WWC23 group stage: USWNT vs Portugal, August 1 3 am ET

I'm posting this in agreement with you: The press, to the extent we press, is easily defeatable. We are outnumbered in the midfield. If we push the forwards into a press, we are leaving easy outlets for the opposition. Our press is dead to rights, barring a formation change.

 

Just like the last Olympics, when this team looked lackluster and completely out of it, I think a lot of people gave them a pass because there was no crowd. Since then, yes, they went through a rough patch, but then seemed to somewhat turn things back around. Then the injuries…, and now at this WC, we are saying the EXACT same thing… they look completely out of it, and almost disinterested….. They are running out there like they’ve never played with each other before! Nobody seems to be on the same page.

The free passes are over…another showing like this last one, and MAJOR things need to be shaken up in US soccer.. for both the men and women.

 

[QUOTE="Runhard, post: 41584989, member: 313611"
I spoke to a mens DI college coach of a top blue blood program last year and he was lamenting about a player he recruited that was the most skilled player he had ever seen in his life. When time came for him to play in the ACC, he said he could not put the player on the field because he was simply too unathletic to play. It irked the coach, but the kid sat the bench all year and probalby won't ever get meaningful minutes.

You need both.[/QUOTE]

College soccer has never been the benchmark for excellence in men's soccer, and with the development of European clubs interest in the women's game it is no longer in the women's game as well. But the U.S. hasn't gotten the message yet. Watching last night, my first thought is that we play with all the sophistication of a college team--no guile, no control, no creation and then exploitation of space.

To your point above, a skillful but smaller, slower player has no place in the college game, but that doesn't mean they don't have a place in the world game, even at the highest levels.

 

Franklin Foer sums up the problem perfectly and eloquently in The Atlantic. Read it. He does refer to the coach as "feckless."

 

A good coach can mean the difference between failure or success.
Dutch coach Jonker took over with a squad in tatters, without confidence and joy of the game. He spent most of his matches finding out the strenghts and weaknesses of the players and concluded that actually he had a good bunch of players to work with. After he had an idea of how his players worked he designed a system taylored to them and used the last few matches to imprint it in them. Lieke Martens, who was a pale shadow of what she was blossomed up and the players found their joy of the game back they lost under Mark Parson.

 

Can you image trying to coach Lalas (who I have met when he was the Quakes GM), Harkes, and Wynalda on the same team? Sampson wasn't perfect, but I think that I would have gone running screaming to the hills.

 

I think that this is distraction, along with the focus on social themes (which I have less of a problem). The priority needs to be on winning.

Also, I have not seen much discussion on the pressure of winning a third WC in a row. I think that this team is feeling it across all of the players. Add the injuries and other factors and you have a hurdle too high to get over.

 

I want to specifically talk about the formation. I found it’s odd that from USMNT to USWNT teams, we are seems obsessed in 433. I checked past 4 days’ games at this Women’s WC, covering all 32 teams, surprisingly, I found only 3 teams started with 433, they are Norway (6:0 vs Philippines), Spain (0:4 vs Japan) and USA.

Also, I watched the official post game press after USA vs Portugal, Portugal coach talked about how they use 4312, adding a extra player in the midfield to control the possession. Another interesting point on this press is, the coach said he did research on Vlatko’ EVERY game leading USWNT, and know the advantage and weaknesses, and he specifically said USWNT will suffer without the ball. I don’t know if Dutch coach did the similar thing, but seems they have a very clear tactics plan against USWNT, what about us especially Vlatko? If you are interested you can check this official post game press, I found Vlatko’s response to reporters are very very boring and flat.

 

Smart players are tactically flexible. Quite a few of them are not playing 433 at the Club level and have played 3 back, 5 back and other formations in their soccer careers. The issue is coaching

 

When the USSF launched the GDA, April Heinrichs was obsessed with 433. Barca- style. Formations are pretty indicative. On paper, my daughter's team lined up in 433, but was rarely in that shape. They tended to press based on certain triggers like forcing the ball to the RCB and then man marking with the front 6. if the press was broken, they would recover into a compact 442 shape. In build out, it looked more like 2-1-2-5. Width was VERY important. one of the wingers had to hug the touchline forcing the defense to account for her, creating more space in the middle of the field. the USA wingers seem to be told, play narrow and let the fullbacks overlap. That makes it much easier for the defense imo.

 

but Wiegman’s already making James her meal ticket the way Vlatko been doing with Smith.

 

i disagree. I think you see the game more individually and game to game than I do. James is a quality piece but England can win with or without her.

 

one area that is overlooked on our team is ball striking. Rapinoe is still our best ball striker. The RoW always seem to ahve players who can strike a ball consistently and with texture, spin, weight etc. They have players who understand what we call technical finishing. When to blast it, what part of the foot to use, when to pass it into the net etc. We have tendency to try an smash it more often that not and often miscue it. Power is not always required. Brugts(?) goals were a great example. Caicedo as well. One of the Japan goals where the attacker saw the GK leaning and just passed it left footed into the corner. It a skill all great finishers have.

