Category: World Cup

FIFA, Iran, and the death of the “Blue Girl”

Posted on by Backline Soccer

Last week, Iranian football made global headlines when Sahar Khodayari, known as the “Blue Girl,” died. The 29-year-old fan of Tehranian club Esteghlal appeared in court on September 2nd and told she could face up to six months in prison. 

Her crime? Attending a soccer match.

In March, Khodayari was arrested when she attempted to enter Tehran’s Azadi stadium to watch Esteghlal, but was caught by officials. In Iran, women are banned from attending men’s soccer matches. After Khodayari appeared in court and was told of her possible sentence, she set herself on fire outside of the courthouse. She died from her injuries last week. 

Iran’s policy and the activism challenging it 

Women have been banned from attending soccer matches in Iran since the country became an Islamic Republic following the 1979 revolution. The message from Iran’s government is that soccer matches are not pure spaces and women should not be exposed to those environments. 

Activists fighting against this ban came to global attention during the 2018 World Cup in Russia, although their battle has been going on much longer than that. Iran qualified for the 2018 tournament and women from Iran traveled to the games in Russia. Their mere presence was a statement, but the women also spoke to media and flew banners highlighting their plight. 

Women are regularly detained for attempting to go to matches in Iran. In fact, when FIFA President Gianni Infantino attended the Tehran Derby at Azadi Stadium, 35 women and girls were detained for attempting to enter the stadium. These women have protested inside and outside of prisons, desperately trying to make their voices heard. And in 2018, many of those voices were heard all over the world.

Solidarity for Sahar

Women’s and men’s soccer teams within Iran and around the world have expressed their sorrow over Khodayari’s death and their solidarity with Iranian women. Esteghlal and their main rivals, Persepolis, held a minute’s silence following Iran’s death. Esteghlal issued a statement, which read in part, “She supported us despite the politics made it illegal for her, but what can we do to support her? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. We are cowards.” 

The sentiment was echoed by the Iran football captain, Masoud Shojaei, who said, “Shame on me for not having been able to do anything and shame on those who took away the most obvious right from Sahar and all Sahars.” 

It is likely that Masoud and the Tehranian clubs took great personal risk to make these statements.

Scrolling through social media feeds for OpenStadiums, the campaign of Iranian women fighting for their right to attend matches, you can see some of the support pouring out from women’s teams. Hedvig Lindhal, Hope Solo, and others reposted a petition intended to put pressure on Iran. Clubs from Norway, Italy, and elsewhere wore blue armbands or held up blue pieces of paper. 

For many in the women’s soccer world, this tragedy was a reminder of how strong misogyny still is and how much there still is to fight for.

FIFA’s inaction is wrong. And it’s costing lives. 

In the wake of Khodayari’s death, FIFA has faced a lot of criticism. This criticism is, in my opinion, completely warranted. 

FIFA has been working with Iran to try to get women into stadiums. But Khodayari’s death makes it clear that FIFA isn’t doing enough. FIFA laws state that “Discrimination of any kind… is strictly prohibited and punishable by suspension or expulsion.” The tools are there for them to use more than words to put pressure on Iran, but instead, they have allowed the country to slowly and vaguely move towards progress.

And why didn’t FIFA do more to get women who had been arrested out of prison? Masoud Shojaei’s sister, Maryam, wrote eight letters to FIFA since Khodayari was charged, begging them to lift the ban. When she didn’t get a response, she presented a 200,000-signature petition to FIFA at their headquarters. But Maryam says no one took her seriously. 

FIFA’s course of action should be clear. If Iran does not allow women to attend their matches, FIFA should bar them from participating in the 2022 World Cup qualifications and prohibit them from receiving other benefits that come from FIFA membership. 

Iran appears to be moving towards allowing women in stadiums as soon as the first qualifiers in October. But they have promised this before. How many other women must die before FIFA will take a stand? 

The world is watching. 

If you want to support the women of Iran, you can follow the OpenStadiums movement on Twitter at the handle @OpenStadiums. 

 

Carli Lloyd Unsure of Future

Posted on by Backline Soccer

Amidst the celebration of yet another World Cup victory, US Women’s National team star Carli Lloyd may have given some insight into a potential retirement. She still feels like she is at the top of her game, but sounded displeased by the view of her as being more of a substitute. 

“It’s been a really tough couple of years,” said Lloyd. “It’s not based on my ability and for whatever reasons, coaches made the decision. I tried to put up a good case (to play).”

