Absolutely agree. I'm sure there are standing orders for the broadcasters not to dwell on refs' mistakes, but that and the invisible foul that pulled Wambach's goal back were total jawdroppers. I'd have liked to see a replay on the NKR yellow, just to confirm. Really beautiful play at midfield from NKR at times. I thought our defense did well to hold its shape under the pressure that followed from it, even taking into account the 2 missed NKR headers.
Has anyone noticed that if China draws their match with Russia, the top four countries in the world will be in the same quarter of the draw for the knockout phase? USA v. NOR and GER v. CHN!!!
# 1 team and #2 team should not meet till the SF or Final. ( I Know Norway lost their group, but I still think they should have to meet the #1 team USA in SF or Final, not the QF) This WWC was set for #1 and #4 (CHina ) to meet in the final....I guess this was done, so China doesn't feel bad about losing as the host nation. However, China will not last long in this WWC, they are RUSTY. Besides the USA, keep in a eye on Germany and Brazil.
Very good match. Good win. My conclusions: Reddick - OMG! She did incredible. Very good sub for Chastain, but I think she's good enough to start (not necessarily in Chastain's place, but somewhere back there. She's been awesome) when Brandi does come back. (Has anyone heard about her, BTW? Will she be back for Norway?) Wagner - I think she's just intimidated by international play. She'll eventually come to form. Unfortunately, there's really not a whole lot of time for that, as we're in the quarters now. She should step it up or step away for someone who can. Millie - Don't know what's been up with her either. Not exactly the striker I remember. But hopefully it was just an off-day. Wambach - Great game, but I believe she was heading for another yellow. But that's okay. She didn't get it so we still have her for Norway. Everyone else did great. The refs totally SUCKED though. But, that's FIFA for ya. We are SO ready for Norway!
i was about 15 yards away from this "foul" and it was amazingly obvious the girl dove. was she touched? yes, but as soon as she felt the contact the girl put her feet together and flopped to the ground. when i heard the whistle i thought she was calling the PK since the ref was horrible all game long, but for once she got something right. not sure if they showed this on television b/c i have not seen the tape yet, but midway through the second half after some sort of foul called against the u.s. foudy said something to the ref about it being a bogus call, the ref then ran over to foudy and got literally within 6 inches of foudy's face started yelling at the top of her lungs and using all sorts of funny hand motions. the crowd boo'ed the ref and foudy just laughed through the whole thing... it was one of the funnier, and at the same time disappointing, things i have ever seen out of a official before...especially at a world cup.
Hmm, I doubt she will play in this World Cup, broken foot bones don't heal for at least 3 weeks. Try an off year, April should have chosen the U21 striker, I forget her name, she is in form, what a waste of a spot on the team. ( She was terrible against Sweden, Nigeria and Korea) Also, MacMillan proved today that she fully deserved her spot on this team. I have been saying here, that April should have been Subbing in MacMillian in and not Milbertt, and I was proven right.
I think it's lack of fitness (not in general, just full 90, she could run circles around me I'm sure). Example, when a cross was sent in (I forget by whom), she swong her foot in the air, completely missing the cross, instead of attempting a diving header. It was a lazy mistake, a mental fatigue mistake.
Are you talking about Tarpley? I think there is more than one wasted roster spot on this team. Today's game was a chance for Millie to break out of this "exhaustion" slump that she's been suffering since post-2002 WUSA. Just couldn't capitalize on it. With the knockout rounds looming on the horizon, I don't think she's gonna be getting that much playing time now.
Don't know why the whistle blew before Abby's goal. Some thoughts: Millie looked offside except for a NK player way out of the play (near the sideline). Maybe the whistle was for an offside that wasn't and refs countered the mistake with a pk. Also, it looked like the ball might have hit the arm of NK's #2 shortly after it left Abby's foot. Maybe the whistle blew for a hand ball in the box.
Yes, Tarpley should be on this team. I am suprised Wamback is on this team, because April doesn't like her. ( I was sick of hearing how Wamback is not upto being a international player, and she is on her bubble player list) If USWNT wins this WWC, it would due to the players efforts , not the coach.
I'll take your word for it since your position is better than the TV camera angle far away from the action. The official was a disappointment. But that's FIFA for you.
Saw an explanation for the pk on the China/Russia b'cast. Millie was getting her shirt tugged. Don't know if that was the official word or just the b'cast team's analysis.
