Yep, I think most of us understood what you were referring too. I remember reading that the German federation was doing this across all their youth teams for that exact reason.
Sorry, I initially meant McCabe, but I think I made a mistake. I may have had someone else in mind. I agree, you want players who don't back down and can boss the game, but not players who intentionally try and injure opposing players.
And just think what she could have done if she hit the goal on half her shots. I did not say she was bad and I did say that many/most of her shots were VERY fast and hard. I also never mentioned her passing.. I simply said that hitting most of their shots over the net was NOT a detriment to getting on the USWNT or she would not have made the team. That is her shooting was NOT the reason she excelled. It was the other stuff that made her a valuable asset. As I remember her she was also very fast. The only woman I have ever noticed having a harder/faster shot was a young lady named Michelle Akers.
Hayes has said she wants her players to play like that. V. Argentina, she spoke about Moultrie, specifically, and one other whom I forget (Shaw?) who went right up to the line, but didn't cross it.
Cool. Understood. I just re-read your OP and this explanation helps to explain your PoV. I misunderstood the word "development"
@blissett I posted two days ago about this but now asking you directly; why Tawikara & Matsukubo aren’t starters yet on Japan’s NT? and now with ESPN top 20 of the best young players of the world posted just yesterday, those two(ranked #4 & #6) could give #3 A Thompson #2,Caicedro #1 Vicky Lopez an run for their money and then add that #8 Yohannes #9 Hutton #11Shaw #12 Moultri #18 G Thompson received significant starting times under Hayes whereas Tanikawa just sat on the bench at the Asian Cup & instead the two starters Ueki & Hamano have had relatively poor WSL season(1&2 goals) So why no love from the Japan NT think tank for Tanikawa & Matsukubo?
Probably because of their young age: Momoko Tanikawa is 20, Manaka Matsukubo 21, although is not really justified. It has to be said that they had some playing time at the recent Asian Cup, and both scored, but in fact seldom as starters.
starter Hamano(age 21) was actually mentioned in the ESPN list article but not placed in the list due to being perceived under achieving at Chelsea
here's the article & list of ESPN's top 20 young players od the world López, Caicedo, Thompson lead best U21 women's soccer players - ESPN foreigners might think the list is too American-centric(7 out of the 20) bit it's more because of the money we overall spending on woso whether it's on youth, NWSL NT oe even media/promoting gives us the extra edge
True. But I would say that they are equal parts, particularly if a team like the US is very technical. If a team is the best, lesser teams will target them and that better team needs to be able to be assertive in response.
Seems to be a fair list, though admittedly there are some names I don't know. The only change I would make is to swap Hutton with Yohannes, but that's kind of nit-picking. One could also say this list might be Barca (4) or Spain (6 total) centric as well, though in fairness, Barca does crank out superb youth players. Also interesting is that 2 players and an honorable mention went to Spurs. I'm also amused that the Thompson sisters are both on the list.
It's a good list as to the Americans, though I'd put Moultrie in almost a top 5 or close to Matsukubo and Yohannes. A big omission is Dudinha who is looking like one of the best attackers in the League. Holmberg for Arsenal is obviously going to be a big star at only 19. Honorable mention to Jordyn Bugg as well.
The ESPN list shares the same problem with any rankings: it is completely driven by impression rather than on-field performance. There's no sports reason for Lopez to be number one, for Thompson a highly one-dimensional player to be number 3, Tanikawa whose defense contribution is absurdly bad to be number 4, and for Yohannes and Shaw to be ranked over Moultrie.
Barca is very good at pumping their stars. Spain did not win two of major tournaments following the World Cup, and even had a crash-out in the Olympics. But they are still miles ahead of any opponent. This is simply narrative not facts.
But doesn't that get into the difference between stats and influence? Thinking of A Thompson, how does one measure speed? She's so fast that she necessitates (on occasion) multiple defenders to cover her, which opens space for others. Or how does something like long throw-ins get measured? Off the top of my head, I'm thinking Jonsdottir's long throw, which ultimately led to her goal the other match. I don't think impression should be discounted, but it also shouldn't be taken over stats, either. To me, I think it is fair to have Lopez as the top U21 player. She is really, really good. Is she the best? That is a really difficult thing to say. As for Moultrie, I wouldn't have an issue with her anywhere between 5 and 15. But the difference there is just so minor that the rankings are, to me, semantic. A Thompson: what does she have to do to get away from this one-dimensional moniker (that I see everywhere)? She plays on the left, on the right, in the middle. She dribbles to the line, and through the middle. She scores from all three areas, both with curling, great looking shots, and with scrappy in the box shots - she even scored off a header a couple weeks ago. Her crossing has gotten much better since moving to Chelsea, and she has grown in physical strength and is better able to fight off defenders and get back on defense. Plus, she's been starting almost every match for Chelsea, and did so by supplanting the existing starting left winger (Baltimore). I really would like somebody to explain what else she has to do. Sure, they are good a pumping up their stars, but only because those youngsters are so good. I also don't think it is fair to base the talent of the youth on a national team's failure at success. For example, Caldentey was pretty widely considered by fans to be the best player of 2025 despite Spain not winning the Euros.
