OT: Olympics: U.S. Women’s Soccer

[oldude]

Correct me if I am wrong but don't alot of the International players still go through the US college system?

Correct

 

[eebmg]

Japan just tied Canada 1-1 in the 83' on a beautiful play.

Australia no problems. 2-0 over NZ in first half. Not so confident we can handle Australia in Group play.

 

[SimpleDawg]

The balance of power in women’s soccer has been shifting for a number of years. For many years, women’s soccer was dominated by the US, Japan, China, Australia, Brazil & Canada. Strangely enough, while Europe dominated men’s soccer, they were largely late to ramp up women’s soccer, although Sweden & Norway have been relatively strong teams for many years.

That began to change dramatically over the last 5-10 years as more European nations significantly upgraded their developmental programs for women’s soccer. During the last Women’s World Cup in 2019, while the US won in a thrilling tournament, European countries were clearly superior to every other country in the world.

Time will tell whether the US can remain one of the top women’s programs in the world. But to do so, the US will have to face an onslaught of top European teams that will only get better.

Well, Norway felt like the first big power besides the U.S.

Germany was always strong. As was Sweden. China is stronger in the past, now they're not much of a threat anymore. Brazil has always been strong but you never expect them to be a team to go all the way. England and France and Netherlands are getting better. They should be threats in 2023, (tho I'm not European enough to know everything about their clubs) Well maybe not so much Netherlands, but they're definitely not a team that you can not take seriously anymore where previous they only made 1 World Cups before 2019.

 

[Plebe]

I haven't watched this game (yet), but the US beat Sweden 2-0 just two years ago in the WC. Has that much changed in just 25 months?

 

[Blakeon18]

Sweden ahead of USA by 3 goals with not much time left.

 

[meyers7]

I haven't watched this game (yet), but the US beat Sweden 2-0 just two years ago in the WC. Has that much changed in just 25 months?

Well they tied Sweden in April of this year. (and lost to France), so things have been changing.

 

[Plebe]

Well they tied Sweden in April of this year. (and lost to France), so things have been changing.

So they tied them 3 months ago in a friendly, but they also lost to them 5 years ago in Rio ... so I guess I'm caught somewhere between seeing this as a changing of the guard or an anomalously bad result.

I will say, my recollection of the 2019 WC is that the US team hardly outclassed the competition. I seem to recall them winning very close games in the knockout stage, all against strong European sides, by simply capitalizing on their chances in the biggest moments.

Even in this game, despite the lopsided scoreboard, the US out-possessed Sweden 52-48% and did have scoring chances, all of which went begging.

I concur that the center of power in women's futbol has been shifting decidedly to Europe, for about a decade now. Once the powerful infrastructure of men's European club soccer began to devote resources to developing women's sides, the national teams were sure to improve.

Interestingly, 2 of the top 3 teams in the FIFA rankings — #2 Germany and #3 France — are not even at the Olympics. The European federation was the only one that, instead of conducting a separate Olympic qualifying procedure, simply used the 2019 World Cup as its qualifying tournament, and UEFA's 3 spots went to the 3 teams (Sweden, Netherlands, England) that reached the WC semifinals. (France, the last team to beat the US before today' game, lost in the WC quarterfinals to the US.)

 

[eebmg]

Even in this game, despite the lopsided scoreboard, the US out-possessed Sweden 52-48% and did have scoring chances, all of which went begging.

The % numbers are certainly misleading and Sweden could have had 3 more goals easily Sweden missed more dangerous chances than the US. They kept running up the gut splitting the central backers. I guess that can be coached up and the US might reverse itself but all in all, very disappointing.

 

[LoboDays]

There’s no shortage of talent on the U.S. team. So why were they so dominated today? No one likes to hear it when I bring up UCONN’s last 10 games of the season against BE teams who couldn’t beat their Second team before going up against tough competition in the Tourney. But, the same thing happened with the U.S. Soccer Team. Their last 6 games were against teams who couldn’t score a goal if the U.S. played without a goalkeeper. Sweden had more shots on goal in the first half that the other 6 games combined. The U.S team was used to playing at that pace and being successful. They couldn’t find the next gear needed to compete. They need to find tougher competition in preparation for the important events.

They should be able to handle NZ and Australia but they need to up their game in the knock out round or they won’t be around for the closing ceremonies.

 

[MooseJaw]

One bad game is only one bad game, it happens. I hope the team is able to put this game behind them and get-r-done. The team knows how to play and how to win. It won't take long to see if the team wakes up and plays to their abilities. I'll wait to see if the sky is really falling and if "we are doomed."

 

[trb123]

There’s no shortage of talent on the U.S. team. So why were they so dominated today? No one likes to hear it when I bring up UCONN’s last 10 games of the season against BE teams who couldn’t beat their Second team before going up against tough competition in the Tourney. But, the same thing happened with the U.S. Soccer Team. Their last 6 games were against teams who couldn’t score a goal if the U.S. played without a goalkeeper. Sweden had more shots on goal in the first half that the other 6 games combined. The U.S team was used to playing at that pace and being successful. They couldn’t find the next gear needed to compete. They need to find tougher competition in preparation for the important events.

