Women's World Cup - 2019

[candrew]

Also Crystal Dunn not known as a true left back will have to deal with Diani. Good luck......

Glad that Dunn was good today rather than lucky.

 

[Corporateburnout]

Great game by the US team. Morgan didn't score but set up both goals. England will be the next challenge

 

[Corporateburnout]

Also I was wrong about Dunn. She held her own against Diani and did a good job

 

[Corporateburnout]

The French team choked again in big tournaments

 

[Chuckanut]

So much for the French team that was built to defeat the USA. The French fought well and did not give up. They seemed very very determined in the 2nd half. But so was the USA team.

With increased funding from the sport’s top clubs and a swaggering style, France has emerged as a superpower—designed to take down the Americans

Réessayer

 

[candrew]

So much for the French team that was built to defeat the USA. The French fought well and did not give up. They seemed very very determined in the 2nd half. But so was the USA team.





Réessayer

Yeah, the French side had an extra day's rest, home field and were granted permission to use the national team training facilities at Clairefontaine with its air-conditioned indoor field.

 

[candrew]

Great game by the US team. Morgan didn't score but set up both goals.

That was a perfectly weighted through-ball that Morgan slipped between defenders and in stride for Heath. Real quality.

 

[LRDave]

Despite the time of possession, I think the US was clearly the better team on the pitch today.

There is a lot of snarky press in the European media now about poor USWNT play and (yet again) questionable substitutes by JE, but holy moley, I thought France's play this evening adds new color to the term "uninspired".

 

[candrew]

Despite the time of possession, I think the US was clearly the better team on the pitch today.

There is a lot of snarky press in the European media now about poor USWNT play and (yet again) questionable substitutes by JE, but holy moley, I thought France's play this evening adds new color to the term "uninspired".

+1

We saw what time of possession meant for Spain when they played Russia in the round of 16 during last summer's World Cup. Spain had 76% of the ball during play, completed over 800 passes through regular time and 2 extra periods yet managed only a single goal. Then they lost to Russia on penalties.

And as for the European media characterizing the U.S.'s play as "poor", IMO, the U.S. has yet to play their best match. I thought they looked much better today than they did versus Spain. I have no problem with Ellis's subs today, it was leaving Horan out of the starting lineup that puzzled me. At the end of the day, regardless of the starting lineup, substitutes or time of possession the U.S. advances and France walks home.

 

[Chuckanut]

Tuesday will be good

 

[target2019]

The differentiators in the US-France game were:
- Megan Rapinoe
- Crystal Dunn
- Alyssa Naeher

France put up a nice game to try and come back in the second half. Rapinoe goal at 65' was very nice, set up by Heath.

Both teams were jobbed, as this article points out.
https://slate.com/culture/2019/06/uswnt-france-womens-world-cup-referees-handball-offside.html

Rapinoe is a world class player, and it was great to watch her all game, stepping up when US needed a thrill.

Next up, England. They appear to be the brick wall, now, standing between US and Germany (likely).

 

[target2019]

Tuesday will be good

July 2, 3PM EST, Fox

 

[candrew]

The differentiators in the US-France game were:
- Megan Rapinoe
- Crystal Dunn
- Alyssa Naeher

France put up a nice game to try and come back in the second half. Rapinoe goal at 65' was very nice, set up by Heath.

Both teams were jobbed, as this article points out.
https://slate.com/culture/2019/06/uswnt-france-womens-world-cup-referees-handball-offside.html

Rapinoe is a world class player, and it was great to watch her all game, stepping up when US needed a thrill.

Next up, England. They appear to be the brick wall, now, standing between US and Germany (likely).

I think Morgan also deserves mention having factored in on both U.S. goals. After taking a beating in the match vs Spain she still managed to go the full 90' yesterday.

England will be an even tougher opponent than was France (IMO). They appear to improve with each subsequent match, put the Norwegian side away early in their quarterfinal and will benefit from an additional day's rest. The U.S. will have to up their overall game once again and I still think they haven't yet shown their best.

 

[target2019]

We were re-watching the game last night, and the telly/Roku went bonkers, and Hulu lost our recording of the game for some reason. But what I saw in the first half, focusing on Morgan, leads me to believe she is a weak link. Sits on the ground too long, complains about non-calls, etc. Her demeanor on the field tells me she believes she is anointed. Rather than getting ballside, she sticks her leg out, doesn't win the ball. She is just not a physical player, and prefers the ball in open space where she can run past the last defender.

