Lineups are in:
USA:
Solo; Klingenberg, Sauerbrunn, Johnston, Krieger; Brian, Holiday; Rapinoe, Lloyd (C), Heath; Morgan
So only one true forward for the US which means we'll try to clog up the midfield. Looks like a 4-2-3-1 so Holiday's distribution needs to be good
Germany:
Angerer (C); Kemme, Krahn, Bartusiak, Maier; Goessling, Leupolz; Popp, Mittag, Laudehr; Sasic
Also a 4-2-3-1 so Rapinoe and Heath will have to put pressure on Popp and Laudehr along the flanks
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that foul was outside the box, but nice PK by Lloyd.
Holding carries into the box even if initiatived outside of it.. Makes sense, really.
She was the leading scorer in the tournament. Playing outta her mind. The most lethal striker in the game. In the biggest spot. Who else would you want? Yet she just horked it? Stop.
As a keeper for over 15 years, I don't think Solo did anything that made her miss the entire net.
Criticizing Solo for playing games on the penalty kick is unwarranted. Whatever people think of her off the pitch, attempting to psych out the opponent on a penalty kick is common. The official can put a stop to it but most will allow some leeway, particularly in a pivotal game.
Peter. I think you're a funny guy and you speak your mind. And I dig that. But come on.
That woman was rattled. Completely overcome by the moment and completely had her eggs scrambled by Solo. It happens.
Peter. I think you're a funny guy and you speak your mind. And I dig that. But come on.
That woman was rattled. Completely overcome by the moment and completely had her eggs scrambled by Solo. It happens.
I guess you can't use your experience to comment on the NFL, right? I just think you guys are giving Solo too much credit. She missed the net by 4 feet. To me, that's a choke job.
I hope this formation continues going into the Finals
Some random thoughts
- Alex Morgan doesn't look 100%. Hopefully she'll finally take that extra step and be in form by Sunday
- Morgan Brian did a very good job playing a position she has never played before this World Cup.
- I'm glad Johnston's one mistake all tournament didn't cost the US because she has been fantastic.
- Heath made some great passes all game long, which was even more noticeable when you consider how many times the women "short-armed" (short-legged?) their passes this game.
- Wambach made a very good decision on the play that led to the goal. I think she passed it to Brian to passed it to Lloyd who crossed it to surging O'Hara.
But I still don't understand why Wambach was put in. She doesn't have the wheels to either hang with a desperate Germany or to chase down the long balls for a counter.
I played different club levels.
Solo must have said something like "I know where you're going to go" as well as using the stall tactic
I thought maybe Germany's best chance was to try and beat Klingenberg on long balls down the wing but she recovered well enough to prevent any exposure. And Sauerbrunn was a beast as always.
I thought maybe Germany's best chance was to try and beat Klingenberg on long balls down the wing but she recovered well enough to prevent any exposure. And Sauerbrunn was a beast as always.
They did beat our back line once when Johnston committed the PK...but once Sasic missed the PK they were mentally broken a bit
Solo must have said something like "I know where you're going to go" as well as using the stall tactic
this video doesn't have the lead-up. Solo was walking around and almost got a yellow for it. Who knows what, if anything, she said. But the attempt itself is on the video here.
juke or fluke? - ( New Window )
Agree - in that situation I did not understand two subs unused. Esp. after the 120 minutes against France.
I don't think Solo got in her head and I don't think she choked. Like you said, she tried to be too precise. Tony D said it was the same shot she tried against France, so I don't think she changed anything at the last second or because of Solo. Don't forget that Wambach missed the last game...it happens.
German wings threatened the U.S. defense on the outside repeatedly, but their finishing was poor. Same was true of the U.S. in the first half. In the end no impartial observer would argue that the U.S. was the better team tonight. However, no time to sit on laurels from this game. Four years ago the Americans had a miracle win in the semis and then blew the lead repeatedly against Japan in the finals in regulation and overtime.
