Let's go ahead and start the thread for the US's 2nd game of the group stage, the one that's been the most anticipated, US v Sweden. The game is at 7 pm local time (CT) in Winnipeg, and will be televised on Fox. In their first game, Sweden tied Nigeria 3-3. Rapinoe and Holiday sit on 1 yellow apiece.
Might as well play Rapinoe and Holiday in the Sweden match and if they get yellows, not really a big deal. Field an all sub XI against Nigeria to clear the cards and if we beat Sweden and Nigeria draws Aussie, 6 points would be enough to top the group. Anything more is just icing on the cake.
A single yellow card now gets wiped off the record when teams enter the Quarterfinals instead of at the end of group stage. A player must now go 4 games without a second yellow to avoid suspension instead of 3. ( for the men's cup it was 5 games) If we beat Sweden it would be better for players to draw second yellows at the end of the Sweden game and have them serve their suspensions for Nigeria. This was done to reduce the chance of players sitting in the semis and final.
Well, unfortunately it appears to not be correct. For the the men last year the rule was the first yellow gets wiped clean AFTER quarterfinal so a yellow in the quarters and in the semis wouldn't sit you for the final. http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/news/y=2014/m=6/news=what-if-2378875.html I'm pretty sure the women are doing the same. That would mean you can't get a second yellow for 5 games or you sit. <edit> I'm watching the replay and tony Dicicco said the same thing at the 56:00 minute mark when Holiday got her yellow. At any rate, you don't get cards wiped clean after group stage. Amazingly, there is nothing in the FIFA organizing rules that confirms this.
I think the brilliance of our former coach may get Sweden a draw. Coach Pia, we will always love you. Always and forever.
Maybe so. After all, the brilliance of our former coach managed to get Sweden a draw against Nigeria, while our current coach only managed a victory against Australia.
I definitely think you play Pinoe and Holiday against Sweden. I might even encourage them to try to draw a late game yellow. Neither of them is particularly speedy, so it won't hurt as badly to have them miss the Nigeria game. Our set pieces would suffer, though.
So what changes for the next match.... 1) Definitely some change to forward line -- Abby does not start I like Alex Morgan in for Abby to start the game OR move Press up to Abby's position and bring in Heath. 2) Something needs to be done in Midfield, but doubt any changes. 3) No changes in Defense. Need to build cohesion in this unit. 4) No change in goal.
Jill Ellis is in way over her head. Not a clue what she's doing and building this squad around 35 yr old, out of form Abby who chose to sit on her ass he last few months is just flat out stupid. This team looks like they've had no tactical schooling whatsoever. It's poor movement, ample stagnation, lack of pace with a reliance on older players and seems to be Ellis' plan is to just have Rapinoe either create something out of nothing or lob cross at Abby's face while she works her way into form.
Lose the direct play Ellis. The team isn't good at it, service was beyond poor the whole game. The few chances they put in the box were not threats. I still can't believe Wambach missed the one easy ball. It looked like she had no idea where she was in the box because trying to go near post was futile given her position. If we aren't aiming for Johnston on a corner or Morgan on a cross, leave the direct offense at home. I don't want Morgan starting just yet. Otherwise, I am on board with moving Press up top. She is decent 1v1 player in tight spaces. On the flanks, she is not going to win 1v1 battles. It isn't her game and she lacks the tactical acumen to play out wide without a winger's 1v1 skillset.
I think we won because of individual brilliance. We can even win the WC because of this. Pia doesn't have a team close to our caliber.
If Morgan is still not healthy to start against Sweden I'd actually start Lloyd upfront instead of Abby. Whatever strengths Abby has at this point in her offensive game (including heading the ball) can be matched or exceeded by Lloyd. Also, Carly is fairly strong and won't be muscled off the ball if the defense is converging on our forwards. This would free up Press to play in the 10 position where she'll have room to roam, take on defenders, and get really good looks on goal. I just don't like the idea of moving Press to the forward position with ball hogs like Lloyd and Rapinoe playing behind her. She'll just get gobbled up by the defense in the crowded penalty area. This will also free up the right side for either Heath, Brian or HAO to exploit. Wambach proved last night that she should be coming off the bench against tired defenders and as a defensive presence against set plays.
Looking at other threads over at "International" especially, this post reminds me: US fans love to trash their coach and players. Euro fans love to assert how marvelous their players are. I guess that's probably too broad a generalization, but I think the gist of it is right.
As good a coach as Pia is at the end of the day players win the games at this level. Whatever insight Pia has from a few years ago about the US's tendencies and tactics is countered by the fact woman for woman the US has superior players at just about every position. Yes, many games are won on individual brilliance, which is why individually brilliant players in this sport are worth millions and why the teams they play for tend to win more often than not. That is the beauty of the US team, they have many players that can be the match winner at any given time.
Are you seriously suggesting Lloyd is a better center forward than the greatest center forward in the history of the woman's game? Why take her out of he role as a center mid, why create a vacuum there when the US has several forward attacking options (too many perhaps) to replace Abby with?
Personally I'd like to have more creative midfielders out there to distribute the ball to our forwards. Abby is proving more and more that she's probably a good late sub at best (it happens to the best of them, for instance Prinz), while even though Lloyd can be frustrating at times, I don't think anyone would want her out of the starting line-up at this point. Moving Press to center attacking mid and placing someone like Heath on the right flank could really help with the creativity of our midfield. IMO, at this point in their careers Lloyd is more dangerous than Wambach in front of goal.
How does a player take a yellow? I understand the idea of rapinoe and/or Holliday doing this in principle to clear their cards and serve a suspension in a less important game. What I don't get is how a player takes a yellow. How do you foul to get a yellow and be sure you don't get a red? Or do you just start mouthing off to the ref to get one for dissent? It doesn't make sense to me that a player could pull this off. And it would also require being at a point where we feel confident we are going to beat Sweden even after taking such a penalty.
We're heading towards dangerous grounds here of old guard vs. new. Abby will always be our beloved, but I'm not sure on a starting role. She will score, and important goals at that however, she's not 90 minutes material. Morgan is not full strength and we can only be hopeful some minutes will help guide her along. The reason to play Press and Sid up top that they are very much the same player. Both are strong, fast, good finishers who love to run at defenders, and they are fit.
When was the last time Lloyd started up top? I'm not sure this is the time for experimentation. If we're committed to a 4-4-2 I'd like to see Press move up top and Heath come in for Wambach and play out on the right.
USWNT WINS. Pia Sundhage, love you back... in... the .... day. Why did you trash us? Why did you say crap that everybody at BS already knew but you made it public? You know we are a mob right? No public speak.......... I therefore ban you from America, you are trash, I hope you rot and die.