They should be able to handle NZ and Australia but they need to up their game in the knock out round or they won’t be around for the closing ceremonies.

Very good points.
1. When we were in AAC, many non-Uconn fans used to call our basketball schedule derisively "a high school" schedule. That was partially mitigated by a tough non-conference schedule but not entirely. It is certainly one of factors (no idea how much) that has contributed to our not winning the championship for 5 years. The situation has not improved in the Big East. We could not compete against Arizona. The toughness (among other things) was not there.
2. Speed is a big factor. The US soccer team relies too much on older players. Sweden has more speed.
In Basketball, the talent gap is still too large for the USA team to paper over our slow older players. But it is closing. I do not like the fact we are dependent on a 39 year old player, whose best days are behind her, to make the team work smoothly as some are saying. I am not complaining about it. I will be very happy if it works. But I would rather have the 25-30 yr old players do this for the team.

 

[baggerbob]

Very good points.
1. When we were in AAC, many non-Uconn fans used to call our basketball schedule derisively "a high school" schedule. That was partially mitigated by a tough non-conference schedule but not entirely. It is certainly one of factors (no idea how much) that has contributed to our not winning the championship for 5 years. The situation has not improved in the Big East. We could not compete against Arizona. The toughness (among other things) was not there.
2. Speed is a big factor. The US soccer team relies too much on older players. Sweden has more speed.
In Basketball, the talent gap is still too large for the USA team to paper over our slow older players. But it is closing. I do not like the fact we are dependent on a 39 year old player, whose best days are behind her, to make the team work smoothly as some are saying. I am not complaining about it. I will be very happy if it works. But I would rather have the 25-30 yr old players do this for the team.

Unfortunately both Gray, and Skylar are penetrating type guards rather than pass first type guards. Hopefully some of the younger guards will be on the 2022 Fiba world team. This is going to be a rough Olympics for this team. Are we going to be able to cut down on foolish turnovers, and get consistency from our guards.

 

[Plebe]

Hopefully I can interrupt this ground-breaking thread of lamentations about UConn's conference affiliation to share a link about the soccer game:

USWNT's humbling Olympic loss to Sweden should be wakeup call, but chase for gold is still on | Sporting News

DeCourcy: USWNT still confident after Sweden loss, but play must improve

www.sportingnews.com

 

[eebmg]

Hopefully I can interrupt this ground-breaking thread of lamentations about UConn's conference affiliation to share a link about the soccer game:

USWNT's humbling Olympic loss to Sweden should be wakeup call, but chase for gold is still on | Sporting News

DeCourcy: USWNT still confident after Sweden loss, but play must improve

www.sportingnews.com

Clearly the result of being in the CONCANCAF conference.

 

[bloor]

Question for the BY soccer cognoscenti (I am fairly new to the sport):
A win and a tie (4pts.) in the remaining two group stage games should send the USWNT through to the quarters right?
What about a win and a loss (3pts.)? Two ties (2pts.)?
I know this is all dependent on the results of the other remaining games and maybe tie-breakers but I am just trying to
get a feel for our chances to advance after last nights debacle.

Here is the tv schedule for the remaining group stage games. The N/A, Telemundo, and Universo games can be streamed at
nbcolympics.com

Saturday, July 24 (Group stage, Matchday 2)​

Match	Time (ET)	TV channels	Stream
Group E: Chile vs. Canada	3:30 a.m.	Telemundo	fuboTV
Group F: China vs. Zambia	4 a.m.	N/A
Group G: Sweden vs. Australia	4:30 a.m.	NBCSN	fuboTV
Group E: Japan vs. Great Britain	6:30 a.m.	N/A
Group F: Netherlands vs. Brazil	7 a.m.	Universo	fuboTV
Group G: New Zealand vs. USA	7:30 a.m.	NBCSN, Telemundo	fuboTV

Tuesday, July 27 (Group Stage, Matchday 3)​

Match	Time (ET)	TV channels	Stream
Group G: New Zealand vs. Sweden	4 a.m.	N/A
Group G: USA vs. Australia	4 a.m.	USA Network, Telemundo	fuboTV
Group E: Chile vs. Japan	7 a.m.	Universo	fuboTV
Group E: Canada vs. Great Britain	7 a.m.	N/A
Group F: Netherlands vs. China	7:30 a.m.	N/A
Group F: Brazil vs. Zambia	7:30 a.m.	Telemundo	fuboTV

 

[Plebe]

Question for the BY soccer cognoscenti (I am fairly new to the sport):
A win and a tie (4pts.) in the remaining two group stage games should send the USWNT through to the quarters right?
What about a win and a loss (3pts.)? Two ties (2pts.)?
I know this is all dependent on the results of the other remaining games and maybe tie-breakers but I am just trying to
get a feel for our chances to advance after last nights debacle.

