SC Soccer Forums SCSoccer.com Forums College, Pro & International Soccer What a soccer game !

Goal in the first few minutes and one in the final minutes and then the shootout.

I personally hate shootouts but what a dramatic ending

Wambach is a beast

Amen!

that was insane, 55 minutes playing with 10, bad calls, sh1t ref, any other team would have buckled.
we can't lose to france..ever, in anything, & i want to beat the swedes in the revenge to win the cup.

marta is a beast tho, she should be playing with the boys.

I also enjoyed the "schadenfruede smile" on the face of Birgit Prinz after the Germans exited the tournament.

i watched that game, but missed that shot of her.
i was thinking that i know one german who is happy with the loss, ha.

Very quick shot of her shaking hands with a Japanese opponent at the end of the match. She was the only German player that managed a hint of a smile. To anyone not familiar with the circumstances, you would draw the conclusion that she was simply "gracious in defeat".

uh ya, we all enjoyed how brazil took the dive to slow it up at the end.
as much as the american girls & others have worked their butts off to try to legitmize this sport over the past 20 yrs, teams like brazil set the sport back decades.
my italian friends tell me its part of the sport, but i know better. fifa is a joke for allowing the mens melodramatics to invade the womens game.

Y'know, whenever a player has to be stretchered off the field, and then immediately jumps off the stretcher and literally runs off, it does somewhat damage the credibility, doesn't it? I mean, c'mon...even a 9-year-old who gets thrown out at second base knows enough to at least come up limping!

Two of the post-game quotes that resounded the most with me:

Pia Sundhage:"It is contagious- the great attitude, they bring out the best performance in each other."

Tony DiCicco:"The U.S. never quit. They ran themselves into the ground... and what often doesn't happen, happened - they were rewarded."

Also loved how wonderfully complimentary Bri Scurry was of Hope Solo after the game, and how genuinely happy she was for her. Bri Scurry = a class act.

Definitely a storybook ending and a triumph of the spirit...many teams would have given up and simply imploded from frustration; this team pulled together and fought to the last possible minute, and that's what won the day. Couldn't write a better script indeed--many's the movie that's followed that same pattern; nice to see it play out in reality!

Amazing what a difference a single goal, "at the death," makes to our thoughts about the game.
Until then, for two highly-regarded teams, it really was a bit of a stinker. Our first goal was tainted -- an "own" goal. Their first goal was more than just tainted -- it stank on several levels. And their second goal was arguably offside -- although Shannon Boxx is really far too experienced a player to stop playing BEFORE the presumed offside whistle (that never came).
As a commentary, the German fans took OUR side, booing and whistling the 5-time POY, Marta, and her teammates, for their antics, along with an officiating crew that brought back memories of Mr. Koulibaly in South Africa.
All of which went by the boards with a single, masterful service, a textbook finish, and a round of PKs.
Yes, it was a triumph of "the spirit" and the Americans' "never say die attitude." If anything like that level can be maintained in the semis, the anticipated rematch with Sweden could end up being a genuine showcase for the women's game and soccer in general.

Those quotes resounded with me too. I was also amazed at the level of fitness of the US women. That's the picture players need to have in their head as they are about to drop during fitness drills. These women have pushed themselves hard for so long. They ran Brazil into the ground and did it with one less player.

like most americans, i'm not a fan of international soccer for obvious reasons.
listen to the tommy smyth interview on espn, some knowitall limey who discounts american soccer knowledge.
http://espn.go.com/sports/soccer/worldcup2011/

he said we got a huge break in that game when the ref did a do over on our first pk...its funny that the brazilian goalie jumped off the line every kick after that w/o a warning...if we had missed , we're out of luck, it was so blatent, yet the biased ref just let it go. i would have warned the goalie, look, you come off the line again & your redcarded ass will be enjoying the bench & a fullback will be playing goal.
another thing he said was the ref got it right on christianes pk, it was encroachment by one of the americans, really? then why did hope get the yellow?..& oh btw, isn't the rule in soccer that if the infraction didn't interfere or advance the play, no penalty will be called.
see that all the time with handballs & offsides...
& then the limey knowitall condesending bastid said, well, theres really nothing we can do about players flopping & jumping off the stretcher to get back into the game,... wow, really dumbass? how about a 15 minute medical observation to make sure said player is ok before returning.
imho, old school international soccer needs a kick in the ass from good old american ingenuity & ideas who don't settle for the stale status quo. give me a break.

international soccer reminds me of the curent state of boxing, a joke owned by unscrupulous neanderthals happy with the status quo & money.
btw, the espn office injury commercial got it right, dead on.
the deck is stacked against our girls, just watch.

