2023 FIFA Women's World Cup | Page 5 | Syracusefan.com

2023 FIFA Women's World Cup

Brutal half. Terrible passing, terrible timing. This team just doesn’t have it. Leveille with a yellow card(bs call though). To my untrained eye, Portugal looks almost as skilled and athletic. Netherlands with a 5-0 lead at halftime against Vietnam, lol.
 
So, the halftime crew had nothing positive to say about the team. Carli Lloyd said there were too many problems to discuss but nothing good. The German woman said she saw no game plan on offense or on defense. Nobody was running off the ball, just watching the player with the ball. Alexi Lalas said if they weee a club team playing at home, they would be booed by their own fans. OUCH on all counts. Obviously they need to be much better.
I think they need a lot more from Horan and a few others that should be leaders.
 
Sonnet in for Horan? An outside back for a central mid? I don’t get it. 84th minute and they still look lost. Those of you that stayed in bed made the right call.
 
That ball off the post in the 91st min was a heart drop into the stomach moment. Unlucky for Portugal. They deserved to win
 
Also this coach doesn't have it. Doesn't look like he has the respect of the team, discipline isn't there and they simply aren't in good form.
 
Orangezoo said:
Glad I accidentally missed watching this one. US ladies clearly look about 8th or 9th best right now in this WC.
Expand...
I have now watched a number of games and am stunned at the lack of technical quality of the US players compared to other teams.

Cannot play out of the back; cannot play out of pressure; cannot complete simple give and gos. We seem to think we need an act of congress to switch fields. We literally play kick and run. Portugal ran rings around the US technically. And, if you think Portugal is technical, wait until you watch Spain or Japan,

So, the question is, is the better training available in more established countries creating that gap (which we see in spades on the men's side) or is the US fixation with speed and athleticism causing more technical players who may be less athletic to be excluded from the mix? I do not know that answer to that question.

Sophia Smith has no soccer IQ. None. Zero. She receives the ball and she runs at the defense until she gets stripped. No idea how to release a pass. Her spacing was better today but she gets the ball and consistently runs into double and triple teams. And yet we keep playing down that left-hand side. Why? Rapinoe may not be able to give you 90 and she is clearly not what she once was but she looked better than Smith in the time she was in there.

We saw Williams start for Rodman but we barely played down the right-hand side because Fox has no interest in getting forward.

The midfield? Horan has done a boatload of running over the three games. She has to be wearing down. Lavelle is suspended for the round of 16. And Sullivan is basically the female version of Beckerman. Is there anyone other than DeMelo?

Reading articles, that Sauerbrunn injury is really hurting the team as Ertz really should be playing the 6 but is being forced into the centerback role.

Assuming we play Sweden, I will be stunned if we beat them unless there is some magic on the bench that we have not yet seen and Andonovski is willing to roll the dice. Doubtful. He makes Berhalter look like Leonard Hamilton when it comes to subbing.
 
www.espn.com

Andonovski hits back at Lloyd's USWNT criticism

USWNT coach Vlatko Andonovski hit back at criticism from former player Carli Lloyd, calling it "insane" to doubt the players' drive to win after a 0-0 draw to Portugal in the Women's World Cup on Tuesday.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
Forza Azzurri said:
I have now watched a number of games and am stunned at the lack of technical quality of the US players compared to other teams.

Cannot play out of the back; cannot play out of pressure; cannot complete simple give and gos. We seem to think we need an act of congress to switch fields. We literally play kick and run. Portugal ran rings around the US technically. And, if you think Portugal is technical, wait until you watch Spain or Japan,

So, the question is, is the better training available in more established countries creating that gap (which we see in spades on the men's side) or is the US fixation with speed and athleticism causing more technical players who may be less athletic to be excluded from the mix? I do not know that answer to that question.

Sophia Smith has no soccer IQ. None. Zero. She receives the ball and she runs at the defense until she gets stripped. No idea how to release a pass. Her spacing was better today but she gets the ball and consistently runs into double and triple teams. And yet we keep playing down that left-hand side. Why? Rapinoe may not be able to give you 90 and she is clearly not what she once was but she looked better than Smith in the time she was in there.

We saw Williams start for Rodman but we barely played down the right-hand side because Fox has no interest in getting forward.

The midfield? Horan has done a boatload of running over the three games. She has to be wearing down. Lavelle is suspended for the round of 16. And Sullivan is basically the female version of Beckerman. Is there anyone other than DeMelo?