This format, with 3 groups of 4 teams, is pretty forgiving. Eight of the 12 teams will advance: top 2 from each group, plus the best 2 of the 3 third-place teams.

4 points would probably be enough, but as you say, it all depends on what happens in the other groups (as well as the other teams in its group). 3 points would be more of a toss-up (could come down to goal differential and goals scored). 2 points would be unlikely to be enough.

 

[eebmg]

Why are groups (E,F,G) instead of (A,B,C)

 

[Plebe]

Why are groups (E,F,G) instead of (A,B,C)

"The 12 nations vying for Olympic glory were split into three groups of four teams each, labeled Groups E-G to avoid confusion with the men’s tournament Groups A-D."

Olympic soccer standings 2021: Updated tables, scores, results from women's tournament | Sporting News

Updated women's Olympic soccer results & standings

www.sportingnews.com

 

[eebmg]

"The 12 nations vying for Olympic glory were split into three groups of four teams each, labeled Groups E-G to avoid confusion with the men’s tournament Groups A-D."

Olympic soccer standings 2021: Updated tables, scores, results from women's tournament | Sporting News

Updated women's Olympic soccer results & standings

www.sportingnews.com

Interesting. But the Groups in Basketball for men and women have the same lettering (A,B,C)

 

[Plebe]

Interesting. But the Groups in Basketball for men and women have the same lettering (A,B,C)

Go figure.

These decisions are made by the sport-specific international governing bodies (e.g. FIFA), not centrally by the IOC.

 

[BostonBay]

The team looked old and slow. Starting lineup average age is 31! Subs Rapinoe & Lloyd are 35 & 39! Still talented, but the 20-year olds need to contribute much more if they want a Gold.

 

[meyers7]

Question for the BY soccer cognoscenti (I am fairly new to the sport):
A win and a tie (4pts.) in the remaining two group stage games should send the USWNT through to the quarters right?
What about a win and a loss (3pts.)? Two ties (2pts.)?
I know this is all dependent on the results of the other remaining games and maybe tie-breakers but I am just trying to
get a feel for our chances to advance after last nights debacle.

Here is the tv schedule for the remaining group stage games. The N/A, Telemundo, and Universo games can be streamed at
nbcolympics.com

Saturday, July 24 (Group stage, Matchday 2)​

Match	Time (ET)	TV channels	Stream
Group E: Chile vs. Canada	3:30 a.m.	Telemundo	fuboTV
Group F: China vs. Zambia	4 a.m.	N/A
Group G: Sweden vs. Australia	4:30 a.m.	NBCSN	fuboTV
Group E: Japan vs. Great Britain	6:30 a.m.	N/A
Group F: Netherlands vs. Brazil	7 a.m.	Universo	fuboTV
Group G: New Zealand vs. USA	7:30 a.m.	NBCSN, Telemundo	fuboTV

Tuesday, July 27 (Group Stage, Matchday 3)​

Match	Time (ET)	TV channels	Stream
Group G: New Zealand vs. Sweden	4 a.m.	N/A
Group G: USA vs. Australia	4 a.m.	USA Network, Telemundo	fuboTV
Group E: Chile vs. Japan	7 a.m.	Universo	fuboTV
Group E: Canada vs. Great Britain	7 a.m.	N/A
Group F: Netherlands vs. China	7:30 a.m.	N/A
Group F: Brazil vs. Zambia	7:30 a.m.	Telemundo	fuboTV

USA's chances of getting through to the knockout stage is pretty good. US should be able to beat both New Zealand and Australia, picking up 6 points and finishing 2nd. They will be the favorite in both matches.

 

[WFFL]

USA's chances of getting through to the knockout stage is pretty good. US should be able to beat both New Zealand and Australia, picking up 6 points and finishing 2nd. They will be the favorite in both matches.

Favorites against Australia is stretching it a bit...

 

[Waquoit]

The team looked old and slow. Starting lineup average age is 31! Subs Rapinoe & Lloyd are 35 & 39! Still talented, but the 20-year olds need to contribute much more if they want a Gold.

The USWNT loves hangers-on. It took a missed PK to finally get totally washed Abby Wambach off the pitch. And she still did most of the post-title PR.

 

[ucbart]

Alex Morgan said in her post game interview that Sweden played a 5-back, pack it in, defensive type of game in that 2-2 tie earlier this year. Sweden has always played that way, played a bunker defense, and usually tried to score on counter-attacks. Well, Sweden changed formations, and went on the attack.

Our midfield that started the game, was offensive minded with Horan, Mewis, and LaVelle all being crafty, attack minded players. Simply, this was the wrong game to not start Ertz. She is the muscle, hustle, and the enforcer in the center of the field. She is, quite frankly, the most important piece of the USA puzzle. I thought we played better in the second half, but gave up 2 goals.

Hopefully Ertz can be as close to 100% healthy the rest of the tournament, because frankly, she can never be off the field.