Sandman,

The referee got it right on the kicks from the mark. Per FIFA rules, an infringement by the defensive team is not called if the goal is scored. On the first kick, the keeper came off her line prior to the kick and the goal was NOT scored...per the rules, the kick was retaken. On every kick after that, the keeper did come off her line again, BUT--the goal was scored on the first attempt every time nonetheless. Therefore, there was, correctly, no call.

Now, I was just as upset about Brazil's in-my-opinion-undeserved and retaken penalty kick as anyone. If there was infringement into the penalty box prior to the kick, though...and the video seemed to show there was...then the correct response according to the rules was to retake the kick if it did not score. The "if the infraction didn't interfere or advance the play" rule you are referring to is for the offside rule. Also, on other fouls, the referee will play "advantage"--the foul is not called if the victim's team has greater advantage from the continuation of play than with a stoppage and free kick--for example, a player is tripped, but immediately regains footing for a breakaway toward goal. Calling the foul would take away the obvious advantage the player had despite being fouled. The rule on penalty kicks is pretty clear-cut...you don't step into the box before the kick is taken.

From watching the game and replays, my theory is that the infringement was called on the encroaching field player, not on Hope. It is the AR's job to monitor infringements by the goalkeeper; her flag never went up. The referee's responsibility is to monitor infringements by players OTHER than the goalkeeper, particularly encroachment into the box prior to the kick. The call seemed to come entirely from her. As for the yellow card, the FIFA rules for a penalty kick do not mention a caution for a goalkeeper who steps off her line early. I wasn't there and this is speculation, but with all of the animated and obviously emotional reaction to the decision to retake the kick, the yellow card could well have been for something Hope SAID rather than what she DID.

Now, was the overall officiating, especially the missed offside call that led to the Brazilian goal to tie, pretty questionable? In my opinion, yes--but let's give them credit for what they got right so that we remain credible when we point out what they got wrong.

As for the flopping...I am in total agreement.

appreciate the insight & rules coach.
but..i have no faith that the anti american ref would have called a do over on our miss, why wouldn't the ref warn the goalie about being so far offline to mitigate any possible controversy?
no one will ever know the christianne call, hope doesn't even know, its all a big state soccer secret, which is why international soccer suks ass.
with 5+ cameras & the fast play on the pitch, there should be an official in front of the monitor, suggesting to the field refs that a review might be in order..
its too bad the fans have more info than the refs from the jumbrotron....wise up, this ain't rocket science.

hey coach, i've watched the red card with marta in the box from many different angles, any insight?

Actually, it's not her job to warn the keeper; if she infringes, the penalty is that the kick, if saved, is taken over--just like what happened to us. If she keeps doing it, the kicks just keep getting taken over until one hits the back of the net. The rule actually states that no action is taken by the referee on a defensive infringement if the goal is scored. She did grant the re-kick on the one shot we missed; I guess my optimistic faith in the better side of human nature wants to believe she would have done it again if there had been need, but since our kickers were perfect from there out there's no way to test the theory.

As for the red card...bogus call, possibly caused by a bad angle that made it look like something it wasn't. As you said--if referees in soccer used instant replay to review significant calls like that, it wouldn't have happened. The argument against it is that stopping for replay would destroy the flow of the game...unlike football, which has a natural stoppage after every play that's a prime opportunity for review. The argument for, of course, is that on calls like that--where game-changing events can happen and there IS a stoppage anyway--it could eliminate a lot of bad game-changing calls.

For the card itself...the rules state that "Denying an obvious goalscoring opportunity to an opponent moving towards the player’s goal by an offence punishable by a free kick or a penalty kick" is a red-card offense. So, as the announcers also admitted...once she had called the foul itself, she pretty much had to show the card. Sad, bad call, but on the bright side, it turned a fairly sloppy up to that point performance into a hardcore team effort, so maybe she actually did us a favor, just like the obvious flopping by the Brazilians resulted in the added time we used to get in the miracle goal!

Unbelievable match. Jacked for tomorrow vs France

Me, too.

I fully expect France to play with a lot more discipline than we saw from Brazil. France is a team on the "up" in women's soccer. I see good things ahead, but maybe not quite yet.

