WC Fail

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We have athletes. We will always have athletes. We don't have the culture of the "Beautiful Game" nor the patience for developing it.

What exactly is our plan B when the European Nations begin to match our athleticism? There is a deeper reason Rapinoe sat, because her athleticism is now being easily matched and by more tactically and technically better players. Rose Lavelle is the mode of player we need more of and she looks like a fish out of water on this team and is frankly wasted here.

We can both appreciate the potential achievement of a three-peat but we seem to be ignoring the trajectory of the European teams relative to our own.

Have the European countries been keeping their best athletes at home? Damn nice of them. They must have a crush on Jill Ellis.

Understand the history of women's soccer. Look at how the gap has closed over the years. Ellen White is better than anyone on our team outside of Rose. Her ability to lose marks is astounding. Seriously, watch her movement as the ball is coming in- she knew our backs were a mess and exposed them. . Had she clipped her toe nails in the morning , the game was 2-2.

1) That PK wasn't anywhere near close to going in --- as the announcers pointed out, it had no pace and wasn't close to a corner.

2) It was Stephanie Houghton that took the PK, not Ellen White --- take time from writing down your criticisms about the US team and pay attention to the game.

3) The English coach is so in tune with her team and the game, she chose NOT to have Ellen White take the PK --- guess the European coaches don't have everything figured out.

I never said Ellen White took the pk. Goodness READ

You refer to "she" after referring to Ellen White by name, and then presumably again (unless you meant Rose) in the next couple of sentences with "her".
Ellen White is the only English player you refer to; therefore, Ellen White would be she.
If you can't express your thoughts any more clearly in written form, maybe you should stop until you've taken a class in grammar. Goodness.

The offsides call. You can't read a game or a post.

Aw, I stand corrected, thats for clarifying your garbage post.

Look, you clearly don't understand the game. It's ok. You don't have to. Anyone with any soccer sense would have known that I was referencing the body part due to the extremely narrow margin by which White was offsides. You are some soccer parent, and I get that you are excited that the US women are doing well. It IS exciting. However, you have a stake in the progression of US soccer, and several of us who are more knowledgeable than you are telling you that this success will reinforce the bad ideas that may have been eradicated had the women NOT done well. You should want that more than you want to wave the flag and shout "We're number one" until your other child's dance recital takes precedence in two weeks. The US system is on the ropes and needs an overhaul, and this won't expedite it. Look how many headers we have scored, for example and kids are told heading is dangerous at a young age here. That stays with them! You will see that negatively impact the US game. Spain should have gotten a late pk against us but the refs ignored it; has it occured to you that FIFA might have a vested interest financially in seeing the US do well and that just MAYBE things slide for us that don't for others? The defense thing- well, if you can't see that is a problem then that just demonstrates how in the dark you are. I want US Soccer to get better, and, therefore, I am at odds with how I feel about the fact that we will nearly certainly win this despite not progressing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We have athletes. We will always have athletes. We don't have the culture of the "Beautiful Game" nor the patience for developing it.

What exactly is our plan B when the European Nations begin to match our athleticism? There is a deeper reason Rapinoe sat, because her athleticism is now being easily matched and by more tactically and technically better players. Rose Lavelle is the mode of player we need more of and she looks like a fish out of water on this team and is frankly wasted here.

We can both appreciate the potential achievement of a three-peat but we seem to be ignoring the trajectory of the European teams relative to our own.

Have the European countries been keeping their best athletes at home? Damn nice of them. They must have a crush on Jill Ellis.

Understand the history of women's soccer. Look at how the gap has closed over the years. Ellen White is better than anyone on our team outside of Rose. Her ability to lose marks is astounding. Seriously, watch her movement as the ball is coming in- she knew our backs were a mess and exposed them. . Had she clipped her toe nails in the morning , the game was 2-2.

1) That PK wasn't anywhere near close to going in --- as the announcers pointed out, it had no pace and wasn't close to a corner.

