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2023 Summer International Thread ... Women's World Cup, Nations League, Gold Cup, Etc.

BTW, the US isn't the only team reeling with injury issues. The English and the Dutch have problems, as do several other obvious contenders. And the gap with the middling teams is a LOT tighter than it was even in the last WC. The lower level teams are still pretty awful, but the bunches at the top and in the middle are a lot bigger now. Gone are the days when there were 2 or 3 decent UEFA teams ... their investment in their pro leagues is paying off big time.
 
He’s used Horan at the 6 too.

My youngest daughter joked that Ertz at CB would guarantee 2 penalties per game. Naeher might kill her.
 
andyt said:
He’s used Horan at the 6 too.
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Not effectively. He obviously doesn't trust Sullivan as a solo 6 either and from what I've seen of her at Angel City I'm not sure Ertz is up to the task either. I'm thinking we might end up seeing a very defensive 4-3-3 with a compact midfield against more dangerous opponents. You could build the attack through the fullbacks and wingers, which is kind of the point in having fullbacks like Fox, Dunn and Huerta in the first place.
 
The USWNT Twitter page is running videos of Vlatko calling players telling them they're on the team. The call to DeMelo is great, you can hear her family cheering behind her. She’ll be the first player since Shannon Boxx in 2003 to get her first senior cap in the World Cup. And Kelley O’Hara, named to her 4th World Cup, breaks down.
 
andyt said:
The USWNT Twitter page is running videos of Vlatko calling players telling them they're on the team. The call to DeMelo is great, you can hear her family cheering behind her. She’ll be the first player since Shannon Boxx in 2003 to get her first senior cap in the World Cup. And Kelley O’Hara, named to her 4th World Cup, breaks down.
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Those were fun. Great idea from somebody over at Soccer House, which is in and of itself worth noting.
 
In a move that’s ridiculous even by CONCACAF standards. McKennie has been suspended an additional 3 matches (for having his jersey ripped off?) and Dest an additional 2. However, Gold Cup matches count, even though they’re not on the roster, so they’ll be eligible for the Nations League in the fall.
 
At what point should the US decide to just not participate in CONCACAF other than world cup qualifications? I know that would never happen, but short of making a statement like that, nothing will ever be done.
 
VinatieriDefinesClutch said:
At what point should the US decide to just not participate in CONCACAF other than world cup qualifications? I know that would never happen, but short of making a statement like that, nothing will ever be done.
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I mean, they could pull an Australia and try to link up with COMNEBOL. Don't know why you'd bother though. It's even more corrupt than CONCACAF.
 
Gold Cup down to semis ... the US skooched past Canada in PKs to set the field, so the US will face Panama while Mexico will square off with Jamaica. The Reggae Boyz are the only side with their actual best roster for this tournament and they've looked pretty sharp. Those Semis are on Wednesday night in San Diego, which doesn't bode well for the US ... having just burned through a 100+ minute game plus 30 minutes and change of extra time on Sunday night.
 
USWNT played their sendoff game yesterday. 2-0 win over a scrappy Wales side that was playing outside of Europe for the first time, if you can believe it. It wasn't the most seamless of games for the US, but they came through with a couple of goals from Trinity Rodman ... who came off the bench but made a strong case for a starting slot.

Vlatko went with a midfield of Sullivan, Horan and Sanchez but neither Ertz nor Lavelle were risked despite having been recently cleared to play. Sullivan was just OK at the 6 and will probably give way to Ertz. Lavelle, of course, will play as many minutes as she possibly can manage, but DeMelo was a lot sharper off the bench than Sanchez was as a starter. Thompson started on the left wing with Smith on the right and Morgan at the 9, but again ... I could see Rodman pushing into the frame to start with Thompson providing a jolt off the bench. Lynn Williams was also sharp off the bench. Morgan was marked out of any impact for the most part, but the front three sprang to life with Smith, Williams and Rodman buzzing all over the place in the last 30 minutes.

In the back, Wales presented no real scoring threat so it was fine. Cook had a few loose passes, but otherwise ... fine. Vlatko is obviously taking a page from Sean Nahas at NC Courage with his fullbacks as both Fox and Dunn drifted into inverted roles as forward pivots in possession with their midfield 6s drifting wide. That's what Courage do with Fox in their base attack so she's used to it (and very good at it) ... and Dunn plays that kind of role as a midfielder for Portland. It looked a little developmental early on, but will probably be a better plan once Lavelle's explosion is added to the mix. Dunn worked some nice combos with Horan on the left, but Sanchez looked lost on the right. Again, she'll be a reserve soon enough if she doesn't improve. DeMelo is good in that role and it was virtually custom made for Rose.
 
