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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Feel bad for those who went to watch this garbage in this heat. We opted out last minute and I’m glad we did, that was embarrassing. [/quote]

I was waiting for someone to comment on the game.  Garbage is being kind. [/quote]

USWNT like all girls/women soccer in the US does not believe in precision or technical play. Here is what Hayes said.

[quote] United States women's national team boss Emma Hayes said she wanted better decision-making and execution in front of a goal against Costa Rica in the Americans' final match before departing for the 2024 Olympics.

Instead, she got a scoreless draw in which the USWNT took 26 shots and held 80% of the possession against a Ticas squad that played in an ultra-low block -- a 4-2-3-1 "Christmas tree," Hayes noted after the match -- [b]that clogged channels and demanded a precision from the Americans that never came.[/b][/quote]
https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/40578534/uswnt-head-paris-olympics-question-marks-attack[/quote]

Lacking precision is right! Morgan was always too slow to fire, but the best striker we had for the past decade.

Trinity is a winger that has potential, but IMO she is on the team because of upside, not because of where she is today technically or mentally. And her soccer IQ and her service to teammates in for scoring opportunities is awful.

Sophia Smith is not a 9, she’s not a winger either. She isn’t technical enough to be a 10, so she is really sort of non-positioned forward. Her development is a mess.

Swanson is the closest we have to a 9, but she doesn’t want to be a 9, she wants to be a 10. But she too isn’t technically skilled enough to be a 10.

We have a lot of young talent that can ball, but you can’t build teams around them as a striker (Jaden Shaw for example).

US soccer decided - when looking at the development quadrants (Psychological - Social - Technical - Physical) to go all in on Physical, because it’s the only one that can be most controlled from the top down. Look at what Carli Lloyd (as annoying as she is) said about how they’d force the NT athletes to do their regimens, and she would have to sneak away to do the work she knew she needed for her body and style.

[b]The idea that the world is catching up is stupid, it isn’t. We’re just filtering, rewarding, and building teams poorly at the national team level. And our poor decisions are catching up to us, not the rest of the world.[/b]

We need better passing, higher soccer IQ up top, and a world class striker.[/quote]

You had a nice litte post going on here until you said this.

The world has caught up and if you think otherwise you are the dummy I'm afraid. US should still dominate with its head start for now, and will remain a contender in the global womens soccer moving forward but they are no longer the world's footy queens is a fact. The solution, youth academies like that have been in place now for a decade in the western european superpowers. Infracture is in place with UEFA male clubs so it just about adding women's team expenditure to the ambitious clubs that know fans will show up for a talented women's team, see Barca. We don't have the infrastructure after u17 in this country to truly compete globally moving forward unless you still believe college is the answer for developing elite global soccer talent.[/quote]

PP here.

Great take on what I said. I don’t disagree with you at all.

The distinction I make is between “caught up” and “catching up.” I don’t think the world has caught up, but they are certainly catching up.

And we may not agree that it’s a distinction with a difference, but I think you’re spot on with the “why” of that delta closing.[/quote]

The Europeans have definitely surpassed the US. The people who have never seen the Europeans club teams play are the only ones who talk about “catching up” with the US. Look at the ranks of best women players. No US players in the top ten and only 2 in the top 25? Check out the Women's Ballon d'Or.

As for our youth programs. They really stop at u15-u16. By that time in Europe the girls have moved to a professional path. The competition is at a much higher level with mixed age groups and the best coaches. At that point you are only talking about the top 3-5% of the players. The cuts and washout rates are pretty brutal. Imagine cutting down the current u14 ECNL roster to 3-5% by u16.

In the US competition at the ECNL level more like the top 50-40%. By u15-u16 the top players are listening to the new college coach or fighting to get noticed. These teams and training environment can become very disjointed with players doing their own thing. Plus the coaching is very hit or miss. So from u15-u17 development is not really there. Most of the ECNL players will have an option to play in college but college is not a high level of soccer. Like 80-90% of ECNL players will play in college. It is really just a continuation of ECNL.[/quote]

[b]European club play is not anything special. Watch the Women’s UEFA finals this past year and compare that to a solid NWSL match…I would say it’s hard to make an argument that Europe has surpassed the US based on the clubs. [/b]

Ballon Dor is not a universal award. It’s an FA award, and it’s only been around for 6 or 8 years for women. I’m not surprised Tobin Heath or Lindsey Horan aren’t in the running….