2) It was Stephanie Houghton that took the PK, not Ellen White --- take time from writing down your criticisms about the US team and pay attention to the game.

3) The English coach is so in tune with her team and the game, she chose NOT to have Ellen White take the PK --- guess the European coaches don't have everything figured out.

I never said Ellen White took the pk. Goodness READ

You refer to "she" after referring to Ellen White by name, and then presumably again (unless you meant Rose) in the next couple of sentences with "her".
Ellen White is the only English player you refer to; therefore, Ellen White would be she.
If you can't express your thoughts any more clearly in written form, maybe you should stop until you've taken a class in grammar. Goodness.

The offsides call. You can't read a game or a post.

Aw, I stand corrected, thats for clarifying your garbage post.

Look, you clearly don't understand the game. It's ok. You don't have to. Anyone with any soccer sense would have known that I was referencing the body part due to the extremely narrow margin by which White was offsides. You are some soccer parent, and I get that you are excited that the US women are doing well. It IS exciting. However, you have a stake in the progression of US soccer, and several of us who are more knowledgeable than you are telling you that this success will reinforce the bad ideas that may have been eradicated had the women NOT done well. You should want that more than you want to wave the flag and shout "We're number one" until your other child's dance recital takes precedence in two weeks. The US system is on the ropes and needs an overhaul, and this won't expedite it. Look how many headers we have scored, for example and kids are told heading is dangerous at a young age here. That stays with them! You will see that negatively impact the US game. Spain should have gotten a late pk against us but the refs ignored it; has it occured to you that FIFA might have a vested interest financially in seeing the US do well and that just MAYBE things slide for us that don't for others? The defense thing- well, if you can't see that is a problem then that just demonstrates how in the dark you are. I want US Soccer to get better, and, therefore, I am at odds with how I feel about the fact that we will nearly certainly win this despite not progressing

What made you think you’re such a soccer expert? I don’t see any Soccer Federation, National Team, Professional Club, Sports Networks or anyone else lining up to hire you. If you know what you’re talking about or have a slight understanding of soccer, maybe one day an 8 year old picking up a soccer ball for the first time might listen to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We have athletes. We will always have athletes. We don't have the culture of the "Beautiful Game" nor the patience for developing it.

What exactly is our plan B when the European Nations begin to match our athleticism? There is a deeper reason Rapinoe sat, because her athleticism is now being easily matched and by more tactically and technically better players. Rose Lavelle is the mode of player we need more of and she looks like a fish out of water on this team and is frankly wasted here.

We can both appreciate the potential achievement of a three-peat but we seem to be ignoring the trajectory of the European teams relative to our own.

Have the European countries been keeping their best athletes at home? Damn nice of them. They must have a crush on Jill Ellis.

Understand the history of women's soccer. Look at how the gap has closed over the years. Ellen White is better than anyone on our team outside of Rose. Her ability to lose marks is astounding. Seriously, watch her movement as the ball is coming in- she knew our backs were a mess and exposed them. . Had she clipped her toe nails in the morning , the game was 2-2.

1) That PK wasn't anywhere near close to going in --- as the announcers pointed out, it had no pace and wasn't close to a corner.

2) It was Stephanie Houghton that took the PK, not Ellen White --- take time from writing down your criticisms about the US team and pay attention to the game.

3) The English coach is so in tune with her team and the game, she chose NOT to have Ellen White take the PK --- guess the European coaches don't have everything figured out.

I never said Ellen White took the pk. Goodness READ

You refer to "she" after referring to Ellen White by name, and then presumably again (unless you meant Rose) in the next couple of sentences with "her".
Ellen White is the only English player you refer to; therefore, Ellen White would be she.
If you can't express your thoughts any more clearly in written form, maybe you should stop until you've taken a class in grammar. Goodness.

The offsides call. You can't read a game or a post.

Aw, I stand corrected, thats for clarifying your garbage post.