Lloyd did play a role in the 2019 World Cup victory but it was as a super-substitute off the bench. In all, the former FIFA Women’s Player of the Year only started in one game, a group stage meeting against Chile. She scored twice in that game but was unable to crack the starting line-up for the remainder of the tournament.

Overall, the Women’s National team was stacked with talent unlike ever before. Lloyd’s contributions are certainly not undervalued, but head coach Jill Ellis may not see her as a long term part of the team and played her in that way over the course of this tournament.

Lloyd turns 37 next week but hasn’t shown a significant dip in production. Her efforts with Sky Blue can be attributed to the team’s on and off-field issues but she has produced on the international stage. She has scored three goals despite not being a starter thus far in 2019 and does have hopes of playing in the Olympics next year.

 “I’m going to go home, I’m going to kind of let the emotions die down a little bit, speak to my husband and we’ll go from there.”

While her future may be in doubt, she did express her happiness about the team’s performance in France. She has been a part of two World Cup teams and been a major face for women’s soccer.

“The goal was winning,” said Lloyd. “I’m really proud of this team and proud to be on this roster of 23 players to win another World Cup.”

Women’s World Cup Awards: My Ballot

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The United States have taken home the trophy, making them the second nation to win back-to-back titles, and giving them four total out of eight tournaments. For obvious reasons, the US end up reasonably well represented on my end-of-tournament awards. Though they don’t have quite as many names as you might expect. That’s a function of a team that played well across the board, but also suffered some poor games in virtually every position. 

It’s a testament to the quality of the team that some mediocre individual performances were always backed up by teammates sufficiently that it never quite bit them. 

And that’s actually a general feature of the tournament as a whole. Plenty of players had incredibly good games. Very few had rock solid tournaments from top to bottom. 

That’s potentially a demonstration of the parity in the sport these days, which is good. But it did make it difficult to pick individual players. Nonetheless, here is my Best XI

Ellen White (ENG), Alex Morgan (USA)

Rose Lavelle (USA), Kosovare Asllani (SWE), Amandine Henry (FRA), Jill Scott (ENG)

Kelley O’Hara (USA), Nilla Fischer (SWE), Abby Dahlkemper (USA), Lucy Bronze (ENG)

Sari van Veenendaal (NED)

Forwards: White, Morgan

The easiest name on the whole list was Ellen White. In a tournament where few strikers were truly excellent, she was the one exception. She consistently scored, and consistently put herself in position to make trouble for the defense. It was hardly a surprise–we already knew she was great–but it was still a revelation to put it all together on this stage.

I’ve paired her with Alex Morgan. But not because Morgan also tied for the joint lead in goals. Five of her six came against Thailand in that crazy game, and should be heavily discounted. But Morgan was an immense physical presence, holding the line for the US game after game, making runs, putting defenses under pressure. That sort of work produced several of the key penalties, without which the US would not have progressed. I was a bit of a late convert on this point, but enough smart people kept telling me where to pay attention to what Morgan was doing that I came around. In a different tournament–where Australia progressed and gave Sam Kerr more chances, where Barbara Bonansea maintained her form, where Caroline Graham Hansen had one more great game–she wouldn’t have done enough. But given a limited field, she provided enough critical interventions to deserve the nod.

Midfielders: Lavelle, Asllani, Henry, Scott

Rose Lavelle had a truly awful game against France. But she was just that good in her other matches that it overwhelmed that game. She was creative with the ball, unstoppable on the dribble, active in defense, and generally dominated the midfield. It was a true coming out party for a player that we’ve spent so long calling ‘the future of the team’ that it feels almost predetermined.

Asllani started strong and only got better as the tournament progressed. She was absolutely immense in the knockout rounds, orchestrating a Swedish symphony from the number 10 position. Even in her worst game of the tournament against Canada, she unleashed an all-time great pass to produce the game’s only goal and take her team through. Asllani has long been a great player. For the last month, she has been transcendent.

Henry exited the tournament in the quarterfinals, but not through any fault of her own. While she wasn’t the dominant midfield force against the US that France might have hoped, she was one of the few players on that team that didn’t shrink from the occasion. She also scored the winner in the octofinals, and was one of the only reasons France held together as well as they did.

Scott had a relatively quiet tournament, in precisely the way that the very best midfielders will hope for. She was rock solid and absolutely consistent, controlling the midfield, regulating play, stepping forward in the attack when needed but also holding the line. Many other England players got more attention during the tournament, but possibly none were so essential to their ability to control the game.

