2015 Women's World Cup

Vinho Tinto · Apr 15, 2015

Titans Bastard said:
Rampone has 304 caps....that's a lot.

The crazy thing is that it's not even the record (Lilly with 352). I understood why the players sued over the field conditions, but this was inevitable once they gave the tournament to Canada.

soxfan121 · Apr 15, 2015

Vinho Tinto said:
The crazy thing is that it's not even the record (Lilly with 352).

Ahmed Hassan of Egypt leads men's NT players...with 184.

Kristine Lilly was a machine. She was active with NT from 1987-2010. Rampone began her NT career in 1997.

swiftaw · Apr 23, 2015

Here's the US home kit for the upcoming world cup, what do you think?

No Red or Blue? White and Gray with Green Socks, weird.

OCST · Apr 23, 2015

dull.

dirtynine · Apr 23, 2015

Disappointing. A WC kit should at least nod to national colors.

SoxFanInCali · Apr 23, 2015

They look like New Zealand with grass-stained socks.

SoxFanInCali · May 30, 2015

I don't know if the US are just taking it easy trying to avoid injuries right before the World Cup starts, but they are looking pretty flat against the South Koreans.

Alex Morgan has been on the bench with her knee wrapped up, so there's no indication of whether she will be ready to go for the start of the tournament.

MentalDisabldLst · May 31, 2015

Alex Morgan was iffy on whether she'd play today, but I don't think there's any doubt she'll play in the actual cup.

Sydney Leroux is a lot of fun to watch, and a great personal story, too. Take a look at this recent Grantland profile of her, which really paints a vivid picture. This one also paints Canadians as something less than the "nice" reputation they've got in most areas - they say worse shit to her than Mario Balotelli has to deal with, it seems. Hard to imagine John Brooks getting that from German fans, for example.

She's a little quirky and super good at her job, so I'm pretty much a fan already.

SoxFanInCali · May 31, 2015

I'm sure Morgan will play in the cup, but there's a big question about her stamina and how many minutes she will be able to go. The coaching staff has already admitted they may have to spend the first few games building her up, which is a bit scary considering they are in the Group of Death.

Leroux is awesome, and is a great Twitter follow. This was how she reacted to all the crap she had been getting from the Canadian fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCxebTCTUEI

And here's the same play, but with the Canadian announcers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQTBKamLM4E

snowmanny · May 31, 2015

"You can have her...That's way too American for me."

Tangled Up In Red · May 31, 2015

Why didn't Rapinoe play yesterday?

steeplechase3k · May 31, 2015

Tangled Up In Red said:
Why didn't Rapinoe play yesterday?

I think I saw that she had a minor injury from practice. Probably would have played in the game mattered.

GraysonGrandeGonads · May 31, 2015

snowmanny said:
"That's way too American for me."

What does that mean, she's skilled? Imagine if a US announcer said that following a Getzlaf goal, for example.

Leroux encompasses all the traits that make the sport and the USWNT fun to watch: skill, teamwork, determination and persistence, passion/love for the game and the game of life, aesthetics.

Very hypocritical (and more than that, just wrong) of that announcer to say she's classless.

JayMags71 · May 31, 2015

Considering how men celebrate every soccer/football goal, that cocktail of sexism and xenophobia (and possibly latent racism) is disgraceful. Those announcers should be ashamed of themselves. I hope we draw Canada in the knockout stage so those assholes can each have an aneurism when she hangs nine on them.

soxfan121 · May 31, 2015

Y'all know there was a brawl, right? If the USWNT and team canada meet up, it will get nasty.

Cellar-Door · May 31, 2015

I kinda like Leroux but I get the Canadian perspective. She's like Rossi is to the MNT but worse. She was born in Canada and lived there until she was 15 played for their youth teams then decided that since the USWNT was better than Canada she'd rather join the dominant team than be on the second best team in the world in her home country.

SoxFanInCali · May 31, 2015

Cellar-Door said:
I kinda like Leroux but I get the Canadian perspective. She's like Rossi is to the MNT but worse. She was born in Canada and lived there until she was 15 played for their youth teams then decided that since the USWNT was better than Canada she'd rather join the dominant team than be on the second best team in the world in her home country.

I completely understand why Canadian fans would be upset, just as US fans were about Rossi, but the US announcers didn't call Rossi classless when he scored twice against the US in the Confederations Cup.

It also seems like Leroux's plan was to try and play for the US all along. Her mom said that she checked to make sure playing for the Canada youth teams wouldn't make her ineligible for the US before she ever accepted a call-up.

Infield Infidel · May 31, 2015

I'm pretty bummed there aren't any games in Toronto or the GTA. Toronto turned down hosting because of the Pan Am Games, which is kind silly since the Pan Am games don't start until July 10. They could have at least had a couple three opening round matches at BMO and still have 3+ weeks to set up the field for rugby. The GTA has 1/5 of Canada's population; to approximate the scale, it would be like hosting the WWC in the US and having no matches in California and Texas.

