Category: World Cup

Women’s World Cup Daily: Previewing the Quarterfinals

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After a lovely trip to Newcastle and a conference on social and political philosophy concluded, I am back in France and ready to brave the weather to see some exciting quarterfinal ties.

As you may have noticed, it’s effectively the US against the world at this point. If you want to see my thoughts on what this European dominance means, check out my piece over at AllForXI.

Norway v. England (27 June – Le Havre)

A rematch of the Round of 16 game from the last World Cup. England won that showdown and will be favored to come out ahead here again. But not heavily favored. On paper, the England squad is superior, with better top-level talent and greater depth. But that certainly does not mean Norway is weak. And what they may lack in individual ability, they have made up for with organization and structure. Their greatest weakness is an over-reliance on a few players to orchestrate the attack. If England can successfully mark Graham Hansen, for example, they will significantly dull the edge of Norway’s attack. By contrast, England have five or six viable fulcrums of the attack, and multiple players in most of those positions who can provide different variations. Look for Lucy Bronze at right back to play a crucial role. Her ability to overlap wide right, or to tuck in and create from a more central position could go a long way to unlocking the Norwegian defense.

One other point to look out for: both England center backs are in doubt—Steph Houghton from the injury she received from a vicious tackle at the end of their match against Cameroon. Millie Bright to a flu bug that’s apparently working through the camp. However, coach Phil Neville has rotated heavily, with an eye toward ensuring that anyone could step into the team if need be. That has been widely attacked by the English press, but may yet prove to be prescient here.

France v. United States (28 June – Paris)

This is the game we all marked on our calendars last winter when the draw was announced. And now it’s finally arrived. A couple of days ago, after a very difficult match against Brazil, France was being talked down significantly. Then the next day the US needed a couple of soft penalties to defeat Spain and things were recalibrated again. To my eyes, this remains every bit the exciting clash that it was always expected to be. Neither team is flawless, but both are exceptionally good. And I have a feeling that we’ll see both bring good performances here.

The game is likely to be defined primarily by who controls the wide spaces. Both sides like to attack with width, though it’s more of an absolute religion with the US than with France. A huge amount will therefore depend on which of those wide strikers turn up on the day. For the US, Megan Rapinoe has looked well off her game. But if she can find her form—or if Ellis does the somewhat unthinkable and starts Christen Press there instead—the left wing could be an important danger zone, given that Torrent at right back is exploitable for France. By the same token, Crystal Dunn has had a lot of difficulty at left back, and she hasn’t come up against anyone nearly as good as Kadidiatou Diani or Delphine Cascarino.

But while the wings will be crucial, we shouldn’t completely ignore the middle. With players like Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis in fine form, the US has finally started to generate dangerous attacks from the inside out at this tournament. If they can maintain that sort of passing acumen here, it could make it much harder for France to cover all their gaps. But that will be no easy thing, given the strength of the French midfield. It all may therefore come back to Amandine Henry. If she produces a game at the top of her abilities, it could be enough to shift the whole tide in France’s favor.

Italy v. Netherlands (29 June – Valenciennes)

Every team left at this stage is excellent, but these are arguably two of the least-excellent teams remaining. In theory, the Dutch are the stronger team. The 2017 European champions are stuffed full of attacking talent, and should have enough to overpower an Italian defense that hasn’t yet had to face anything on this level. But at least so far, the Netherlands hasn’t been able to produce the sort of free-floating attack that we’ve all hoped to see. Their two wide forwards, Lieke Martens and Shanice Van de Sanden have both been well out of form, and the whole team seems to be lacking in ideas. If Vivianne Miedema has a good game, it probably won’t matter since she can score a brace from one and a half chances. But if she doesn’t, it’s unclear where the goals will come from at the moment.

Italy looked knackered against China, and I worry for them having to play another game on short rest. But of all the teams at this stage, they’ll be feeling the least pressure and will have the best chance to let the adrenaline carry them. Strong defensive positioning may be enough to keep them from getting overrun, and they have the personnel to come at the Dutch defense quickly—not so much through individual speed, but through quick and intelligent ball movement.

Germany v. Sweden (29 June – Rennes)

The Germans have not been especially fancied, but have done their business with relative calm all tournament. After an extremely difficult opening hour against China, they haven’t really been troubled. I don’t see any particular reason to think Sweden will be the team to knock them out, though there also isn’t any reason they couldn’t get it done. Both of these teams have been unfairly treated as ‘boring’ in quite a few corners, but there’s actually quite a lot here to enjoy.

On both sides, an impact sub could end up making a big difference. For Germany, it doesn’t sound like Dzsenifer Maroszán will be able to play a full 90 (or 120) on her broken toe but might be able to come in for a crucial late intervention.  For Sweden, Lina Hurtig got a full match against Thailand but has otherwise been a late substitute in the other three games. She’s exceptionally talented and might just be the spark they need.

Predictions

According to the betting odds, England, the US, and the Netherlands are modest favorites, while Germany are a bit heavier favorites. I do think those are the four likely winners, but I also would be tempted to take the odds and bet on the underdog in three of the four cases (with Italy the one exception).

