If she doesn’t start, she should be brought into the game in the second half.

If Lavelle were to start, I suppose I would start her instead of Mewis. Horan’s overall level of play in this tournament has arguably been higher than Mewis’. For instance, Mewis had a lot of turnovers against Australia. In fact, in that match, among the starters, she had the lowest pass completion percentage on the team. Here:

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Also, the US weren’t that good offensively or in midfield against Australia, when Mewis, Lavelle and Julie Ertz started together in central midfield.

Over the last six months, Christen Press has 6 goals and 5 assists; Lloyd has 3 goals and 5 assists; and Morgan has 3 goals and 1 assist. So, over the last six months, Press has been the best goal-scorer of the three. So, you make an important point. Although she sometimes has not finished her chances, she has been better at doing so over the last six months and has been the best of three candidates over the last six months. That definitely should count in her favor.

The question is: Should Carli Lloyd start at center forward against Canada partly because of her defensive qualities and ability to energize the team, with the idea that Press would come into the game in the second half? Or, is Press’ goal-scoring ability so important that it’s important to start her in order to give her more opportunity to score? I’m still struggling to decide.

If Press were not to start at center forward against Canada, should she start at right wing instead of Lynn Williams? I would be uneasy not starting Williams against Canada. She was a revelation against Holland, and she’s strong and fast.

 

Good discussion re Lavelle. @cpthomas has brought up a few times Andonovski's explanation of planning for extra-time and PKs and regarding Lavelle it makes sense. She isn't the most durable member of the team. Before the Olympics I worried how much we could count on her to play back-to-back games on short turnaround. Bringing her in around the 60th minute in order to play potentially 60 minutes seems good planning by Andonovski.

Depending on how well some are recuperating after the Netherlands game, I'd say it makes sense to start the same front three and midfield three.

Good conversation. Please carry on.

YES

 

19

 

Janine Beckie at times has led their NT in both scoring & assists, and yet has had such an unremarkable pro career, usually sitting in the bench whether it’s at Man City, Houston Dash or Sky Blue. And that was when Sky Blue was so terrible that they only won one game all season long(yep, couldn’t even start for them!).
Got the feeling Steph Labbe is watching quad zillion times replays the last PK shootout cuz that’s where Canada will want to take the game

 

Thank you. I appreciate it.

That’s a fair point about Heath. But when she was taken out, she was playing so well. And she seemed fine physically. And after she was taken out, the US’s level of play dropped some. Megan Rapinoe—as good as she is—didn’t seem to pass or control the ball as well as Heath. I would have left Heath in for at least a while. It was far from clear to me that we were even going to get past Holland. So, I wouldn’t have wanted to save Heath.

However, I did say that I might have waited to put Rapinoe in until the intermission between the two extra time periods or when there was about 7 minutes left in extra time. The latter might have been too late. I would want Rapinoe to get into the game physically and mentally before taking a penalty kick. And is 7 minutes too little time for that?

Good point on Horan. Like you, I'm concerned about her having played 120 minutes only three days before the US-Canada match. Perhaps Rose Lavelle should start against Canada instead of Horan. Lavelle played only 62 minutes against Holland. And after thinking about it more, if I had to start Lavelle, I think I would start her instead of Horan, and keep Sam Mewis in the starting line-up. Horan's 120 minutes against Holland is a key factor.

However, please see my previous post in which I discuss Lavelle, Horan and Sam Mewis. The US played well in the first half with Horan and Sam Mewis in there. And Horan has been hard to dispossess this tournament, and she’s a better ball-winner than Lavelle. In addition, when the US started Lavelle, Sam Mewis and Julie Ertz as the three central midfielders against Australia, the US was not strong in midfield or in the attack, though Lavelle had an excellent lead ball to Alex Morgan that almost resulted in a goal.

It’s an extremely tough call for me. But right now I would go with Horan. The US's good play against Holland in the first half is one factor.

Do you know how well Horan has tended to play in the past when she has played one game shortly after another?

