Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I still think Horan is the key in midfield and offensively (play making, controls, composure, quick one touches). Lavelle is a dynamic player that puts pressure on the other team. Dunn is solid. Mewis is the up and coming super star. Press is a solid scorer and their defense is solid. I think they'll be fine, but yes they will have some tough games and once the quarters hit, it will be a toss up.

Personally, I'd get rid of Rapinoe and Llloyd and keep Morgan. Morgan at least still has some pace. But they probably have to keep Rapinoe or she'll make a big political stink.

Horan is a good physical presence but her passing is not consistent enough on the offensive end. 1/2 the time she makes a great pass and the other 1/2 she turns the ball over with no pressure.

Horan’s passing % is 73% with short and medium at 78%. Quite a bit more than “half the time”. https://fbref.com/en/players/a8a538a8/Lindsey-Horan

Anonymous wrote:Rapinoe will make the team. There is enough athleticism and work rate elsewhere on the team that she can be on the field and split time.
Carli Lloyd v Alex Morgan, both will make the team but probably only 1 should.
Purce and Macario should be in.
Lynn Williams should be in but may not make it
They can bring 4 alternates as well as 18. So they’ll name ertz and Heath to 18 and if they can’t recover then they’ll have the alternates.
This is the last hurrah for Lloyd Rapinoe and Morgan though. Their pace is nothing like it once was

Rapinoe was well off the pace at the World Cup two years ago but she can get by in this squad because of all the talent around her. Still good at service and set pieces but not much else against very good teams. Lloyd is better than Rapinoe and more versatile and probably makes it.

They don't really need either of them to win the tournament, especially with the young options, but no way either is passed up. Too much branding invested in this team beyond game and worries about team makeup. It's crazy how much talent the team has.

We'll see how it goes in Tokyo.

Anonymous wrote:I still think Horan is the key in midfield and offensively (play making, controls, composure, quick one touches). Lavelle is a dynamic player that puts pressure on the other team. Dunn is solid. Mewis is the up and coming super star. Press is a solid scorer and their defense is solid. I think they'll be fine, but yes they will have some tough games and once the quarters hit, it will be a toss up.

Personally, I'd get rid of Rapinoe and Llloyd and keep Morgan. Morgan at least still has some pace. But they probably have to keep Rapinoe or she'll make a big political stink.

Horan is a good physical presence but her passing is not consistent enough on the offensive end. 1/2 the time she makes a great pass and the other 1/2 she turns the ball over with no pressure.

I still think Horan is the key in midfield and offensively (play making, controls, composure, quick one touches). Lavelle is a dynamic player that puts pressure on the other team. Dunn is solid. Mewis is the up and coming super star. Press is a solid scorer and their defense is solid. I think they'll be fine, but yes they will have some tough games and once the quarters hit, it will be a toss up.

Personally, I'd get rid of Rapinoe and Llloyd and keep Morgan. Morgan at least still has some pace. But they probably have to keep Rapinoe or she'll make a big political stink.

Rapinoe will make the team. There is enough athleticism and work rate elsewhere on the team that she can be on the field and split time.
Carli Lloyd v Alex Morgan, both will make the team but probably only 1 should.
Purce and Macario should be in.
Lynn Williams should be in but may not make it
They can bring 4 alternates as well as 18. So they’ll name ertz and Heath to 18 and if they can’t recover then they’ll have the alternates.
This is the last hurrah for Lloyd Rapinoe and Morgan though. Their pace is nothing like it once was

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The women's team is chock full of these untouchables like Rapino. The men's team learned their lesson the hard way a few years ago with a similar type team.

The awards Rapinoe racked up in the World Cup were just ridiculous. She's great on set pieces, absolutely. She did little else. The attack was actually a bit better against England when Press replaced her. Lucy Bronze would've absolutely silenced Rapinoe.

U.S. Soccer's award for 2019 went to Julie Ertz, which was the right call.

It’s hard to say. The surrounding cast is so athletic it seems the question is it a great ball or just better athletes winning the ball on set pieces? The team plays a lot better without her. The Olympics roster is only 18. How many old injured/recovering forwards do you take? Only Press is producing. I think you take one from Rapinoe, Morgan or Lloyd. Press is in maybe Heath or Williams? I would go Lloyd, Press, Heath and Williams. You need some youth. Those games are really close together. The older players specially one recovering from injuries will have trouble playing games on 2 days rest.

The women's team is chock full of these untouchables like Rapino. The men's team learned their lesson the hard way a few years ago with a similar type team.

RantingSoccerDad wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

Lacks likability?

Seriously?

