Pre-match: USWNT -- Upcoming Remaining Friendlies for 2024

Imagine being in England and looking forward to this game only not to see the 3 American stars not called in? Big disappointment. Also no Macario. Only player of interest at this point is Lily and if Emma is smart she should give her a lot of time. Not like last time. I dont believe for a minute that the "tripple expresso" is in anyway hurt, All 3 ???? .... common plus Cat???? What a waste of two games. Im VERY disappointed in this lineup (except Lily) .

 

Some people enjoy decaf.

 

A very little research would show that Smith and Rodman are carrying injuries. Swanson, I don't know because I haven't looked to see.

 

Definitely not, I was just joking, but she is on West Ham, though I am curious to see if she might retire now...

 

I believe England will be missing about the same number of quality players as we are.
It is easy to forget that we do NOT need to find the three forwards we already have but we need to find others to fill in or supplant what we have.
This is a pair of friendlies and they are nothing more. Friendlies are the best place to tryout situations, like missing our entire starting front line, and it would have surprised me if there were not a number of probable starters left home for many reasons.
This is in Europe and it is of absolutely no real importance so I would be good if there were actually no lock starters in this roster. They need the rest a lot more than they need more playing time. I am actually quite surprised that Naeher is included. This seems like an ideal time to give the youngsters real playing time in goal as I am sure England will get a number of good shots off and that is what we need for our 'keepers to progress. This should be an entire team of "next ups" not the already set starters.

 

I do agree, the USWNT needs to find some quality behind the top 3. Williams has lost a step since her Hammy issues plus age. After that... not much so far.

 

Mostly agree, but with a couple of riders:

If the captaincy is going to be a real thing under Emma, as it was for the Olympics, then Horan needs to be there. Distant early warning to the coach as to who is buying in and who maybe isn't; needs to be aware of what is happening back at the hotel, yet tactful enough to not come off as a squealer. She needs to be almost as involved in the selection and integration process as the coaches, but form a somewhat different perspective. One wants to be bringing them into a sort of continuum, not making a complete break and starting from scratch.

And over and over in the last decade or two we have heard articulate young players across all pro sports talk about how important it has been to see the veteran players practicing and preparing vis a vis what the profession will require of them if they are not to fail the transition.

So especially Naeher should be there if we have keepers making their first appearances, and there should be a leavening of others just to give form and expectations to the training field even if the newbies get most/many of the minutes.

 

While this does make sense I have my doubts about Naeher simply because if she is with the team she starts at least one match and plays both halves. That takes two halves of testing time out of the equation as I do not think Hayse, as good as she is, will be willing to sub her at the half. If Naeyer is there she, maybe unintentionally, disrupts the playing time for the other keepers. I also do not think Hayse has the guts to sub Naeher after one half. It is a weakness among most coaches that they figure, even in friendlies, that a goalkeeper that starts a match must finish it unless there is an injury. I disagree.
As far as Horan goes I have never considered her that good. She may be an internal leader but, even at her fastest, she is slow and her ball control is only between OK and good. In national team play I have not seen her do much that any average central player could not do.
But she and Naeher are just part of the problem I see. We need to create more real depth and that is not done by playing the same field players and 'keeper every match. We do not have enough friendlies to waste friendly playing time playing veterans that are unlikely to get better but we do need to play rookies or players with few caps to give them experience in playing for the USA.
I actually hope I am wrong as the announced lineup does not really seem conducive to getting better and we need to get better all the time as staying put is the equivalent of moving backwards.

One caveat to the above I see is that we have a VERY new coach to us and it is possible she does not, yet, know our regulars very well and needs to learn more before we can move forward.

 

"While this does make sense I have my doubts about Naeher simply because if she is with the team she starts at least one match and plays both halves. That takes two halves of testing time out of the equation as I do not think Hayse, as good as she is, will be willing to sub her at the half. If Naeyer is there she, maybe unintentionally, disrupts the playing time for the other keepers. I also do not think Hayse has the guts to sub Naeher after one half. It is a weakness among most coaches that they figure, even in friendlies, that a goalkeeper that starts a match must finish it unless there is an injury. I disagree.
As far as Horan goes I have never considered her that good. She may be an internal leader but, even at her fastest, she is slow and her ball control is only between OK and good. In national team play I have not seen her do much that any average central player could not do.
But she and Naeher are just part of the problem I see. We need to create more real depth and that is not done by playing the same field players and 'keeper every match. We do not have enough friendlies to waste friendly playing time playing veterans that are unlikely to get better but we do need to play rookies or players with few caps to give them experience in playing for the USA.
I actually hope I am wrong as the announced lineup does not really seem conducive to getting better and we need to get better all the time as staying put is the equivalent of moving backwards.

One caveat to the above I see is that we have a VERY new coach to us and it is possible she does not, yet, know our regulars very well and needs to learn more before we can move forward."
(Good Hands)

Disagree mostly-- I do not expect Naeher to start either game, Horan has been and is a terrific player, and you haven't seen enough of Emma to make the assumptions you make. I expect a lot of low cap appearances and debuts, myself.

And I trust the people who get paid to make decisions' opinions a lot more than those of people who are unpaid critics of those decisions. Which would be you, yes, but also would be me.

(And I also trust Jackdoggy; if he isn't paid, he should be. Worth his weight in gold...lager anyways...)