Look, you clearly don't understand the game. It's ok. You don't have to. Anyone with any soccer sense would have known that I was referencing the body part due to the extremely narrow margin by which White was offsides. You are some soccer parent, and I get that you are excited that the US women are doing well. It IS exciting. However, you have a stake in the progression of US soccer, and several of us who are more knowledgeable than you are telling you that this success will reinforce the bad ideas that may have been eradicated had the women NOT done well. You should want that more than you want to wave the flag and shout "We're number one" until your other child's dance recital takes precedence in two weeks. The US system is on the ropes and needs an overhaul, and this won't expedite it. Look how many headers we have scored, for example and kids are told heading is dangerous at a young age here. That stays with them! You will see that negatively impact the US game. Spain should have gotten a late pk against us but the refs ignored it; has it occured to you that FIFA might have a vested interest financially in seeing the US do well and that just MAYBE things slide for us that don't for others? The defense thing- well, if you can't see that is a problem then that just demonstrates how in the dark you are. I want US Soccer to get better, and, therefore, I am at odds with how I feel about the fact that we will nearly certainly win this despite not progressing

What made you think you’re such a soccer expert? I don’t see any Soccer Federation, National Team, Professional Club, Sports Networks or anyone else lining up to hire you. If you know what you’re talking about or have a slight understanding of soccer, maybe one day an 8 year old picking up a soccer ball for the first time might listen to you.

Remarkable come back given that nobody knows who they are speaking to here. Your intellect is dizzying. Looks like I hit a little close to home.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We have athletes. We will always have athletes. We don't have the culture of the "Beautiful Game" nor the patience for developing it.

What exactly is our plan B when the European Nations begin to match our athleticism? There is a deeper reason Rapinoe sat, because her athleticism is now being easily matched and by more tactically and technically better players. Rose Lavelle is the mode of player we need more of and she looks like a fish out of water on this team and is frankly wasted here.

We can both appreciate the potential achievement of a three-peat but we seem to be ignoring the trajectory of the European teams relative to our own.

Have the European countries been keeping their best athletes at home? Damn nice of them. They must have a crush on Jill Ellis.

Understand the history of women's soccer. Look at how the gap has closed over the years. Ellen White is better than anyone on our team outside of Rose. Her ability to lose marks is astounding. Seriously, watch her movement as the ball is coming in- she knew our backs were a mess and exposed them. . Had she clipped her toe nails in the morning , the game was 2-2.

1) That PK wasn't anywhere near close to going in --- as the announcers pointed out, it had no pace and wasn't close to a corner.

2) It was Stephanie Houghton that took the PK, not Ellen White --- take time from writing down your criticisms about the US team and pay attention to the game.

3) The English coach is so in tune with her team and the game, she chose NOT to have Ellen White take the PK --- guess the European coaches don't have everything figured out.

I never said Ellen White took the pk. Goodness READ

You refer to "she" after referring to Ellen White by name, and then presumably again (unless you meant Rose) in the next couple of sentences with "her".
Ellen White is the only English player you refer to; therefore, Ellen White would be she.
If you can't express your thoughts any more clearly in written form, maybe you should stop until you've taken a class in grammar. Goodness.

The offsides call. You can't read a game or a post.

Aw, I stand corrected, thats for clarifying your garbage post.

Look, you clearly don't understand the game. It's ok. You don't have to. Anyone with any soccer sense would have known that I was referencing the body part due to the extremely narrow margin by which White was offsides. You are some soccer parent, and I get that you are excited that the US women are doing well. It IS exciting. However, you have a stake in the progression of US soccer, and several of us who are more knowledgeable than you are telling you that this success will reinforce the bad ideas that may have been eradicated had the women NOT done well. You should want that more than you want to wave the flag and shout "We're number one" until your other child's dance recital takes precedence in two weeks. The US system is on the ropes and needs an overhaul, and this won't expedite it. Look how many headers we have scored, for example and kids are told heading is dangerous at a young age here. That stays with them! You will see that negatively impact the US game. Spain should have gotten a late pk against us but the refs ignored it; has it occured to you that FIFA might have a vested interest financially in seeing the US do well and that just MAYBE things slide for us that don't for others? The defense thing- well, if you can't see that is a problem then that just demonstrates how in the dark you are. I want US Soccer to get better, and, therefore, I am at odds with how I feel about the fact that we will nearly certainly win this despite not progressing

+1000

I especially like: "Has it occurred to you that FIFA might have a vested interest financially in seeing the US do well and that just MAYBE things slide for us that don't for others?"