It sounds to me like you’re taking the men’s game and the fantastic infrastructure it brings to the women’s game an Europe and suggesting that takes today’s talent (who didn’t benefit from any of that infrastructure) and saying because of that they’re better. Europe is a big place with lots of different FAs and systems, some are better than others - and some are awful for women - so I’m not sure one can make a “Europe vs US” comparison in terms superiority. But for sure the results from the World Cup showed a lot of the world is getting better at building women’s  soccer. The South Americans did well enough…and [b]Japan executed the US style of play extremely well, [/b]nobody is saying “oh no! South America and Asia have caught up!”

I think your post really nails the idea that the US is missing a striker at the National Team level. [/quote]

I really do not know what to say about this statement. It is not based in reality. It sounds like you are not familiar with the evolution of the women’s game outside of the US. Seeing Barca play in ‘22 I knew the USWNT was in trouble. That Barca team was incredible and was playing soccer at such a high level nothing in the US could come close. The skill, technical excellence and soccer IQ was on par the men’s game.

The one on one abilities, one or two touch passing, the casual comfort in tight spaces, long ball passing accuracy, first touch, speed of play and composure on the ball was insane. Not just for a women’s teams but for any soccer team. That team lost to Lyon in the Women’s champions league. The quarter finals of that tournament had an attendance of over 90,000 for each game. The incredible thing about the Barca team was Barca only professionalized the women’s side in 2015.

NWSL is set up to promote and provide a platform for the USWNT players. As such the style of is basically the same as what the USWNT plays. The speed of play is slow, there is a lack of technical skills and the midfield is not prioritized. The NWSL like the USWNT relies on athleticism and size. That works till you run in to teams with comparable athleticism and size. US does not need strikers/forwards it needs offense midfielders who are comfortable in tight spaces making passes, breaking down the low block and showing some creativity.

If we are comparing the NWSL/the US game to other leagues we really should talk about coaching. The best coaches top to bottom are in Europe. The USWNT acknowledged this with their selection of head coach. Sarina Wiegman, Sonia Bompastor, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, etc are also great and I am not even mentioning the male coaches in the women games. Though we should talk about Sabrina Wittmann and Marie-Louise Eta both coaching on the men’s side in Germany.

Japan plays a totally different style vs the US. It is in fact the polar opposite of the US style of play. It is a shame Spain did not bring their top team to the World Cup because of sexism. That team would have been even better. Also Putellas was no where fully recovered from her injury. Really felt for her not being able to showcase her talents on a world stage. [/quote]

"The NWSL like the USWNT relies on athleticism and size. That works till you run in to teams with comparable athleticism and size."

So the NWSL is full of athletic and sizable players, but Euro teams athletic and sizable talent is different? This statement makes no sense.

Sure the top European teams will have more talent, because every country league is basically a league of one. Lyon went 20-1. Barca went 29-0. Chelsea beat a team in the English Super 8-0. They hoard every good player because no other teams in the league care. Super easy to dominate as a coach when you run around with the 1996 NFC Pro Bowl team.

NWSL would probably be pretty good with some Saudi Oil money and every good player in the league mandated to be on the Washington Spirit, but it's actually set up to be competitive.

Also - quick note, the NWSL is only 66% US players. So it being a "platform for the USWNT" is wildly off. And I won't point out that the NWSL coach of the year last year was a former Tottenham and Real Betis manager hailing from the country of... Spain.

But hey, keep loving that first touch from Barca.

[/quote]

:roll: You just have no clue. Try watching the European league play and come back. Let’s Look at the last World Cup to judge NWSL.

At the start of the WC- 
WSL 94 players, Liga F 72 players, NWSL 61, D1 Féminine 47, Serie A 42 and Frauen Bundesliga 34

Knock round of 16 
WSL 70 players, Liga F 51 players, NWSL 36(22 on the US), D1 Féminine 37, Serie A 42 and Frauen Bundesliga 34.
That 36 players out of 368

Semi finals think there were 4 NWSL players still involved. Don’t know how many actually played.

NWSL is just a league to employ the USWNT team and nothing else. The US will still win with athleticism, size, physicality and running by slower players when they play Thailand but they do not have that advantage against the top teams any more. So you should feel great with those wins! Though the US does not pass the eye test.

The USWNT 2023 team would have won in 2015 and 2019 WC. The 2023 team most likely would have beaten the 2015 and 2019 USWNT teams but the games has changed. Evolve or lose.

One of the biggest disappointments on the USWNT is Rose Lavelle. Could not break in to the starting roster in the WSL and does not fit the NWSL or USWNT style of play. You see the same thing happening to a lots of talented players at the ECNL level. Would have been a different story if she had lived in Europe. Oh well.

If you are a fan of soccer and women soccers you are missing out not watching the European leagues. At  minimum you should watch the quarter finals of the Women’s Champions leagues and the women’s euros. Olympic soccer is not where it’s at any more. [/quote]

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