I don't think most of your points are wrong but Thompson really only thrives on the left wing and needs a large, target forward positioned in front of her to provide cover for her. She is best used when the ball is pass to her horizontally or backward, a scenairo she can make most usage of her speed. However, when both she and her defenders are static, her effectiveness is dubious, this is espeically true when she plays on the right side. I also don't think Thompson is getting much better at Chelsea, she is still herself, obvious strengthes and also glaring limitations. She can be a significant piece in a very strong piece, but constructing the team around her likely will not succeed. Lopez is good but she is the top player because she plays for Barca despite she is not always the starter, but playing Barca itself makes her the default best player for a lot of fans. This is absurd. Barca is never as dominant as a lot of their avid fans claim to be.
She is 4 foot 2 inch, 75 pounds. So, yeah, she does need somebody bigger to provide cover. That said, her strength has clearly grown. Not sure if that was notable before she moved to Chelsea, but it is definitely clear since the move. Her strength is her speed. And it is so much higher than almost anybody else that is would be foolish not to lean into that. But what she has done much more over the last one to two years is be able to cut inside. She may not be world class at that aspect, but she has become quite skilled at that. I do agree that her being in the right is much less significant that her being on the left. That said, her explosiveness makes her dangerous when she is going from a static position. It is another area in which she's improved. I agree that at this stage she is not a player that a team can or should build a squad around, and may never be. But I would say that of almost all wingers/wing backs. But I do think she has improved in moving to Chelsea. I think part of that is mentally. At AC she was the go to player, and often tried to carry the team on her shoulders, because she was clearly the best. But it meant that she also never developed a trust in her teammates. Moving to Chelsea, I've seen little things that show she has gained that trust. And I've seen that show with the national team as well. I also think her crossing has gotten better. It's still not great, but it is much superior now than it was when she was with AC. But I also think that is an element of trust.
My main difference is that A.Thompson's explosiveness is over estimated. Her struggle to create openings when both she and her defenders are in static play has a lot to do with two factors 1. her explosiveness is good but not Caicedo-level good; 2. her lack of size means her first step really needs to be super fast and big because she cannot shield her defenders from catching up to her with her body. The stark difference in her effectiveness of play when she is static and needs to initate the play on her on or she is already in motion and the ball is passing to her indicates this is not a speed issue rather than a scenairo issue. Specifically, she needs to receive the ball passing backward from a player in front of her or passing horizontally to her from a parallel player. Both scenario requires a player excels in hold-up play. A long over-the-shoulder ball to Sophie or Rodman can unleash their speed, but is not as effective for Thompson. To take advantage of Thompson's strength, much more support and speicific tactical arrangements from other players are necessary while sometimes the effort may not be worth of it.
Spain did win twice now the Nations League, which is an even more extensive tournament than the WC & takes ten games extending several months to get an final winner Americans look at the Olympics as a big deal, but not so much for Europeans who only allowed three teams to participate even though they currently make 5 out 7 of the top ranked NT’s in the world. until triple espresso gets its mojo back, Hayes seems so dependent on Thompson whereas Spain can live with or live without #1 Lopez Spain just debuted two very athletic looking CF’s with especially Imeda looking particularly world class, scoring most her goals with spectacular headers and their current u19 blowing everybody out of the water—so a lot of upcoming talent
based solely on the list, the US will dominate for decades to come—it’s seven for the US vs zero from current powers England, France & Germany. But looking closer at least the German side; their u23 squad was able to stay even steven with us when they previously met in that two game set last year. If this list had an German author, maybe four of them would of been added(Alara, Baum, Kett, Wrede), but to be fair only one(Kett) made their NT whereas the seven US been fully incorporated into Hayes squad. The one main reason that I can come up with; while the US has not played in what’s called an competition match since Olympics, Germany instead been none stop involved in major tournaments—they went all the way into the Euto semis & then Nations League final, and then immediately started WC qualifiers after that—-their coach had zero time for friendlies, which is usually when you bring newbies into the squad—-so I do see how an even impartial list would give an nod to American players(basically do the extra exposure club & NT form. To be fair —If the author of the Guardian top 100 did this list, you would see a bunch of English players on it! lol a few others worth mentioning; the Swiss kid, Shettenlaub, understudy for where else, Barca, but would probably be an star in the NWSL(as she’s definitely giving Jonsdottir vibes). An rising African named Luvunga(from Gabon & playing in the barely known but pro, Saudi league) And another current dynamics of the game—Mexico’s Salvador & Canada’s Chikwu probably held back from senior NT’s to be instead leaders of their respective u20 squads since the u20 WC is coming up later this year, whereas the US has unlimited depth as to not worry about cutting their youth squads short