The other semi has quite a storyline, too. Japan, coming off an upset victory over the hosts, versus the "form" team -- Sweden.

In the end, I think we'll see a rematch of USA vs. Sweden. At that point, it will be interesting to see what adjustments USA makes to deal with Sweden's combination of technical play and raw speed.

I think Sweden would have a hard time beating our women a second time...two goals from unlucky defensive errors on our part resulting in a PK and a deflected free kick; in my opinion, USA had a lot more chances at goal in that game, but chance was against us in that match. Iron out a couple of mental mistakes that caused us to attempt tackles from behind, and it's a whole different game.

USA has created many scoring chances in their matches but has not been able to finish. In fact, they've been awful with evening putting shots on-goal. USA had many more scoring chances than Sweden but could not finish. I would start Morgan for sure.

I'd like to see a little more patience, control, and build-up to a shot...seems like a lot of times they're rushing to take a crack at goal from way outside instead of trying to work the ball in for a better shot.

i agree about the revenge game against the swedes, i just hope we can get there, would hate to fizzle out & lose to france. our defense better step it up & fix the bs mistakes.
the japan team is a conudrum & could very well end up in the final also.

us/france 1-1 so far.
either
we are really bad
france is really better
and or we did a bad job preparing for this game.

score could get ugly, france is having their way with us.

...and the strong finish putting the game away for the USA!

Reminds me of the old Muhammad Ali "rope-a-dope"...tuck in and defend, let your opponents exhaust themselves swinging to try to get through your tight defense, and then rebound and knock their lights out when they're worn out.

i'm picking france in 2015.

whats the deal with germany will not qualify for the olympics in london?
i just don't understand intl soccer.
seems like they shoot themselves in the foot too much.
i'm sure some podunk 90th ranked team will be there tho.

i'd like to think it was as thought out as the rope a dope, looked more like the dopes were on the ropes tho.
we were scary terrible.
& i was fine with what looked like we were done, at least we lost to a lot better team was my thinking.

We were terrible?? How does a terrible team make the World Cup finals sandwoman? The team has done everything they have needed to do to get to this point. They have preservered through adversity and we should all be proud of their accomplishments!!

ok

i don't get why our girls just seem to crowd into the goalie box on defense like they're all goalies, meanwhile there are always several unmarked opponents outside the penalty box waiting for the ball to pop out for a great uncontested shot, of which there was many.
due to deflects, screens etc. they are not doing hope any favors by being in her way & not denying the shots in the first place. i thought they would fix that at the half, but it just got worse in the 2nd.

You are right sandwoman. You know more than the entire National team and the National Coaches. I think you should put in for the next coach after they are through with Pia. You rock.

Can't see being agitated about a competitive match with France, which is a well-coached team that includes several players off the UEFA club championship side.
As to not closing out on shooters, my thought is pretty simple: Solo will save the vast majority of 30-yard straight-on shots. Bompastor's goal came off what amounted to an an excellent cross by the best left back in women's soccer. Her crossbar shot came off a set piece.

Its interesting to me all of the conversations about results versus development. Clearly at this level the focus needs to be on results. But style is a result of development and without development, any results will only be short term.

I'm thrilled with the women's results. There is something to be said for perserverance and overcoming obstacles.

But I watched most of the first half yesterday.....and came away much more impressed with the French. Loved Louissa....
whatever her last name was. I thought France countered beautifully and their midfield play totally dominated us. They were technically and tactically better than we were. Thought they did exactly the same thing against England over the weekend.

All I've heard is how our coach is changing the style of how we play. Haven't really seen that. Haven't seen the American women (or men) play anything close to how the French women played yesterday. We won. Great....and I hope we beat Japan.

But I think a lot of us love soccer because not only is it athletic competition.....but when done right, it's art as well. More than baseball, more than football, on par with basketball. When played brilliantly it transcends mere sport, IMO.

I don't want to merely win championships, I want to make a mark. Be remarkable. We will remember the drama of Abby vs Brasil, or Hope getting that one. But will we make a mark? Can't say I remember a single specific play from Spain's WC run. I do remember that I have never seen the game played so well in all my life.

That may be what sandman is kvetching about..and if so I think I get his point and agree with it. I want us to win....but I want us to play great doing so.

Results are all that matter at this point, it doesn't matter how you get it done. You also can't play a certain way unless you have the players to do it. While everyone would like to play like Barcelona, no one but Barcelona can execute it.

