OKOK I know, Americans are not big on soccer BUT IT'S THE WORLD CUP! And America has a BADASS TEAM! Show some support! We all know it's more fun when you get to know the players so take a peek at these badass world class athletes. http://www.buzzfeed.com/shannonrosenberg/meet-the-badass-women-of-the-2015-us-soccer-team#.rw0rkkoGE badass
US women beat Australia 3-1 in their first match. The next match is on Friday versus Sweden. Appointment TV.
I thought the USA should have been more aggressive against Sweden. I loved to see Columbia beat France because no one expected it. I hope the US team learns that lesson when they play Nigeria on Tuesday.
By beating Nigeria tonight (1-0) the US wins group D and moves on to the knockout round. They played a different sort of match tonight starting with a reconfigured front line and some interesting moves by the defense. It was more fun to watch. Next match on the 22nd. I don't think the opponent has been determined yet.
So now we know that the US will play Columbia on the 22nd. The US is ranked #2 and Columbia #28 so you'd guess that there shouldn't be too much trouble putting them away. Remember though that Columbia beat #3 France so don't take them lightly. There are so many permutations of "if this team wins and that team wins then this matchup will occur..." that I haven't tried to figure it too closley. Five matches will have happened before the US-Columbia match and England-Norway also happens on Monday with Japan-Netherlands being the only remaining match happens on Tuesday. Much fun will be had. FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015? - Matches - FIFA.com The FIFA Women's World Ranking - FIFA.com
After a slow start the US sends Columbia home with a 2-0 win. A questionable red card against the Columbian goalie. Two yellow cards against the US could hurt them on Friday when they play China (yummy). China is a better team than Columbia. Their defense is especially good, very disciplined, and so the US will need to play better if they want to move past China It will be interesting to see if the US sticks with the 4-4-2 formation they've been using. I'm hoping they shift to a 4-3-3 formation to try to create more opportunities against the Chinese defense.
Sorry Kizmet, is not "Columbia" it is Colombia. Colombia, Colombian. And it is the same in English and Spanish. :slaphappy:
The key to the next game is going to be in the answer to the question, "Who is going to replace Megan Rapinoe and Lauren Holiday?" Both are out against China because of their yellow cards and there's some hope that their replacements, looking to prove themselves, will spark a lackluster offense. Germany (#1) and France (#3) will beat each other up on Friday just before the US vs. China match. Conventional wisdom says Germany wins and that sets up a Germany vs. USA match assuming a victory against China (not a good assumption). I'm betting Japan over Australia and then Japan over whoever wins the England vs. Canada match (too close for me to call). So that would mean a World Cup final match of US vs. Japan or Germany vs. Japan. I like the Japan vs. USA finals match just because Japan is the reigning World Cup champion and it would be a great win, beating the champs in the finals. Going into the match on Friday the US team will already know the results of the Germany-France match and hopefully that will gear them up to push for a convincing win against China. Appointment TV.
Wow, a very ho-hum win for the US. As usual their defense won the game for them. Or maybe someone slipped some Ambien into the Chinese waterbottles. Next is Germany, the best offense plays the best defense. The other side of the brackets plays tomorrow
Big game tomorrow. USA vs. Germany. http://sports.yahoo.com/news/usa-germany-game-almost-final-morgan-233745190--sow.html
In today's game there was an incident where two players went to simultaneously head a ball and each was on the ground for some time. They were not wearing head protection. Coincidentally there was an article in today's Denver post on anti-concussion headbands and whether they are effective. U.S. Soccer's Ali Krieger wears a concussion headband. But do they work? - The Denver Post Personally I think heading should not be allowed. Anyway congrats to the USA team.
THAT was the game I've been waiting for. Tomorrow is Japan vs. England. I'm going with Japan but at this level an upset is always possible.
I will have to go with England since that is where I'm from. Incidentally when I attended UK high school football (soccer) was a mandatory class during the winter time frame (cricket in the summer).
The US team was overpowering as they stunned Japan in the first quarter of play. It was nice to see the veterans raise the trophy following their last World Cup performance. Since the Red Sox pretty much suck this year there's no real sports to watch. I might have to consider doing some schoolwork.