My thoughts on the USWNT against Colombia

First off, I’m fairly certain I was watching men’s soccer with all the flopping that was going on. It was so apparent, because typically we get a reprieve when we watch the women play. It completely messed with the flow of the game, and, as a viewer, my enjoyment.

I get the strategy behind it — slow down the game. It is well documented the physical fitness of the USWNT. We wear people down in the second half and that is where we are finding success. With all the stoppage, Colombia got frequent breathers.

Colombia also played scrappy. If I was in the game, I’d probably have shoved one of the girls back — thank God I’m not. I would have gotten so mad – and a red card (since cards were being so freely handed out). Julie Johnston took a good hit in the backfield when the ball was forward that no one saw. I have mad respect for Julie Johnston. She is one tough girl.

As for the match itself, it was not what people expected, or was it? Everyone expected the US to win, but it was Colombia that was impressive. They moved the ball well, completed their passes, and had us off our game — especially with all of the penalties that we were getting.

Costly ones at that. We will now be missing Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday for the quarterfinals against China on Friday at 4pm PT. As much as we all can’t stand Holiday and Lloyd in the center, I’m assuming if we had better choices, we would be playing them. Who knows? Maybe someone will come onto the field and not so much be an awesome player, but their heart and their drive will encourage Lloyd to play harder, more focused. That would be a wonderful thing.

Missing Rapinoe will be killer. She has great ball skills, a wicked corner, and plays with fire. The other problem is, from what I’ve seen, is Holiday is the other player who takes the corner kicks. Who will be the player that takes them now? Johnston is needed for the headers. Maybe Lloyd can take them since she is always getting in the way of Abby to head the ball in on corner kicks.

Yes, the US was expected to win, but it was also expected that our game would be severely lacking a strong mid-field and an offense that clicks. Perhaps everyone should be paying more attention to the fact that we are winning in spite of our lacking offense and mid-field presence. How different would this game have turned out if the Colombian goalie hadn’t gotten a red card and the Colombians had to play with a man down?

On a positive note, great goal by Alex Morgan. She is such a joy to watch. Great defending by my girl Klingenberg.

On a negative note, really? Carli Lloyd had to be the one to score on a penalty kick? Anyone else, man. That girl does not need a bigger ego.

Poor Abby, I so wanted her to score on that penalty kick.

Here is a great YouTube video of the highlights of the match thanks to FIFATV

Hopefully we beat China and can move forward. A huge, huge game on Friday is also Germany (#1) vs France (#3). That game will be on at 1:00pm PT. A lot of people are saying that this match could be the biggest game of the World Cup.

Good luck USWNT!

Congratulations USA Women’s World Cup Team!

Oh my God! How amazing was that game yesterday! I could not believe it! I don’t know why it seemed like they were playing at lighting speed! Was it the turf? Was it just the enthusiasm? What was it!

I’m not sure if it was the turf, because I watched a few minutes of the England versus France game today and it was not nearly as exciting.

First off, Hope Solo made 3 phenomenal saves in the first half. Not saves of the fashion where a player essentially kicks the ball right in her hands. No. These were shots on goal that would test the best of the best goal keepers. Hope Solo made saves that solidify her position as one of the best goalies around. Men or women.

Also, I’m clearly not on the Rapinoe bandwagon after this game, because I have clearly stated in my past posts how much I adore her. I was loving all the media attention she was getting to the lead up to the World Cup. I feel slightly like I had a secret that no one else knew about going into this game, but that secret has been exposed for it’s full glory. Megan Rapinoe is amazing!

Not only did she score two goals, but her ball handling skills in the game were phenomenal. Her give and goes were flawless. Her field awareness was impeccable.

My only complaint was that her corners were a bit off.

I think that the criticism of Abby Wambach was unjustified.

I did call it for forward Leroux. She just seems to, I don’t know. She gets the ball and either loses it or doesn’t capitalize on it. She did have that one tackle that was outstanding. I hope she improves as the World Cup progresses cause I really still like her and want good things for her.

I was so excited to see Alex Morgan in the game at the end! I hope she is 100% and can be a starter for Friday’s match.