I do not know about likability but there is definitely a style of play problem(ie some players can only play one type of game) and tension between young and older players. There is one older player who is notice over the hill. When she is in the game the other players have to cover for her and work a lot harder. It’s like playing with 10 player.

The genius of Jill Ellis was that she had players doing Rapinoe's running for her. (Stats back that up.)

Question is whether they can afford to have two significantly older players in Rapinoe and Lloyd. Even Tobin Heath is older and hasn't been fully fit. How many players like that can you take on an 18-player roster?

Lloyd showed a little something, Rapinoe and Morgan did not. Rapinoe was a problem last World Cup. What last World Cup showed is the USWNT would win with 10 players. It is unfair to Dunn. She really gets the short end of the stick with Rapinoe in.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

Lacks likability?

Seriously?

I do not know about likability but there is definitely a style of play problem(ie some players can only play one type of game) and tension between young and older players. There is one older player who is notice over the hill. When she is in the game the other players have to cover for her and work a lot harder. It’s like playing with 10 player.

I'd say this goes for both their center forwards. They were great in their heyday, but time to move on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

Lacks likability?

Seriously?

I do not know about likability but there is definitely a style of play problem(ie some players can only play one type of game) and tension between young and older players. There is one older player who is notice over the hill. When she is in the game the other players have to cover for her and work a lot harder. It’s like playing with 10 player.

+1 this team plays together to win not because they like each other
If the winning stops … it will be another ugly afternoon at Disney

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

Lacks likability?

Seriously?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

You don’t judge by one game. I’ve seen many quality teams look mediocre in a given single game. Plus, they were playing Nigeria, not Brazil or one of the good Euro teams. Low motivation pre-tourney game. A lot of naysayers out there. Let’s see how the olympics go... maybe you’ll all be right and the WNT will fall flat. It appears to be what you’re all hoping for. Meanwhile I will be routing for them and confident in their ability to do well.

It isn't that people want the WNT to fall flat but they need an alarm bell. They need to fall flat in order to adapt and evolve their game to match what is happening in Europe. We will no longer be able to rely on athleticism as European teams are matching athleticism with far more technical and tactical play.

We will never have a problem getting out of group stages but expecting cake walks through the knockout stages to the finals are going to be a rude awakening.

Exactly. There was very little technical and tactical play last night. It was kickball. The midfield was atrocious. Looked like they had 3 CDMs out there and none of them had any vision. Just brute force.

Very little technical and tactical play? Can you explain this?

Technical would mainly be the ability to control the ball yourself and between teammates.
Tactical would be your formation, how you plan to move the ball down the field, defensive shape, pressing when and where, taking advantage of certain matchups, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

You don’t judge by one game. I’ve seen many quality teams look mediocre in a given single game. Plus, they were playing Nigeria, not Brazil or one of the good Euro teams. Low motivation pre-tourney game. A lot of naysayers out there. Let’s see how the olympics go... maybe you’ll all be right and the WNT will fall flat. It appears to be what you’re all hoping for. Meanwhile I will be routing for them and confident in their ability to do well.

It isn't that people want the WNT to fall flat but they need an alarm bell. They need to fall flat in order to adapt and evolve their game to match what is happening in Europe. We will no longer be able to rely on athleticism as European teams are matching athleticism with far more technical and tactical play.

We will never have a problem getting out of group stages but expecting cake walks through the knockout stages to the finals are going to be a rude awakening.

Exactly. There was very little technical and tactical play last night. It was kickball. The midfield was atrocious. Looked like they had 3 CDMs out there and none of them had any vision. Just brute force.

Very little technical and tactical play? Can you explain this?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This current USWNT better get their act together. They were not impressive at all last night. Zero creativity and were outplayed for numerous stretches of the game. This current team also lacks likability. Not only from the outside looking in, but between players. They seem to be a collection of individuals that feel entitled to be playing on the national team.

You don’t judge by one game. I’ve seen many quality teams look mediocre in a given single game. Plus, they were playing Nigeria, not Brazil or one of the good Euro teams. Low motivation pre-tourney game. A lot of naysayers out there. Let’s see how the olympics go... maybe you’ll all be right and the WNT will fall flat. It appears to be what you’re all hoping for. Meanwhile I will be routing for them and confident in their ability to do well.

It isn't that people want the WNT to fall flat but they need an alarm bell. They need to fall flat in order to adapt and evolve their game to match what is happening in Europe. We will no longer be able to rely on athleticism as European teams are matching athleticism with far more technical and tactical play.

We will never have a problem getting out of group stages but expecting cake walks through the knockout stages to the finals are going to be a rude awakening.

Exactly. There was very little technical and tactical play last night. It was kickball. The midfield was atrocious. Looked like they had 3 CDMs out there and none of them had any vision. Just brute force.