German wings threatened the U.S. defense on the outside repeatedly, but their finishing was poor. Same was true of the U.S. in the first half. In the end no impartial observer would argue that the U.S. was the better team tonight. However, no time to sit on laurels from this game. Four years ago the Americans had a miracle win in the semis and then blew the lead repeatedly against Japan in the finals in regulation and overtime.
I'm not impartial, but regardless, I would certainly argue and very emphatically that the U.S. was the better team tonight. Germany had some moments but , goals aside, the U.S. Carried the play and controlled the game for the vast majority of the time
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- I'm glad Johnston's one mistake all tournament didn't cost the US because she has been fantastic.
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Yes. They said Johnston was in tears after the foul. She was a bit fortunate not to get a straight red on the play however. Glad she was able to come back strong. Love to watch her play!
Agree with that last part - I expect Japan to beat England and then it's a rematch scenario big time.
Yeah, Abby can't run as fast as she used to, and maybe she isn't an intimidating giant as in previous Cups; but if I were coach I wouldn't hesitate to insert Abby once we had a one goal lead to give the team the maturity to keep our foot on their neck.
Yeah, Abby can't run as fast as she used to, and maybe she isn't as an intimidating giant as in previous Cups; but if I were coach I wouldn't hesitate to insert Abby once we had a one goal lead to give the team the maturity to keep our foot on their neck.
O'Hara -second goal - ( New Window )
Yeah, Abby can't run as fast as she used to, and maybe she isn't an intimidating giant as in previous Cups; but if I were coach I wouldn't hesitate to insert Abby once we had a one goal lead to give the team the maturity to keep our foot on their neck.
All due respect to Wambach but unless Rapinoe was gassed she shouldn't have been taken out. She was one of the best on the field tonight for the US.
It'll depend on the opponent (though I haven't watched much of either team) ,but I hope Ellis goes with a very similar Starting XI.
For sure, hard to argue against having her on the field when she helped set up the clincher. And there's definitely said for having a vet presence in a tight situation like that. I guess I'm just stuck a little too much to the "stick with the hot hand" cliche.
I know what my earlier post said but regardless of how well Rapinoe was playing when you look at the while or picture and how the match played out it was about as tactical a substitution a manager could make.
During the run of play, they got one shot on goal and it was from outside the area, so once again Solo didn't have to do much other than put Sasic off when it came time for the PK
Klingenberg--Johnston--Sauerbrunn--Krieger are doing their best impression of Arsenal in the 90s, the 1998 French World Cup champions, and the old AC Milan squads in the late 80s, just on the women's side
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She brings veteran calm and confidence when you're trying to close out a game. Tell me the Germans didn't hate seeing her on the field. And she made a couple of very smart plays in her short stint, including starting the play on the second goal. The wheels may be gone, but she brings intangibles to the right situation.
For sure, hard to argue against having her on the field when she helped set up the clincher. And there's definitely said for having a vet presence in a tight situation like that. I guess I'm just stuck a little too much to the "stick with the hot hand" cliche.
I know what my earlier post said but regardless of how well Rapinoe was playing when you look at the while or picture and how the match played out it was about as tactical a substitution a manager could make.
It didn't come to pass, but you might also have expected the game to get a bit rough as Germany got a little desperate at the end. I'm actually thought they were playing more passive than I would have expected when down a goal. But if it did get rough, then you would expect more set pieces and would also want Abby's size and strength on the field.
I'll be interested to watch the other semi now - I haven't seen the other teams yet.
- first, aside from the player commentary, this was a kickass, exhilarating slugfest between the two best teams (sorry Japan) on the planet, an exciting pleasure as I nursed my post-matches beers
- I have a serious crush on Tabia Kemme, a hottie, but other than that the Germans are not so hot, lol
- the poster who kept saying the Germans had only one threatening run the entire match (on Johnston's red, err, yellow) must have missed Mittag's slicing run about 10 minutes in when she cut between (as I recall) Klingenberg and Sauerbrunn) in a dangerous run. But the Germans couldn't finish.
- Hope Solo is such a bad ass. I get a kick out of watching her in front of her net as she walks the dog, takes out the garbage, and intimidates the neighborhood. I'm not sure B is right, but he's certainly not wrong, because her stroll could not have hurt.
