Great points Grant. Mallory played really well even though she was not awarded that goal ( very iffy call, I thought). Also, Hatch was good just unlucky. No need for me to repeat about how good smith is. And Midge Purce is great as well. She created chaos and multiple scoring opportunities for herself and others. She has pace and strength. No one takes the ball from her. Sanchez showed up more today but only after she forced the team to use her correctly. Good work by Mewis ( she always does good work). And a confident penalty shot. I still think Horan is off her game a bit. All the defenders were good if unchallenged . And “ the kid” ( the 6’1” person) would be the talk of the town if she had put that left footed screamer on frame. Congrats to Trinity on a fine goal from an unfamiliar spot. A good day, overall. But it is sad the women Euros draw 68,000 ( England v Austria ) and Concacaf draws 800.
Agree on all three of the players you highlighted. Girma was great with her steady presence in the back and outstanding distribution. Your podcast guest, Gwendolyn Oxenham, wrote a feature article on Girma a week ago, such a fascinating story.
Smith had her breakout performance for the national team, an exuberant goal scorer with evasive speed to beat defenders on the dribble and make darting runs in behind. Her future is like a sunrise: extravagantly bright and full of promise.
Lastly, Huerta had two magnificent assists and is so good at getting involved in the attack at that RB slot.
Andonovski has his work cut for him in the coming year, but in a positive way, with an abundance of talented players making a case for themselves to be on the “plane to Australia/New Zealand.”
A great victory for the U.S., putting to rest pretty much any concerns after the Haiti performance. You have to wonder if either (1) Jamaica hadn't fully recovered from their first game, or (2) they were conserving some energy for their third match. For them, likely any result vs. Haiti qualifies them for the World Cup.
I agreed with Grant and the commenters on who played well. But the team did not play well. They lacked cohesion defensively. If we had a quality central defensive midfielder, we would be writing how we can't say evaluate Girma because she wasn't tested. (Horan is out of place at the 6, the position is a waste of her skills.) The team lacked cohesion going forward. They didn't seem to have plan on how to attack, how to break down Jamaica. I am watching the Euros. The european teams are passing better, significantly better, that what I am seeing from USWNT. The passes are weighted properly, more accurate, and their teammates know where to go to receive the pass. England, Germany, Norway, Austria look better than USWNT. I don't think USWNT would make it out of the group stage at the Euros. With the skills of the USWNT, they should not be looking this sloppy. My preliminary ideas for why this might be is that either the coach isn't up to the task of creating unified play or there is a serious issue of player chemistry. (I recall watching the USWNT at the She Believes Cup in 2017, it was a struggled but I could see them trying to play the way Ellis wanted them to play. I can't see that at all this tournament.)
“I don't think USWNT would make it out of the group stage at the Euros.”
We’ll see. Don’t forget only Sweden kept the Olympic final from being Canada-US. And that game was *last summer*. Lots of new pieces being fit into this US team right now.
If by “lots of new pieces” you mean lots of new players, yes indeed. I think Vlatko is smart to bring in new players.
I hope I am wrong. I hope the team wins the final and we see organized defense and a plan of attack in the semifinal and final.
DIdn’t Canada win the Olympic semifinal over the USWNT? I went to check, Sweden beat Australia in the other semifinal. The Netherlands were the only other European team at the Olympics. The USWNT beat them. Netherlands were not good at the Olympics. (The NL vs Sweden game yesterday was two different halves. Ending 1-1 tie.)
Is it possible this team is even deeper that it has been over the years? Huerta vs O’Hara? Girma & Cook vs Sauerbrunn & Dahlkemper? Pugh & Smith replacing Rapinoe & Press / Heath? Even Alyssa Naeher even has competition, and all she’s done is win a World Cup, which is something no other active player has done. And that’s not to mention Rodman and Ashley Sanchez. They’re LOADED.
Yes, it’s CONCACAF’s second tier, and no, they haven’t been playing the European teams or even Canada (yet). But still, as Pete Towshend wrote, “the kids are alright”.