We have been starting two CDM. I don't follow women's soccer so who knows, maybe we have a really creative player who isn't getting PT. But Lloyd turns it over every time she tries to dribble or shoots 10 feet over the goal. Boxx has made some nice passes, but they mainly come when she gets wide. But when you have two defensive minded CMs, you aren't going to play an attractive style especially when there is no balance. You would think playing 2 CDM you'd have an attacking mid in the center or a withdrawn striker, but we don't.

Cheney has been drifting into the center to help, but that leaves the LB exposed a lot. When Cheney moved to CM yesterday, the game changed. Had someone in the center of the field who could actually hold possession (Lloyd made a ton of mistakes and gave the ball to France in threatening areas).

Overall, they have played pretty well. France had much more talent so it isn't surprising they played a more attractive style. They had several players with creativity, good technical ability, etc. I haven't seen any on the USA all tournament. But we have played to our strengths. The goals we have allowed have been 2 PKs, a deflected free kick, a cross, and an amazing goal by Marta (which shouldn't have counted due to the crosser being offsides). If those are the type of goals that are needed (2 PK, 2 unintentional, 1 amazing shot) to beat you, you are doing something right.

I have to disagree with Spain playing better than anyone ever. Barcelona yes, Spain in the WC no. They were the lowest scoring World Cup winners ever. They didn't dominate like many expected, and probably would have been beat if Muller wasn't suspended. I also thought Germany played better throughout the tournament. Ozil, Muller, and Schweinsteiger were arguably the three best players in the tournament.

all i'm saying is that we were dominated for most of the game & the open shots they were getting was baffling.
we've all been to the yth games where one team is clearly better, dominated the field of play & loses the match, that was france. we were lucky.

that #8 on japan will shred us from outside the box if left alone.

If Spain didn't score a lot of goals its because teams refused to play with them. The Spanish midfield is the finest I have ever seen. To their credit....Germany did try and they were thoroughly dominated.

But the women.....

I don't disagree with you that they are playing they way they need to play. But there's the indictment on development!!! We had no one the equal of Louissa in terms of technical ability and creativity.

I disagree that the French team had more talent. The US women have been the perceived big dogs for years. Clearly one of the top 3 teams in the world for years.

We won the game...but not one who watched it could say we weren't outplayed.

The US has the skilled female players to play the French or Japan way- I know a ton of them in just the Southeast. The WNT chooses to play the power game- size, strength over skill. Boxx and Lloyd are not good center mids- again there are many better skilled ladies just in the Southeast. But the power game has them in the World Cup finals and so they continue to play the game like the 1999 World Cup team, until they are forced to change

I agree with this totally. Feel the same way on the men's side. We are choosing to play the way we play and I don't think the players we choose...can play another style.

But there are others out there in this country who can play a better style. We simply choose a different style of player. We want size and aggressiveness and raw speed....over vision, speed of play, technical skill.

Our hearts may be with Spain and Barca/Real Madrid......but our minds are all England, all the time.

good analogy & explains alot.

Very good post!!!

here ya go, what we're all talking about.
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/women...long-run-071511
It has been a rather calamitous summer for United States soccer. First, the American men get schooled by Mexico in the Gold Cup final at a teeming Rose Bowl, a performance that underscored the talent gap – chasm is more like it – between the two rivals.

Then, in the U-17 World Cup – the one eventually won by home-standing Mexico – the Americans were embarrassed by Germany in the knockout phase, losing by four goals. As for the U-20 World Cup, which begins later this month? The United States failed to qualify.

And yet, the worst news for American soccer this summer could come Sunday – if the United States wins the Women’s World Cup.

There has been much to admire about the United States’ run to the final in Frankfurt, where they will play upstart Japan.

The good old romantic American character traits of grit, hustle and determination have lifted them past Brazil in the quarterfinals and France in the semifinals, both in dramatic fashion. (Their effort, it should be noted, has also supplied the same sort of easily packaged storyline – heavy on the schmaltz – as the pig-tailed All-American “girls” in the 1999 World Cup.)

The problem is the big picture.

If the United States wins, it will validate an increasingly outdated style of play: one that values speed and strength over skill and imagination. And that would be awful for American soccer.

Remaining married to those qualities – from the youth levels on up – is going to continue the United States women’s steady backsliding over the last decade. Soon, they will be in the same position the men find themselves – hopelessly overmatched against the world’s elite.