I agree that it could be so big of a change for the team moving Crystal Dunn from left back to right back. So, I agree with you that, unless Vlatko Andonovski knows something we don’t about Dunn’s ability to play right back and the team’s ability to adjust to such a change, it’s important for Sonnett to be on the gameday roster.

However, if Abby Dahlkemper starts and Tierna Davidson is not injured, then I think Andonovski should have Davidson on the gameday roster instead of Kristie Mewis. First, if either Dahlkemper or Sauerbrunn were to get injured, Davidson would be a good person to replace the injured player. Second, I’m uneasy about Sonnett as a center-back. I’ve never seen her play there. Also, although Julie Ertz can move back to center-back, I worry a bit about her knee and the number of minutes she has played this tournament. And Ertz is so important in the midfield. In addition, Tobin Heath can play well at attacking center-mid. For instance, she covers a lot of ground and has very good ball-control. And Carli Lloyd could be adequate there in a pinch.

Finally, if Davidson starts at center-back instead of Dahlkemper, I would have Dahlkemper on the bench instead of Kristie Mewis. If Sauerbrunn or Davidson were to get injured, Dahlkemper would be a good replacement. And if necessary, Heath would be a good attacking center-mid. So, this would be the bench:

1. Adrianna Franch
2. Abby Dahlkemper
3. Emily Sonnett
4. Rose Lavelle
5. Megan Rapinoe
6. Carli Lloyd
7. Alex Morgan

On a different note, here is a link to a good article by ESPN’s Caitlin Murray on tomorrow’s US-Canada game and how it is likely to be a very difficult one for the US:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/womens-...-this-could-be-another-classic-in-the-rivalry

And here’s a link to a wonderful article by Murray on Catarina Macario:

https://www.espn.com/soccer/united-...-to-become-a-uswnt-international-and-olympian

The article makes me wonder if there is any reasonable way that Andonovksi can get Macario on the gameday roster for the US-Canada game. She comes across as such an impressive person, and she did play well against New Zealand.

 

Does anyone know how to insert an instagram post? Nothing seems to be working for me.

 

I don't know about embedding it (with graphics/images) but @BarryfromEastenders simply linked to an Instagram post a few days ago

 

Adding a link is easy, I'm just surprised this site doesn't allow for the full post to show without the need to click on a link.

 

Great article but no mention of the felony assault that incurred on the Pitch at Old Trafford a mere 3,282 days ago.

 

Canada gave US a hard time in SBC and defeated England in a friendly. So wouldn’t underestimate them.

 

Actually it is only 5 matches as you can't count the walkabout with Australia. And it was not much more stressful vs New Zealand as they really gave no resistance so that match was little more than an easy no stress scrimmage.

Dunn has not really been much strained or tested since the first match vs Sweden where a LOT of "olé" defense was played by everyone that played for the US.

Nobody should be tired if their conditioning is at all good as there has been, for the US at least, about as much rest as they would get in a "normal" tournament.

 

Glad you thought most of the team looked nice and fresh against Netherlands, including the rest of the defense and even the players who entered the game as subs.

 

I did NOT say that. What I said was that the Australian match was just an easy walkabout.

The fact than some players played like they were carrying an extra 30 or 40 pounds in vests or some such is not the fault of too much play but rather it is the fault of something wrong in conditioning or preparation.

But at just about any time if players are told often enough and strongly enough that they should be tired they will be. Yell a falsehood or an exaggeration long enough and loud enough and people will begin to believe it.

The fact is, at least I believe it is a fact, that the entire US team has had plenty of rest and "should" be playing that way.

 

edcrocker, I have seen Sonnett play center-back many times, for the Thorns, and it makes me nervous too -- very nervous.

 

Crystal Dunn has played 374 minutes in 10 days and now we're talking about 90-120 minutes more on the 13th day.

Even if we subtract the Australia game entirely just on your say-so, she's played 290 minutes in 10 days. That's more than 3 games in 10 days. And now we're looking at potentially 410 minutes in less than 2 weeks. 4-1/2 games in less than 2 weeks. While pretending we can just completely ignore the Australia game on your say-so.

It's hard to diplomatic about this kind of horse-pucky