Defenders: O’Hara, Fischer, Dahlkemper, Bronze

I’ve cheated a bit here by picking two right backs, but it just feels ridiculous to pick a left back, when so few had even decent tournaments. Crystal Dunn struggled mightily for several games, though she certainly grew into things in the later knockout games, but probably ended up the best of the pack. But Kelley O’Hara can obviously play left back, and had a far more successful tournament than her counterpart on the left. So I’m going with her. She didn’t contribute a huge amount to the attack, but was useful in small doses and provided some absolutely essential defensive cover.

On the other side, the obvious choice is Lucy Bronze. We already knew how good she was, but if anyone wasn’t previously aware, they surely are now. She was absolutely dominant in several games, including probably having the single most impressive game of any player in the whole tournament when she single-handedly dismantled Norway in the quarterfinals.

In the middle, I’ve gone with Nilla Fischer and Abby Dahlkemper. Both provided calm, precisely measured defending game after game. Fischer is a longtime veteran who showed her intelligence and experience, playing a huge role in driving Sweden toward the 3rd place trophy. As for Dahlkemper, this was a truly massive tournament. For several years she’s been the apparent partner for Becky Sauerbrunn, but more by default than any ringing endorsement. And yet once they actually arrived in France, it was Dahlkemper that was the steadier player. Finally, the rest of the world got to see the player that has been so good for North Carolina in the NWSL.

Goalkeeper: Van Veenendaal

On a per-game basis, I don’t see how you could beat Christiane Endler or Vanina Correa, who single-handedly kept their teams in the tournament. But over the course of seven games, Van Veenendaal was able to generate enough bulk to take the award. She pulled off several absolutely critical saves, without which her team very likely would have gone home far earlier, and also served as a calming presence for a backline comprised of quite a few converted defenders.

Golden Ball:

  1. Kosovare Asllani
  2. Lucy Bronze
  3. Rose Lavelle

The World Cup is Over. Come Watch the NWSL!

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The World Cup is a wonderful event. Once every four years, the whole world collectively watches the best players in the world compete. We watch their triumphs and their failures. And we share it with millions of others all watching together. There is nothing that can replicate that kind of communal experience.

But there’s actually something even better out there: club soccer.

It hasn’t always been true. For most of the history of women’s soccer, ‘clubs’ barely existed at all. They were amateur organizations at best, literally nonexistent at worst. That all changed in the United States in the early 2000s with the arrival of the Women’s United Soccer Association. For three shining years, the biggest stars in the world all played in America. But then the league folded. Things started up again in 2007 with Women’s Professional Soccer. Which also lasted for three years before folding.

So expectations were suitably low when the National Women’s Soccer League started up in 2013. But it has now outlasted the other two leagues combined, and is going strong.

The World Cup comes every four years, but the NWSL is here every week, and the quality is every bit as high as what you’ve been watching at the World Cup. It features all the very best American players, along with many other top players from across the world. Its teams draw big numbers—with Portland the shining jewel bringing in over 16,000 fans per game. The league just signed a sponsorship deal with Budweiser, and reportedly has more deals coming. That influx of cash will help them stabilize and develop. They also just signed a TV deal with ESPN, which will make the league more accessible to casual fans. And those fans will be primed to go, thanks to all the excitement over the World Cup.

And they’re going to get a great show. In terms of talent on the pitch, this is maybe the best league in the world. But for too long, these world class players have been surrounded by a league run on a shoestring budget—under-capitalized, under-marketed, under-supported. But that’s ready to change and you can be a part of it.

Here are five reasons why you should be pumped to watch the NWSL.

The players are world class

Every single player competing for the US in the World Cup plays in the NWSL. If you’ve been enjoying Megan Rapinoe, Rose Lavelle, and Tobin Heath…they all play every week. Not to mention some incredible players who have barely seen minutes, like Jess McDonald, Mallory Pugh, and Morgan Brian.

But this is a truly international league. The NWSL also features Sam Kerr, maybe the best player in the world. And Marta, maybe the best player of all time. Christine Sinclair, who is also in that conversation for GOAT. Debinha, the rising star for Brazil. Abby Erceg from New Zealand. Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley, and Ellie Carpenter from Australia. Yuki Nagasato from Japan. Rachel Daly and Jodie Taylor from England. Raquel Rodríguez from Costa Rica. And these are only a few of the names.

From top to bottom, this is the deepest, highest-quality league in the world. Turn on any random game, and you’re likely to see a genuine superstar, and plenty more players close to that level.

