Women's Soccer

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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After a poor first effort, Russo nets one with…a back heel nutmeg?!?!?

 

67YAZ

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England blows apart Sweden 4-0. Extremely impressive. Wiegman has this squad flying. Phil who?
 

67YAZ

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Germany just pulled ahead of France, 2-1. Just under 10 minutes to go...

Edit: Germany holds on. The final will feature the tournaments co-lead scoring leaders, Mead & Popp, with everything on the line. Should be a good match on Sunday.

Another disappointment for France. They are the most talented side in Europe, easily, yet they continually hamstring themselves with internal clashes and Diacre's questionable management. I doubt they will, but replacing Diacre with a proven winner could be the kind of quick refresh this squad needs before the World Cup.
 
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DamageTrain

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Has been a great tournament to watch.

Germany's defense seems really tough to crack. France's only goal came from a shot at distance. While it was an excellent shot, there was some luck involved with the ricochet off the keeper. What's impressive for Germany is that this was the only goal that they have allowed this entire tournament. For most of the game the German defense kept France out of too many dangerous positions.

England has an amazing offense but looked vulnerable and a bit slow against Spain and the final score vs. Sweden was exaggerated by some very shaky keeper play by the Swedish veteran.

Based on this I've got to think Germany is the favorite in the final despite home-field advantage for the hosts. I don't enjoy watching the German team the most, but they seem the most effective.
 

67YAZ

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England are the rightful favorites coming into the final.

while both squads have only allowed 1 goal apiece, England has outscored Germany 20-13. And England are getting goals from more sources as 6 of Germany’s goals have come from Popp. Plus, England have a more dynamic bench to draw from - specifically, Russo is a match changer.

England did struggle without the ball against Spain. But in this tournament, Spain averaged 64% possession compared to Germany’s 53%. England clocks it at 58% even after chasing Spain around for a match. I don’t think Germany can switch up their style and hold more of the ball than England. My guess is that Germany will will look to use their athleticism and direct style to hit on the counter. That’s not going to unsettle England - they just have to be smart, patient, and reactive to counters.

The biggest trump card for England is Wiegman. She did great work with the Netherlands and is proving that was no one-off. She has this England squad absolutely humming along. No doubt, Wiegman is going to come into the final with a great plan and players prepped to execute it. Wiegman is one of the best managers in the world right now (mens or womens game).
 
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DamageTrain

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That was a pretty entertaining half of football. well at least the last 35 minutes that I saw. England’s midfield was dominating early, but Germany made it a lot more even during the second half of the half.

The ref is under a lot of pressure here. Performing reasonably well I think.
 

67YAZ

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Intense half. England had the best opportunity, but the Germans have to be the happier side at the half - no Popp, but they still had the majority of the ball and their athleticism seemed to trouble England.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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The through ball and the chip were sublime. Fuck England but it’s tough to not appreciate the beauty there.

I think this is far from over though
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Jun 15, 2002
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Weird “game’s gone” reaction to that foul I’m my opinion.

did get the ball first, but went over it and had that scissor action.
 

Dummy Hoy

Angry Pissbum
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Jul 22, 2006
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At least one England team with a home field advantage and the far easier road to the final can finish the job.

Lot of credit for how they killed the game off. Germany had nothing after the goal aside from an initial skirmish.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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The second-place award is a humiliation that should be done away with. I don’t blame the Germans for being gutted, that was a 120 minute toe to toe slugfest and they looked like better value for the win after their goal, for a time. They didn’t quite have the composure down the stretch; home field probably made the difference.
 

67YAZ

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The second-place award is a humiliation that should be done away with. I don’t blame the Germans for being gutted, that was a 120 minute toe to toe slugfest and they looked like better value for the win after their goal, for a time. They didn’t quite have the composure down the stretch; home field probably made the difference.
Considering that Popp walked off during the warm up, the German performance is all the more remarkable.

England are missing the creative midfielder who can routinely break the press, like Rose Lavelle does for the US. Lucy Bronze used to be a reliable press-breaker with her dribbling, but I can’t tell if she’s still recovering from her knee injury or this is her new normal. She lacks the explosion and freak agility that made her electric.

England’s ascension under Wiegman makes this World Cup all the more intriguing. Let’s all hope for no more major injuries and that we get Macario, Putellas, Hermoso, and the the other stars back up to speed.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
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Jan 10, 2004
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England are missing the creative midfielder who can routinely break the press, like Rose Lavelle does for the US.
Yep; their goals were from a beautiful ball over the top that was just onside, and a corner.
 

67YAZ

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One of the NWSL’s big sponsors, a crypto business called Voyager, entered chapter 11. The league got the cash part of the deal up front, so that’s fine. But another piece of the relationship was giving players funds to invest on Voyager’s crypto platform. That money looks to be lost.

 

67YAZ

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Women’s Balon d’Or candidates announced today. Three Americans make the cut: Alex Morgan, Cat Macario, and Trinity Rodman. Have to say Rodman is a delightful surprise. She’s got a massive future.