Women’s World Cup Daily: June 25

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Round of 16: Day 4

Two fantastic games today to finish up the octofinals. Tomorrow is a day off, and then things get even more intense. If that’s possible.

Italy 2 – 0 China

The first half of this game was a huge amount of fun, and could easily have seen three or four goals. Italy were in firm control for the opening 20 minutes and really should have found more than just the one they got. But as the minutes ticked on, China appeared to settle in while Italy started to drag significantly—looking very much like a team that had played four games in less than two weeks, at the tail end of a long and grueling season.

I was particularly impressed with China’s control of play in the middle of the pitch. After an extremely physical (arguably vicious) performance against Germany, they appeared to back off considerably in their other group games. Against South Africa, they showed excellent ball movement and thoroughly controlled the game. But against Spain, they just looked timid. So I was certainly wondering how they would come into this match. What they provided was a good mixture of their strengths. They were certainly physical, but in a far more controlled fashion. During that period of dominance, they simply wouldn’t let Italy get a second on the ball.

Unfortunately for them, they simply couldn’t translate a lot of potential into a final product. Repeatedly, a delightful searching ball would find a Chinese forward in space. She would turn, execute an excellent dribble, and all that was needed was one final incisive touch or quick pass to set up a shot. But instead of doing anything, she would simply stand on the ball, giving an Italian defender time to dispossess her.

To some extent, that’s simply a credit to the Italian defense, which has only grown stronger with each game. The individual players in the backline are good, but the chemistry between them also seems to be growing. It’s a cliché, but the Italian defense is solid and extremely well organized.

At the same time, I also really wonder about the training and coaching system in China. Because watching these players, it’s clear that they have boatloads of ability, and some excellent soccer instincts. But as soon as they need to make the fateful decision to create a chance, they would freeze and the chance would evaporate. When one player does that, it’s possible that it’s simply a flaw in her game. But when many players do the same thing, it feels like a problem in the coaching.

In the end, that’s what took China out of this tournament. They demonstrated a lot of potential, but lacked a coherent structure through which they could apply their ability.

For Italy, the incredible journey continues. They weren’t particularly great today, but it was enough to get the job done. They’ll face a significantly harder task on Saturday in Valenciennes. And given how much they seemed to be struggling with exhaustion here, it’s hard to think they’ll be fully ready to go in less than four days. But a lot of their journey has been improbable.

Netherlands 2 – 1 Japan

One of the finest games in the tournament. Two technically adept teams working at high speed, passing the ball relentlessly, attacking with pace and precision. It was glorious to watch.

But it was also one of the most frustrating games of the tournament. Japan were marvelous and unloaded an assault on the Dutch goal in the second half, but just couldn’t find a way through. And then, in the dying moments, it was the Dutch who scored a heartbreaker, on one of those ‘technically by the rules but come on’ handballs.

It was exceptionally cruel to Japan, who played as well tonight as they have in years. Sugita was incredible. Iwabuchi created chance after chance. Hasegawa scored a wonderful goal. The defense stopped up the Dutch quite well. It was just wonderful all around. But soccer isn’t fair, and so they’re going home.

It felt particularly unfair on Japan because they did everything right coming into this game. Rather than sticking with an aging squad after 2015, they cleaned shop and started fresh. That meant a lot of losses and tough games, but it helped them arrive in France ready and revitalized. Then, after a bad performance against Argentina, Asako Takakura reshuffled her lineup, and turned everything around.

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Compare that to the Netherlands who have rested on their laurels and aggressively refused to make necessary changes. They rode Lieke Martens and Shanice van de Sanden to the Euros in 2017, and so they’re sticking with them here, despite extremely mediocre performances. Martens certainly made her contribution today with that lovely backheel goal, but was pretty nonexistent otherwise. And van de Sanden was a caricature of her worst habits. Only once she was subbed off for Beerensteyn (free Lineth Beerensteyn!) did the Dutch finally get some useful action down the right flank – including the play that eventually produced the penalty, which came from Beerensteyn driving in to make something happen instead of sending in yet another helpless cross.

But that’s the way it goes. Sometimes the right approach loses and the wrong one wins. That’s soccer.

For all that they’ve failed to find their top gear (or really, anything past second gear if we’re being honest), the Dutch are through to the quarterfinals. And while my love for Italy knows no bounds, the reality is that this is probably the easiest draw for that round. So even without truly finding their form, they could make the semifinals. Heaven help their opponents if they actually manage to put it all back together.

Notes

– We have to fix this ‘any ball that touches your arm at all is a penalty’ rule. We need to fix it yesterday.

– I want to buy an Italy Bonansea shirt, but as far as I can tell it’s basically impossible for me to do so. Fans at this tournament have to stand in lines a hundred people deep to buy merchandise. They aren’t selling alcohol. Matches are listed as sold out, when there are actually plenty of seats available. It sure feels like the soccer elites have left a massive amount of money on the table in the past month. That’s how sexist they are. Just about their favorite thing in the world is money, but it’s still not enough of a lure to get them to properly organize this event.

