To put it simply, a low block is when a team defends deeply in their own territory, meaning when a good portion of the team (Colombia here had a 5 back plus the midfield) sits in on defense and the line where they start to pressure the attacker is relatively close to their own goal (Colombia was only stepping up and pressuring about 18-22 yards out). The other end of the spectrum is a high press. We're definitely going to see teams in our group next week play a defense like this. Usually a low block is narrow, or compact in front of their own goal to protect the space behind and in between defenders, so one key to breaking it down is to get width in the attack, especially from the outside backs, which the US was trying to do, somewhat effectively (we had the width; we just weren't finishing the shots or the crosses were going astray).
Ashley is an Angel and did nothing wrong. It makes no sense to have a lightning delay when the most powerful force in the Universe is on the field.
led by an very weak coach coach who like an good heel wrestler, keeps ducking top 10 competition for nearly an year. The old adage; ‘to be the best, you got to beat the best’ has no meaning to Vlatko nor apparently, to his beloved fans
This seems an odd criticism (when there are other things to criticize) since for the majority of the past year, opponents were still somewhat constrained by which countries could travel to/from the US without much restrictions and likewise, where/if the US could travel elsewhere. Plus we know that we had a high-ranked country lined up in April that backed out. The opponents the team has been playing haven't been entirely in Vlatko's control. The team definitely doesn't shy away from top 10 competition; I believe if a top 10 team could have been lined up at any point, it would have. But, there's a lot of logistics going on there.
This is not necessarily true. Of course, covid threw a wrench into the workings of international soccer with travel restrictions. Even then, we were able to play Brazil and Sweden in She Believes '21. Then, the Olympics. After the Olympics, Vlatko brought in the next generation. I don't think there is much upside to playing the Top 10 when you are not familiar with your own players and they are far from a cohesive team . A strong She Believes was negated this year when the Top 10 decided to hold their own tournaments (aka moneymakers.) Since then, European teams have been preparing for the Euros which start next week. Int'l windows have been used for Euro qualifying, and no team wants to risk injuries/covid in a what would probably be a very competitive friendly. Vlatko has not been hiding from the Top 10.
She meant to shove her on the shoulder area but didn't realize how much shorter the other player is. For real though it was Pugh in Denver and now Ashley in Utah acting a little incensed...
My guess would be, the defending player that gave her to shove in the back first, would have been carded had the game meant something. In fact, Colombia got frustrated and were committing numerous fouls out there. I mentioned above, Morgan took a forearm to the back of the head in the box that wasn't called.
this seems voluntarily blind and willingly ignorant. other posters have repeatedly explained the difficulty of getting the best teams to agree to play us - euros, covid, etc.
You are way off base on this, IMO. Vlatko has little control over what teams are willing to play the US, especially in the US. The women's soccer landscape around the world has changed in the last few years.The Europeans have their own "gigs"/tournaments going on now where money is to be made. European countries are now getting big crowds for their own games so why fly all the way to the US for top competition when they can have it in their own back yard now. Some countries still have strict covid regulations. I too would love to see US vs France, for instance, but we may have to "settle" for Colombia or Jamaica more often. I am sure the coaching staff would LOVE to play the Europeans or even Canada in preparation. But if they don't want to play you, there is nothing you can do about it.
All these excellent factual responses above to hotjam2. But here's what all of you are blatantly missing; THE LIGHTNING WAS VLATKO'S FAULT!!!
All these apologist for this idiotic coach! Its sickening. Canada had no problem scheduling top teams and we are from the same region. Or do you people deliberately ignore the world map just to make excuses for Vlatko!
WTH, I'll bite. Okay, who among the top ten has Canada played at home since the Olympics? Hint for those who don't want to look it up: they haven't played a top ten team at home. (They did travel to England to play, but the US hosts the SheBelieves in the same international window, which others above have already pointed out.) Also I'll just add that the initial argument for only "top ten" teams is fairly arbitrary. It ignores the fact that the US did travel to Australia (a team just outside the top ten that has been previously ranked in the top ten) to play them twice. Plus, I'll go ahead and point out that the scheduling for those 2 matches in Australia pre-dates Vlatko becoming coach. Again, while s/he may have a voice in the decision, the head coach of a national team is NEVER fully in control of who the team plays; this isn't youth rec soccer. If you want to criticize Vlatko, there's room there for criticism. The scheduling isn't it.
Admirable effort, but you can't win. You know that. It's part of the pathology of youth/club/college/professional sports that there are always passionate parents or passionate fans who KNOW that the coach/manager/general manager/whomever is the worst in history. So of course Jill Ellis was hideous as a coach. Her teams won nothing, right? Any U.S. defeat was her fault. Any U.S. victory was despite her. Now it's Vlatko. And if he's fired tomorrow the target will be the next USWNT coach. Any of us who introduce facts rather than complete contempt are "apologists" for the coach. I had no great loyalty to Jill Ellis, I have no great loyalty to Vlatko, and I very rarely have any great loyalty to any coach/manager/general manager in any sport. You can bet the house on this. If the USWNT wins the 2023 World Cup (I'm quite skeptical of that), none of the haters here will say "I was wrong about Vlatko."
