USWNT v Japan in April 2026, pre/pbp/post

With using 30 stats, FOTMOB’s rankings are very comprehensive. Some of those stats are obviously based on how many goal & assists for the season, but many of them are per average minute(s)—-Girma hasn’t appeared in any of them. Girma has put in 864 minutes in 8 league matches for about 80+ a game.

I don’t agree with some of the rankings; they got Millie Bright at #19, someone who I would be more worried what she’ll do to her own teammates(she’s that clumsy)

But my original post was not really about how well Americans are doing in the WSL(which is well enough with Fox & Thompson) but how well the Japanese are doing!—Japan is after all on the thread heading

 

here's an stat from another website called soccerway that gave Grima an very average score of 6.9 vs Canada
USA 1-0 CAN | USA W v Canada W live scores & match info | Soccerway | Lineups

6.9 is close to her FOTMOB score in the WSL. She had an real low score of 5.9 when Man City trounced Chelsea 5-1, MC the team that got top Japaneses players on their squad & Miedema plus top scorer Bunny Shaw(who burned Girma an couple of times)

 

N(a)o(mi) + (Gi)rma = Norma

It's a sort of crasis, it somehow makes sense (at least in @hotjam2's world ).

 

I laughed out loud when I read this.
Too funny.

 

Most all the places where you see player ratings use statistics but that only tells a small part of players value to their team. The problem with statistics is that they try to quantify the unquantifiable and that leads to errors. The reason statistics are used so much is that comparing players that play on different teams and in different leagues and different positions are nearly impossible without statistics. But statistics are flawed in many ways.

If I were to rate Grima against the other central defenders world wide she would come in somewhere in the top 10 and, maybe the top 5. She is not, to me, the best in the world but anywhere in the top 10 is quite good.

I could go through the entire USWNT lineup the same way but few people would agree with my assessment because it would be based very little on statistics. No matter how good or how bad a player's statistics are I would never rate them unless I had seen them play, preferably multiple times. But my method is not a lot better than statistics simply because it is based on my opinion and that is as flawed, much of the time, as statistics.

One more thing is that defensive players statistic ratings are often skewed quite badly. As one example: A player playing central defense might have poor steal percentages but be a great player because positionally they play so well that few players will even try to beat them.

Also remember the old quote, "There are lies, damn lies and then statistics."

I do not trust or generally believe any ratings that rely heavily on statistics. Statistics are simply a way for some people to fool other into misjudgments.
There is also another quote that applies to many, if not most, soccer statistics. "Most people use statistics the same way a drunkard uses a lamp post, more for support than illumination."

 

Good points, but some like stats, some don’t. Stats are more important in some sports like Baseball compared to others. Stats feed bookmakers odds that in turn feed the trillion dollar sports gambling industry

my original post compared the WSL stats of the top American & Japanese players & ask the question; who looks better? The answer should of been an no brainer(as three Japanese were already higher than the top American(Emily Fox)

as for minus the FOTMOB rankings, Japan made it to the finals of the last three U20 World Cup & now bearing the fruits of that success with an squad that should be superior than the current US one.

The US though got one major advantage in that all three games are played at home

 

for all you wild n crazy Naomi Norma Girma fans, here's highlights of Chelsea vs Man City. Girma(#16) got to defend against an powerful front line of Kerolin, Miedema & Shaw.
1st goal) her fault as miss clears
2nd goal) definitley/obviously her fault
3rd goal) where the heck is she? or why there's 6 Chelsea players back tracking faster than her?
4th goal) again very slowback tracking against theswift counter

those who see the highlights through will be rewarded by an "cracker" from Thompson

 

Statistics are very good if there is enough data and they come with appropriate disclaimers. The problem is that some publishers of statistics don't give appropriate disclaimers and some who review them don't pay attention to the disclaimers. And, it takes a lot of data for statistics to have any reliability and this limits their usefulness for evaluating individual players.

Also, a really good statistician is concerned about which statistics really mean something(are a "signal" of something important) and which don't really mean something (are "noise").

Bookies, whose economic survival depends on having the best possible information, use statistics and supplement them with all the additional information they can get (e.g., who is or has been injured).

 

I won't be watching for (or care) who wins these 3 friendlies, I mean beyond the 'bragging rights'.
I think both coaches will try different things over the course of these 3 friendlies, that won't necessarily be to 'win' the matches.

I'm more curious to see what tactics Emma rolls out to defend and attack against Japan's style of play.
I'm also looking forward to seeing which players step up and execute against such a high-level opponent.

I believe Spain and Japan will be the USA's top peer-competitors over the next decade.

 

Now hold on tiger, there’s a bit more competition out there;
England got an 1-1-1 record this decade vs US with their loss coming earlier at 2020 SBC

Sweden is 2-0 vs USA (2022 Olympics/2023 WC)

both seem to be still peaking

there’s former powerhouses currently slumping; Australia Canada Netherlands and now possibly Brazil, who this last week lost both their friendlies(vs Venezuela & Mexico) but it could of been that their coach wasn’t playing with an full deck as so many of their big stars were missing

and Mexico could be an dark horse as they bested the US in 2024 in the split won/loss by 2-1 aggregate + beat US at the U20 Concacaf

The commentator made an interesting observation about Japan when covering them at the Asian Cup;
their always trying to make goals like an “ work of art “, which I take it mean their not looking for an quick or cheap way to score, so Emma needs to take advantage & adjust or defend accordingly

 

I think we match up well against both Sweden and England and play similar styles.
The USA has better athletes (as a whole) than both those squads, so they don't really scare me.

IMO, teams that pass and move the ball well can be problematic for the USA.
Ultimately, the USA's depth should be the difference in 6-7 match tournament.

The Vlatko Andovoski era is burned from my memory, so we won't be discussing any of those fraudulent results.

Spain and Japan are the only 2 teams that concern me right now.

 

She came on as a sub. I don't think there is much difference.

 

Are you saying that she looked good (ie, her old self)?

 

England still helped out that most of their NT’s are playing in the top league out there, as so many of the world’s best players have moved to the WSL. And now that league can openly boast having more USWNT starters then the NWSL—-on average 6 vs 4 if you go with Tullis-Joyce Girma Fox Coffey Thompson Macario—Lyon’s Heaps & Yohannes being the out layer(wouldn’t even know who NWSL’s 4 would be cuz the WSL’s do much more distinguishable, lol)

Also England’s got arguably woso’s world’s best tournament coach in Wiegman

 

just read something that Macario signed an record deal with the San Diego Wave. So if/when it happens it be WSL 5, NWSL 5 lol

but still waiting for confirmation as deal supposedly for $ 8 mill???

 

No. Another poster said they'd rule her out fir April because she did not start.

I was just saying I don't really see much difference in starting for 45-60 and subbing for 15 at the end. Not for the first game back. Probably 20-30 for G2. Then 45. Once she can get to 45, she can start.