– It’s hilarious to me how differently the media in England, the US, and France have responded to underwhelming performances from their respective countries. I feel like it says a lot about each country.

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– I was not enthusiastic about Jill Ellis’s ‘tactical’ decisions last night. For an even better piece on that same point, check out this one from Kim McCauley.

– This piece from Stephanie Yang is important, though unpleasant, reading.

– Jeff Kassouf and Kieran Theivam’s The Making of the Women’s World Cup is out today in the US. If you haven’t already ordered it, definitely do it now. It’s great, and will make for some excellent reading while you wait for more games in the tournament. My full review is here.

– I was busy for most of the day with my conference, which has been great. Picture above is of the Newcastle city wall, built during the Middle Ages. It was breached by the Scots in their invasion during the English Civil War. So that’s fun.

The USWNT vs Spain: Is This Your King?

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You know that scene in Black Panther when Killmonger and T’Challa fight for the first time and at the end, Killmonger points down at a bloody and beaten T’Challa and shouts “IS THIS YOUR KING?”

That’s what Spain did to the United States of America in front of 19,663 fans. They pulled the USWNT apart at the seams and exposed them for the whole world to see.

Defense?

Where.

Offense?

The only two USA goals that happened in this game came off PKs.

According to the official stats, the USA registered 12 shots, with only 3 on goal. 3 shots on goal. Spain came into this match the immediate underdogs and were expected to be handled by the Americans, only to turn the tables on them very early in the game, making a play in the box in the first two minutes.

Already we were seeing the cracks of the defensive foundation that escaped scrutiny in the group stage. In the knock-out round the USA found themselves in a bad position that took almost the entire game to get out of. Spain had a game plan going into this match and they stuck to it. They were physical, yes, but they were also smart. Almost all of their fouls were getting the ball so they wouldn’t get carded along with the foul. Alex Morgan is going to be a walking bruise for the quarter final, something France will be keeping in the back of their minds.

First off, let’s talk about the FIFA Player of the Match, Megan Rapinoe. She was awarded this for her pair of PKs and not anything she did on the pitch. If I can say this, I feel comfortable saying that Rapinoe was one of the worst players on the pitch. She constantly lost the ball, she got herself in bad positions and when she did take a shot, the ball was sent to the parking lot. She hasn’t been the Megan Rapinoe everyone knows since the slaughter against Thailand and that has been evident for some time now. She will no doubt continue to get the start, but I think a real discussion needs to be had about her role as a starter.

Now to look on the bright side! Rose Lavelle and Sam Mewis were an absolute joy to watch. Lavelle has really come into her own since this tournament began and has continued to surprise me with how much better she gets with each game played. I was worried about her when she picked up all those injuries in 2018, but they seem to be a thing of the past. Mewis was equally incredible to watch, showing everyone (including her coach) why she should have been starting this whole time. She and Lavelle together in the midfield has been one of the best pairings since Lauren Holiday and Carli Lloyd and Heather O’Reilly.

With that being said, we need to talk about the defense. I’m not sure where all the disconnect and miscommunication was coming from, but that defense looked like they had never played a game together in their lives. Crystal Dunn, who is normally such a bright spot, was getting beaten again and again on the flank. I think I heard Kelley O’Hara’s name called three times. Abby Dahlkemper was doing her best and Becky Sauerbrunn found herself playing every role to keep the peace. I don’t know what kind of pep talk Alyssa Naeher was given, but it needs to never happen again. Spain’s only goal of the game came off a horrendous back-pass to Sauerbrunn who was caught off guard and couldn’t clear it out quickly enough. Jenni Hermoso took that ball off her feet, whipped around and shot the ball past Naeher, who could do nothing but watch it happen. Spain showed everyone what La Roja are made of and almost knocked the USA out of the World Cup in the Round of 16.

At the end of the day, the USA is advancing to play France thanks to two PK goals and Spain is going home, heads held high and asking just one question: is this your king? Is this your 2019 World Cup Champion?

Only time will tell.

The United States have enough to beat Spain. Barely.

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I have, at times, been a Jill Ellis apologist. But not today. This was about as poorly-managed game as you can imagine someone putting together, and came agonizingly close to bringing the whole US tournament crashing down.

It’s not Ellis’s fault that several of her key players were terrible, but it’s absolutely her fault that she persisted in playing them as the minutes rolled on, and on, and on. And it’s also on her to do anything to change up the game once it becomes clear that the team is no longer clicking. And it’s on her to get her team’s heads in the right place when they’re getting rattled by the other team’s physical play.

The vaunted US attack is not fit, and it’s a big problem

Coming into the match, I had some real questions about the fitness and form of Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan. Absolutely nothing about this match put my mind at ease. They both looked to be seriously struggling.