 

U.S. women’s national team will host Japan (seventh in the current FIFA women’s world rankings), Australia (No. 15) and Colombia (No. 21) as the SheBelieves Cup returns to its traditional six-game, three matchday format.

https://www.frontrowsoccer.com/2024...9j6nLeNHw2TntCNFHU_aem_dwNZyD5Im579Sn1tpNr-UQ

 

While this is a good set of teams to play i wish they would not call this three match (for each team) friendly set a tournament or a cup. It is NOT either of those it is just a set of friendlies that mean nothing more than any other friendly. Winning or losing does not count any more than a friendly with say Cuba or Panama. It is not even like a group of a real tournament because the number of subs allowed is too many for real tournament matches.
It seems that USA soccer is unwilling to admit that there are many "training" matches and this is just three more. At least there is good variety in styles and physicality that will require some adaptation between matches.
I am looking forward to this set of friendlies but I also realize it is nothing more than three friendlies played over one window.

 

you doth protest all of them???
The SheBelieves cup is played at the same time of year as the Algarve Cup, the Arnold Clark Cup, the Cup of Nations, the Cyprus Women's Cup, the Istria Cup, the Pinatar Cup, the Tournoi de France, the Turkish Women's Cup and the Women's Revelations Cup.

 

If they are played under "friendly" rules then they are NOT tournaments but just glorified friendlies. The time they are played does not mean anything.
It is like the old children's joke:
Q - How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg?
A - Four, calling a tail a leg does not make it one.

Just calling a series of friendlies a "tournament'' does not make it one.

 

While I understand your view, ultimately if the sponsors demand that they call it a Cup in order create curbside appeal, then they will ALWAYS get their way.

 

Hey Gang !
Got my Wembley ticket today and I am Smack Dab down front in row 3 even with the penalty spot in the Blue section.

 

Of course, this is offset with the elation that z-man will be in attendance.

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The rest of the A team is there, though. Naeher, Girma, Horan, Fox, Coffey & Sonnett. Plus Lavelle, Shaw, Nighswonger, Williams, Davidson, & Krueger. Plus Yohannes.

Thompson & Sears get more looks up top is fine with me. As is some more looks at younger defenders (Sams, Gaetino, Malonson), Herschfelt, and some more younger attackers.

Really, if it was a money game, the only players missing, asside from Macario + the yroika up top are Dunn & Purce, and those are marginal.

So, while it is disappointing the big offensive guns won't be there, it is hardly a B-team. Between Horan, Lavelle, Shaw, Williams, Thompson, & Sears, we should be able to field 4 pretty good attackers, depending on how we set up.

 

oh, I agree, it’s an pretty good squad, just like to see women’s soccer get more hyped. This might only be an friendly, but already 80K tickets sold for Wembley/usually the Dutch also sell out their NT games as well——that’s why in this case would of like to see the USWNT represented by its best. But to be fair, if the Triple Expresso are nursing injuries, then obviously we want to safeguard them from further harm(all though all three did start in the recent NWSL playoffs, with Trinity surely to play in the upcoming finals)

 

Another thought on this is, we don't need to make a statement. We won the Olympics. After the WC early elimination (on PK's), if we'd have gotten a poor result at the Olympics, I could see more of a desire/need to get some statement wins to re-establish our mojo and get players to buy-in with Hayes. But that job is done. We won. We have our mojo. No need to run the troika up top into the ground.

The focus should be on building out the squad. So we will not be as vulnerable if we lose a piece or two this time (Swanson, Sauerbrunn, Ertz to the back).

Early returns look fairly promising. In the back (Sams, Gaetino, Malonson), in midfield (Yohannes, Hershfelt), and out wide (Thompson, Sears). The process ar GK is just starting behind Naeher.

But I think the days of the USWNT starting the same XI in virtually every friendly are over. Hayes wants more depth and more time with various players playing with each other, methinks. Think 30-35 deep instead of 18. Better depth, and have the stars healthier & fresher come WC time.

 

I mean, I think I can get to 35 pretty easily.

Inner Core/Locked starters (8): Naeher, Girma, Fox, Coffey, Horan, Swanson, Smith, Rodman.

Veteran Outer core (7): Sonnett, Davidson, Krueger, Dunn*, Lavelle, Macario, Williams.

Younger outer core (4): Nighswonger, Albert, Yohannes, Shaw.

Vet fringe (7): Murphy, Campbell, Dahlkemper, Sullivan, Purce, Sanchez, Hatch

New fringe (14): Haught, Tullis-Joyce, Sams, Gaetino, Staab, Malonson, Mace, Hershfelt, Moultrie, Bethune, Thompson, Sears, Ryan, Sentor.

That's 40. I am sure I have left someone off (DeMelo?). And there are rightly a few quibbles in there. Not all the new faces will stick, of course. And some of the vets may be truly out if the picture going forward (Hatch, Dunn, Sullivan, etc).

 

I spent the weekend pacing, occasionally walking into my spare bedroom to check on my travel suitcase that was fully packed over a month ago. I think I should learn some deep breathing relaxation exercises.

 

Naeher to retire internationally:

Legendary U.S. women's national team goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher has announced her retirement from international soccer.

The USWNT's upcoming games at England (Saturday) and the Netherlands (Dec. 3) will be Naeher's last for the national team, where she has made her mark as one of the great goalkeepers in program history.

The 36-year-old will continue her career at the club level with the Chicago Stars.