Putellas is the betting favorite, but the ACL injury keeping her out of the Euros probably cracks open the door. The problem is that none of the players who had massive club seasons (Kerr, Miedema, Hansen) had equally great national team performances, and the players who excelled for country (Mead, Popp) were a cut below for club.

Putellas should win again this year, but we’ll 2023 will be wide open with the World Cup acting as the kicker.

 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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US U20 face a must-win match Wednesday vs Japan in the U20 World Cup. The US lost 2-0 to Netherlands yesterday to put them in a tough spot where they need (I think) a 2 goal victory to advance (or hope Ghana upsets Netherlands).

Japan is 2-0 so far.
 

InstaFace

The Ultimate One
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Sep 27, 2016
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American Outlaws has some tickets available for USWNT vs England at Wembley on Fri 10/7, if anyone is looking.

The full 90k+ stadium sold out in a few hours when tickets went on sale.
 

67YAZ

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England legend Ellen White announces her retirement at age 33. I think everyone would have loved to see her at the World Cup, though her slowing form (4 goals & 4 assist in 22 WSL matches for City last season) means she was no lock for the squad. Glad that she got to decide when to call it quits and goes out a Euros champion. I expect she’ll now become the face of the campaign to expand women’s football at the youth levels in Britain.

 

67YAZ

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The WSL kicks off on Saturday, but the news today is that Barca are sending a world record fee to City for Keira Walsh - £350k. An impressive investment by Barca, who will be without the world’s best player, Putellas, for this season due to ACL tears suffered at the Euros. Barca added Lucy Bronze earlier in the summer, so they are going full throttle by adding England’s best.

For City, this clearly indicates a rebuilding/transition season ahead. They have brought in some good players this window, but lost White to retirement and both Bronze and Walsh to Barca.

Arsenal did their most important work early in summer by retaining Meidema, who was widely predicted to head to Barca. They took the title race to the last game day in the spring, but it’s not clear that they have improved the squad over this window.

Which means a Chelsea are heavy favorites for a 4th consecutive league title. They fortified every part of the pitch and held on to all their stars this summer. Success will be measured by winning the league-UCL double. I hope Boehly maintains this level of investment in the women’s team.

Finally, Liverpool are back after winning the Championship by 11 points! They did necessary transfer work by adding players in all position groups except striker. They have some nice scoring options and should have enough talent plus coaching to easily stay up…but a winter transfer for a proven WSL goal scorer might be necessary. But for Reds fans, it just great to see the club putting some resources into the squad and building a legit WSL team.
 
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67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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The NWSL season is heading down the home stretch with most teams having 3 or 4 matches to play. It’s tight - the top 5 are separated by 2 points right now, and there’s 2 clubs within 3 points of the final playoff spot (6th place).

Anyway, all that was an excuse to post this Mal Pugh beauty.

 

SoxFanInCali

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Liverpool marked their return to the top flight by knocking off defending WSL champs Chelsea 2-1. All 3 goals came from the spot.
 

67YAZ

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Liverpool marked their return to the top flight by knocking off defending WSL champs Chelsea 2-1. All 3 goals came from the spot.
Game reports & some Twitter outrage make it seem the Reds benefitted from some pretty bad ref mistakes.

If only the WSL had VAR…

But Liverpool will take it! A great welcome back to the top flight.
 

67YAZ

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Arsenal’s 4-0 beat down of Spurs in the North London Derby aet the WSL attendance record with over 47k jamming into the Emirates.

Following up on the Spanish national team - the FA has threatened to ban players who refuse the call up for 2-5 years and are backing the manager. Vilda has been in place for 7 years and over it years, players have complained internally and publicly about his lack of match planning and rudimentary training. The players are walking a fine line - they are standing up for themselves and demanding what they deserve while also not disrespecting the national team or alienating the public. I applaud them for standing up for this and hope the Spanish FA get their head out of their asses.
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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The NWSL season wrapped today with Chicago snagging the last playoff spot and OL Reign taking the league shield.

Now the women’s international window opens up for 2 weeks and the playoffs kick off on Oct 16. Here’s the schedule:


Playoff matchups
  • Oct. 16 - No. 5 Kansas City Current at No. 4 Houston Dash, 5 p.m. ET, Paramount+
  • Oct. 16 - No. 6 Chicago Red Stars at No. 3 San Diego Wave, 10 p.m., CBS Sports Network
  • Oct. 23 - Red Stars/Wave winner at No. 2 Portland Thorns, 5 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network
  • Oct. 23 - Current/Dash winner at No. 1 OL Reign, 7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network
  • Oct. 29 - NWSL Championship, 8 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+
 

67YAZ

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Dec 1, 2000
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The NWSL published the results of an independent investigation led by Sally Yates into the history of sexual harassment and abuse in the league. (A summary here.) Hopefully, the public band-aid pull allows the festering wound to heal, especially if the league and women's soccer at all levels heed the recommendations.

It appears that the Portland, Chicago, and Lousiville organizations impeded, or at the very least stalled Yates' investigation. The hammer needs to come down hard. Being forced to sell is the right move, though I'm not sure if it is legally simple.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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It's probably also complicated in a sport that has struggled somewhat financially. But it's absolutely the right thing to do.

Yates is a boss, BTW.