Mens plus Olympics, they would have to compete for that sweet sweet American ad revenue. Also, the top women play soccer in the Olympics.
1 Like
WCWC 2026!
NWSL needs a boost in their rankings, as last I checked the top team was a middling 20th or so.
Last one I saw was as of two years ago. And no one is doing this now? I guess cuz women.
And that there is very little interaction outside one’s own continent.
Alright, dust off those old unused stadiums, Brazil! You win the WWC 2027!
Qatar in 2031?
New coach, finally takes the wheel!
I believe that pic is from the top of 30 Rock!
I think the first issue she’ll have is some players think they deserve to be on the team even though their skills are below others.
Second one is that some of these kids these days don’t want to gel as a team who care about each other. Just a holiday off from their real jobs.
Finding players that play well together will be the challenge. Most of the player pool (30-40 players) are good enough to be on any National Team in the world. Which ones want to be there to play for the USWNT and will do what it takes to stay on the team?
DNA won’t change, says Hayes:
I think the sense of entitlement (“I’ve been on the team for 15 years! How dare you cut me!”) needs to change.
The sense of, “I have to be on the team so I get a share of the Men’s winnings.”
And all that just might change the DNA, back to where it was in 1999 or so. That will be hard to do, since many of the top players get more of their earnings away from the USWNT.
More than anything, the USWNT players need to play more matches against the best players in the world, and that won’t happen in the NWSL with its salary caps and drafts and socialistic (in soccer world only) owners.
Hayes partly defined that DNA as “the attitude towards performance and the expectation to give it everything you’ve got … managing pressure at the biggest stage, managing the badge on this jersey.”
The current attitude seems to be NOT these things, as shown in WWC 2023.
DNA = “Did Not Advance”??
You better change that aspect!
Meanwhile, “DNA” was used on the broadcast over 100 times (by my count – I might have skipped some numbers).
Yes, need more creative and more-creative players. Some have been lacksy-daisy-cal about being creative.
Would be nice to schedule some tougher friendlies. SK is no match.
Ladies playing again tonight. Probably a bunch of new players seeing if they fit with the established stars (Smith, Girma, Horan, etc.) better than current choices.
They conveniently scheduled the game for after my son’s playoff game, that was nice of them.
Um, DVR. Been around for 24 years. VHS has been around even longer.
And nowadays, streaming services “save” shows and events in your “library” should you request it.
And this will be on MAX, so assuming you have MAX, you can watch it anytime.
No, you do NOT have to watch it live. It is a choice to do so, and not the optimal one (IMO).
Also, only a friendly. Not much to see, except that Emma Hayes is scoring goals and winning matches, according to the announcers, who suck.
Lily gets her first CAP, then scores!
Would the crowd be allowed to sing the Ringo hit “You’re Sixteen” song to her? Or as creepy as it has always been?
Sophia scores a 3-degree (my estimate) shot from near the goal line.
Crystal scores.
Team has a ton of top-level forwards. If some want to be on the team, they will have to play out of position, assuming they are better than the alternative.
Hayes must have loved the weather. Thanks, Minnesota!
So, picking a limited number of players from a 50-deep WWC-level pool will be tough. Making sure they can play as a team is of utmost importance, since they all have their day jobs doing specific duties that might differ from what Hayes wants.
So, wondering why this was a bad thing to say:
On Tuesday, under a steady rain at Allianz Field that reminded the British coach of home, Hayes implored her team to finish off a South Korea team that rarely threatened the Americans but trailed by only one goal at that point.
“‘I want you to put your pedal to the metal,’” Hayes recalled telling the team. “And [assistant coach Denise Reddy] said to me, ‘Don’t you ever say that again!’”
This is a friendly, and these players need to show their brand new coach what they are capable of. Worry about winning strategy when it counts. Also, don’t play down to your opponent. You have to practice playing up against stronger opponents, especially when they are not available to be scheduled.
Local Soccer reporter/columnist’s take, not much that hasn’t been said. He is also now the hockey reporter.
Do note that the LA Times has modernized: no longer do you get sports scores from games that end at, say, 10PM Pacific and an edition on your doorstep at 6AM. No, they’ve improved to not reporting scores of games finishing after 6PM! You get the report a day late, written by a wire service, cuz that’s what modernizing means. Arrives maybe at 8AM.
You’ll notice that this report does not mention last night’s score.
The online report of the game itself:
(AP wire services.)
That was the first game I’ve watched in awhile, and was impressed.
This is going to be one of the most difficult and interesting roster selections for the US WWC ever. They have huge pool of good players, and picking the right pieces to work together is key. This team can’t coast to victory based on individual talent alone as they often did in past WC, as the quality of players in many countries has caught up.
1 Like
How bogus is this?
tl;dr: Music Fest organizers announced today that they will hold their Music Fest in September where the Red Stars play, and the Red Stars already have a game during that three-day period.
Seems like a shitty contract to sign that allows the owners of the stadium, The Village of Bridgeview, and/or the operators, Oak View Group, to effectively cancel the already-scheduled soccer game.
Soldier Field is possibly available, as neither the Bears nor the Fire are in town. Let’s see if they can break the NWSL club record for attendance again.
1 Like
USWNT drops another spot in World Rankings.
I assume this is due to some older results being deleted from the ranking process.
Still, get angry, ladies!
Just win the Olympics and that will help!
1 Like
What kind of rinky-dink league is this? Just let them appeal and deny it. It was a second yellow for delay of game, and even though she is THE Sophia Smith, she cannot do that.
But, no, the league felt the need to pile on, double the match ban and double the fine, for a frivolous appeal. Yes, your valuable time was wasted. Just say “appeal denied, as all the facts are here.” And move on with your worthless lives.
Cat Macario out of Olympics.
Less than two weeks until Olympic soccer starts. More interested in the women’s matches than men’s. Canada will certainly not successfully defend its Olympic gold though: too many off-pitch distractions as well as not enough talent.