The talent pool is deep

Skim off all fifty-odd players that went to the World Cup, and you’ve still got an incredibly deep pool of talent. That’s a feature of a US developmental structure that generates tens of thousands of high-level players per year, hundreds of whom reach the end of their college careers with the plausible talent to play professionally. It produces a league full of players who have contributed years of high-level performances completely outside of the national team.

If you like Rose Lavelle, you’ll also love Vanessa DiBernardo, who plays for Chicago. Been enjoying Alex Morgan? Check out Lynn Williams on North Carolina. Or Kristen Hamilton, who just scored four goals last night. Or you might just remember Amy Rodriguez, who has been banging them in for Utah. Love Julie Ertz? Take a look at McCall Zerboni. Big fan of Sam Mewis? Andi Sullivan is right there with her. There’s Midge Purce, who’s been on a scoring tear. And Simone Charley who had to fight like mad to make it onto the field, and then delivered the goods when she got there. Like defenders? Take a look at Megan Oyster for Seattle or Amber Brooks for Houston.

Every one of these players has her own story, each of which is worth digging into. Think about how fun it has been to learn the backstories of the US national team players. Then multiply that by ten. 

The league is balanced

In many leagues around the world, the talent is highly concentrated, leaving just a couple teams at the top competing with one another and running roughshod over everyone else. The NWSL isn’t like that. There certainly are better and worse teams—but just look at the table right now. Five teams are within four points at the top, with two more in touching distance.

And it’s not only about the teams at the top. Just last night, the two bottom teams in the league—Orlando Pride and Sky Blue FC—each managed wins over teams far above them in the table.

That’s the way this league goes. Every single game is a battle. There are no pushovers, no easy points. It’s part of why so many prominent international players choose to come here—because they know they’ll be tested in a way that just doesn’t exist anywhere else. 

From a fan’s perspective, it’s also great. It means every game is tense. There might be a favorite and an underdog, but until the game is actually played you can never know if it will hold to form. It’s thrilling stuff, which is setting up to be one for the ages.

The fans are the best

There is something joyful and communal about following this league, even more than following international soccer–where allegiances always carry that weird tinge of nationalism. In the NWSL, there are obviously still fans of given teams, and certainly rivalries–as you would hope for in any good league. But there is a sense of togetherness as well. People are all rooting for each other, because we all know how fragile these things can be.

It can sometimes be daunting to jump into a new hobby or interest. Where do you begin? How do you get up to speed? Will the people who have already been there a long time be welcoming?

The NWSL community does a whole lot to ease those worries. Show up to a game, reach out on twitter, and you’ll get dozens, hundreds of folks who will be thrilled to welcome you in. Who will be happy to share inside jokes and explain references. Who will love nothing more than to share the history of their team, talk about favorite players, or anything else you’d care to discuss.

The NWSL is diverse, in all the best ways

The sports landscape is not especially welcoming to those who fall outside the traditional trope of the sports fan. It can feel alienating for those who aren’t in love with white, hetero, masculine tropes that dominate the sporting world.

The NWSL is a good home for anyone who feels that way. Which certainly doesn’t mean that it’s not a sports league. Despite the best efforts of many involved in marketing the league, this is not simply a home for young girls and their parents. It’s still a fun and raucous place. It’s just that the fun comes from a much wider range of sources.

Look at the crowd at an NWSL game and you’ll see queer people, trans people, men, women, children, people of all colors. And you’ll see supporters groups that work very hard to blend all these elements together to produce an inclusive, exciting environment which is genuinely fun for everyone.

There are very few places like this in our culture. Far too many of our social spaces are controlled by those who are loaded up with cultural advantage. Even if they try to be open and inclusive, the whole structure is still defined by white, male, cishet standards. But come to an NWSL game and you’ll experience what it’s like when those standards aren’t just taken for granted. It’s wonderful.

If you’ve been enjoying the authenticity of players like Megan Rapinoe, who express themselves in thoughtful and considered ways about complicated and important subjects, it’s worth seriously thinking about what kinds of structures make it possible for that sort of engagement. To think about what a difference it makes when many prominent players are queer. When many members of the media are people of color, women, gay, trans, etc. When many of the fans are as well. It all creates a support structure in which people can think about new ways to perform, discuss, and appreciate sports.

The culture of the NWSL–along with leagues like the WNBA and NWHL–is bringing something new and important to the sports landscape of this country. It’s a place where competition doesn’t have to mean abuse. Where tension and passion can flourish without having to be accompanied by exclusion. Where compassion adds to the thrill of victory and tempers the pain of loss.

