Gone are the days the USWNT reigned supreme in the women’s game. The European game has come a long way in the last 3 years. There will be new World Champs next year!
@@USWNTsoccertalk You cannot mean "easily". The stars are not aligned in our favor this time. Too many hurtles. Injuries, no Ertz, too many rookies, complete lack of a collective fighting spirit, no fire in their bellies. I am disenchanted.
There was and after the Olympics with hindsight, it seems to be that the coach was one BIG issue for the United States that we must not forget. Also, the old guard stayed around longer than they should have. These talking points I've been going through some old games and I look at the comments and I swear to God every European I see has the same comment. It’s like do you guys all get the same talking points? It’s not that hard to be technically gifted. When you guys say the United States women are not technically gifted what Americans here is they’re too stupid to teach themselves how to play football which is insane oh and the only way to fix it is to come to our continent where we do it the best so you can fix yourselves. Even though I happen to agree with you on that point, I’m just giving you the point of view of people I talk to. I agree more USWNT players need to play in Europe but if you look at Spain which is number three in the rankings I believe right now their main seven or eight starters I’ll play for Barcelona and there’s something to be said for keeping your main seven or eight starters at one club. I think you said you were English. You guys might wanna try that. They train and play together and see each other almost every day. I think you’ll be somewhat shocked at the new players coming up. A lot of them are technically gifted and from what I heard Emma say at a conference at the Olympics she said her job then was to win the Olympics her job after the Olympics is to start bringing it in the new generation and start building a program for the next World Cup. I don’t know if you agree with me, but the first problem is that midfield. Amazingly, they won gold with practically a non-functioning midfield. Also, if you are English, thanks 4 the coach. 👍 Note: if you do respond, what players do you believe are done? Mine would be the goalkeeper Naher Crystal Dunn Lindsey Horan is not our starter in midfield. If everything goes to plan, I believe Lily Johannes will take that spot. I think any player that is 30 years old right now will not be at the World Cup in 27. Your thoughts?
Smith has good ball skills but she is a bad team player at the endpoint. Soccer is beautiful and has a good end result when played in tandem with team spirit. If she plays unselfishly in the box, she will be an unstoppable offense.
It’s been over a year and a half later, and she’s still a bad team player. She needs to get better at her shots. She has got awful. She shoots at the goalkeeper every time she shoots Annette that’s when she even gets close to hitting the net. At least Trinity Rodman took the time out and learned how to shoot at this previous Olympics. She didn’t use to curl the ball like that. She should just hit as hard as she could at the net. I recall Sophia Smith saying she had offers from Europe to go play but you don’t have to go play in Europe to be good. I think she’s good on the ball naturally however think she is awful at reading the game and she doesn’t pass like she should as your comment says this is an on-site year and some change later. She did okay at the Olympics but only because her teammate set her up and one of those goals came from luck. I’m not hating on Smith I just don’t think she’s our number nine. I think someone could slide Bethune in there. She would be better than Smith. Our midfield is still non-existent and somehow they won gold. If Johannes picks us, our midfield is going to be quite big and there is no way Lindsey Horan will start the next World Cup. Our midfield is still non-existent and somehow they won gold. I hate seeing comments saying these players aren’t technical of course they are. They’re just different than European players because European players are trained differently. And not to brag last week at the FIFAU 20 World Cup for Women and Columbia the United States women got bronze and that’s the highest of any nation besides an Asian nation. This means no European team got higher than us. letting them join the NWS.L or go overseas before college or even at 14 years old is a brilliant idea and I’m glad they implemented it and got rid of the draft. We took professional players to the FIFA 20 World Cup last week. Well, it ended last week. I’m curious if you still hold this position on Sophia. I went back and watched the Olympic games and even the Mexico and Costa Rica friendly before the Olympics . That Mexico game, I don’t know how many times she touched the ball in the box instead of just shooting it or passing. And for the love of God some of her shots and look at them they’re mainly at the goalkeeper they hit the net or they’re going at the net.
I like Huerta. But she is an incurable procrastinator. My blood pressure goes up, every time she does a throw-in. I can make it to the fridge and back and she still hasn't thrown the darn ball.