I love watching the USNWT and believe that they are two deep world class at several key positions. When you can replace Rapione with Press, you have a strong force. Yest, I believe that the world is quickly catching up. Given the resources these countries are dedicating to soccer and the fact that the sport is part of the culture in these countries, I expect that the next World Cup will be a different story. We will always be competitive but it is clear that we are not producing the type of skilled players that the rest of the world is producing. France, Spain, Italy and others have forwards that can break you down three different ways on the dribble. Morgan can beat you with her speed and knows how to get to the right space, but she struggles in the open field against defenders who can match her speed. I also think that given the resources we dedicate to girls soccer, we should produce a much better product. These other countries do much more with less.

Sadly, you can not have discussions today without someone trying to turn it into a political movement. This is a forum for people to share thoughts.

[Anonymous]

DP. Moving the goalposts again? As we read here last spring and summer, you were waxing on about how this WC we would see the US team crumble. Now it’s next WC. Everyone understands that other countries with a far richer soccer culture than the US are finally coming to/have come to a social acceptance and encouragement of women’s soccer. To say the US has a “better” resources isn’t correct. European women play with very well funded former men’s clubs and share their wealth of facilities and instruction. Yes, there are more who play (and are encouraged to play) in the US on the girls side, but they aren’t playing for world renown professional men’s clubs here. The fact that the US has been able to remain near the top this cycle, win or lose the next game, shows that our product is not as bad as you claim. It’s ok and actually healthy for the other countries to come up to par and compete. There may even be a cycle where the US doesn’t make it to the knockout stage. It happens. Italy, one of the greatest soccer playing countries on Earth on the men’s side, didn’t even make the WC field last cycle. This insistence that the USWNT must be on top every game and every cycle is silly and to say they aren’t playing the game well or producing very capable, intelligent players is way off the mark.

I’d wager that the same folks who spend time focusing on every men’s team setback but remain mute after the men’s team advances are at work mucking things up here. It’s like a dark lobby on every soccer board and now they have brought their agenda to the women’s side, unsatisfied with simply bashing the men.

SMH.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. Moving the goalposts again? As we read here last spring and summer, you were waxing on about how this WC we would see the US team crumble. Now it’s next WC. Everyone understands that other countries with a far richer soccer culture than the US are finally coming to/have come to a social acceptance and encouragement of women’s soccer. To say the US has a “better” resources isn’t correct. European women play with very well funded former men’s clubs and share their wealth of facilities and instruction. Yes, there are more who play (and are encouraged to play) in the US on the girls side, but they aren’t playing for world renown professional men’s clubs here. The fact that the US has been able to remain near the top this cycle, win or lose the next game, shows that our product is not as bad as you claim. It’s ok and actually healthy for the other countries to come up to par and compete. There may even be a cycle where the US doesn’t make it to the knockout stage. It happens. Italy, one of the greatest soccer playing countries on Earth on the men’s side, didn’t even make the WC field last cycle. This insistence that the USWNT must be on top every game and every cycle is silly and to say they aren’t playing the game well or producing very capable, intelligent players is way off the mark.

I’d wager that the same folks who spend time focusing on every men’s team setback but remain mute after the men’s team advances are at work mucking things up here. It’s like a dark lobby on every soccer board and now they have brought their agenda to the women’s side, unsatisfied with simply bashing the men.

SMH.