I'll have to watch the game again, and try to find those instances of merit.

 

[candrew]

We were re-watching the game last night, and the telly/Roku went bonkers, and Hulu lost our recording of the game for some reason. But what I saw in the first half, focusing on Morgan, leads me to believe she is a weak link. Sits on the ground too long, complains about non-calls, etc. Her demeanor on the field tells me she believes she is anointed. Rather than getting ballside, she sticks her leg out, doesn't win the ball. She is just not a physical player, and prefers the ball in open space where she can run past the last defender.

I'll have to watch the game again, and try to find those instances of merit.

In the first half, Morgan beat her mark, Mbock Bathy who had to foul Morgan (Bathy was cautioned) setting up Rapinoe's free kick that she smashed low into the net for the early go-ahead goal. Morgan also had some lowlights as well. A weak shot a few minutes later that Morgan should have done better with that Bouhaddi easily saved. And Morgan also gave up possession several times with bad passes and fouls. But IMO, Morgan made up for those flaws by helping set up the second goal with a brilliant through ball that sprung Tobin Heath for Rapinoe's 2nd goal.

I will say that when it comes to Naeher, in spite of having found herself out of position and in no-man's-land on two dangerous crosses through the goal area, did make up for those by that diving save on Henry's shot.

Ertz played a heckuva game as well. She was a rock helping out the center backline and often forced the opponents' play wide.

 

[gerntz]

Sorry - bit long - but why I like soccer.



I'm English and I love watching soccer especially when I'm supporting one of the teams that are playing. When I moved to the US in the early 90's I tried to watch 'American' sports on TV and I really couldn't get into them. The only one I could tolerate was baseball. Basketball seemed boring. It was way too easy to score. I tried to watch a couple of NFL games but I couldn't understand why the action seemed to stop every 30 seconds or so, and then it would restart a few yards further up the pitch. There were huge numbers of commercials and everyone seemed to know exactly what was supposed to happen next. The games seemed rigid and choreographed and no disrespect but it seemed to be just a bunch of fat guys running into each other.



I know you mentioned the low scoring in soccer but in fact that makes the game more exciting. It means that most games are usually on a knife's edge most of the time.



I'm not very good at expressing myself but I'll try to explain what it's like.


If you are supporting one of the teams - every time the opponents gain possession and especially when they approach your penalty area your heart is in your mouth. When you regain possession - there's a huge sense of relief. When your team is attacking your heart soars and when your team scores it's like winning the lottery (I imagine - never having won it). There is a huge amount of unpredictability about the game.



It's a very fast game and the action can switch from one end to the other within a matter of seconds. No-one knows what is going to happen next. Weaker teams often defeat better teams sometimes through luck but more often through grit and determination and backs to the wall defence and who doesn't want to cheer for an underdog?


As a novice it may seem to you that nothing is happening a lot of the time but in fact there are numerous individual battles occurring all over the pitch. As the game goes on players get tired. They'll typically run 8-10K per game often at speed. Different players tire at different rates and this changes the dynamics of the individual battles, swinging the game in favor of one team and then the other. Mixing substitutions into this just adds another layer of complexity. As you get more into the game you'll start to notice all these things.


When your team is winning you are usually happy but there is also a sense of apprehension that often turns to dread if the tide starts to turn. When you are losing there is always a sense of hope and because of the low scoring nature of the game this extends even to the last few minutes. In fact as the end of the game approaches the tension ratchets up a few notches. Sometimes the winning team will start to panic and withdraw into a shell and the losing team will launch one desperate last ditch attack after another. Sometimes the tension can seem almost unbearable.



Then there are the games that you remember for a long, long time; for example, the ones where you thrash your local rivals 5-0 or the games when you are losing 2-0 and end up winning 3-2.



Finally, and you don't really see this much at World Cup games, but the supporters are very passionate and the atmosphere at some of the top European clubs has to be experienced to be believed.


All these things are why I love soccer.