It is already happening.

Watching France and Brazil elegantly and consistently move the ball in and out of tight spaces against the United States with great skill and vision it was hard not to think: geez, was it only a generation ago that the Americans, with unmatched power and pace, ran roughshod over all but a few nations (China and Norway)?


HISTORY: USA
Despite coming home empty-handed two times in a row, failing to finish lower than third in any World Cup gives the United States an unmatched record of success in the game's marquee competition.
YEAR HOST FINISH
1991 China 1st
1995 Sweden 3rd
1999 USA 1st
2003 USA 3rd
2007 China 3rd
2011 Germany

What has been on display in Germany does not appear to be a fluke. The United States women were beaten last year by Mexico for the first time ever, and nearly failed to qualify for the World Cup. Last summer, the United States was eliminated from the U-20 World Cup in the quarterfinals – its earliest exit ever – while the U-17 team failed to qualify.

Then consider the five goals the United States has scored in the last two games: a corner kick, two crosses, a breakaway and an own goal. The only bit of imagination came from Carli Lloyd, whose clever back heel freed Heather O’Reilly down the left flank. Her cross was deftly redirected into the net by Lauren Cheney giving the United States an early 1-0 lead against France.

The Americans then went an hour before they put another shot on goal.

The two supposed next-big-things, Amy Rodriguez and Alex Morgan, have looked overmatched in this tournament, particularly Rodriguez, who appears to have no answers on how to beat a defender other than sprint past them.

This is not a condemnation of this United States players or coach Pia Sundhage, whose temperament is a perfect fit, but of the system and a culture that gave birth to it. The first time most of the players kicked a ball, it was probably in front of parents who cheered when little Johnny or Jane booted the ball far down the field.

Youth coaches pick the fastest and strongest players because they’re the ones that will help them win tournaments. (It’s easy to imagine Lil’ Messi or Xavi being left on the sidelines as kids.)

And, too often, developing the problem solving that is required at the world-class level is a casualty of trying to win. (Example: kicking the ball out of bounds under pressure robs players of the trial and error of figuring away out of their predicament.)

While it is simple to shrug, say so what and point to the scoreboard, look at what is happening in men’s soccer.


WOMEN'S WORLD CUP
ALL-TIME LEADING SCORERS Abby Wambach's goals in the 2011 Women's World Cup have moved her within two of the all-time record, a mark destined to fall to Marta.
PLAYER COUNTRY GOALS
Birgit Prinz Germany 14
Marta Brazil 14
Michelle Akers USA 12
Abby Wambach USA 12
Sun Wen China 11
Bettina Wiegmann Germany 11

What Barcelona and Spain have done is prove that creative, attacking soccer and winning do not have to be mutually exclusive. And Germany has transformed itself from a pragmatic, build-from-the-back outfit to one that attacks with exciting young stars like Memut Ozil and Thomas Muller – all while winning. In the last five years, Germany has reached the World Cup semifinals twice and the European Cup final once.

So, back to the women. As Brazil and France – among others – are able to match the United States’ organization, fitness training, strong goalkeeping and attention to detail on defense, it appears only a matter of time before the Americans are looking up at them.

It is something to consider Sunday when the Americans, trying to get by again on steely determination and the hard head of Wambach, are again chasing the ball against artful Japan.

A victory for the United States might be reason to cheer, but if there was a real commitment in this country to playing the beautiful game – instead of the brute-ful game – that would be a real reason to celebrate.

Not finishing.....but we're playing our best soccer of the WC. Wambach combining nicely. I like Rapinoe a lot. Playing great high pressure defense.

Goooaaaaall!! Great possession! Where has this team been?

it was our best performance, we lost it in the 1st half by not finishing. congrats to japan who really needed a good ending & congrats to the american girls for all the class shown in post game interiews.

Definitely the best overall team performance of the tournament...ironic that it ended in a loss, but overall a much better game of soccer than we've seen in a while! Can't begrudge the Cinderella win to Japan, who said more than once they were playing to give their hard-struck country something to believe in and be proud of.