MentalDisabldLst · May 31, 2015

soxfan121 said:
Y'all know there was a brawl, right? If the USWNT and team canada meet up, it will get nasty.

Wait, what? Link?

Not saying you're wrong, just want to know about it.

luckysox · May 31, 2015

Tangled Up In Red said:
Why didn't Rapinoe play yesterday?

Minor thigh injury. Not having her out wide and Morgan in deep with Wambach makes a HUGE difference in their ability to find flow in the offense. The South Koreans also pulled Holliday back into a defensive role more than she is comfortable with, and it definitely seemed to affect her. Her passes were not crisp, and she wasn't effective at her job distributing the ball. I feel like if Rapino and Morgan can play even half of the first round, chances for scoring will increase exponentially. Their defense is so damned good that they really can afford to attack more. But the possession game slows them down a bit when they are not all on the exact same page. They looked gunky yesterday, off by a bit all over the field. Let's hope health and the calm before the storm gets them looking a bit better next week. There are quite a few youngsters who haven't been in a WC before, and their nerves combined with the enormous pressure Wambach, Rapinoe, Rampone, Lloyd and some other vets put on themselves could be a factor. I hope not. I really, really want to see Wambach and Rampone cement their legacies and pass the torch to the next generation, as Hamm and Foudy and Lilly did to them.

Also, Hope Solo made a freaking stellar save in extra time that had to help her confidence after a somewhat shaky outing against Mexico 2 weeks ago.

pedro1918 · May 31, 2015

soxfan121 said:
Y'all know there was a brawl, right? If the USWNT and team canada meet up, it will get nasty.

Are you thinking of the hockey teams?

luckysox · Jun 1, 2015

I don't remember a brawl...I think they just have a healthy dislike of one another. But I do think the brawl was hockey.

DJnVa · Jun 1, 2015

soxfan121 said:
Y'all know there was a brawl, right? If the USWNT and team canada meet up, it will get nasty.

You know that was hockey, right?

soxfan121 · Jun 1, 2015

DrewDawg said:
You know that was hockey, right?

I do now.

MentalDisabldLst · Jun 1, 2015

A big, flowery, feature story on Hope Solo, done in "Snow Fall" scrolling-multimedia style. Based on all the ESPN coverage of the WWC, I have to assume they have the entirety of the TV rights, huh?

DJnVa · Jun 1, 2015

MentalDisabldLst said:
A big, flowery, feature story on Hope Solo, done in "Snow Fall" scrolling-multimedia style. Based on all the ESPN coverage of the WWC, I have to assume they have the entirety of the TV rights, huh?

Nope, Fox has it in the US.

http://www.foxsports.com/soccer/fifa-womens-world-cup

DJnVa · Jun 5, 2015

SI cover story: http://www.si.com/planet-futbol/2015/06/03/abby-wambach-usa-womens-world-cup-uswnt

That 2011 goal against Brazil was ridiculous.

luckysox · Jun 6, 2015

Canada defeats China 1-0 on a penalty in the last moments of the game. The call was legit once viewed in slow motion, as a Chinese defender got her arm and elbow up around the head and neck of the Canadian player. Christine Sinclair, now 4 goals behind Mia Hamm for 2nd place all time in women's international goals scored, buried the penalty lower left, just inside the post. Impossible to save. That call saved their bacon, as a draw would have felt like a loss to them, and a win to China. Canada will need to play much better to win their group. They just looked off all day, made several questionable decisions, and their best players didn't do much, with the exception of Sinclair. They will need Tancredi and Schmidt to play better if they hope to move on far in the tourney.

Gunfighter 09 · Jun 6, 2015

Perhaps I was just looking for it after listening to Julie Foudy's excellent MiB appearance earlier this week, but it certainly seemed like the defender's reluctance to go down for tackles on the fake turf changed the game.

I think counter attacking in space is going to be more effective than normal just due to defenders wanting to challenge in their feet to avoid getting ripped apart by the field turf.

China certainly deserved a point, they could have had two goals in the first half hour on the silly back pass to the keeper that was intercepted and the excellent free kick where the Canadian keeper made a great fingertip save.

Silverdude2167 · Jun 7, 2015

So does Fox have a web streaming service like Watch ESPN or NBC Sports Live Extra?

Senator Donut · Jun 7, 2015

Silverdude2167 said:
So does Fox have a web streaming service like Watch ESPN or NBC Sports Live Extra?

Yes, Fox Sports Go, but it doesn't have nearly as many providers signed up as the other two services.
http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo/

SidelineCameras · Jun 7, 2015

Don't be deceived by this 3-0 score in the first half of Norway/Thailand. It's not even that close. Norway looks bigger, stronger, better, more disciplined, and better organized.