OP here. I see your point. There is a lot of bashing that goes on , but this is discussion more than bashing. It's not rocket science as to why we can't compete at a world class level on the men's side: there are very few world class athletes in general, and those who grow up here probably gravitate towards sports that are more in the limelight and offer bigger pay days. I don't think that anyone would argue that the best move for an elite male athlete would be to move to Europe to play, and many young kids won't do that- this was the exact scenario which brought Odell Beckham Jr to football despite soccer being his first love. I don't mean to disparage our men's team at all, and they played well just last night. I hope they can pull off an upset over Mexico.
I am also not bashing the women's side. I am bashing US Soccer. The US women deserve a ton of credit for what they are doing, especially in light of truly bizarre coaching moves. Has there been some luck? Sure. Has there been some gifting by officials? I believe so. However that isn't a black mark on the players. That's life and that's the respect that champions generate. However, and I k how I am repeating myself, but look at what Mallory Pugh used to do and what she does now. She has been cowed into a system which doesn't nurture her strengths. She has been told that what she used to do- shred defenders 1v1 - is bad for some reason..she believes it. I think she is confused. The US has consistently shown an inability to develop teams that showcase the individual strengths of its players and praise creativity in favor of forcing players into cookie cutter formations based on someone else's successes.
The team that the US Women will face in the final, Holland, has long been lauded for doing what few nations can do: compete on a world class level despite a comparatively diminutive population from.which to select players. They have done it on the men's side forever and now they have done it on the women's side. The US should beat them handily, but the Dutch federation is just one example of a European nation that has exploded into the picture in a very short period of time

[Anonymous]

Soccer is the top of the pyramid in girls sports. It is maybe 5th for the men. That’s the difference. As long as the best female athletes pursue soccer the US will be a powerhouse. The rest of the world is getting better but so is the USWNT. Sunday will be a blow out. Doomsday folks see you in 4 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The US women deserve a ton of credit for what they are doing, especially in light of truly bizarre coaching moves.

I realize you have done a great job with the U-7 Girls, but maybe you can give Jill Ellis some credit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US women deserve a ton of credit for what they are doing, especially in light of truly bizarre coaching moves.

I realize you have done a great job with the U-7 Girls, but maybe you can give Jill Ellis some credit.

Not the pp but Ellis is not a strong coach. Go back to yelling “send it” on your kids sideline.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP. Moving the goalposts again? As we read here last spring and summer, you were waxing on about how this WC we would see the US team crumble. Now it’s next WC. Everyone understands that other countries with a far richer soccer culture than the US are finally coming to/have come to a social acceptance and encouragement of women’s soccer. To say the US has a “better” resources isn’t correct. European women play with very well funded former men’s clubs and share their wealth of facilities and instruction. Yes, there are more who play (and are encouraged to play) in the US on the girls side, but they aren’t playing for world renown professional men’s clubs here. The fact that the US has been able to remain near the top this cycle, win or lose the next game, shows that our product is not as bad as you claim. It’s ok and actually healthy for the other countries to come up to par and compete. There may even be a cycle where the US doesn’t make it to the knockout stage. It happens. Italy, one of the greatest soccer playing countries on Earth on the men’s side, didn’t even make the WC field last cycle. This insistence that the USWNT must be on top every game and every cycle is silly and to say they aren’t playing the game well or producing very capable, intelligent players is way off the mark.

I’d wager that the same folks who spend time focusing on every men’s team setback but remain mute after the men’s team advances are at work mucking things up here. It’s like a dark lobby on every soccer board and now they have brought their agenda to the women’s side, unsatisfied with simply bashing the men.

SMH.

Totally disagree with you on all your points. The US wins and will continue to win on the women’s side because of the large pool of players and our population advantage over other countries. The USA has a population of 327 million vs Germany 82m, France 66m and England 55m. The reason the US wins is not because we develop the best players. It’s because we have the biggest pool of players. Our system is really pretty bad and we miss many payers.

You can not compare men’s and women’s soccer. There is just so much more resources and incentives on the men’s side vs women’s.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US women deserve a ton of credit for what they are doing, especially in light of truly bizarre coaching moves.

I realize you have done a great job with the U-7 Girls, but maybe you can give Jill Ellis some credit.

