Fix was in for the French to lose and USA won. Congratulations!!Originally Posted by Freak Out
The fix was in.....and they still won.
Fix was in for the French to lose and USA won. Congratulations!!The fix was in.....and they still won.
Hey Bretsky! I hear all the players are lesbians! Gonna watch?
now if that were true I just might
or if they played a nekkid
LIFE IS ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIPS; I JUST REALIZED THIS. The MILWAUKEE BUCKS have won the same number of championships over the past 50 years as the Green Bay Packers. Ten years from now, who will have more championships, and who will be the fart in the wind ?
woohtah, did you see the same half empty stadium I saw?
Yes Tar I did. Did you see the 88% filled stadium during Japan - Sweden (the semi-final where Germany would have ended up if they beated Japan)? :P 45K people for women's football is not too bad in my opinion.
For those who are interested in team shapes & tactics, and since there's no (American) football around, I wrote a little piece on what I saw during the game. I watched both semi's (first full games of women's soccer I ever watched) and these are my thoughts:
Yes, the French goalie was bad. Let those 2 teams play with equal GK's and the French will win 95 out of 100 times. The US won by good defensive play & a quality injection by the offensive substitutes.
Having said that, I saw a US team that struggled with the French shape. France played in the 4-2-3-1 that's now in vogue in international football while USA played in a 4-4-2 which on the pitch turned more into a 4-4-1-1 with a flat 4 midfield. France clearly opted for the playmaking strategy while USA went for counter play.
The defensive 4 of the US played great (high quality players with exception maybe of the right fullback IMO) but the biggest problem lied in the midfield play. I don't really understand the coach's philosophy here; Boxx & Lloyd were both playing defensive midfielder roles. This means you need a central attacking midfielder or a second creative striker to fill the big gap in the offensive center midfield. Rodriguez nor Wambach filled that role and as a consequence Boxx & Lloyd were constantly outnumbered by the French ladies. Especially Lloyd seemed to have problems with the pace.
Counter play requires a quick transition from defense to offense and the US failed to do so: there was a lot of (frustrating) loss of posession by the 2 CM's and when a ball was played deep to Rodriguez or Wambach it rarely arrived. In theory, the 2 attackers should keep the ball in the team and wait for midfielders to move up, but they didn't do that either; Rodriguez was invisible and Wambach often tried to play the ball one-touch, mostly resulting in loss of posession.
This caused the US in the scarce moments they had the ball, to immediately lose it again and have their midfield & defense under constant pressure. There was seemingly no chance of a quick counter attack untill they scored the 1-2 (I counted 1 counter, where Rampone crossed the field and the header of Wambach sailed by the empty goal). I seriously thought they were done after the 1-1 and couldn't understand why the coach didn't intervene at all.
The changing point in the game were the substitutions of Lloyd & Rodriguez for Rapinoe & Morgan. This gave the US a lot more offensive firepower; Rapinoe (who I liked) was able to beat her (wo)man on the side and Cheney moved to the center were she showed more attacking spirit than Lloyd, filling the big gap in the centre field. After that the momentum shifted and you all know the rest.
Morgan is a better striker than Rodriguez (who didn't impress me at all). Morgan's smart positioning & diagonal runs were a big threat and gave the US the possibility to actually get in dangerous positions.
I'm too lazy to type a review of Japan, but I'll bet they give the US their share of problems. Those girls played really impressive football, clearly had very good coaching and in my opinion are the favorites for the final. However if the US takes better care of the football once they have it, they could create some situations where they can exploit their physical supremacy. I say keep Lloyd on the bench, put Rapinoe in on the left and Morgan in the attack. Put Sauerbrunn on the right fullback & Buehler back in the centre. Should become an interesting final...
Oh yeah; and this:
Last edited by wootah; 07-15-2011 at 03:02 AM.
Amy Rodriguez has scored in 3 of the 4 most recent matches against Japan so I doubt Pia would take her out of the starting 11 now.
USA should be much better rested for this final than they were Wednesday, for obvious reasons. And they'll be back at full strength with Rachel Buehler back on the field. They are hungry. And they are 22-0-3 all time against Japan, the most recent 2 wins coming during a 5 day stretch a mere 2 months ago. For all these reasons, I find it difficult picking Japan as the favorites.
I think Japan can keep it close in the first half, but I don't think they can hold off USA in the final 30 minutes. USA is better conditioned and physically superior to Japan, and Abby Wambach wears the USA jersey. That will pay dividends late in the match, same as it did against Brazil and France. I don't expect this one to be close at the end.
Chuck Norris doesn't cut his grass, he just stares at it and dares it to grow
You know it's a weird game sport when Japan gets into the final! Although, I understand they're outstanding baseball players.
Gunakor, everything I said was based on these 2 semi-finals, so I have no idea if Sweden just sucked against Japan or not. Japan absolutely dominated that game in the Spanish/Barcelona style. USA definately has a physical advantage, but they should take WAY better care of the ball IMO. Nevertheless they will get their chances based on set pieces / length alone.
I disagree with you on the Rodriguez part. Soccer doesn't work that way. In the WC 2007 Hope Solo was removed from the lineup for the semi against Brazil in favor of a goalie with a flawless track record against Brazil. USA lost 4-0 and all the players claimed afterwards they thought the switch was a big mistake. Morgan seemed like the better player, so unless she's unable to perform at a high level for 90 minutes, she should start.
True. Currently the top 5 of sumo wrestlers even consists of 4 non-Japanese fighters!
OK, now, I am shocked!
HOFer
wow, that game had to be one of the worst shooting displays i've ever seen. has anyone seen that many misses/saves in a shootout at a higher level?
big props to japan, they never gave up and looked very disciplined out there
The USA was up a goal with how many minutes left in xtra time? Holy fuck girls just play some D.
C.H.U.D.
Have to agree with JH. Sucks for the USA but that was an impressive show of resilience by Japan.
HOFer
I'd make a joke, but it would be WAYYYYYY too inappropriate.
"Greatness is not an act... but a habit.Greatness is not an act... but a habit." -Greg Jennings
HOFer
you mean ME?????
i take offense to you calling me JH
Yeah, sorry, I meant you.
Ziggy: since when did that become a criteria for self censorship around here?!?
CONGRATS TO JAPAN; this soccer game meant far more to them than the USA.
The Brewers won
Football agreement is nearly there
It was a good day
LIFE IS ABOUT CHAMPIONSHIPS; I JUST REALIZED THIS. The MILWAUKEE BUCKS have won the same number of championships over the past 50 years as the Green Bay Packers. Ten years from now, who will have more championships, and who will be the fart in the wind ?
I wonder. Team USA is still under the shadow of the 1999 team.
Good sportsman ship there Bretskey.
Tar!
Do you think PK are over rated?
What are your thoughts about a return to the golden goal?
No, I am not crying in my Spaten Brau. I am just saying that USA beat Brazil on PK's; but somehow one should play on, no?
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