World Cup
 

Peter- the problem with Smith is that she essentially has zero credibility as
an international goal scorer. The article mentions "audacity" and
"confidence", rather than actual productivity- hence, my earlier comment
about Ashley Hatch or Lynn Willaims over Alex Morgan, Smith etc (Hatch in
her prime at 28 yoa and with 19 intl appearances, and over 100 NWSL
appearances with nearly 40 goals). This points up the problem, it very much
appears Andonovski relied on reputation/glitz/past performance (Morgan,
Rapinoe) rather than prudent choices. Obviously, he couldn't control the
injuries to Swanson and Macario, which were devastating. He could control
who he played, however, and it was clear immediately that Morgan was
absent. In truth, had the team not possessed a generational defense, they
would have lost 2 of 3 in group. Makes me wonder if Andonovski was hands
on or off for the defense, similar to how some college football coaches pick a
side (offense or defense) and leave the "other" side to the other staff
members. Speculation of course, but boy the defense and the offense were
strikingly different from one another, like they were coached by different
folks. Trent King

Does the game suddenly become something else because it is "international"? IMO you cannot not play a scorer of the caliber of Sophia Smith. I am not arguing about Alex Morgan or with the general proposition that better personnel decisions could have been made although some of that it seems to me is hindsight.

World Cup
 

Peter- Of course it becomes something else because it's international! That's
the test, to see how your players stack up against the best of other nations.
US has enjoyed a run of success, but there have been signs for years that
the rest of the world (at least several nations) are sustained, real threats. In
this WCup alone, I have watched Netherlands, Sweden, England, Japan and
even Portugal display clearly better spatial understanding of gameplay than
the US- and I'm sure I'm forgetting teams. The US team had to adapt or fail,
not merely show up and roll the ball out there and win due to better talent,
and it failed in spectacular fashion. Put differently, it now appears that the
mantra "we have better talent" is false. It might be prudent for fans to
hold off on declaring players as "prodigies" until they prove it.

Regarding Smith, I certainly didn't say "don't play her". It is the manager's
job to recognize ineffective play. Your remark about hindsight doesn't apply,
the manager HAD to have seen what we were seeing, and it's their job to
adjust. It looks very, very much to me like the tail was wagging the dog on
this squad, as if the staff were afraid to pull the trigger on certain players.
Rapinoe versus Sweden is a perfect example. In a 4 minute span, she fluffed
2 corners and was dispossessed (as I recall), then fluffed a PK horribly as
the cherry on top. "Not good, Bob!" She should NOT have seen the field.

I'll end by saying I'm hoping the US organization learns from this and
adapts. I doubt the other good teams will simply rest on their laurels.

Trent King

Trent to be clear I didn't say or mean to imply it was ALL hindsight, although I think that still applies to some of the more subtle criticisms now being made. I don't disagree that when a player is obviously playing very poorly with little likelihood of redemption, one should not defer to their stature with a game on the line. But you can easily imagine if the game had gone differently, had some sub missed the key kick in OT, the same press would be bitching about taking out the great veteran Rapinoe. Sometimes you can't win.

Watching the US team reminded me of the 2014 US Ryder Cup team; poorly coached, with a lack of cohesion among the players, and both of those were evident on the field.

Scott that is a good comparison and summary.

Hopefully the US learns from it and comes back better prepared to play.

Someone I believe said it earlier but the US Team came across as Entitled or Smug. They just expected to walk into the finals and potentially did not prepare/playas hard as they should have.

The gap in talent has definitely shrank and the coaching as well. Many strong teams and this World Cup overall play is a lot more entertaining then in past years

World Cup
 

WOW! Australia over France. If Netherlands had beaten Spain, it would
have been perfect (interesting that Spain's team has united despite
controversy, how refreshing...?)

