World Cup

[ClementeFanOh]

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

[Peter_Spaeth]

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.

[ClementeFanOh]

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

[Peter_Spaeth]

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.

[egri]

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.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by egri

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

[ClementeFanOh]

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