Senator Donut · Jun 7, 2015

FIFA made a huge mistake expanding this tournament to 24 teams. (I'm sure in the coming weeks we'll find out which federation bribed Blatter for an extra spot.) Thailand doesn't belong on the field with most of the other teams. They lost 7-0 and 4-0 to China and South Korea respectively in their qualifying group. They took care of business against Myanmar and won a playoff against Vietnam to qualify. The extra AFC spot would have likely belonged to North Korea, if they hadn't been banned.

Silverdude2167 · Jun 7, 2015

Domer said:
Yes, Fox Sports Go, but it doesn't have nearly as many providers signed up as the other two services.
http://www.foxsports.com/foxsportsgo/

Thanks.

soxfan121 · Jun 7, 2015

Germany up 5-0 at the half over Ivory Coast.

Cellar-Door · Jun 7, 2015

The Women's cup first round is so awful. They should have balanced the bids differently. Africa in particular has no good teams, they should have had 1 guaranteed spot, and 2 play-ins against other confederations.

SoxFanInCali · Jun 7, 2015

7-0 and there's still 20 minutes left.

Germany is good, and also got an insanely easy draw.

SoxFanInCali · Jun 7, 2015

9-0, on a shot directly at the keeper that she couldn't stop.

Schnerres · Jun 7, 2015

...and the 10th is a low free-kick into the keepers corner.

Should have been 11, as this was a wrong offside call, but who cares anyways.
Obviously way too many teams in the WC.

Infield Infidel · Jun 7, 2015

It's annoying that the WWC (& Euro) jumped from 16 to 24 when 20 is pretty easy to do.

5 groups of 4
Group winners + top 2nd place team go to quarters
other four 2nd place teams playoff for last 2 quarterfinal spots.

SocrManiac · Jun 7, 2015

If the Germans were remotely clinical in the first half it could have been 13 or more.

Still a better performance than Brazil in the semis last year in front of their home crowd.

Zing?

Senator Donut · Jun 7, 2015

Also, it's completely asinine that goal differential is the primary tiebreaker in this tournament, considering the relative strength of teams involved.

Gunfighter 09 · Jun 7, 2015

Cellar-Door said:
The Women's cup first round is so awful. They should have balanced the bids differently. Africa in particular has no good teams, they should have had 1 guaranteed spot, and 2 play-ins against other confederations.

Considering development $ is supposed to be split 50/50 between men's & women's programs, I hope the (presumed) kleptocrats running the Ivory Coast FA are appropriately shamed for putting their country women out there like this.

MiracleOfO2704 · Jun 7, 2015

Infield Infidel said:
I'm pretty bummed there aren't any games in Toronto or the GTA. Toronto turned down hosting because of the Pan Am Games, which is kind silly since the Pan Am games don't start until July 10. They could have at least had a couple three opening round matches at BMO and still have 3+ weeks to set up the field for rugby. The GTA has 1/5 of Canada's population; to approximate the scale, it would be like hosting the WWC in the US and having no matches in California and Texas.

I'd imagine the motivation there is to keep GTA, OPP, and local RCMP detachments from basically doing 2 straight months of overtime. It's BS, since Hamilton could have hosted a couple matches (I think they hosted a Canada-England warm-up match just a few days ago) and Toronto only has a couple stadia at their disposal, but c'est la vie.

MentalDisabldLst · Jun 7, 2015

Rob Ford spent the bribe money on coke.

Senator Donut · Jun 8, 2015

So Toronto is willing to host Gold Cup matches during the Pan Am Games, but not World Cup matches before?

DJnVa · Jun 8, 2015

Domer said:
Also, it's completely asinine that goal differential is the primary tiebreaker in this tournament, considering the relative strength of teams involved.

Yeah, even the sand soccer tourney my kid played in knows that if you want to use GD, you need to cap it.

Are we doing a game thread for all of our jingoistic posts today for the USA!!!! game?

DLew On Roids · Jun 8, 2015

Cellar-Door said:
The Women's cup first round is so awful. They should have balanced the bids differently. Africa in particular has no good teams, they should have had 1 guaranteed spot, and 2 play-ins against other confederations.

This, along with four of six third-place teams moving on, is why anyone saying that the USA is in a Group of Death is an idiot. If they can't advance they deserve to walk home.

Cellar-Door · Jun 8, 2015

DLew On Roids said:
This, along with four of six third-place teams moving on, is why anyone saying that the USA is in a Group of Death is an idiot. If they can't advance they deserve to walk home.

They'll advance, but it's a ridiculously unbalanced group compared to the rest. It has 2 top 5 teams, a top 10 team and the best team in Africa.

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