Let's forget the motivation and look at the reality. Japan defeated home-standing Germany, Sweden and USA, back-to-back-to-back, in the knockout stage. They were the team of the tournament, not because of the back-story, but because they played the most attractive style ... AND WON!!!
Once the game went to PKs, I felt strongly that Japan would win, DESPITE the presence of the world's No. 1 keeper (and drama queen) Solo. Why? Because while they could have trotted out a dozen technically proficient shooters, we put up Boxx (who made 1 of 2 vs. Brazil); Lloyd (who had airmailed almost every shot she took during the run of play); Tobin Heath (really????); and FINALLY, AT LONG LAST, WHEN IT WAS TOO LATE, Wambach.
Our women played very well, with tremendous heart. You can argue they should have been up 2-0 and cruising by halftime. It was a heart-breaker, no doubt. But at the same time, we must come to grips with the reality that the rest of the world is catching up. Professional leagues in Europe are getting much better. More nations are "in it to win it." And we haven't really begun to scratch the surface of talent in Africa and Asia.

Dominate the game (and play good soccer) and lose. Would rather have won the game and not impressed by taking more advantage of our size and speed.

Japan did a really good job marking on set pieces, but were getting beat bad by long balls to Morgan. Should have just kept playing them.

Dominate the game (and play good soccer) and lose. Would rather have won the game and not impressed by taking more advantage of our size and speed.

Agreed! I hear this a lot from soccer folks -- "we played the better match with attractive possessing & attacking soccer, but lost." The object is the result!

What speed?
Morgan. O'Reilly. Rapinoe? Maybe a few others.
But as a group, we are not particularly fast or athletic -- which is why we lost to Sweden (who ran circles around our backs) and nearly lost to France (who ran circles around our mids).

hey coach, throw out your first diplomatic assumption & just roll with your 2nd which we all know is correct.
after what i witnessed with our game against france, i was baffled with our ineptitude & thought the match against japan would be an embarrassment. But, our girls proved they knew how to play soccer against a very quick technical team & won the play on the field, lost the match because we couldn't finish but thats another story & hopefully an easier fix..?
gotta admit tho, when i saw our girls laughing at their dumbass easy misses in the 1st half, i started to root against them. no excuses, they choked & blew it

Might even go so far as to say--from a casual observer's standpoint, of course--that if we were USED to playing a solid, technically-sound possession style of soccer, we might not have made a couple of the fairly bizarre mistakes that led to giving up goals...and if we had a MIDFIELD that developed a style of possession and control of the ball, we wouldn't have to play possession in our defensive third instead of the central third where it's much safer and more productive.

We lost to Sweden and barely survived Brazil and France playing a straight-ahead, all-athletic, put-it-on-Abby's-head-and-pray style. Japan, meanwhile, made beating Sweden look fairly easy. I'd say our result against Japan represented a step up in level of play. If we could develop that style as an every-game scenario and become FLUENT in it--to the point where the momentary breakdowns that cost goals don't happen--I daresay the result everyone is looking for will be somewhat different.

Maybe. I dunno...just an average Joe's thoughts.

The implication to a significant commitment to and change of style is threefold:

1) Different formation/strategy.
2) Different selection/evaluation process and roster.
3) And (quite possibly) different coach.

Also, forgetting about WINNING the Olympics (unless it's purely as an effort to send people out as winners) and thinking 4 years down the road, when, in all likelihood, such stalwarts as Rampone, Boxx and Wambach will be honorably retired.

In the immediate future, regardless of style, we must develop AT LEAST two central defenders and two poession-style attacking central midfielders.

In the back, Rampone, I suspect, will retire. And Buehler, barring significant improvement, is nowhere near good enough. I see Krieger and Le Peilbet as "maybes."

Our current interior midfield of Boxx and Lloyd (as a pair) just aren't in step with the current game. They're both 1999-style bruisers, as opposed to 2011-style quick-footed technicians. As Boxx will retire, finding a new partner for Lloyd is probably the direction to take.

Japan's tournament run is really being overblown and you're giving them too much credit. We would have got embarrassed had we played the same way we did previously? We didn't get embarrassed by anyone in the tournament, and played more talented teams than Japan.

Germany, like us, put pressure on the entire game and didn't capitalize on their chances but were the better team. But that's what makes tournaments entertaining (and frustrating when it happens to your team), the better team doesn't always win.

They controlled the tempo vs Sweden, but still struggled to create scoring chances. I don't care how long you have the ball in your half if you don't create good scoring opportunities. Their 3 goals vs Sweden were an own goal, and two horrible failed clearances by the GK which were immediately converted into goals. Even though they were better than Sweden, they could have very easily gone into OT/PK and it would have been a fair outcome. I give them credit for taking advantage of the other team's mistakes (like they did vs us) but for all the credit they get for dominating, they didn't create a lot themselves.