How to watch

If you live anywhere near one of the markets, go and see a match live. Soccer is so much better in person. But if you’re not near a stadium, the league just announced a TV deal with ESPN, which will air 14 matches on ESPNEWS and ESPN2 over the rest of the season. If you don’t have those in your cable package, you might be able to get them through a streaming service like Sling or YoutubeTV, or you can simply pay for the ESPN+ service.

With matches on TV, you can also stop by your favorite local watering hole and ask them to put the game on. There’s no better way to find other fans and make new friends.

If none of those sound appealing, every other game streams for free at Yahoo Sports or on the Yahoo Sports App. If you live outside the US (or know how to convince your computer that you’re outside the US) you can also stream the games directly from nwslsoccer.com.

The national team players are expected to take a week or two after the conclusion of the World Cup to rejoin their teams. So if you’re excited for their return, you can target the games at the end of July. But every team in the league has plenty of exciting players, even without their US national teamers, so don’t worry too much about it. 

Reign FC and the North Carolina Courage – 1st and 2nd in the league at the moment – meet on Saturday, July 14. It’s going to be a great game, and you should check it out.

USA v. Netherlands: Four Questions for the Final

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The big one is finally here. The United States enter this match on an 11-game winning streak in the competition, which goes all the way back to the group stage in 2015. One more win here and they will win their fourth World Cup.

According to the bookies, that is overwhelmingly likely, with the US favored at around 80% to take home the title. I’m inclined to agree. But 80% isn’t 100%, so let’s talk through a couple of the key variables worth considering while we wait.

Will Megan Rapinoe and Rose Lavelle start?

Rapinoe was held back from the semifinal with a hamstring strain, while Lavelle had to be removed after an hour with the same injury. Both have been training in the run-up to the final, and are at least theoretically available. But will they be 100%? And if they’re anything less than that, will they start anyway?

In the case of Rapinoe, the US has a more-than-able backup in Christen Press. In fact, as I argued after the England match, Press is almost certainly a better option right now, even setting aside injury concerns. It would be hard to sit Rapinoe—who has been the biggest story of the tournament. But the reality is that, goals notwithstanding, she hasn’t actually played that well. And Press is in the best form of her life.

With Lavelle, there isn’t an obvious replacement, with no other players on the US roster really capable of creating the same way that she can (Crystal Dunn is the exception here, but that ship has long since sailed). However, it’s not clear that the US needs a player in Lavelle’s mold in this game. The more muscular and mobile trio of Ertz, Horan, and Mewis might be best-suited for throttling the Dutch midfield, and ensuring the US keeps a tight hold on the game.

In both cases, the US has a range of options. Even with no injury concerns, you could make a decent case for resting them both. And with the injuries, the argument gets stronger. But, in general, Jill Ellis has a preference for sticking with her best XI, so I certainly wouldn’t be surprised if both Rapinoe and Lavelle start.

Will the US play sloppy, and can the Dutch make them pay?

The US have won every game so far, but have also been pretty sloppy in the process. A mistake from Alyssa Naeher almost gifted Chile a goal. Some extremely questionable defending against Sweden could easily have conceded a goal. Spain, France, and England all had excellent chances to find an equalizer or winner in their knockout matches.

In every case, the US has had enough to hold off the opposition. But these have not been blowouts. They’ve generally been lucky that their defensive breakdowns have been relatively contained. A big part of that has been the oft-maligned Abby Dahlkemper, who is quietly having her best run of games in a national team kit. But the US have been playing with fire. And, at least in theory, this Dutch team has the potential to ruthlessly exploit the kind of gaps that the US has been allowing.

Will the 2017 Netherlands ever show up?   

In 2017, the Dutch were a revelation. They raced to a European title, obliterating every opponent that came their way. They were particularly devastating against teams that expected to control the game. Given space to work, the wide attackers were relentless. Opponents simply couldn’t cope with the quickness of play and repeatedly found themselves overwhelmed.

Over the next two years, though, the Dutch showed relatively little of that prowess. They struggled to qualify, having to go through the playoffs. And even here, with six wins out of six, they have never really turned up. They’ve made the final, which is a huge accomplishment, but compare the route the US have taken (Spain, France, England) to the Netherlands path (Japan, Italy, Sweden). The gap is enormous. And then remember that the Dutch were thoroughly outplayed by Japan and only managed to scrape through on a 2019 Handball Special.

Most of the problem has come from the frontline: Lieke Martens has been bad, and Shanice van de Sanden has been worse. Vivianne Miedema has done just enough to keep them going, but has only really had one excellent game (against Cameroon). The substitutes have played well in limited minutes, but shown little when given more of a chance to make their mark.