Rapinoe lost the ball a good half dozen times in the opening half hour, and was regularly shown the business by Marta Corredera. In fact, Spain seemed to be deliberately shading their defense toward the left, hoping to get extra bodies in front of Tobin Heath, and actively encouraging the US to play toward Rapinoe. It absolutely worked.

Morgan, once again, was clearly not 100%. Her touch was poor and her movement sluggish. The US produced fewer dangerous balls than usual, but there were still plenty. Normally, Morgan would latch onto the end of them. But today she simply wasn’t there. Against a Spain team that rode their luck (and trusted a referee who seemed reluctant to get out her whistle) with aggressive physical play, Morgan looked very much not up for it. One of the key changes in her game over the past couple years has been a more vigorous physical presence. We saw none of that today.

This was a game screaming out for Christen Press and/or Carli Lloyd – who both eventually came on in the final waning minutes, long after they would have had the chance to make a difference.

The US got their goals, but they were both from pretty soft penalties. I wouldn’t call either a mistake – those were fouls, albeit pretty weak ones. But for this US team to create so little is a reason for genuine concern. And it’s absolutely time to ask some serious questions about whether Rapinoe and Morgan are really ready to go against France.

The US defense has significant holes, and it’s a big problem

Further back, the US got reasonably good games from the midfielders, but they looked nowhere near as crisp as in previous games. Lavelle and Mewis both seemed to press a lot, trying for perfect passes that didn’t come off, rather than working it a bit more cooly. 

And in the defense, once again, the left side was a real danger area. Becky Sauerbrunn is a legend, but she just doesn’t have the pace of precision anymore. Crystal Dunn seems to get worse at defending with each passing week. And she also isn’t managing to get involved with the attack, which is the whole point of playing her!

And then there’s Alyssa Naeher, who was shaky on balls over the top, and far more than shaky with the ball at her feet. Spain pounced on the one gift that was given to them, but couldn’t quite pry things open to get another. But it’s certainly not hard to imagine a Diani or Cascarino from France having a field day down the left.

Spain raised their game, and gave the US some big things to think about

For Spain, this was an excellent performance, and one that showed why people were talking about them seriously as a dark horse coming into the tournament. They held the US largely at bay, losing on two garbage penalties, and were able to build some decent attacks as well. They were able to do it through flexibility and a clear collective vision.

They worked very hard to keep a coherent and tight defensive shape in the middle, trying to shift bodies left to protect against Tobin Heath but generally waiting for the US to come at them. They also leaned pretty heavily into physical defensive play. Which really shouldn’t have worked – the US is the strongest and fastest team in the tournament and no strangers to a crunching tackle (they all play in the NWSL for god’s sake). But surprisingly, it was very successful. The US looked frustrated, and simply weren’t able to find their rhythm after a strong opening 20 minutes. For much of the second half, they looked like they were more interested in appealing to the referee for foul calls that weren’t coming than they were in actually trying to win the game.

I’ve commented previously on my feelings about referees who permit violent play to continue, and I certainly would have liked to see a tighter hand on the till here. But this was not like the China performance against Germany. Spain were going in, but they weren’t going over the top with it. 

In the attack, Spain did not rely nearly as heavily on possession as expected. As the game progressed, they did start to hold the ball a bit more. But generally their attacks were direct, and involved putting the ball in the air far more than usual. 

Again, this seemed to reflect some good scouting. The US backline is slow and prone to errors when asked to chase quick defenders down. And we definitely saw that here. By the end of the match, Spain’s aerial efforts were a bit too speculative, and the US began to settle in deep and handle them fairly easily. But for much of the game, they seemed out of sorts.

The US are still favorites. But this is a wide open tournament

In the end, the US did enough to go through. But it was a very weak performance from a team that was being talked about just last night as the obvious and virtually inevitable winner of the tournament. They absolutely could still win this thing, and it would be just as big a mistake to overinterpret one mediocre game as it was to overinterpret a couple good games against bad teams. 

Every team at this tournament has flaws. But that’s not actually the interesting story. Because the only reason those flaws really matter is that many teams at this tournament are good enough to exploit those flaws. The US is still the best in the world, but the world is a heck of a lot closer. Spain showed that today. And France may well show it again on Friday.

Nigeria threaten sit-in protest over unpaid bonuses

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Nigeria’s tournament came to an end on Saturday, but they weren’t eager to leave France. Instead, the players threatened to stage a sit-in protest at the hotel, claiming they were owed unpaid bonuses dating as far back as 2016. 

The players told ESPN that they were owed two bonuses from games against Gambia and Senegal. They were owed two million naira, about $5,600 USD, and had only been paid about half that amount. 

“They paid us 1 million [naira] and said that is all,” one player said. “We want them to pay the balance.”

“Before the World Cup, we asked them for a meeting so that we could discuss our World Cup bonuses, like they did with the men’s team last year. They ignored the letter and nobody said anything about it until now.”

At first, the Nigerian federation claimed that they had paid the players everything they were owed. But according to the BBC, the players succeeded in getting a meeting at their Grenoble hotel with Aisha Falode, the president of the Nigeria Women Football League. 