Agree totally on your comments on why soccer is great. This from an American who didn’t get into soccer till EPL games started being available here in the 90’s. Now I watch soccer as much or more than any sports with the possible exception of college football. I grew up on baseball.

 

[candrew]

Auf Wiedersehen Deutschland

Sweden with a dagger to the German side!

 

[Corporateburnout]

We were re-watching the game last night, and the telly/Roku went bonkers, and Hulu lost our recording of the game for some reason. But what I saw in the first half, focusing on Morgan, leads me to believe she is a weak link. Sits on the ground too long, complains about non-calls, etc. Her demeanor on the field tells me she believes she is anointed. Rather than getting ballside, she sticks her leg out, doesn't win the ball. She is just not a physical player, and prefers the ball in open space where she can run past the last defender.

I'll have to watch the game again, and try to find those instances of merit.

I'm not a Morgan fan and was surprised she was not replaced against Spain because she was totally ineffective. I thought she played much better against France with a few excellent passes and the setup of both goals.

 

[target2019]

I'm not a Morgan fan and was surprised she was not replaced against Spain because she was totally ineffective. I thought she played much better against France with a few excellent passes and the setup of both goals.

On the first goal, it was of course the hard shot of Megan Rapinoe that hit back of net. During the play it was heads up of Julie Ertz continuing her run in front of GK at just the right moment, and leaping over ball. Poor GK. It is true that Morgan was fouled, leading to the direct kick by Rapinoe.

Morgan took a knock at 40' or so. After that she seemed disoriented and missing in action. I didn't see her during Reynard goal either.

 

[candrew]

U.S. women's national team viewers

2019 Women's World Cup:
AVG. MATCH (NETWORK)

2,720,000 Game 1: USA-Thailand (Fox)
5,408,000 Game 2: USA-Chile (Fox)
3,880,000 Game 3: USA-Sweden (Fox)
3,349,000 Game 4: USA-Spain (FS1)
6,335,000 Game 5: USA-France (Fox)
Note: TV+streaming.

2015 Women's World Cup:
AVG. MATCH (NETWORK)

3,311,000 Game 1: USA-Australia (FS1)
4,492,000 Game 2: USA-Sweden (Fox)
5,043,000 Game 3: USA-Nigeria (Fox)
4,720,000 Game 4: USA-Colombia (FS1)
5,736,000 Game 5: USA-China (Fox)
8,400,000 Game 6: USA-Germany (Fox)
25,400,000 Game 7: USA-Japan (Fox)
Note: TV only.

https://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2019/06/uswnt-ratings-womens-world-cup-fox/

"The USWNT is not drawing as well as it did four years ago, thanks to a shift from primetime to weekday afternoons, but the Women’s World Cup continues to trend up nonetheless."

 

[candrew]

U.S. starting 11

https://ftw.usatoday.com/2019/07/usa-england-jill-ellis-world-cup-lindsey-horan

"U.S. manager Jill Ellis has a big question that she needs to answer.

Who is going to be in her midfield?"

If it were my call to make, I'd lean toward dropping Ertz into CB pairing with Dahlkemper with Sauerbrunn riding the pine. That gives the team Mewis, Horan and Lavelle in the midfield. Should any of them struggle, bring on Sauerbrunn and move Ertz into midfield.

 

[target2019]

That was a battle. 2nd final in a row, with one more final to go. Two beautiful goals by Press and Morgan.

 

[candrew]

That was a battle. 2nd final in a row, with one more final to go. Two beautiful goals by Press and Morgan.

+1

And how about that service from Horan on Morgan's goal?! Superb football on both sides.

Ellen White was a beast today for the Lionesses! Alyssa Naeher - redemption. Her diving save in the first half was world class and brought me out of my chair.

Becky Sauerbrunn (IMO) did not have a good day. Again. Within a whisker of scoring an own goal on a poorly played ball and then a penalty foul in the 2nd half. It has only been a couple of years or so since Sauerbrunn was widely regarded as one of the best center backs in the world. What happened?

 

[Corporateburnout]

Good win for the US. Press had a good game but should have passed the ball to a wide open Morgan after the giveaway by England's keeper.

 

[Alan]

We’re on vacation in the south of France but manage to see last nights game. England pushed the USA as hard as anyone so far. With France and now England defeated in 2 hard won games I can’t see them losing the final.