|
|
US 3 Costa Rica 0
Another good performance by our youngsters...plus a few veterans mixed in. Two spectacular saves by Zack Steffen, world class saves. Brian White and Caden Clark got their first international goals and Patrick Aygemang added his second in as many games.
Coach Poch has brought a different level to USMNT than we ever saw under Bradley and Berhalter. I like it!
I think most European coaches have just lived it more than our guys have, and I am not knocking our guys by saying that. It's not something in their control. Poch has the technical knowledge and the coaching skill to manage and adapt his systems to the players he has while, building a system that the players will eventually be trained for. I would love for him to stay for a full cycle after the '26 cup to see what he could do with a full term, because I think the time factor will limit his overall success in '26. Klinsmann definitely had the technical knowledge but lacked the player management and adaptability.
I had kind of forgotten about Klinnsman, easy to do since he left Landon Donovan off the 2014 WC roster
Yep, I still believe that single move, caused by Klinnsman's own ego, kept us from reaching the quarterfinals that year. Would we have then beaten Argentina... no but it's about getting as far as you can.
10th Annual SheBelieves Cup
USWNT 2 Columbia 0
vs. Australia
vs. Japan
Coming up.
USWNT 2 Australia 1
Started 11 new players from the Columbia game. Three more earned their first caps. Australia has 15 players on this roster who played in both the recent World Cup and Olympics. So, given the experience gap, I think our youngsters performed well today.
Japan is on a roll and carries a significant goal differential advantage (+7) over the US (+3). So, Wednesday US vs. Japan, all they need is a draw to win the Cup. This is probably a good thing. The US has to win the match to win the tournament.
Watched an interview with a member of US Soccer re: USWNT. Says Emma Hayes is not building a team, she is building a program. Plans are to have a pool of 60+ players all with caps. Some of these players will be as young as 17. So, this means there will be players in the Hayes system, going to camps, playing at the highest level who will be available for at least FOUR World Cup cycles. The program will continually bring in youngsters every year to keep the pool vibrant and stable. Hayes says inside of two years to the next World Cup she plans to focus on the top 30 players each time. Giving all of them plenty of training in camps and earning caps. Because you never know when an injury will sideline a key player, she wants to be at least two deep at every position with additional alternates.
Last night she played an extremely young team, with 3 veterans and 8 newbies. This will be her formula during non-WC years. She wants veterans on the field to serve as coaches out there, guiding the newbies.
Now, we shall see what importance she places on winning the SheBelieves Cup. The US has won 7 of the previous 9 and has to beat Japan to make it 8 of 10. Will she start a more regular lineup, or throw some youngsters out there? This Japan side is very, very good.
Most European countries have the ability to identify players through the national program and clubs from an earlier age, and with that those players are introduced to their national system early and train in it, sometimes even playing in it at the club level. This is a big reason that Spain and England have developed. For a lot of reasons this hasn't been feasible in the U.S. so she is trying to approximate it as best she can here. I am all for it. Look deep into the talent pool out there, try them out, find those gems that US Soccer normally wouldn't find. Then when its crunch time identify your top 30 or so and get to work. The repeat during the next cycle.
USWNT vs. Japan, a late nighter, kickoff is 9:30 PM our time. Be interesting to see if Hayes is going for the win and starts a more regular lineup or if she throws more youngsters into the fire. Either way Japan is a tough nut to crack.
Really good article exploring this "dilemma": building for the future vs. winning today. Hayes was mostly non-committal but based on her response, I'd say she is leaning toward building for the future. She did add, that doesn't mean we can't win or don't expect to win with a young team.Originally Posted by dawg80
Crystal Dunn says, winning is in our DNA. We are the US [women's] national team, we expect to win, strive to win every time we take the pitch. That's the true USWNT mindset. I can guarantee Japan wants to win tonight. They are coming off some disappointing results for them in recent international tournaments. They are hungry to lift some hardware, and the SheBelieves Cup will do nicely for now.
US 1 Japan 2
Two huge mistakes in front of our goal, gifts, and Japan converted both. Mostly our B team, with some regulars, but Japan was at full strength and hungry for a tourney win. It showed. Hayes was out-coached and we were out-played. Maybe this will remove the veil of invincibility from Hayes who has garnered so much heightened praise.
Still struggling in the attacking 1/3.
USMNT 0 Panama 1
Clearly Coach Poch is not the answer. Next!
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote