i disagree - the scoreline sounds about right considering altogether sweden controlled about 20 minutes of play tops - they had next to nothing going on in the first half my WOTM - wambach: abby and cindy were toying with the sweden wide backs the entire first half and were both physically punishing out there
Mitts - STOP BATTING YOUR EYELASHES WHILE TALKING. Damn. Anyway, Boxx might have gotten the goal, but she just loves to give the ball away in the center of the field. I think she's too much of a liability going forward to play in a three person midfield. Did the US get outshot, or did it just seem that way? Only one goal from the run of play (and one from a lucky looping header from Boxx) isn't encouraging, even against a team as good as Sweden. North Korea will have to be something spectacular to get out of this group. RS
having seen North Korea... USA and sweden better worry... their speed of play is far faster than USA or Sweden are capable..
Good game! Quite impressed if i may say so! Only thing i was disappointed about was how much the US fell and whined! The US can take Korea DPR no problem. I saw them play, they run fast, i dont think US will tire them out. But the US is too organized for them.
If Alex Prus (Revs-Rapids Thursday) had been the ref, Scurry certainly would have gotten a red. Fortunately, he wasn't. Late in the game, they ran a saves graphic showing the US with 7 and Sweden with 4, which I think was the other part of the story (along with the score). The US had better chances, but Sweden more chances, especially in the 2nd half.
Probably her cap total. She wears the armband.. then the TV announcers point it out to their viewers. JP didn't mention it. Wonder if anyone else did. My question would be why Jules was wearing a blue one? It should have been yellow to be different.
Was it jusdt me or did the substitution pattern see screwy? Why did HIeinrichs take out Wambach, who was devastating, then watch Parlow get gassed five or ten minutes later? Why Wagner rather than an extr defender? Very shaky in my view. I thought Hamm was the WOTM. Her two corners were nicely placed. Great touch pass back to Lilly. And gosh, as usual, she runs so hard on everything. HOw many times did she force the Swedish backline into a backpass or taking the extra touch that slowed down the break?The great superstars are also the hardest-working, and Mia fits that descrption. (But she does need to be a little greedier, IMO. A little too unselfish at times. That's the only complaint I have.)
I agree on Mia Hamm being the WOTM. Her CK crosses were on target all day long and that great set-up of the second goal was classic. Wambach sure looked dangerous, I wonder why she got subbed out...??? Brianna should have gotten a card for that challenge early in the game. When watching the replay and seeing how high her boots got up, it could have easily been a red... I also liked the Swedish pigtails, they were cool...
Substitution patterns are always screwy during a Cup competition.. Considering that we had the match in control when Abby came off, I don't have a problem in the least in getting her some rest for future matches.. Same goes for Parlow.. We have to play 3 matches in a week and the bigger players like Parlow and Wambach seem to tire more easily than the other players.. If Cindy Parlow had any speed at all, she would be the worlds top player.. As it is, she is slow as hell and that really holds her back..
i'm kinda ticked off that these forums aren't linking to the front page - mods is there anything we can do about that during world cup? or at least the US threads?
so true. the sad thing about todays game, she used that limited speed to go around sweedens outside defenders a few times...which when i was watching i found pretty damn funny. i think my 50 year old mother could keep up with parlow in a 40 yard dash...
yeah parlow's lack of speed didn't hold her back much from rounding sweden's lightning backs for an hour... i think she looks slower than she actually is, remember she's probably taking a lot bigger strides than other players
Yeah, the lack of linkage to the front page sucks - it's lame, but a lot of people just click from there to topics, without going into specific forums. I was posting all by my lonesome on the Brazil/Korea game and finally just gave up because of the lack of feedback. On the other hand, I started a USA/Sweden thread in the wrong forum by accident, and just because it shows up on the main page, there's been a decent amount of commentary on it. Which is funny, because I tried to delete the thread and BS wouldn't let me. Oh well. . . Link us to the main page!
personally i don't know that i wanna see some of the people who would "find their way here" from the front page. the hatred some hold for women's soccer on these boards and their berating that would go on in here wouldn't be worth the front page link...