Not the pp but Ellis is not a strong coach. Go back to yelling “send it” on your kids sideline.

I am not the person who thinks they know more about soccer than world class coaches and players. Ellis made two good changes for the England game - both paid off. Maybe she is Forrest Gump and just dumbs into good decisions. Perhaps there is more to coaching than an attractive style of play. I assume a lot goes into getting your team ready to play and peaking at the right time mentally and physically.

Is there any point in time where know-it-alls like yourself give the lady (a local girl by the way) some credit? Is a World Cup championship enough? Two World Cup finals? Two World Cup championships?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The US women deserve a ton of credit for what they are doing, especially in light of truly bizarre coaching moves.

I realize you have done a great job with the U-7 Girls, but maybe you can give Jill Ellis some credit.

Not the pp but Ellis is not a strong coach. Go back to yelling “send it” on your kids sideline.

I am not the person who thinks they know more about soccer than world class coaches and players. Ellis made two good changes for the England game - both paid off. Maybe she is Forrest Gump and just dumbs into good decisions. Perhaps there is more to coaching than an attractive style of play. I assume a lot goes into getting your team ready to play and peaking at the right time mentally and physically.

Is there any point in time where know-it-alls like yourself give the lady (a local girl by the way) some credit? Is a World Cup championship enough? Two World Cup finals? Two World Cup championships?

What a mess you are. Do you walk around looking for ways to be offended? This has nothing to do with her being a woman. Hell, there are many brilliant female coaches, I just feel she isn't one of them. I tell you what, you making this about gender reveals your hostility towards men! You don't even know if I am male or female. People like you are why this country is a mess in general. Learn to analyze , please

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. Moving the goalposts again? As we read here last spring and summer, you were waxing on about how this WC we would see the US team crumble. Now it’s next WC. Everyone understands that other countries with a far richer soccer culture than the US are finally coming to/have come to a social acceptance and encouragement of women’s soccer. To say the US has a “better” resources isn’t correct. European women play with very well funded former men’s clubs and share their wealth of facilities and instruction. Yes, there are more who play (and are encouraged to play) in the US on the girls side, but they aren’t playing for world renown professional men’s clubs here. The fact that the US has been able to remain near the top this cycle, win or lose the next game, shows that our product is not as bad as you claim. It’s ok and actually healthy for the other countries to come up to par and compete. There may even be a cycle where the US doesn’t make it to the knockout stage. It happens. Italy, one of the greatest soccer playing countries on Earth on the men’s side, didn’t even make the WC field last cycle. This insistence that the USWNT must be on top every game and every cycle is silly and to say they aren’t playing the game well or producing very capable, intelligent players is way off the mark.

I’d wager that the same folks who spend time focusing on every men’s team setback but remain mute after the men’s team advances are at work mucking things up here. It’s like a dark lobby on every soccer board and now they have brought their agenda to the women’s side, unsatisfied with simply bashing the men.

SMH.

Totally disagree with you on all your points. The US wins and will continue to win on the women’s side because of the large pool of players and our population advantage over other countries. The USA has a population of 327 million vs Germany 82m, France 66m and England 55m. The reason the US wins is not because we develop the best players. It’s because we have the biggest pool of players. Our system is really pretty bad and we miss many payers.

You can not compare men’s and women’s soccer. There is just so much more resources and incentives on the men’s side vs women’s.

LOL. Player pool on the men's side has the same advantage, look how that's working out.

