USWNT/World Cup/The womens game

[Fk_Pitt]

Last night, the sh!t stirrer Rapinoe was on XM and actually gave a good interview that can probably be found on the XM app to those who subscribe. They replayed some of it on The Football Show this AM with Rocky and Neil, and there were some interesting nuggets.

The biggest takeaway for me is she said the NPSL is still a far superior league than the leagues in Europe, so our players who are playing domestically are being challenged night in and night out, which is a good thing. However she did say that the champions league final between Barcelona and Wolfsburg(?) will be better quality, but those are two elite teams. The domestic leagues in England, Spain, Germany, etc don’t have the depth and parity that our league has. So Europe hasn’t caught us yet.

But…Catarina Macario, our young elite goal scorer will not return from her ACL in time for the WC, and our attacker who has been in the best form and thus our best player, Mallory Swanson (Pugh), is out with her ACL.

I think it’s going to be tough to 3 peat this summer but at least we have something interesting to follow in the dog days of summer.

 

[zookeeper2000]

Yeah agreed. On top of Pugh and Macario being out, this team still hasn’t found its identity.

Alex Morgan and Rapinoe are over the hill (at least for 90 minutes). Julie Ertz hasn’t been around consistently in a while and while Horan and Rose Lavelle are good midfielders it just seems like we can’t string passes and possession together the way we used to. Yes, part of it is the competition getting better…but I’m not too bullish on our prospects this year. I think this will be a reset World Cup that will make us appreciate again how hard they are to win.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Yeah agreed. On top of Pugh and Macario being out, this team still hasn’t found its identity.

Alex Morgan and Rapinoe are over the hill (at least for 90 minutes). Julie Ertz hasn’t been around consistently in a while and while Horan and Rose Lavelle are good midfielders it just seems like we can’t string passes and possession together the way we used to. Yes, part of it is the competition getting better…but I’m not too bullish on our prospects this year. I think this will be a reset World Cup that will make us appreciate again how hard they are to win.

At least Horan plays for Lyon, which is an elite Euro club that competes for champions league trophies. They usually make it to the semi or the final. This year Lyon lost in the 2nd leg of the semi in penalties to Chelsea. Horan assisted on the tying goal, but then missed her PK and Chelsea advanced. The only problem with Lyon though is I’m not sure how good the weekly competition is in France. I’d have to say it’s pretty weak. But that’s just an assumption. Seems weird to me that Horan and Lavelle don’t dominate the midfield no matter who the opponent is.

I don’t know what kind of form Ertz will be in, it if she’s in top form she will help. Morgan and Rapinoe are there for the linkeage. They are there to teach the younger players what it takes to win trophies. Personally I wish they were gone, but I understand the need for linkeage. We saw what happened to Pitt hoops when we lost it.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

At least Horan plays for Lyon, which is an elite Euro club that competes for champions league trophies. They usually make it to the semi or the final. This year Lyon lost in the 2nd leg of the semi in penalties to Chelsea. Horan assisted on the tying goal, but then missed her PK and Chelsea advanced. The only problem with Lyon though is I’m not sure how good the weekly competition is in France. I’d have to say it’s pretty weak. But that’s just an assumption. Seems weird to me that Horan and Lavelle don’t dominate the midfield no matter who the opponent is.

I don’t know what kind of form Ertz will be in, it if she’s in top form she will help. Morgan and Rapinoe are there for the linkeage. They are there to teach the younger players what it takes to win trophies. Personally I wish they were gone, but I understand the need for linkeage. We saw what happened to Pitt hoops when we lost it.

At least Morgan is still scoring goals. It's early, but she is tied for the league lead in goals (and has played one fewer game than the players she's tied with) and she's third in the league in assists.

If Rapinoe is someone who comes in at the end of games for 15-20 minutes, well, that's not too bad I guess. If she starts and is playing most of the game that's going to be a huge mistake. There are clearly better choices at her position.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

At least Morgan is still scoring goals. It's early, but she is tied for the league lead in goals (and has played one fewer game than the players she's tied with) and she's third in the league in assists.

If Rapinoe is someone who comes in at the end of games for 15-20 minutes, well, that's not too bad I guess. If she starts and is playing most of the game that's going to be a huge mistake. There are clearly better choices at her position.

In the interview, she seemed to understand her role as a reserve. But I don’t consider her a character person so who knows what she really thinks.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

In the interview, she seemed to understand her role as a reserve. But I don’t consider her a character person so who knows what she really thinks.

There is simply no way that she should be getting playing time at the expense of players like Sophia Smith or Trinity Rodman or a couple others. If she realizes that and is willing to be the wise voice of experience off the bench then OK. But if she really thinks she should be playing a lot she should be left behind entirely.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

By the way, there are a ton of players, good players, and not just Americans, who are going to miss this tournament due to injury.

 

[JD1976]

There is simply no way that she should be getting playing time at the expense of players like Sophia Smith or Trinity Rodman or a couple others. If she realizes that and is willing to be the wise voice of experience off the bench then OK. But if she really thinks she should be playing a lot she should be left behind entirely.

Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman are going to be superstars, maybe as soon as this year’s World Cup. It’s a shame Macario is out for the year because he is a special player too. I do think this year’s team is unlikely to advance past the Round of 8 because the program isn’t quite ready to move fully away from the old guard (Ertz, Rapinoe, Morgan) and the young players aren’t quite ready to be relied upon.

 

[Fk_Pitt]

Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman are going to be superstars, maybe as soon as this year’s World Cup. It’s a shame Macario is out for the year because he is a special player too. I do think this year’s team is unlikely to advance past the Round of 8 because the program isn’t quite ready to move fully away from the old guard (Ertz, Rapinoe, Morgan) and the young players aren’t quite ready to be relied upon.

I’ve been waiting for Smith for a couple years. Hoping this is the year and the stage.

 

[Joe the Panther Fan]

I’ve been waiting for Smith for a couple years. Hoping this is the year and the stage.

Four goals and five assists so far in the early NWSL season. One goal off the goal lead, most assists in the league. If she can carry that form over to the World Cup...