Just got back from the matches at RFK. Not their best effort, but it will do. I would've never expected a two-goal victory over Sweden so this was a pleasant surprise. Wambach and Parlow were wreaking serious havoc on the Swedes up front, and Mia's corners were indeed lethal. Boxx had several bad giveaways in the midfield but generally played with poise and controlled things from box to box (heh). FWIW, Lilly was named WOTM by FIFA's technical committee. I don't think any particular U.S. player stood out -- all the starters on offense played pretty well. As for Chastain, she was on crutches after the match. All that needs to be said is... Chastain:Agoos::Reddick:Berhalter
I disagree with this. I agree with the the tv announcers that when Bandi went out our defense didn't look as good. Our defense had me pretty worried after Brandi got hurt. I think Brandi along with Fawcett are good at organizing the defense, and that seemed to be lacking a little after Brandi's injury.
i'm glad someone else thought that, too. Abby's been a 90-minute player for the Freedom all season long - there's nothing wrong with her fitness. And it may have been a coincidence, but Sweden scored right after Abby was taken out.
I said the exact same thing to a friend when watching the match. No sooner had Abby been taken out and Sweden scored. Coincidence or not, it was just interesting. I too was confused as to why Abby was taken out when Parlow is the one who was already gassed. I still have no idea how Parlow couldn't put away the beautiful cross Abby sent in early on in the match. She was right there and it just went weird off her head. I thought Abby was awesome today and I hope April took her out just to give her more rest time for future matches and not some other stupid reason. With Abby on the field, good things happen with this team.
I spent the afternoon on soccer fields trying to avoid hearing the result. Just finished watching the tape. I agree with the posts about the screwy subs. I watched Wombat go 105 minutes against Boston in the WUSA semifinal. She brings her game every minute. Parslow, OTOH, was obviously gassed and should have come out first. That said, the Swedish goal had nothing to do with the forward sub. I think it had more to do with confusion in the back. Reddick played well, but the players simply weren't where they normally play (and Kate got beat). Three points to the good. I would like to have seen more chances from the run of play. Gotta love Boxx!!! Pippi Loengstoecking. Quiet. She's trying to send me a message in Morse Code.
I can't imagine what Ape was thinking. Wambach was dominating and she's replaced by a player who once again prooved that she doesn't have it in a big match. I don't think that Milbrett had a good touch for her entire shift. Certainly momentum shifted when she entered. That may not have been entirely her fault, but her complete lack of contribution certainly contributed. Let's not do that again.
Subs ... Have to agree with NSA. I was at the game and could not understand taking out WAMBACH. She brings it all the time and makes things happen for her teammates. I hope more planning goes into the sustitutions in the future, the play got a little disjointed. Abby has the physical presence that Parlow does not. At least there will some things to work on. The US-SWE game was a huge contrast from the BRA-South Korea gams. The leve of play was like comparing Pros to HS. Very dramatic when you got to see the games back to back. I was glad to see the Save the WUSA banners and arm bands at RFK. If you loved the WUSA please make a sign and bring it. When the players are announced cheer WUSA for the players that play in the league ... there are 54 of them! Let us get something going to save the WUSA! One question where are all these fans during the season.
USA 3 : 1 SWEDEN FIFA match report Hamm: When we walked out, I got a little choked up Hamm records three assists to lead U.S. Chastain out with broken foot U.S. wins head games Stone's Slant on U.S.-Sweden
She has to be one of the most consistent players on the team, year after year. She's a real workhorse with racehorse speed. For some reason she doesn't get the press coverage the other veterans get. For my money she is more valuable than most of them with the exception of Mia Hamm. Where was Julie Foudy today? Here lack of presence and only three midfielders put a lot of heat on the back four. Should she be starting?