Interesting. the winners of A & B defeat the teams the other couldn't defeat in group play by 3-0 margins.
Was that Carney that got the ball to the gut from Lilly at the whistle? Look at the blood on the players. This was a real battle. See y'all tomorrow morning.
Certain? Nothing is ever certain in this game. They could come out with lots more force and energy against Brazil.....or maybe not. I'm not certain....
comcast is airing a bizarre Fearnet commercial...Real scary, especially for some of their audience...teenage girls.
What's certain is that progressed has been made to English football, we can now walk out the door with our heads held high and look forward to the European qualifiers for 2009, Germany we will be gunning for your crown!
not only the camera work... selection and timing of the replays were also often in the tournament not that professional ...
indeed, lots of progress. and you're a great supporter. now how about some acknowledgement to the team that just beat your 3-0?
Haven't read much of this thread after the first few minutes of the game. This was only the 2nd game of the tournament where I felt the US controlled the game from minutes 1-90 (first was the Nigeria game). Foudy seemed to be relying on those early possession numbers England had (so much of that early possession was in their own half) when she repeatedly stated that England had outplayed the US in the first half. The US looked somewhat careless on the ball early on . . . a lot of simple passes were mishandled by the receiving player and there were some errant passes here and there. Having said that, the US still looked competent going forward and created some dangerous attacks. The second half was all US and after building a 3-goal lead, they finally added some style and flair to their attacks for the first time this WWC. Have to say I'm still confused at the long, long wait to make substitutions. Does Ryan not have confidence in his bench players? At 3-0, unless a substitution is going to completely downgrade the quality of the team at a specific position, why not give a few starters some rest (and I liked DiCicco's point about using substitutions to get more players some playing time). The 3-goal win was fully deserved IMO, unlike the one in the Germany-NKorea game earlier (and I think Foudy said something about Germany having an easy game? I don't think she watched it.). That was a hard-fought game in which the Germans slightly outplayed the Koreans in the first half and then absorbed a huge amount of pressure before scoring their 2nd goal completely against the run of play. Just before that 2nd goal, it really looked like a Korean goal was inevitable if something didn't change quickly. I think Germany deserved to win (and their finishing was excellent), but probably not by more than a single goal.
Yeah it was Carney. Poor kid was working hard the whole game. We'll see her in at least two more WCs if she's able to avoid serious injuries.
This game was the US' all around best effort. England may have dictated the pace in the first half but the US had better chances at goals. It felt a bit to me like they might have been playing a bit of possum with England to see what they were going to try to throw at them. Then in the second half, the US stepped on the gas a bit. That paid off in spades for them. How 'bout that Lopez? Gets kicked in the head in the first half. Gets staples in her head to stop the bleeding. Yes staples...not stitches. And comes back into the game. Lopez is a warrior! (And she launched one of the US' most effective attacks on goal in the first half too...that was good stuff!) If it were Mitts that took that kick, the US would have had to sub her out. *waits for Pauk to get huffy and puffy* Lil red-head gurl is a very happy camper right now! Special commentary for Pauk: [result]Mitts is doing a fantastic job in the studio. I like her there.[/result]
Some people become a lot more demure when they're getting their butt kicked... I pretty much had this called - figured the US would have to take England's best shot for the first half hour, but if they got out of that they'd be OK. Still room for improvement on the US side and I can't believe Abby wasn't subbed out until the 86th minute - why bother then? As for England, they're obviously much improved but still have a couple of levels to go - levels they'll reach only if they get solid support from their FA.
I'm out of town and didn't have chance to post during the match, but I'm surprised anyone viewed this match negatively from the USA's perspective. Defense was stellar in both halves. England never looked remotely dangerous in the first half and very rarely in the second. The midfield still had some heavy touches and timid play in the first half but Boxx really stepped up in the second with her tackling and overall aggressiveness. USA out-chanced England all the way through the game. Some of the individual players for the USA played better in the second half but I think overall the USA played great in both halves. The only difference in the second was the finishing was there. This team may not play the most gorgeous style, but they sure as hell know how to win. Bring on the next victims! And fond farewell to Arsenal, er England. Thanks for showing us yet again that there's no sport the English can invent that they will end up second-rate at.