Player pool size is irrelevant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The success of the USWNT will be the biggest dagger to the heart of US Soccer since the USMNT failed to qualify for the WC. The reason is that if the women win, and they probably will, it will further enable US Soccer to live in the delusion that they know what they are doing. This WWC has revealed several things:
1. The gap has closed. The US women have been outplayed in several games, and other teams probably feel the way NFL fans feel when their team has to play the Patriots: calls and good fortune have been on the US's side.
2. Defense sucks. Our defense I mean. Our CBs are a disaster, and it is the case on both the men's and women's sides. We get away with poor marking consistently, and US Soccer puts little to no emphasis on defense in its courses.
3. Shooting. How many goals have the women's players' skied? We kid ourselves into thinking we play " possession" style ( we don't) , and we will walk the ball in. The women are dreadfully inefficient at volleys and, since we outlaw headers for some ridiculous reason at the youth level, that will cost us too.
4. Coaching- Ellis is a bad coach with great players. She can't sub, she disrupts chemistry, she cannot deal with angry players. Press is a better player than Rapinoe- sorry. She should have been on all along and was only in today due to "injury". That bit of luck saved Ellis. Rapinoe doesn't have the pace to be where Press was when Press scored.
Had the women lost to Spain, as they probably should have, it may have forced changes in US Soccer. Since the women will probably win, US Soccer can point at them and say " See ? We DO know what we are doing?" And play the tired old "The best US athletes play other sports" card. Success sometimes fails, and this is one of those times

So, one one hand, the team has been outplayed in several games, the defense sucks, the center backs are a disaster, we don;t mark, we can't shoot, we can't play a possession game, and they also can't volley?

But on the other hand, they have "great players?"

Internally inconsistent. Make up your mind, OP.

I am the OP. That wasn't I, but it was someone or ones else who understands the game. We do have individually great players, but our system makes them less so. In a very short time, US Soccer has beaten the Creativity out of Pugh, for example
She is a very young woman, and she is being told " do this, do this, and do this" thereby ignoring the instincts that got her where she is. She used to be a lovely take on artist, and now she just looks confused. Try to get this through your head: all of the criticisms I made were valid. The reason winning again will be a dagger is because the twits at US Soccer will now say " The women still win, so what we are doing is right". They are only slightly less thick headed than you are, which is scary. Had we dropped the ball in this WC, that would have been bad short term, but that on top of the men's disaster from the last WC may have forced some changes. Don't be offended just to be offended. Internalize what I am saying. You may disagree with my contention, but you are the one who is confused in analyzing my rationale.

Holy crap, you're dumb. All of those quotes were from your initial post. There was no reference to another post.

You may have good points, but no one will ever know because you are close to illiterate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP. Moving the goalposts again? As we read here last spring and summer, you were waxing on about how this WC we would see the US team crumble. Now it’s next WC. Everyone understands that other countries with a far richer soccer culture than the US are finally coming to/have come to a social acceptance and encouragement of women’s soccer. To say the US has a “better” resources isn’t correct. European women play with very well funded former men’s clubs and share their wealth of facilities and instruction. Yes, there are more who play (and are encouraged to play) in the US on the girls side, but they aren’t playing for world renown professional men’s clubs here. The fact that the US has been able to remain near the top this cycle, win or lose the next game, shows that our product is not as bad as you claim. It’s ok and actually healthy for the other countries to come up to par and compete. There may even be a cycle where the US doesn’t make it to the knockout stage. It happens. Italy, one of the greatest soccer playing countries on Earth on the men’s side, didn’t even make the WC field last cycle. This insistence that the USWNT must be on top every game and every cycle is silly and to say they aren’t playing the game well or producing very capable, intelligent players is way off the mark.

I’d wager that the same folks who spend time focusing on every men’s team setback but remain mute after the men’s team advances are at work mucking things up here. It’s like a dark lobby on every soccer board and now they have brought their agenda to the women’s side, unsatisfied with simply bashing the men.

SMH.

Totally disagree with you on all your points. The US wins and will continue to win on the women’s side because of the large pool of players and our population advantage over other countries. The USA has a population of 327 million vs Germany 82m, France 66m and England 55m. The reason the US wins is not because we develop the best players. It’s because we have the biggest pool of players. Our system is really pretty bad and we miss many payers.

You can not compare men’s and women’s soccer. There is just so much more resources and incentives on the men’s side vs women’s.

Are you under the impression that this phenomenon only exists for women? That the US has roughly the equivalent number of men as Germany, France and England?

Jesus. If this thread is any indication, they better ramp up the studies of CTE in soccer.