- rumors on these threads of Rapinoe's demise turn out to be vastly overstated; she was excellent in the first half because the team (and Ellis) had so much better movement away from the ball that Rapinoe was given space to create. As the only option in earlier matches, she was boxed in by multiple defenders.
- I got a big chuckle out of Paul's (if it was you) comment that O'Hara gave her best Zlatan imitation, but that was one hell of a finish and what timing to come on to Lloyd's cross (as Morgan failed to do on an earlier run at about the same spot), and her shriek of unadulterated joy--gotta love it!! However, I don't think Neid gets rattled; her players were rattled, and that brings me to a point alluded to by the woman color commentator, comparing last night to Germany-France.
- France outplayed Germany in H1 and much of H2, but the Germans began to assert themselves in H2, much as they were beginning to against USA last night--subtle but undeniable shift in the tenor of the match as the US midfield play began to soften, become less aggressive, and then suddenly we were chasing (as Germany chased us for the last 38 minutes of H1). Then the penalty kicks' sequence put an end to that dynamic. But, back to France, there is no doubt in my mind that Ellis looked at that match and said, we can do that to Germany as well. France was flat out taking Germany's lunch. The key difference in outcomes was that the ref there refused to call a penalty when Necib was body slammed to the turf in the PA, and we were the beneficiaries of analogous calls last night.
- the two penalties? What can one say. As Peter speaks from experience from his vantage point, so can I, and as it happens real time, happens fast, and the game is big, sometimes you get it slightly wrong. I think the ref who gave the red to the keeper on Morgan's run got it right (I hope we see her tonight, but not likely in the finals as she was such a big factor in the US elimination round win), last night, probably not. Neid was a big girl in not whining, but she didn't shy away from her opinion that the calls were wrong. She is right, but USA was far the better team last night.
- As far as Japan: I think the US avoids the letdown that followed the miracle win vs. Brasil in 2011, where we were the team in the finals having gone to extra time and shootout.
- As far as Japan and playing the same formation that we had vs. Germany, I'm not sure I agree with those who urge that we do. Japan is a completely different style and personnel, do not open themselves to the big spaces we had last night countering and then controlling the German middies. Japan will be much closer to China in style and shape and I think it will not be so easy to break down their defense as it was last night. But Wambach cannot be one of the initial 10 field players, much as her height advantage in the PA could be telling against the smaller Japanese players. So, as a tactical sub, maybe, but her presence lends molasses to the US attack.
Of course, my heartthrob Kemme was victimized, but as we Giants' fans like to bemoan on a TD given up by one of our corners, "but his coverage was so tight"
Exactly. 2-0 was a pretty fair representation of how the game went overall. 2-1 or 3-1 would have been too - Sasic could have made the penalty but we also had a couple of great chances in the first half, and Angerer just made saves, one great and one lucky.
There's no case to be made that Germany should have won.
But the red card wasn't called, and the US won the game. They played better soccer over the 90, but the game isn't about who played better, but who puts more in the net, and the US capitalized on the breaks they got .
Neid has legitimate gripes about those calls. But (and not that it's relevant), none of those calls come close to the way the USMNT were screwed by the non-handball call in 2002 vs. Germany.
Tonight I'll root for a good match that goes to penalties with England winning in a game that features 4 red cards, 2 for each team:)
They do have weaknesses though. They are quick, but not fast. They are not big. The US can play balls into the box and try to overpower them, but that is not the same as returning to the kick and chase approach used in the preliminary rounds. It should look more like the style played against China, relying on high pressure and speed on the flanks.
That said, and despite Japan looking like a favorite tonight, it is possible that the Americans face England in the next round. England is very physical and opportunistic and has a bit of the team of destiny look to them. They have a 1-0 loss to France which is impressive given the fact that the French starting 11 is as strong or stronger than any team in the world. The game was a boring match played largely in the middle third. That is exactly what England wants tonight. It would be a mistake to count them out yet.
I do think it must be incredibly hard for her to deal with the appeal of players like Wambach, and the knowledge of what's best for the team moving forward.