This could be one of the problems. Traditionally US women playing overseas have had a conflict between their club sides and the excessive amount of time required of them in camp for the national team. It simply wasn't practical for an American player to play in Europe and continually fly home to join the national team cdamp and the national coaches seemed to simply overlook anybody not playing in the NWSL. No US player aspiring to play for their country wanted or was able to play abroad. That was all very well when the NWSL was the strongest league in the world and the large amount of time spent in the national team training camp was a distinct advantage. Now, however, the European leagues have become ever more competitive and professional. The European Champions League is now the toughest competition in club football and there are hardly any American players in it. There was once a time when European players tried their best to play in the USA but no more. Now if you're not mixing it up in Europe you're simply not playing with the best. The only time we had any significant influx of American players in England for instance was when the NWSL was suspended during the covid crisis and players such as Alex Morgan, Tobin Heath, Sam Mewes, Christen Press and Rose Lavelle played for short contracts in the WSL. It was all very short lived however and most of them scuttled back across the pond as soon as the US domestic league reopened. As in so many other things common to the USA, the women's national team lives in an insular bubble of its own creation and the US is shocked to find that European teams have now reached the point where they are technically and tactically playing the national team off the park. So yes I agree with you that America needs to start exporting some of its talent overseas or the decline of the USWNT will continue down a terminal slide until the national team is reduced to irrelevancy on the international scale.
@@michaelafrancis1361 Michael, I applaud you for a wonderful, lucid article, that illustrates excellent observation skills. I agree with just about everything you have written. Macario, and before her, Lavelle, played in France for several years. That's not enough. Europeans don't come to the US often, but within the continent there is a lively exchange of players. Swedes are particularly prolific, playing seemingly everywhere. Germans also do this, and so do the English. Iberians and French, not so much. Danes, the Dutch, and some eastern Europeans can be found everywhere.
Dunn got lazy on the defensive end ball watched, and absolutely 💯 was not paying attention to the German player to her right that ran passed her for the goal.
The Germans had their dead point at the WC in 2019, when they lost zhe quarter finals. Since 2019 they did a lot to come back, not always embedded in roses.....
The US used to work a plan, either like a set piece or spontaneously, worked their way into shooting position and naturally the ball went into the net. Planned and executed. Those days seem to be gone. Rapino's goal was strictly dumb luck resulting from a lucky reflection, that Morgan turned into an unplanned but well executed pass. Rapino nailed this easy ball like any high schooler would have. This was not the result of any plan, just luck. But if we want to succeed in New Zealand, we cannot depend on some lucky shots.
It was already clear from this match what a scattered bunch of chickens the German women's team was. They had no order in their build-up play. Too many lost tackles and hair-raising ball losses. This negative trend continued from match to match in the following months of 2023 until the historic early preliminary round exit at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. The fact that the German women won this first match against the USA 2:1 on 23-11-11 was absolutely undeserved.
With all due respect, Smith and Pugh are hard working players, but too inexperienced. The team needs more experienced players or naturally talented players like Lavelle. I don’t see this USA team winning the World Cup. :(
I Have read your comment before. Head coaches are not like dirty Jeans you dump in the trash and put on a fresh new pair. You keep them around, wash them, give them time to dry. It takes time, not only for the players but also for the coach, to learn the team, improve communication, get his thoughts and ideas across to be players. I believe he should have one more cycle after this, i.e., get the team ready for 2027, unless, of course, the team's performance becomes a great failure in 2 months in the southern hemisphere.
My take is that the outcome of the FIFA 2023 cup will be a big decision maker for Vlatko. If our women don't make it at least to the semi-final he will be history. He had some hard decisions to make, and he made them. Keep the old guard and improve the US's chances to succeed. Or do the inevitable and necessary weeding out of some of the old-timers and put some young blood onto the Roster. Timing has not been on his side.
If Rodman would shed that trailer trash image, chewing with an open mouth ALL THE TIME including during the national anthem, I think I could lern to like our million-dollar baby (actually 1.1 million over four years).