Reading articles, that Sauerbrunn injury is really hurting the team as Ertz really should be playing the 6 but is being forced into the centerback role.

Assuming we play Sweden, I will be stunned if we beat them unless there is some magic on the bench that we have not yet seen and Andonovski is willing to roll the dice. Doubtful. He makes Berhalter look like Leonard Hamilton when it comes to subbing.
Expand...

It's bad. There is clearly something wrong at the youth levels going on here. While the women's game is still developing world wide- the previous versions had a stable of players who were strong technically. Morgan has never been one of those players but Heath, Press, Rapinoe( aging out now and just not able to do the same things) , Lloyd, Sauerbrun out of the back and so on.

I will say the missing pieces via injury are glaring with having Rodman and Smith out there. They are end of the bench last cycle and now pushed into starting roles they aren't setup for.

Swanson, Macario and Press are the big 3 injuries and all showing up massively.

None of that is an excuse for the massive poor showing so far and the dearth of technical prowess. House cleaning is very much needed after this WC.
 
Forza Azzurri said:
I have now watched a number of games and am stunned at the lack of technical quality of the US players compared to other teams.

Cannot play out of the back; cannot play out of pressure; cannot complete simple give and gos. We seem to think we need an act of congress to switch fields. We literally play kick and run. Portugal ran rings around the US technically. And, if you think Portugal is technical, wait until you watch Spain or Japan,

So, the question is, is the better training available in more established countries creating that gap (which we see in spades on the men's side) or is the US fixation with speed and athleticism causing more technical players who may be less athletic to be excluded from the mix? I do not know that answer to that question.

Sophia Smith has no soccer IQ. None. Zero. She receives the ball and she runs at the defense until she gets stripped. No idea how to release a pass. Her spacing was better today but she gets the ball and consistently runs into double and triple teams. And yet we keep playing down that left-hand side. Why? Rapinoe may not be able to give you 90 and she is clearly not what she once was but she looked better than Smith in the time she was in there.

We saw Williams start for Rodman but we barely played down the right-hand side because Fox has no interest in getting forward.

The midfield? Horan has done a boatload of running over the three games. She has to be wearing down. Lavelle is suspended for the round of 16. And Sullivan is basically the female version of Beckerman. Is there anyone other than DeMelo?

Reading articles, that Sauerbrunn injury is really hurting the team as Ertz really should be playing the 6 but is being forced into the centerback role.

Assuming we play Sweden, I will be stunned if we beat them unless there is some magic on the bench that we have not yet seen and Andonovski is willing to roll the dice. Doubtful. He makes Berhalter look like Leonard Hamilton when it comes to subbing.
Expand...
Great post, as usual.
We aren't bigger, stronger, faster than the rest of the world anymore. We need to be better technically, as you said. Watching Smith dribbling into three defenders was very frustrating, but she wasn't the only one..
Yes, we miss Sauerbrunn, but maybe miss Abby Dahlkemper even more. Either one would help get Ertz back to the 6, where she needs to be. Also missing Sam Mewis, Tobin Heath and others.
Listening to many opinions today and there is a lot of criticism for Vlatko's game plan both offensively and defensively, as well as his use of subs. What do you think of those that suggest he is lacking in some way?
BTW, I think you are dead in suggesting that it will be difficult to beat Sweden.
 
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Orangezoo said:
It's bad. There is clearly something wrong at the youth levels going on here. While the women's game is still developing world wide- the previous versions had a stable of players who were strong technically. Morgan has never been one of those players but Heath, Press, Rapinoe( aging out now and just not able to do the same things) , Lloyd, Sauerbrun out of the back and so on.

I will say the missing pieces via injury are glaring with having Rodman and Smith out there. They are end of the bench last cycle and now pushed into starting roles they aren't setup for.

Swanson, Macario and Press are the big 3 injuries and all showing up massively.

None of that is an excuse for the massive poor showing so far and the dearth of technical prowess. House cleaning is very much needed after this WC.
Expand...
Forgot about Macario. And of course, Swanson. Maybe those two would be enough to change our fortunes .
 
crv1728 said:
Great post, as usual.
We aren't bigger, stronger, faster than the rest of the world anymore. We need to be better technically, as you said. Watching Smith dribbling into three defenders was very frustrating, but she wasn't the only one..
Yes, we miss Sauerbrunn, but maybe miss Abby Dahlkemper even more. Either one would help get Hertz back to the 6, where she needs to be. Also missing Sam Mewis, Tobin Heath and others.
Listening to many opinions today and there is a lot of criticism for Vlatko's game plan both offensively and defensively, as well as his use of subs. What do you think of those that suggest he is lacking in some way?
BTW, I think you are dead in suggesting that it will be difficult to beat Sweden.
Expand...