And against us, they again didn't create a lot. What CB over the age of 10 thinks its ok to clear it centrally so close to the goal? Their first goal was again them taking advantage of a terrible play by the other team rather than Japan showcasing their dominance and creating something on their own. Buehler should have been taken off right after that for the girl who replaced her vs France and played pretty well. Do that, and the 2nd equalizer doesn't likely happen as Buehler was beat again.

As for speed, you don't need a lot of it to take advantage of it. Morgan was abusing their back line, they clearly had no answer for her. I would have sent long ball after long ball to her in the 2nd half. There was nothing wrong with how we played in the 1st half and it was nice to see, but we failed to convert. Even Ian Darke said that we needed to just start playing over the top to Morgan because of how well it was working. I would have liked to see Rodriguez on after Japan's equalizer in regulation for more speed up top as well, even though she had a very bad tournament. Heard she scored the previous 3 times vs Japan in the year, which isn't surprising due to their clear problems in the back against speed.

Have to disagree about the Olympics. Unlike the men, it is a prestigious tournament for the women.

You are correct, Japan didn't create a lot of scoring opportunities, in part because of the way we were playing. You could see it in the Japanese players' faces...they were downright bewildered at some points. I maintain that if we had coughed up the ball to Japan as easily and frequently as we did to Brazil, France and Sweden, they would have taken full advantage...they didn't create as many opportunities because we didn't give them as many opportunities to create.

As for Alex Morgan, she was very impressive with her speed and goal-scoring ability, and what she was doing seemed to be working well. The other half of that equation, though, is that in order to use a player's speed to create those breakaway goals, you have to create space for her to run in...

...which requires drawing the defense out away from their goal...

...which requires...

...possession in another part of the field.

Keep banging the ball deep every time, then that's where the defense stays, and there's no running room for an Alex Morgan to get a step ahead of the defenders. Drawing them up with possession and THEN sending the ball deep to Morgan is a pretty good one-two punch.

Basically correct. Except that Morgan's goal vs. Japan was a quick-hitting long ball off of a turnover -- not the result of great possession.

Morgan is, no doubt, a future standout, whose speed and finishing will work in any style.

As yourself now, assuming Solo and Morgan both grow and flourish, who else is on the roster in 2015? And what type of player will they be at THAT point?

I think it's a mistake to stick with the status quo. Not because we can't win international tournaments as currently constituted, but because the TREND toward a different, more competitive women's game is glaringly obvious.

We need a completely new back line and 2 central midfielders. These players should be technically sound and creative players. I am thinking there are better keepers than Solo.

Wasn't just talking about against us. They didn't create a lot of good scoring chances vs Germany or Sweden either.

And yea, one way to create that space is by us possessing the ball-which wouldn't always work. Japan could have played deep even if we did possess and let us pass the ball around at midfield. It's not threatening when you are passing that far from goal, so it isn't a necessity to apply a lot of pressure.

Another way is when Japan had the ball, win it back and then counter (like the 1st goal) since Japan's defenders would be high up the field which is more of what I was talking about. Every time Japan pushed up, would have sent Morgan the other way as soon as we won the ball back. If Japan gets it back big deal, they had very little threatening buildup play. Obviously this isn't an effective long term strategy, but that shouldn't matter. In this particular game, it likely would have been. At tournaments, there is one goal...win. You need to take advantage of the other team's weaknesses and play to your strengths.

I just want to make sure the team is still versatile. There are times when you need to play possession and times you need to play a little more direct. We showed we can switch our style around depending on the opponent and be successful which is a good thing. I don't want to become dependent on one playing style or one formation (especially with how often coaching changes occur at the national level). Barca is amazing. But when they get in trouble (which rarely happens), they have no plan B. They just continue playing the exact same way and hope for the best which usually works. Only the major European teams pose Barca any challenge, but this happened vs Chelsea 3 years ago and Inter 2 years ago. Both those teams had great gameplans for Barca who struggled to create their usual scoring opportunities. Against Inter it was very obvious. Needing 2 goals and up a man for nearly the entire game, there was no sense of urgency just continue being patient. Barca gets away with it due to being better than everyone else, we don't have the players to become dependent on one style of play like that.