DeMelo, Rodman and Williams were a shot of adrenaline to the group. I didn’t think Horan was particularly good, she was pretty well targeted by the Welsh and should have earned a penalty after being tackled on a corner. She walked right up to the line between aggressive and reckless a few too many times, and her game was off because of it.
 
andyt said:
DeMelo, Rodman and Williams were a shot of adrenaline to the group. I didn’t think Horan was particularly good, she was pretty well targeted by the Welsh and should have earned a penalty after being tackled on a corner. She walked right up to the line between aggressive and reckless a few too many times, and her game was off because of it.
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She would have looked a LOT better if Thompson hadn't spent the first half running around like a chicken with her head cut off. That's the thing that can be hard to understand about what Vlatko is asking of those 8s ... it's not gonna look all that impressive. That job is about distribution and discipline ... and being smart enough to know when your winger has created enough space for you to slide into. Thompson created the space, but was wild with her ball control, so nothing came of it. Once Wales had to respect both wings and defend the whole area, the whole tone changed. Dunn also figured it out as the game went along. She wasn't playing in the right pocket early on either.
 
The US finally got bit in a shootout, dropping their Gold Cup Semi to Panama. Mexico brushed off Jamaica pretty easily in the other semi. For the "fire everybody" crowd in the US fan base, that was BJ Callahan's last match as interim coach of the USMNT and that was probably the last call up for a lot of the older MLS guys on the Gold Cup roster. The US men won the only tournament they prioritized this summer, so ... shrug.
 
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I'm not even sure how to split up the days at the AU/NZ World Cup, but we're under way. The only upset in the early schedule was co-host New Zealand taking a 1-0 win over Noway and honestly ... was it really all that surprising? Norway has been dreadful since getting their butts kicked at the last Euros and the Ferns were obviously going to come out guns blazing in front of the biggest home crowd they've ever even dreamed about.

Otherwise the big news is Sam Kerr hurting a calf* in training and (here we go again) some jackass shooting up downtown Aukland the morning of the New Zealand opener in what is being reported as an unrelated event. The US plays Viet Nam tonight (tomorrow?) at 9 PM Eastern.

*muscle, obviously ... but now you have a completely different picture in your head. You're welcome. I guess.
 
The Philippines qualified for their first World Cup, men or women. As you might expect, there are not a lot of native Filipinos on the roster…18 were born in the US and at least 1 other was born in Australia. One of the American-born women played at UNCW, and the daughter who works there is not happy that the school did nothing to publicize that. She had a goal against Switzerland chalked off for offside.
 
US 3-0 over a feisty and fairly dirty Vietnamese side. I get that it's tough to play physical when giving up that much size, but the constant leg sweeps were honestly embarrassing. Loads of complaining from the US press, but the team played pretty well, honestly. Naeher touched the ball like 5 times all night and only once when a ball was shot in anger, and while the US squandered a few chances (including a dreadful PK from Morgan) they were solid all night. Julie Ertz looked like she never left CB for the midfield playing next to Ghirma in the back (and also looked fully fit), Smith and Rodman were absolute terrors up front, DeMelo looked like a vet instead of a player with one cap ... and the rest of the walking wounded not only got some time, but looked healthy. Levelle and Rapinoe were frisky and aggressive if a bit rusty. All in all, mission accomplished. They got first WC minutes for a ton of players, a multi-goal win, a clean sheet and nobody got hurt. As openers go, it ticked the boxes.

Elsewhere ... Japan managed to find the light switch after a rough run-up schedule and hung a 5-0 score on Zambia. England had the actual game that the American press is pretending the US had in a scruffy 1-0 win over an ostensibly not very good Haiti side. A Stanway PK is all they managed and Weigman suddenly can't seem to find her best forward line. And Denmark clawed out 3 points from China with a late goal to wrap the day(?).

Oh ... and it's "fun" to remember just how shallow the officiating pool is for the women. Woof.
 
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I missed the first 25ish minutes. Squandered chances is the headline. This could very well have rivaled the Thai game score line from 2019. Smith, DeMelo, Ertz, Girma, Dunn were all very good. I didn’t think Horan had a good first half but she came to life in the 2nd. I didn’t hear Andi Sullivan a lot either. But it’s not like the Vietnamese threatened at all and Girma and Ertz both bypassed Sullivan to get it forward.
 
andyt said:
I missed the first 25ish minutes. Squandered chances is the headline. This could very well have rivaled the Thai game score line from 2019. Smith, DeMelo, Ertz, Girma, Dunn were all very good. I didn’t think Horan had a good first half but she came to life in the 2nd. I didn’t hear Andi Sullivan a lot either. But it’s not like the Vietnamese threatened at all and Girma and Ertz both bypassed Sullivan to get it forward.
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Nah ... that Thai team was terrible and quit fairly early. Vietnam never quit for a second, and defended quite well. If the US had been truly efficient in front, we're talking 5 or 6 to nil ... at best. Should have been 4 as it was, since Morgan's penalty miss was weak as water. Finish off a couple that hit the frame or missed by inches and it's about right. For my money, that doesn't warrant criticism really.

Plus, remember ... for whatever reason "missed opportunities" is the pre-ordained, pre-written storyline for this US team. You're gonna get a steady diet of that for the next month regardless of outcomes. Again, the English actually had the game the US press is describing. 1-0 over a dreadful Haitian team that routinely gets hammered by the US and Canada in CONCACAF. Where's the pressure on the Lionesses?
 
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