After hours of deliberation, the federation agreed to pay the money owed. Five players have been given their bonuses, and more money will be released in bits. They will also receive their money from FIFA for this tournament later this year. 

Nigeria has appeared at every edition of the Women’s World Cup. This year, they qualified for the Round of 16 despite being put in a difficult Group A. Cameroon also qualified for the Round of 16, marking the first time two African teams were in the Round of 16. Nigeria exited the tournament after suffering a 3-0 loss to Germany. 

This is not the first time Nigeria has had to protest for their wages. After winning the 2016 Africa Cup of Nations, they staged a public protest in the city of Abuja over unpaid allowances. In 2004, following another Africa Cup of Nations win, they staged a sit-in at their hotel for three days in South Africa to settle their allowances. 

Cameroon’s legacy is already cemented

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Emotions ran high during Sunday’s meeting between England and Cameroon. Cameroon qualified for the Round of 16 thanks to a stoppage time goal from Ajara Nchout that lifted them to a 2-1 win over New Zealand in their final match of the Group Stage. It was their second time qualifying for their Round of 16 in their second-ever Women’s World Cup. 

Cameroon was frustrated early. In the 4th minute, Leuko was booked for a yellow card after elbowing Nikita Parris in the face. About ten minutes later, Annette Ngo Ndom, the goalkeeper for Cameroon, picked up an intentional back pass and England was given an indirect free kick inside the box. Toni Duggan rolled the ball for captain Steph Houghton, who sent the ball into the back of the net. 

During stoppage time in the first half, Ellen White put away another goal for England. The goal was initially ruled offside, but after consulting VAR, the referee allowed the goal. The Cameroon players were furious and they didn’t hide their emotions. After a few moments, the players set up for the last few kicks of the first half. 

At the start of the second half, Cameroon scored a goal very similar to the one England had scored at the end of the first half. But this time, the referee consulted VAR and decided the goal was offside. Cameroon was outraged and again, it took a bit of time for them to regain their composure and return to the pitch. 

Cameroon ultimately lost the match 3-0. After the loss, England Head Coach Phil Neville spoke to the media and he was livid about the emotion the Cameroon players showed. “There are young girls that are playing all over the world seeing that behavior. For me, it’s not right.” 

There is a lot to dissect in Phil Neville’s comments. But what I want to emphasize is that Cameroon’s legacy in the world of women’s football has already been solidified. 

During the match, Al Jazeera published an article titled “FIFA World Cup: The Cameroonian girls who dream of football.” The article talks about Rails Football Academy, the first football academy for girls in Cameroon. It is the project of Gaelle Enganamouit, the star of the Cameroon side. 

The academy trains around 70 girls, who have all had to fight sexism and poverty to get here. 

“Here they have everything: coaches, jerseys, training equipment, a physiotherapist, and the guidance we give them all the time,” said coach Emmanuel Biolo. “Gaelle Enganamouit really wants these kids to be the next generation.”

Al Jazeera talked to two teens who dream of playing professional football. For them, Enganamouit is a hero.

“I’ve seen Gaelle [Enganamouit] play on TV. I’ve never missed one of her matches,” one girl said. “She plays so well, I want to be like her.” 

That’s the example this Cameroon team sets for girls. And that will be their legacy. 

 

Women’s World Cup Daily: June 23

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Round of 16, Day 2

England 3 – 0 Cameroon

I have to admit that I don’t have the emotional energy to provide a ton of commentary on this game. There was just too damn much going on.

Obviously, the major story was the refereeing, and Cameroon’s response. At several points they seemed on the verge of literally walking off the field. At others they were pointing at the big screen insistent that it proved them right, when it very much did not. And the fouls…oh dear, all the fouls.

So rather than trying to digest it all, I will split my comments into a few bullet points, first on the match itself and then on the meta-match.

The game

1. England played exceptionally well in the opening 20 minutes, and showed in that period why they should be considered legitimate contenders.

2. England played like garbage in the next thirty minutes, and showed why they could easily lose to Norway in the quarterfinals.

3. That said, I don’t think you can draw too many conclusions from this match about England’s future prospects. They’re not going to play anyone like this again, and they certainly won’t play through this kind of chaos, or deal with the emotional thunderstorms of this game. England looked completely lost for much of the early second half, but you can understand why. At least Cameroon had anger to focus their attention. England had to stand around for long periods just feeling bewildered.

4. Cameroon did very well to execute their plan. They got beat – badly, and repeatedly – in the midfield, but their defenders were fantastic as stepping up to clear up the messes before they had a chance to explode. They posed a real threat on the counter, and could easily have scored a couple. But in the end it was always going to take a huge amount of luck, and they didn’t get it. The other events of the game will overshadow it, but they did about as well as you could reasonably expect in this game.

The discourse

1. Cameroon’s players absolutely lost their cool, and it was to their own detriment. None of the calls were wrong, even if they were extremely frustrating. Emotions were riding high, but it would have been good if they and/or their coaches had been able to pull things back a bit quicker than they did. It’s also not great to accuse the officials of rigging the game against you, especially when the calls were all correct, albeit close.