I've been waking up at the odd hours, watching and enjoying these
matches. I've tried to imagine how the current USWNT would have fared
against these quarterfinalists, seeing if US just ran into a buzzsaw and was
somehow worthy of a quarter slot. The answer is no. Each of the teams I've
seen has been superior, particularly with short passing and offensive game
play, meaning players understanding and using each other to advantage.
The US #1 ranking was faux. Getting ready to watch England/Colombia and
don't have the desire to research, I just wonder if US #1 rank was built on
wins over clearly inferior teams. Anyway, Sweden and Spain should be
awesome and, if the stars align, so would an England/Australia matchup.
Great stuff!!

Trent King

I agree. And I like all the teams in the final 8 so it's hard to know who to cheer for. I like Sweden because they beat the USA, and Australia because they're the host, but what's nice is, I'm not disappointed no matter who wins these games. So it's oddly exciting and relaxing at the same time. Just enjoying the sport.

World Cup
 

England/Australia, great matchup. The Aussies remind me of prior US
teams. An excellent group of semi-finalists!

Trent King

Agreed Trent looks like a great final four and it is shaping up to be an epic finish.

Sadly without Team USA but they did not look good enough to be in the final 4 anyway

when a new team will win, it's always great for the sport. it confirms to countries that their investments have paid off.

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Have to root for the home team Australia in this one. Totally agree that after seeing the quality of play in the quarterfinals, the US didn't deserve to be there. (As for Netherlands....yes, bye.)

I really enjoyed watching Japan play. They played beautifully and seemed to really want it. Shame they got bounced.

Like in basketball, tall players really have the advantage, especially on corner kicks and other contested high balls. Columbia in particular often just made a short pass with their corner kick opportunities, rather than launching it high towards the goal, where those blonde English trees invariably headed the ball out harmlessly.

Your post reminded me of the show Flight of the Conchords. My wife is a hair short of 6ft tall. She can't wear heels very often. She loved sports where tall girls are appreciated: volleyball & basketball were her favorites. Anyway one of her favorite songs is titled "Leggy Blonde."

https://youtu.be/Mg0jS6F4M10

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World Cup
 

One finalist is in. I was REALLY pulling for Sweden, which must be why they
lost :) Amazing to watch the dynamics between Spain coach and the players
who detest him. I'd be okay with Spain if they didn't dive so much, they are
mimicking their male counterparts too much for my taste...

England/Aussie tomorrow. I'll root for that winner, to win the Cup.

Trent King

Well said about Spain but unless they change the rules or enforce it differently then they will continue to do it

Vlatko Andonovski resigned today, though I suspect it was a jump-or-be-pushed situation.

glad he is gone did not get it done and did not seem to have either a solid strategy in the world cup and the team appeared to be to conceited as if they were better then everyone and not grounded in reality to the other strong teams and took them for granted.
and I believe this is the earliest exit they had in the world cup in like over 30 years or so

Go England, I'd love to root for Spain but watching them take dives and whine to the ref is off putting.

Concur.

On a related note, it's good to see the biggest diver of them all, Neymar, leave for Saudi Arabia. Where he will join the biggest whiner of them all, Ronaldo.

I'm quite happy with Messi and who he's brought with him to the US.

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I’ll be up at 5 am Sunday (insomnia helps:) Pulling for England for sure. Both teams deserve credit for getting there. Trent King

But sadly your Prince and Princess will not be there.

Such an uproar since the Prince is the president of their Football Federation.

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One half down, one to go. Spain looks better for sure. Maybe if I stop rooting
for England, they will play better:) Trent King

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Could that fluffed PK turn the tide? Trent King

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...od%20of%20time.

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Spain really controlled the midfield, that was the story. They deserved the win.

Trent King

I sadly couldn’t watch the second half as I’m on a plane but I got to see the goal and the full first half. Spain was the more dominate team from the part I was able to watch.


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Congrats to Spain

They were the better team

Besides their royalty was their and not the British royalty:D

Mary Earps, the England goal keeper, was intense! I love how she stuck out her tongue Michal Jordan style after making the save and then yelling F OFF!