Also, does Vlatko do the scheduling or is that more on higher management? I mean, I'm sure he has input, but it isn't a "clap your hands and it will be done" sort of process, I think.
Canada's Covid responses were much more in line with the rest of the world than ours. And playing Canada in the lead up to a world cup is much less of a suicide mission than the US. You want to play good competition a few times in preparation, but there isn't all that much to be gained by travelling somewhere and getting a bloody nose. Except maybe a big guarantee, and the good programs are getting to where the payday is not as much of a necessity...
Maybe something worth trying for the USWNT if they want more challenging opposition. It is harder to play away then at home so to get the same level of opposition that playing the 10th ranked team at home you could play the 22nd ranked team away (based on current FIFA ranking which is at least a rough guideline). And teams are normally more available if they get to play at home, apart from the fact there are 2½ as many teams among the top 22 than top 10.(if you do not count the team USA can not play, themselves and North Korea).
So, why not wrangle an invitation for the WNT to return to the Algarve Cup next February? Nice weather, relaxed atmosphere, pleasant place. Players should love it. Does it all boil down to the fact that the Algarve Cup is not an opportunity for gain filthy lucre? Participants in the Algarve Cup in 2022 were Sweden (No. 2 in FIFA world rankings), Norway (11), Italy (14), and Portugal (30).
too many reply’s to respond, so let me explain; I do follow woso in Europe more than anyone here. Right now the US u20 squad along with senior NT’s from Australia Brazil Japan NZ are traveling & playing games in Europe to record crowds(SO apparently no to minor COVID PROBLEMS) This is how we fared in the last three matchups vs Top Ten teams; Canada(lost 0-1) Netherlands(won on PK shootout, but-most observers thought the Dutch out played us over 120 minutes) Sweden(0-3) lot of people don’t get that even in 2019 supposedly big/powerful squads could not muster 23 fully professional players out there(compare to the US six-seven figure salaries & endorsements). Example; the German starting CB named Hegering was working 12 hour shifts as an construction worker at the time. Things have changed dramatically in 3 years; England’s WSL is now an fully pro soccer league paying way bigger salaries then the US/NWSL. Example; Sam Kerr’s reported $600K an year is tops any NWSL salaries by far. The half foreign WSL keeps a lot of the rest of Europe payed as well as 12 Swedish NT’s/9 Dutch NT’s play there as well. Barca got an stunning 91K attendance at one of their club/Champions League matches. So just mentioning a few of many examples of how woso’s picked up especially in Europe. Another interesting score last weekend; Spain 7 Australia 0 compare that to the last four times the US played the Aussies, 1-1, 0-3, 4-3, 0-0 is an another example of the US slipping meantime over here, the networks have complained about declining USWNT viewership/16K attendance for the last game(compared to record crowd over in tiny Denmark & Sweden for their friendlies vs Brazil) declining posters as well at this & other message boards as well in LIVE GAME commentary(as shown lately at this message board) Another poster mentioned something ‘the US doesn’t want to take more chances because of worried of more injuries’ WOW doesn’t every country have that same problem? and here we still got the highest woso participation in the world!, lol So just saying, if we want to stay competitive, we got to play competitive. We’re not doing that by playing the Uzbekistan & Colombians of the world. Not an single Colombian player could make it in the NWSL(as If I remember both their previous best players, Rincon & Lady Andrade, got cut from NWSL squads) Not going to comment anymore as it feels like some of you Vlatko die hards act like Trump voters who just don’t get that their man LOST, lol
4 out of the 8 teams will qualify fir the WC, 2 more will have an chance in some sort of wild card tournament. Interesting score from yesterday; Haiti beat Costa Rica 4-2, this means our group’s 4th seeded beat Canada’s group 2nd seeded, so our group looking way stronger. but at the same time, Haiti best players are really young(their leading scorer is 18 years old) and were in part of an youth team created & trained right here in America/Jamaica apparently not even bothering with warm up match(as previously posted; like Haiti their soccer fed has no money) Not even sure if Canada will put its best face out there, in the past, they’ve often started their reserves instead in the finals(as to show their just happy qualifying). I remember one time they made it into the Algarve Cup, but instead playing their best, they started the then 15 year old Jesse Fleming for her first cap!
The head coach does not do the scheduling, but s/he does have input. We know Ellis advocated for high level competition at SheBelieves and helped sway USSF to do their own tournament instead of going to the Algarve, but she wasn't actually doing the scheduling. I think she also had input into how often the team played away matches. For example, we did hear that she wanted them to do the Brazil tournament and the visits to France/England.