2. That said, they did rein things in pretty quick. As noted above, it was England who looked the most out of sorts for quite a while in the second half. Cameroon played better in the second half, even with what must have been a thousand volts of adrenaline running through them.

3. We also need to talk about the larger story here. Many of these players live on the margins of professional soccer. As much as emotions ride high in an event like the men’s World Cup, there are some relatively cushy fallbacks for players. Here, not so much. The stakes are enormous.

4. It also has to be said that the referee bears some of the blame for this. Once again, the communication was poor. The various VAR referrals were not well explained. And those things can build. Once you feel that the system is rigged, you will be even less inclined to listen the next time. It also seems to me that she genuinely felt bad for Cameroon and wanted to let them vent. But at a certain point, it just meant that the game fell completely out of her control.

5. Broadening the scope even more, as with our conversation about Nigeria yesterday, it is extraordinarily frustrating how people seem to be unable or unwilling to see how their depiction of black athletes can contribute to racial stereotyping in extremely harmful ways. That’s not an excuse for bad behavior, of course, but it’s absolutely a reason to seriously interrogate our assumptions of what counts as ‘bad’ behavior, and what interests are served by policing it in that way.

6. To wrap this up, I absolutely don’t think that Cameroon covered themselves in glory today, and I certainly think it’s necessary for there to be genuine and serious criticism of some of the things they did. Not just the reactions to the refereeing decisions, but also the rough play, the spitting, etc. But the choice about how to engage in that criticism is an important one. Far too many people today leapt to outrage. Far too few took any time to consider the context. And that ultimately may end up being far worse for the world than anything the Cameroon players did.

France 2 – 1 Brazil (aet)

France certainly did not look like the tournament co-favorite that we all have been calling them. They managed only a handful of shots on goal over the course of the whole game, and struggled mightily to create any sort of dangerous attacking moves. The whole night, they focused almost exclusively on attacking with width and then sending in crosses. But their delivery was generally poor, and on the few occasions that Gauvin could get her head to the ball, it didn’t produce much.

There was one exception in the first half – an opening goal which was disallowed on review by VAR. To my eyes it was a good goal, and should have been allowed to stand. Who knows if that lead might have changed things. But it wasn’t allowed, and so it took until the 52nd minute before Gauvin got her goal. For once, instead of simply reaching the end line and then immediately sending in the cross, Diani chose to cut inward, beating a defender and giving herself less distance to cover with her cross, and a better angle. This time, the goal stood, and France had their lead.

While Brazil didn’t exactly come roaring back, they did begin to pose a bit more of an attacking threat, often led by Debinha who I must (begrudgingly, given my past critiques) admit was Brazil’s player of the tournament, by a mile. She raced into the space left open by Torrent, the French right back, and left Bussaglia – who could theoretically have tracked her – in her dust. From there, a dangerous cross whipped in left Renard with little choice but to weakly tap a clearance down into the penalty area. The waiting Thaisa thanked her for the gift by burying her shot.

And that was it for regular time. France certainly pushed, and seemed like they might get the winner. They were helped by the departure of Formiga, both because it removed an intelligent player from the field, and because Brazil simply didn’t have a similar replacement. Andressinha is a nice player, but simply can’t do the defensive work to control a midfield. France responded by bringing on Thiney, restoring their traditional 4-2-3-1, and finally started to look more like the France that was dominant earlier in the tournament. And yet…they couldn’t find their goal.

But finally, in extra time, the dam started to crack. France began pouring on the pressure. They brought in Delphine Cascarino who provided a breath of fresh air, and the pace out wide that had been missing. And it was only a matter of time. Eventually, it was (who else) Amandine Henry that actually delivered the winning goal. And for all of the good work Brazil put in over 120 minutes, it’s impossible to say it wasn’t deserved.

France weren’t good today. But they were good enough.

And so the fated showdown between the US and France remains on track. If the US can indeed win tomorrow, the last piece will be in place. And it will all come together this Friday, at the Parc des Princes. On the evidence of the tournament so far, the US will be favored, but I’d be very careful to avoid overinterpreting recent results. This France team had a rough day today, but they remain incredibly good. And unlike the US, they will come into the game having already faced some serious challenges. That could make them more fragile. But it could also make them more resilient. Only time will tell.

Notes

I am in England for the next few days (see the image featured above for evidence). I was hoping to catch the England game today in a pub with locals, but sadly wasn’t able to find anywhere with much excitement for the game. The tournament is doing good business up here, by all accounts, but I couldn’t find much evidence of it in town. But I’ll continue to poke around and see what I can find.

Women’s World Cup Daily: June 22

Posted on by Backline Soccer

Round of 16, Day 1

Germany 3 – 0 Nigeria

A comprehensive victory for Germany, who continue to roll through the tournament despite the protestations of pundits on both sides of the Atlantic that they haven’t looked great. This was by no means a perfect performance, but they absolutely bulldozed Nigeria in the middle of the field, and controlled the game accordingly.