The midfield haven’t controlled games to the extent they would like, but have done enough to keep them in every match. The problem there is that Spitse, Van de Donk, and Groenen have played 1651 of a possible 1710 minutes over their first six games. They’ll need to get 100% performances from all three in this match, and it’s hard to see that happening under the hot midday sun, on no rest, at the end of a long tournament.

So on the evidence of the last month, this game should be a fairly easy win for the US. But we know what the Dutch are theoretically capable of producing. If they can put it all back together, this could be a lot tougher for the US than expected. I wouldn’t bet on it, but you certainly can’t rule it out entirely.

How do you mime eating a stroopwafel?

I certainly don’t know, but we’ll probably get to find out!

Rapinoe on WC Pay Disparity: “Certainly Not Fair”

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US Women’s World Cup star Megan Rapinoe did not hold back on Saturday when she fielded questions about the increase in World Cup prize pay disparity that is set to happen between the men’s and women’s game in 2021. 

FIFA President Gianni Infantino wants to double the prize money for the top international competition in women’s soccer to $60 million. While on the outside this may look like progress, the men’s World Cup scheduled for Qatar in two years will see an increase in prize money to $440 million. The disparity will increase by an astounding $380 million. 

“It certainly is not fair,” said Rapinoe when asked by the press. “We should double it now and then use that number to double it or quadruple it for the next time.”

Rapinoe has been on the front line during this World Cup and in recent years as the women’s game looks for major support from big money backers and federations. She has vocally criticized FIFA and US Soccer for their shortcomings both domestically and internationally. The money issue is one that brings many of the complaints to the forefront.

“That is what I mean when we talk about: ‘Do we feel respected?’ Earlier in the year, a quote came out where I said FIFA doesn’t care about the women’s game. That’s what I mean. If you really care about each game in the same way, are you letting the gap grow.”

In recent years the fight for support from FIFA has been a strain. Just four years ago the fight to have games played on actual grass was an issue that the men’s World Cup would never need to concern themselves with. Now, it is a fight for respect when ratings, ticket sales and eyeballs have increased far more on the US Women’s team than with the men.

“I’m not saying that the prize money is $450 million this time or next time around. I understand that for a lot of different reasons the men’s game, financially, is far more advanced than the women’s game but if you really care, you’re letting the gap grow?”

Thus far the off-the-field battle for their place in the sporting world hasn’t affected the on-the-field product. Tomorrow the US Women’s National Team goes for their fourth World Cup championship and their second in a row against Netherlands. Thus far they have impressively dispatched Spain, France and England in the knockout stages and are heavy favorites against the Netherlands.

The USWNT Are The Girls Next Door Grown Up

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I read during this World Cup that the USWNT aren’t the girls next door anymore. They have shed their images in the wake of comments made by Megan Rapinoe, Ali Krieger, Alex Morgan and others.

When I read that I can’t help but think of my grandmother.

My grandmother was a baseball person. She watched the Yankees nearly every game for 50 plus years, she was the commissioner of the young leagues or on their board for 30 plus years, she kept score for the baseball team when she was in high school. She loved baseball and it’s in no small part to her why I love it too.

Watching the World Cup this year and the personalities that make up the USWNT, I can’t help but think how much she would have loved this team.

My grandmother was a business woman and a sports fan, politically active and as take no nonsense as they come. She grew up in a time when if a woman worked it was on the family farm or maybe taking in wash or sewing. They did not open a farm equipment business and spend 30 years going all around the world for Case Tractors with their husbands.

In her day women just didn’t speak out against the town plowing the churches parking lots for free or write letters to the editors of the local paper in support of LGBT rights or freedom of expression before it was more normalized.

The more Megan Rapinoe speaks and the more she stands up, or kneels, for what she thinks is right, the more I can’t help but think just how much my grandmother would have loved this team and maybe Megan Rapinoe most of all.

I think she would have looked at Rapinoe with her pink/purple hair, her outspoken nature and her ability to ball the fuck out and I think she would have smiled. She would have seen Alex Morgan sipping tea and she would have cheered her. Because women being badass and saying “fuck it, I’m going to do the damn thing” crosses generations.

One of my great frustrations with how the USWNT has been marketed is that they push the family friendly, girl next door, no controversy here narrative. They do not push how outspoken, how radical, how progressive these players are.

It really feels like after a lot of years of letting the bland, vanilla narrative crafted for them to live, the team has collectively said “fuck it, we’re going to be as powerful and smart and queer and radical and whatever else we want to be and if you don’t like it that’s not on us that’s on you”. And it’s wonderful.