Great points Grant. Mallory played really well even though she was not awarded that goal ( very iffy call, I thought). Also, Hatch was good just unlucky. No need for me to repeat about how good smith is. And Midge Purce is great as well. She created chaos and multiple scoring opportunities for herself and others. She has pace and strength. No one takes the ball from her. Sanchez showed up more today but only after she forced the team to use her correctly. Good work by Mewis ( she always does good work). And a confident penalty shot. I still think Horan is off her game a bit. All the defenders were good if unchallenged . And “ the kid” ( the 6’1” person) would be the talk of the town if she had put that left footed screamer on frame. Congrats to Trinity on a fine goal from an unfamiliar spot. A good day, overall. But it is sad the women Euros draw 68,000 ( England v Austria ) and Concacaf draws 800.
Agree on all three of the players you highlighted. Girma was great with her steady presence in the back and outstanding distribution. Your podcast guest, Gwendolyn Oxenham, wrote a feature article on Girma a week ago, such a fascinating story.
Smith had her breakout performance for the national team, an exuberant goal scorer with evasive speed to beat defenders on the dribble and make darting runs in behind. Her future is like a sunrise: extravagantly bright and full of promise.
Lastly, Huerta had two magnificent assists and is so good at getting involved in the attack at that RB slot.
Andonovski has his work cut for him in the coming year, but in a positive way, with an abundance of talented players making a case for themselves to be on the “plane to Australia/New Zealand.”
A great victory for the U.S., putting to rest pretty much any concerns after the Haiti performance. You have to wonder if either (1) Jamaica hadn't fully recovered from their first game, or (2) they were conserving some energy for their third match. For them, likely any result vs. Haiti qualifies them for the World Cup.
Haiti vs Jamaica decides second place. So the conservation is plausible and that should be a pretty decent game.
I bet you never thought you'd write "accepting the Presidential Medal of Freedom" as the reason for a team absence. 😁
I agreed with Grant and the commenters on who played well. But the team did not play well. They lacked cohesion defensively. If we had a quality central defensive midfielder, we would be writing how we can't say evaluate Girma because she wasn't tested. (Horan is out of place at the 6, the position is a waste of her skills.) The team lacked cohesion going forward. They didn't seem to have plan on how to attack, how to break down Jamaica. I am watching the Euros. The european teams are passing better, significantly better, that what I am seeing from USWNT. The passes are weighted properly, more accurate, and their teammates know where to go to receive the pass. England, Germany, Norway, Austria look better than USWNT. I don't think USWNT would make it out of the group stage at the Euros. With the skills of the USWNT, they should not be looking this sloppy. My preliminary ideas for why this might be is that either the coach isn't up to the task of creating unified play or there is a serious issue of player chemistry. (I recall watching the USWNT at the She Believes Cup in 2017, it was a struggled but I could see them trying to play the way Ellis wanted them to play. I can't see that at all this tournament.)
“I don't think USWNT would make it out of the group stage at the Euros.”
We’ll see. Don’t forget only Sweden kept the Olympic final from being Canada-US. And that game was *last summer*. Lots of new pieces being fit into this US team right now.
If by “lots of new pieces” you mean lots of new players, yes indeed. I think Vlatko is smart to bring in new players.
I hope I am wrong. I hope the team wins the final and we see organized defense and a plan of attack in the semifinal and final.
DIdn’t Canada win the Olympic semifinal over the USWNT? I went to check, Sweden beat Australia in the other semifinal. The Netherlands were the only other European team at the Olympics. The USWNT beat them. Netherlands were not good at the Olympics. (The NL vs Sweden game yesterday was two different halves. Ending 1-1 tie.)
Is it possible this team is even deeper that it has been over the years? Huerta vs O’Hara? Girma & Cook vs Sauerbrunn & Dahlkemper? Pugh & Smith replacing Rapinoe & Press / Heath? Even Alyssa Naeher even has competition, and all she’s done is win a World Cup, which is something no other active player has done. And that’s not to mention Rodman and Ashley Sanchez. They’re LOADED.
Yes, it’s CONCACAF’s second tier, and no, they haven’t been playing the European teams or even Canada (yet). But still, as Pete Towshend wrote, “the kids are alright”.