It was particularly notable how physical they were, consistently descending on any Nigerian player who had the ball and often directly dispossessing them, or at least forcing them into a hasty pass. Considering that Germany’s big problem game so far came against a China team who unsettled them with physical play, this was a significant improvement.

The only real worrying thing is that all three of their goals had some degree of fortuitousness involved. A better team would be unlikely to let the ball drift to the head of Alexandra Popp standing flat-footed in front of the box. A better team will be less likely to give away a penalty needlessly. A better team won’t accidentally pass the ball to your lethal striker directly in front of goal.

But this is the game of soccer. Most goals come at least in part from defensive mistakes. And yet we still see plenty of goals, because defending is exceptionally hard. Perhaps a team like the US or France might not make those precise mistakes, but they are likely to make some. And Germany has shown the ability to capitalize. The third goal, for example, was a gift. But it also took a perfect finish from Schüller to actually score it.

If there’s an area to focus on, it’s translating their dangerous possession into genuinely good shooting opportunities. That was the only real missing piece today. Repeatedly, they unlocked the first line of defense and found themselves with the ball in space, moving forward with speed, and looking for chances. But also repeatedly they were stopped by a Nigerian defender stepping up, or their cross sailed over the heads of everyone, or they simply let the ball get too far away from them and lost their angle.

Of course, this is precisely where Dzenifer Maroszán could be critical. She made the bench today, after missing the past two games entirely with a broken toe. If she can make a full return, she will be the exact sort of player Germany have been missing—the connecting force who can receive the ball near the top of the box and take the final touch or make the final pass which generates a clean chance.

For Nigeria, the World Cup ended here, in a frustrating game against a team who gave them very little to work with. They certainly weren’t completely shut out, and were able to produce a couple decent chances that might have swung the game back in their direction. And as discussed above, the goals were all definitely fixable mistakes rather than examples of being truly outmatched. At the same time, it also took some exceptional defensive recoveries to keep the margin where it was, and while VAR is certainly annoying, it did get all the calls right.

Norway 1 – 1 Australia – Norway advance on penalties (4-1) 

This was an absolutely bonkers game, which contained just about everything you could hope for in a soccer match, with the one exception of ‘good teams playing well.’ But if you could just accept that it was going to be a wild and crazy, end-to-end explosion of emotions then it sure was a lot of fun.

The openness didn’t really feel like a plan by either team. It was just a game played at a crazy tempo without a huge amount of execution. There were plenty of beautiful passes, wonderful touches, great tackles. But there were also plenty of misplaced balls, terrible touches, confusing decisions, crosses to no one in particular.

On balance, Norway were the better team, but it wasn’t by a huge margin. They did get the early goal and held the lead for most of the game. But they weren’t especially comfortable in the process, and seemed to drop back into a crouch far earlier than they probably should.

Australia’s hopes generally rise and fall with Sam Kerr, and she wasn’t able to get a whole lot going here. But that was less do with poor play from her than it had to do with Australia’s frailty in the middle third of the pitch. In my preview, I suggested that Norway might try to clamp down in that space to starve Kerr of the ball, but that’s not actually what happened. Given the quickness of play, no one was clamping down on anything. The Australian midfield just couldn’t find her, and the Norwegian defense generally stuck close enough to keep her under wraps once she did get the ball. All that said, Kerr was given enough to work with that you’d probably expect her to have found a goal somewhere. But she didn’t. And so once Kennedy was sent off for a Denial of a Goal Scoring Opportunity, Australia were reduced to hanging on for dear life to go to penalties.

And then once they got there, it all fell apart.

I feel awful for Kerr, who really is the best in the world – or at a minimum one of the two or three best – and deserved more chances to show what she’s capable of. But unfortunately for her, the Australia team has kind of fallen apart in the past six months, so it’s hardly surprising at this point to see them go out.

I’m sure there will be more written about this Australia team, and some serious questions asked about the relentless schedule that these players have followed over the past few years. But for now, we unfortunately have to say goodbye to the Matildas.

Notes

The subtle racism with which commentators describe African teams really went into high gear today, with all the subtlety wiped away.

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A brief summary of today’s awfulness is here. I’m sure more will be written about this, but if you want a quick breakdown of what goes wrong when you engage this separation between ‘tactics’ and ‘athleticism,’ above and beyond the laziness and stereotyping, check out this thread from Michael Caley.

The long and short is that the way Fox commentators have discussed teams primarily composed of black players is absolutely shameful and it’s frankly appalling that they haven’t publicly apologized and specifically reprimanded the people who keep saying this stuff.

Tomorrow’s action

Tomorrow we’ll see England v. Cameroon in the early game and France v. Brazil in the late one. Remember that you can check out my preview of each game in this round here.

I will unfortunately be leaving France for a couple days. I have a conference in Newcastle, and won’t be back until the first quarterfinal in Le Havre on the 27th. That does however mean I’ll get a chance to watch England tomorrow in England. Hopefully I can find a good crowd to watch with.