My take: Overall, I thougth the US looked pretty crappy through 3/4ths of the game - bad passes, bad communication, not nearly their potential. I hope they get it together for Wednesday. On the callback, then PK, for Wambach - after the game it showed that one of the Koreans was yankin' on Millie's shorts. Still a weird call since it was a US advantage, and it should have been ignored. On Abby's yellow, sure seemed to me like she got the ball - it changed direction ~90 degrees because of her contact, no? Reddick scared me a little in the first half - i.e. when she filched the ball, but then turned and passed it back to DPR. She settled as the game progresssed, though, and I loved her belly goal and seeing her "Oh My God" as she ran back to hug her teammates after her nifty header in the second. She doesn't have Brandi's leadership but she shows great potential with her skills on the ball. Millie still is not her old self. Glad we have Mia, Cindy, and Mac as options. Sobrero, kicking the ball into the stands should not be your first thought. Bivens, better at mid than on the back line, but she isn't dazzling on the pass and I still worry the she'll go off on someone and draw a card. I'd like to keep this cannon on the sideline. Hope to see Boxx from here on out. Mac's showing was perfect - no hard contact, and evidence of her deft touch. You can't not root for her. Wagner is not operating at a World Cup level. I keep waiting for her to demonstrate in the Cup the skills that distinguished her in her collegiate career, but I don't see it yet. She is playing too cautiously on defense, and her passes aren't as magical as her PR describes. I wonder if she hasn't been too hyped, too early - I don't doubt that she has the capacity to be all that is predicted for her, but it must be hard to have those expectations so early in her international career. Scurry was sharp - it would be easy to relax with your team dominating, but she was quick and on target for the few shots on goal she took today. She looks SO ready. Tiffany Roberts- largely invisible, but when she touched it, she was good. Last but not least, Pearce, our stealth defender. She neither dazzled nor destroyed, and seemed to fulfill her role well. At one point Mr. BondOne exclaimed, perplexed, "Who is that?!" - he had not registered the US's right back. Nothing showy, no notable errors, and moved the ball forward. And onward to Wednesday v. Norway. Hoping that Heinrichs will start Parlow, Boxx, Foudy, and Wambach - if she does, we should be okay. BondOne
While Hamm sits, U.S. marches on - To fans' dismay, Heinrichs rests star in routine win, by Mark Zeigler http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/mon/sports/news_1s29wwcup.html
Sure she got the ball, but the only way she did so was by knocking the crap out of the NKR player between her and it. Getting a touch on the ball doesn't automatically obviate the recklessness of the challenge. The yellow was earned, IMO. I couldn't help but love the fact that she went for it, though.
Two for the bench Whew! I just spent most of the past half hour reading the six pages (so far) of posts about the USA v. DPRK match yesterday. Besides the yellow card/penalty kick and the posts about Cat and her play, the most interesting were those including notes about the play of Ally and Millie. I posted an opinion about Ally following the US v. England match in Birmingham, that I didn't think she looked ready for rough international play. Tah-dah...she isn't. Remember, she wasn't even the Rookie of the Year on her Spirit team. But she can state, while "miked" for one of the W*USA games that she "likes playing before a TV audience." Millie is another issue altogether. I believe she is emotionally "exhuasted" and terribly out of shape. Based on her play this year (W*USA plus her performance thus far in the World Cup), she shouldn't have been included among the 20 on the roster. That's tough to say, but it seems to be borne out in Millie's play (or lack of it) on the pitch. After her yellow card, a great line would have been, "I traveled to the WWC 2003 and all I got for the effort was this stupid yellow card." If Ape has the team's well being at heart, I believe that's the last we will see of either Ally or Millie for the rest of the tournament, unless we get way ahead or end up in the 3rd place match. Millie is non-productive, and Ally is a liability in midfield. The Shannons have made Millie's and Ally's presence on the pitch problematic at best. So, how many players are now among the walking wounded on the bench and how many of these injuries (don't include Mac) were know before the selection of the 20 was made? Let's see, did Bandi have the stress fracture on her foot before Ape made the decision? When did Hucles come up gimpy? I know that Slaton was injured before the selection, and she looked a bit slow yesterday letting herself get lapped on the wing more often than not. We won, but it wasn't very pretty. On to Foxboro!
Re: Two for the bench Right on with the "wasn't very pretty" part. I thought it was better when Foudy got in and certainly when Mac got in - but before that was not their "finest hour" - bad passing, bad possession, ...... If NK could finish, the story line might be a little different.
Re: Two for the bench Neither are playing that well but they're both playing well enough to serve a purpose. Boxx and MacMillan don't need to play every minute of every game for the USA to win. That's a good thing. Don't worry about pretty. Winning is the name of the game. 3-0 is a very impressive result against NKorea. They're too good a team for anyone to beat and look pretty while doing it. So far, the USA is arguably playing better than they did in the 4NT and Algarve. That's another good thing.
I have been a Wagner supporter from the begining. She played well in last years Gold Cup, she has led the team in assists the past two years (I believe - don't hold me to this), and even when she wasn't playing well in the past, you could always count on at least one "WOW" play from her each game. BUT, lately, something is missing. I can't figure it out. I want so badly for her to play well, but, I have to agree with most of whats being said here. I don't think she should be playing right now. I don't think you should play your way out of a slump in the WC. To much at stake. Either TR or Bivens should be starting on the wing and Foudy should run the middle. That being said, I still believe in all the talent Aly possesses and I think she is the future of this team, but, right now, I just want the 11 best players on the field, and at the moment - shes not one of them. Jay
Yeah, I thought Uriah Rennie was subbed into ref when I saw that... Well done to Mac for notching a deserved assist in her first "real" game back. Anybody else wince when she went into a tackle late in the game? But she was up and running straight after. This is a real good sign with Milbrett playing crap right now...
April needs to put milbret on the pitch against Norway, the team that she knows better than anybody else so that she'll get her confidence back.
Do want the USA to lose? April should put Milbertt on the bench, because she brings nada to the USA offensive for this WC. How can you put Milbertt on the pitch and not MacMillian who is in-form.
Risky. Besides, why play an out-of-form striker like Milbrett when Parlow (yes, the American Heskey), Wambach and Hamm are all playing awesome?