Definitely miss Dahlkemper but the dearth of good wing play is really killing this team. Press and Macario would make a huge difference as would Swanson. With how Vlatko manages subs they would be worn down though I imagine.
 
crv1728 said:
What do you think of those that suggest he is lacking in some way?
Expand...
Hard for me to say.

I don't follow the women, other than during the World Cup and Olympics so I don't know what he has on the bench and if he has pieces on the bench that he is not using that could make a difference.

I don't think the formation is the problem. I don't think changing it would make a difference.

I also don't agree with Carli Lloyd. This team plays hard. They have just been playing poorly.
 
German ladies can't get it done...

Now Germany, (#2), Canada(#7) and Brasil(#8) are out before the knockout round.
 
ForCuseSake said:
Read these two articles and thought some posters in this thread might find interesting. Second link is from July and is referenced in the first article as a summary of problems with player development.

Yahoo - USWNT's problems, explained

US Soccer Girls Youth Pipeline Issues
Expand...

Yep. Good find. I've heard stuff anecdotally on the youth system but don't follow it as closely as the men's. It's sad they got complacent and then just became inept at managing the youth system. I'm sure it's no coincidence the politics of equal pay played a role even of its not on the surface.

It seems across the board we have major fractures in the infrastructure that supports youth sports. From how the NCAA manages the highest levels to youth systems to the safety of female athletes and issues with predators... there is a lot of work to be done... while we also sit in the middle of a culture war.
 
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Orangezoo said:
Yep. Good find. I've heard stuff anecdotally but don't follow it as closely as the men's. It's sad they got complacent and then just became inept at managing the youth system. I'm sure it's no coincidence the politics of equal pay played their role even of its not on the surface.

It seems across the board we have major fractures in the infrastructure that supports youth sports. From how the NCAA manages the highest levels to youth systems to the safety of female athletes and issues with predators... there is a lot of work to be done... while we also sit in the middle of a culture war.
Expand...

I think the pay-to-play youth system, with our vast college soccer options, are the biggest drivers of why the USMNT hasn't gotten over the hump (yet) and why the USWNT are losing ground.

One of the articles had a quote comparing American women spending 4 years at DI schools vs European ladies now spending 4 years at elite youth academies (e.g. Barca, PSG, etc.). That, to me, is the most telling.

I know the Development Academies are improving the men's talent pipeline but I still think the youth system feeding those organizations is limited by pay-to-play structures.

ETA - As most on here already know, pay-to-play is not unique to soccer. Profit driven club organizations are less interested in player development, more interested in talent accumulation/results.
 
Last edited:
ForCuseSake said:
I think the pay-to-play youth system, with our vast college soccer options, are the biggest drivers of why the USMNT hasn't gotten over the hump (yet) and why the USWNT are losing ground.

One of the articles had a quote comparing American women spending 4 years at DI schools vs European ladies now spending 4 years at elite youth academies (e.g. Barca, PSG, etc.). That, to me, is the most telling.

I know the Development Academies are improving the men's talent pipeline but I still think the youth system feeding those organizations is limited by pay-to-play structures.

ETA - As most on here already know, pay-to-play is not unique to soccer. Profit driven club organizations are less interested in player development, more interested in talent accumulation/results.
Expand...

The unique component of how the U.S. values collegiate athletics, much of it due to the financial aspect, is the elephant in the room. European countries and really many countries across the globe treat college as mostly an academic and social part of society not athletics in favor of the more efficient club system.
 
Orangezoo said:
The unique component of how the U.S. values collegiate athletics, much of it due to the financial aspect, is the elephant in the room. European countries and really many countries across the globe treat college as mostly an academic and social part of society not athletics in favor of the more efficient club system.
Expand...
Yep, and given the seismic changes in and around college sports (NIL, conference realignment, gambling, etc.) it looks like the U.S. may be headed toward some quasi Rest of the World model.

Just looking at the attempt to create an elite national high school basketball league. It's dumb to me because it encourages adults to weed out kids at early ages.

Sorry for the thread derail...
 
Not really seeing why the US is favored other than its name.

And many of the top teams are not playing all that well besides the ones knocked out

China #14 , Iceland #15, Italy #16, Korea #17, Austria #18 also out. so 8 of the top 20 out..
 
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