As for Carli Lloyd. She was a non-issue. She seemed to be doing better than her other midfielders. She kept pace with the game this time and I didn’t see her being lazy. Kudos to her for actually being a team player.

The blonde, Johnston, impressed. I saw her in a friendly score an amazing goal so I was keen on seeing her play again. I really like her spunk, her ball handling, and her ability to, once she decides to move forward with the ball, take a shot. However, I feel very nervous about the defenders this year.

https://vine.co/v/eOWYEjp6UFO/embed/simple

I was not particularly impressed with Sauerbrunn or Krieger. I will withhold judgement until I can see more games.

I would like to see the numbers on the back of their jerseys more prominently displayed or apparent. I like to know who has the ball and who is doing what. It makes me enjoy the game more to know and be familiar with the players. I get that it is a team sport, and some people prefer to be anonymous, but that is not my preference. I like to be able to keep track of players and have favorites.

The next game is this Friday at 5:00 pm PT against Sweden. So far the standings are as follows (points):

USA: 3

Sweden: 1

Nigeria: 1

Australia: 0

Good luck USA!

FIFA Women’s World Cup to start Saturday June 6th at 2:30 p.m. PT – opening ceremony

Gorgeous!

FIFA Women’s World Cup to start Saturday June 6th at 2:30 p.m. PT. That is the time for the opening ceremony. You can watch on Fox Sports 1.

I just want to get that out of the way because I find that there is very little information out there about it. It’s shocking and not shocking all at the same time.

FIFA Women’s World Cup isn’t even regarded highly by FIFA. They fall all over themselves for the men, but not the women. Even the ex-president, Blatter acknowledged that more attention needed to be paid. However, he suggestion was one of absolute sexism, that the girls should wear shorter shorts if they want more people to watch. Wow. How does a sport expect to have a better and higher profile when the gentleman who runs it thinks so little?

I love her!

It is also clearly less regarded by the organization by forcing the women to play on turf. How ridiculous. According to the article I just linked, a company, free of charge to FIFA, offered to put in grass over the turf. FIFA said no.

Saturday’s games will be:

Canada (host nation) versus China PR at 3:00 p.m. PT

New Zealand versus Netherlands at 6:00 p.m. PT

USA will be on Monday at 4:30 p.m. PT

Here is the FIFA website for matches and their times. It’s excellent because you can change it to your time. As silly as it sounds, I have tried to find the game on multiple websites and a lot of them are hard to understand or just plain wrong. I downloaded a calendar to my iCal and it is totally wrong.

Groups:

Group A: Canada, Netherlands, China, New Zealand

Group B: Germany, Norway, Ivory Coast, Thailand

Group C: Japan, Switzerland, Cameroon, Equador

Group D: USA, Sweden, Australia, Nigeria

Group E: Brazil, Spain, Costa Rica, South Korea

Group F: France, England, Mexico, Colombia

USA Team:

I included the link above but the highlights for me are:

Wow. She is so beautiful

Megan Rapinoe: She is a Midfielder who takes a slew of corner kicks and happens to be my favorite player. She plays for the Seattle Reign FC when she is not amazing in World Cup or Olympic matches. She is 29 years old.

Abby Wambach: She is a forward and who everyone will be watching. She is one of the most recognized soccer players in the world and for good reason.  She is known for her headers. She played on the 2003, 2007, and  2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup. You may have last remembered her when she got punched in the Olympics by Lady Andrade that did not even get a card, despite Abby having a black eye the next day. She has been awarded the 2011 ESPY for Best Play and was voted the 2012 FIFA World Player of the Year.

Alex Morgan: Forward. She has had some ankle issues that I hope resolve. She is a fun player to watch and has an amazing chemistry with Abby Wambach. She always seems to be in the right place.

Sydney Leroux: Forward. I like her, but she does not have the same chemistry with the team that Alex Morgan does. I’m excited to see how her play has progressed.

She looks amazing

The player I do not like at all is Carli Lloyd. I’ve written about her before. I feel like she only half-asses her play. She runs when she wants to and I think the midfield suffers for it. I’m sure I will be posting again how much I dislike this player.

There has been some heat on goalie Hope Solo. I’m not sure where I stand on all of that. However, I am excited to see her play. I like her intensity on the field.

Let the games begin!