Ah yes, Solo. A good keeper. But a diva. It takes a certain mindset to carry a team as a keeper. She's never really been asked to do that, except for 2 PK shootouts in the recent WWC, one of which we lost. Indeed, Japan's keeper made TWO saves, and arguably outplayed her.
That said, I think you can win a World Cup with her.
I will say though, it's hard for me to get past the incident where (rightly or wrongly) she was benched, and then pretty harshly criticized Brianna Scurry.
I also think that she is (at least somewhat) a product of an appearance-driven, backstory-driven publicity machine.
LEAD the team. THEN become the media darling.
By that, I mean, step up. As good as she is, Wambach actually stepped up IN THE CLUTCH. Morgan blossomed on-stage. Rapinoe stepped up.
Solo saved a (mediocre) shootout/PK attempt vs. Brazil -- full credit for the situation.
But I'd also argue that she didn't really help settle her defenders vs. Sweden and Japan.

I think you hit it on the head...versatility. There is a time to play for speed on a quick counterplay (as in Morgan's goal, which worked beautifully) and a time to possess, slow the game down, and create your own opportunities while denying the other team theirs. Any time a team relies exclusively on one tactic without mastering others, they are handicapped. For best results, the tactics have to fit the situation, and I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all that is most effective for every moment of every game against every opponent.

That said, the more technical ability a team has--the better their ability to control the ball and the pace--the more tactical versatility they have.

Good points from a Coach's perspective.

The next question is: Once you've assembled and developed all the right versatile "buttons" to push, who's doing the pushing?

I could easily argue that Sundhage -- an immensely popular PLAYERS' coach -- is not the right person to take our WNT to another level. To me, she was clearly the right coach in the wake of the 2007 WWC debacle ... an outsider and a healer, who implied a fresh start.

This is NOT to say she should be released. Or that she is the "wrong" coach to move forward. But I'm curious, does anyone else have the sense that "status quo" in the coach's area won't be good enough four years from now?

As a coach, what do you think?

I don't think the problem is such an easy fix as just finding the right coach for the senior team right now. I'm from the generation of girls playing for this WNT and the problem runs all the way back, as usual, to development, both at the club and ODP levels. Growing up, coaches rewarded flashy over smart and dependable and ODP valued loyalty over finding the right, best players. That's not to say that it didn't work entirely, because we do end up with some very talented girls moving up through the system, but, for the most part, unless you were selected at the U14 or under level, it was nearly impossible to get identified as you got older.

Also, I knew very few coaches growing up who actually taught players how to read the game and play intelligently over relying on their skill/athleticism if they make mistakes. Play was always reactive and almost no one sat you down to say, "Okay, look at how everyone's set up right now...where's the most likely place Player X is going to pass the ball? Should you be making that run to that open space/defending that space?" I can't even count the number of times it was blatantly obvious where a pass was likely to go in the WC, and yet there's no Team USA player within 20 yards of the receiver. We'd scramble to cover her AFTER she got the ball, but by then she'd had so much space she could either take a shot or drop the ball off to a player who was left unmarked by the scramble.

That kind of play is all well and good, for the most part, if you have the athleticism to make flashy comebacks and saves, but if you rely only on the scramble, it opens you up for more and more stupid defensive mistakes that lose you goals. If you learn to be proactive and smart about your play when you're young, it can make a huge difference in the game. The problem is, it often means you look like you're working less (because you probably are since you aren't running around in a flashy scramble to save your butt) and a lot of coaches were never taught to look at players and say "hey, you know, Jane Doe doesn't make as many super fast saves down the sideline as Joanie, but now that I think of it, it's because she wins the ball or forces the pass before it gets to that point."

You end up seeing these weak points up through to the WNT level and it's hurting us. You could argue that Lloyd and Boxx had no place in running (or barely covering) the midfield or taking PKs in the final after being fairly useless in previous games. Megan Rapinoe was a sparkplug and assisted crucial goals and only got two starts. We were rewarding loyalty and seniority over effort and determination.

We don't even look at covering the most obvious pass option, we rely on last minute defensive saves that could have been prevented, and we get burned by other teams who HAVE learned to play smarter and anticipate who can slip in and steal poor passes or take advantage of those open players. Our athleticism and endurance will help us out of many a rut, but as other countries keep teaching intelligent, tactical play...well, it's easier to improve your conditioning than to teach a style of play to adults who've been playing the game a certain way for a decade and a half.

Very good points, all.

They point to a larger, systemic problem -- namely, some major shortcomings among youth coaches and the system that fosters them.

I know it frustrates the bejesus out of me.