 

well kids, This is the first time I’ve quoted myself on this forum and it’s a sad indictment of what we now see as a dark dead end.

At least the lovely Nadashiko are firing on all cylinders.

 

Not regarding posters here, but regarding the broadcast team, I think a comment by Heather O’Reilly is interesting: If you support the team, all that negativity is not helpful.

She did not say to whom she was referring, but it was pretty obvious.

 

In order to play the 433 effectively, we need a mobile midfield unit. Playing with Horan there, it's like we're playing down a player the whole game. She looked utterly clueless the first half of the game and improved somewhat in the 2nd half. She looked either lethargic/lazy/mentally slow when the other team had the ball and was always a step or two behind the play. She has not played consistently well the last two games.

I'm frankly astonished that she is captain as she has not displayed on the field the qualities needed from a captain.

With Lavelle out the next match, I don't see how we can be successful playing 433 without her there and WITH Horan.

 

3 v 5 in the midfield vs the Dutch, and the US looked like they deserved to lose.

3 v 4 in the midfield vs the Portuguese, and they were inches away from going home.

They need to close the possession gap, so that the midfield isn't chasing YET ANOTHER game.

 

in normal circumstances, I would tend to agree. But here’s the rub, this is the second major tournament in a row now that they’ve played flat in MOST of the tournament..and “flat” is about the nicest way I can say it. The players need a fire lit under their a$$. Some people just need it, some people need to play with chip on their shoulder, to bring out some bite. Clearly, this is a team that needs that. If they win this tournament and say a big F U to all the “fans”, then awesome. We did our job. It’s called tough love. The people who are being critical (at least on the professional level) aren’t doing it because they are d’s…they are doing it because they believe in the program and are passionate about the United States Soccer.

 

With a 3 player midfield, each MFer has a ~20 meter zone of responsibility, if evenly distributed across the width of the pitch.

OTOH, if the other side has 4 MFers, any player with the ball will have an open team mate within ~15 meters, if evenly distributed. With 5 MFers, there's someone open within ~12 meters.

IOW, our 3 midfielders either have to be supernaturally mobile and fit, or they need to have a Busquets-level ability to read and predict the opponent's next pass. Or, your midfield will spend 90+ minutes testing their VO2 max, and hoping the other team can't score.

The 3 player midfield has sucked a horse's ass, TBH. Because of it, the USWNT haven't had the ball enough. Without the ball, your playmakers and goalscorers are unable to do much of anything.

Its a simple game, really:
1. Get the ball,
2. Move the ball,
3. Move off the ball.

 

On rewatch of the first half, the US is worse than I thought. They lack the ability to cleanly control the ball and, worse, show little aptitude for understanding where their teammates are, or where they should go to provide options.

I didn’t check but I wonder if they completed any one touch passes in the game?

The one and only plan is try to get the ball on the wing to Smith and she puts her head down and tries to get to the line.

Maybe the other plan is press occasionally and hope for a mistake from the other team.

So in sum, the soccer skill and game reading is below par and so is the coaching.

The athletes are there. Need to switch to something more congested and direct.

 

I’m too lazy to go back and look at my posts, but I can almost guarantee during the Olympics they also had horrendous first touches game after game, and I commented on it…

Anyone who’s played a high level of athletics knows that’s indicative of lack of focus. For whatever freakin reason, they just are not showing up for these matches. It’s honestly mind boggling.

 

When is the last time Rapinoe scored a goal? She whiffed on a volley (wide open) in the box to win the game last night.

 

Why is it weird? The USSF is the group the hires the coaches at all levels and they do that by a somewhat complex committee system that never produces a truly bad result but also never produces a good result.
In a "committee" intelligence is not equal among all parties and usually when a committee makes a decision it is somewhere between the dumbest person there is in said committee and zero. That is most committees have an IQ that maxes out at the level of the stupidest person involved.

I believe the USA would be better served as a true totalitarian entity even with a poor choice at the top.
One person might make a mistake but a committee will almost always make many mistakes.

But, with what we have and the idea that democracy actually works and we cannot make a choice without the requisite "flappers" to tell us when to talk and when not to. (See Gulliver's travels.)

No one knows if the next choice for coach will be good or bad but, judging by the men's side, our next coach will be our current coach because we are, from the point of view of the high ups, constantly getting better and we should not make a change when we are doing so well.

"A committee is a group of people that singly can do nothing and together can decide that nothing can be done,"

 

As most here know I fought and was wounded (twice) fighting in SE Asia. I NEVER fought for or would fight for our "flag." It is just a piece of cloth that has some symbols on it and it actually means NOTHING. In ancient time flags served the purpose of identifying your country and often the leader(s) carried flags primarily so their soldiers could find them on the battle field.
As we progressed???? flags became, in some cases, as important as what the flag represented and we are still seem to feel that way.
But that is a stupid relationship. Along with the anthems I believe we should also rid ourselves of the stupid meaningless symbols that do nothing but give upholstered parasites an excuse for their behavior.

A flag flying on a mast has no more real importance than the ugly rags Hagrid always carried. (A slight homage to the young people out there)

 

She did and yet she is still the best ball striker on the team.