My grandmother will have been gone for 12 years this September. But watching this team, seeing them do what they have done and speak out like they have, it makes me think of her and smile.

The Netherlands outlast Sweden, and earn the right to take on the United States in the World Cup final

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It wasn’t pretty, but they eventually got the job done. The Netherlands were favorites coming into the match and had just enough to make good on that promise. But those of us who were hoping for an expansive attacking experience had our dreams dashed pretty quickly. The opening half hour was pretty open, with both sides seeming quite willing to try the audacious pass when the chance presented itself. But neither were especially sharp, and after trading a pair of excellent chances in the opening quarter hour, things settled down into a match with a lot of back and forth through the middle of the pitch but not much happening near the goals.

As the match progressed, the ominous possibility of a 0-0 draw and penalties began to loom more and more heavily over the match. And yet…there were some very close calls along the way. It didn’t necessarily feel exciting, but a couple fingertip saves on both sides were necessary to keep things level. A few inches either way and several shots could have gone in, rather than ringing off the post.

But it wasn’t to be. And so extra time arrived. Something neither team would have wanted—given that the winner would need to play against the fittest and most athletic team in the world for the championship in a few days. But neither was willing to switch game plans to open things up, either.

The frustrating part of the game is that both sides actually did a lot of things very well. This wasn’t a situation of two teams both sitting deep and hoping to play on the counter. Both actually played somewhat expansively. Sweden pressed very aggressively for large portions of the game, routinely challenging the Dutch defense all the way back to their own box. And the Netherlands kept pushing high, hoping to hit balls over the press to find their array of attackers.

The result was a match with a lot of good individual performances—almost all happening in the defensive end—but very little variation or excitement. Sweden defended very well collectively, and made it extremely difficult for the Dutch to play. And none of the high quality Dutch attackers ever managed to do much to break the lines. On the other side, the Netherlands backline looked nothing like the porous unit that had struggled so much previously in the tournament. Especially the fullbacks. Van Dongen was immense, and Van Lunteren had the best game I’ve seen from her.

And so Sweden just couldn’t manage to get anything going. But not for lack of trying. Asllani was in constant movement, and tried every trick in her book. But she needed to find the perfect pass and it never came.

And so we mostly got stalemate. A dreary game. Not because they were awful, but because they weren’t good enough to overcome the other. Apart from one moment of magic, the Dutch looked like a limited team out of attacking ideas. But that one moment should serve as a reminder of what this team can actually do.

The Netherlands, after all, absolutely obliterated some excellent teams in the Euros two years ago. We haven’t seen any real evidence that this Dutch team has the energy or form to repeat those performances. But in these tiny glimpses, the quality does show. If they can bring that sort of fire for longer stretches on Sunday, they might just have enough to beat the US.

I wouldn’t bet on it though, especially after they just spent 120 minutes running this game out. And the US will have an extra day’s rest. But that’s why they play the game. So we’ll just have to wait and see!

The Semi-Final Surprise: A Breakdown of the Swedish National Team

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The USA vs. France may have been deemed #LeGrandMatch on social media, but it was the Swedish national team that shocked the world in the quarterfinals when they defeated Germany 2-1 and secured their ticket to the semi-finals in Lyon. 

Sweden seems to have gone under-the-radar in the analyses of this tournament. They started off in Group F, alongside the United States, Chile, and Thailand. They earned a 2-0 victory over Chile in their opener, a 5-1 victory over Thailand in their second match, and suffered a 2-0 defeat to the United States in their third match, securing second place in the group behind the United States. In the Round of 16, they handed Canada a 1-0 defeat thanks to a goal from Stina Blackstenius in the 55th minute and a late penalty save by goalkeeper Hedvig Lindhal.

Most people probably didn’t even have Sweden beating Canada, let alone Germany. 

The match started out well for the Germans, who scored their goal in the 16th minute off the foot of Lina Magull. But Sweden quickly responded with a goal of their own in the 22nd minute from Sofia Jakobsson. From that point on, Sweden seemed firmly in control of the game. They played a defensive game, denying the Germans any opportunity to create many good chances. But Blackstenius and Jakobsson managed to create many moments of beauty on the counterattack. In the 48th minute, Blackstenius knocked a rebounded ball into the back of the net, the goal that would earn the Swedes a trip to Lyon. 

Sweden has been consistently underestimated in this tournament. They are a country with a rich history in women’s soccer, including an appearance in the World Cup final in 2003. They won a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, famously knocking out the United States in the quarterfinals. This will be their fourth semi-final appearance in their Women’s World Cup history and yet the world seems to have already written them off as serious contenders for the title.

 While their attack has certainly improved, the Swedes are comfortable playing a defensive game. Their defense is led by goalkeeper Hedvig Lindhal (Chelsea) between the posts and Nilla Fischer (Wolfsburg) and Linda Sembrant (Montpellier) in the central defense. In the midfield, there is team captain Caroline Seger (Rosengård) and Kosovare Asllani (Linköpings). Asllani has been one of the critical components in the Swedish attack, either scoring goals herself (she has two so far in this tournament) or creating goal-scoring opportunities for her teammates.

The most notable players up top for Sweden are Stina Blackstenius (Linköpings) and Sofia Jakobsson (Montpellier). Blackstenius has only scored two goals this tournament, but they have both been game-winning goals in knockout games. Jakobsson scored her first goal of the tournament against Germany, but she seemed to be finding a rhythm throughout the game. The two of them will be dangerous players on the counterattack and difficult to defend.

Some people have noted that the United States already defeated Sweden in the Group Stage. But it is also worth mentioning that Sweden benched many of their starters for that match, prioritizing their players’ health and fitness above beating the United States. The situation on the field would likely look very different if these two teams meet in the final.

It is also worth noting that Sweden has not had an easy road to get to this semi-final. They have taken down Germany and Canada in their knockout matches. And while the road ahead of them isn’t an easy one, it also isn’t one this team is going to shy away from. 

The Swedes have done the work on the field. They have also remained calm and focused in critical moments, getting wins even when they went down a goal to Germany or when Canada got a late penalty. They have the mentality to win. And they should be considered serious contenders to lift the World Cup trophy. 

 

The Orange Wave: A Breakdown of the Netherlands National Team

Posted on by Backline Soccer

If someone told you before the start of the 2015 Women’s World Cup that debutante Netherlands would get knocked out in the round of sixteen, but would rise through the ranks of global women’s soccer to a 2019 Women’s World Cup semi-final against Sweden would you have believed them?

Would you believe that along the way the Dutch, led by manager Sarina Wiegman, claimed the 2017 UEFA Women’s Euro? Or, due to how UEFA handles Olympic qualifications, the Netherlands also qualified for the 2020 Olympic soccer tournament?

Well, believe it or not, that’s exactly what the Netherlands has done.

The run to the semis began in group E for the Netherlands where the Dutch swept the three other teams: Canada, Cameroon, and New Zealand by a combined goal total of six to two. It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that the Dutch line up in a 4-3-3. The captain of the squad is Sari van Veenendaal, the 29 year-old former Arsenal goalkeeper, who continues to impress in major tournaments coming up big when it matters. In front of her, the first choice center back Dominique Bloodworth teams with either Stefanie van der Gragt or veteran defender, Anouk Dekker. It’s worth noting that the Netherlands have found some offensive production from this group as each center back has scored once in this tournament. 

Playing out wide as fullbacks are Desiree van Lunteren and Merel van Dongen who will attempt to join the attack with overlapping runs. While in the midfield the Orange will have Daniëlle van de Donk centrally, Sherida Spitse on the left, and Jackie Groenen on the right. In the recent run of matches, Spitse has contributed to the attack generating four assists so far; three of which have happened in the knockout stage. Other midfielders, such as Jill Roord, have come off the bench to contribute with the game winning goal in the group stage versus New Zealand. The true bite in the attack comes from the front line for the Netherlands.

There’s little doubt the starting front three will be Lieke Martens, Vivianne Miedema, and Shanice van de Sanden. The group has scored a combined total of five goals so far this tournament without a contribution from van de Sanden, so the attack still has some room to improve against Sweden. The tendency of this Netherlands team is to score goals late; in the five World Cup matches the Dutch have scored in the 80th minute or later in four of them. The team will not quit pressing the attack and seems to wear down their opposition.

The stage is set for the final four in the World Cup, and it’s almost unbelievable to consider that the Netherlands were referred to as a dark horse for possible tournament winner. The champions of Europe have managed to fly under the radar while England and France have taken the spotlight. Perhaps the results of the Algarve Cup put doubt in pundits’ minds; however, this run demonstrated that the Euro results were not a fluke. Every opponent facing the Orange Wave have been washed away. Could their path so far have been more challenging? Perhaps, but no one can claim the Netherlands don’t belong here. The remaining teams better watch out.