A Round of 16 Clash: The Grasshoppers vs the Matildas

Posted on by Backline Soccer

Australia entered the World Cup and were seen as a team that should go far.

With Sam Kerr having two record seasons in the NWSL, she is without a doubt the best player on the team. She was called into action early on in the opening match against Italy, scoring her PK goal of this tournament in the 22nd minute and giving the Matildas a 1-0 lead in the first half.

This would turn out to be for naught as Barbara Bonansea would stun an entire nation and score twice in the 50th minute and in the dying seconds of stoppage time to give Italy their first victory and Australia their first defeat of the group stage. It’s fair to say not a lot of people were expecting Italy to win and questions were asked about the defense.

These questions would continue well into the second match against Brazil as Australia saw themselves go down 2-0 in the first half. Caitlin Foord would score in stoppage, breathing new life in the team as they completed what can only be described as an epic come back, becoming one of the few teams to ever come back from behind and win a world cup game. Brazil’s collapse notwithstanding, the Australians still didn’t look as confident as everyone had expected them to.

They were able to easily dispatch Jamaica in their final group stage match, with Kerr taking front and center in the spotlight, scoring four goals against the Reggae Girlz, a personal best for the youngster.

With this resounding victory, have the Aussies solved their defense problems to take on a red-hot Norway? The answer to that question might have been “yes” before it was reported yesterday evening that defender Steph Catley suffered an injury in the game against Jamaica.

Now?

Australia might be back to square one, with Gema Simon, Clare Polkinghorne, Karly Roestbakken and Teigan Allen on the bench. The best bet seems to be Polkinghorne and Roestbakken, who both played the first and third game, to get the start. However, we could see Simon with her first start of the tournament as she is the regular stand-in for Catley. The Aussies will have had forty-eight hours to figure out how to anchor their backline without Catley.

Norway came into this tournament accompanied by a ghost. The glaring absence of superstar Ada Hegerberg was all anyone could and would talk about, instead of the team itself that rose from the ashes of a disastrous 2017 Euro to claim a comfortable spot in Group A.

A lot of people appeared to wonder how Norway would fare without Hegerberg, a question The Grasshoppers had no problem answering. An explosive team performance saw them emphatically beat Nigeria 3-0 and  sending a message: they have everyone they need to win. This mentality would face an early test against a white-hot French team. After keeping Les Bleues at bay all first half, the Norwegians would give up two goals in the second half, with a gift of a howler from Wendie Renard to put them on board. Despite their best efforts, they would fall 2-1 to France. Not allowing themselves to dwell on the defeat, Norway would face South Korea in their final group stage match and get back to their winning ways with a 2-1 victory.

Finishing second in Group A has pitted this fierce Norway squad against Australia, both with something to prove. Norway didn’t give up a lot of goals and the ones they did came off of set pieces and PKs. As a defensive team, they’re very good at frustrating their opponents and disrupting the passing lines. Their offense is capable of scoring, both in the run of play and on the counter. If they can keep Sam Kerr contained, stay patient, stick to their game plan and strike on the counter, they have a good chance of eliminating Australia from the World Cup.

Top Three Matchups in the Round of 16

Posted on by Backline Soccer

The Group Stage of the Women’s World Cup is over and the Round of 16 is set. The Group Stage featured some difficult goodbyes and some surprise teams going onto the Round of 16. Italy won Group D, topping both Brazil and Australia in the standings. They will go on to face China in the Round of 16. Nigeria and Cameroon both qualified for the Round of 16, marking the first time two African teams will compete in the Round of 16 in a Women’s World Cup. There are lots of great matchups coming up, but here are the top three games I think you should watch.

France vs. Brazil: Sunday, June 23rd at 3:00pm ET

All Americans should be keeping their eye on France, since the two teams are currently on course to meet in the Quarterfinals. I think France will beat Brazil, but this is definitely going to be an interesting game. Coming into this tournament, Brazil had lost their past nine games. But they seem to have found some of their lost rhythm in the Group Stage, defeating Jamaica and Italy. They only lost to Australia because of a Monica own-goal. 

While Barbara is a fantastic keeper, I don’t think Brazil’s backline will be able to stand up to the likes of Diani, Le Sommer, and Thiney. If France can win the battles in the midfield and maintain possession, they should be able to comfortably control this match. But I also think Brazil will be able to test France’s backline. Don’t be surprised if Cristiane, Marta, or Debinha puts one past Sarah Bouhaddi. If they can disrupt France’s possession, they could make this an interesting match. 

There weren’t very high expectations for Brazil coming into this tournament. But if there is one thing they have shown in the Group Stage, it’s that they won’t be packing their bags without a fight. This might be the last World Cup match for Marta, Cristiane, Formiga, and other Brazilian stars. They will definitely make it count.

Sweden vs. Canada: June 24th at 3:00pm ET

Sweden and Canada both finished in second place in their groups, meaning they will go head-to-head in the Round of 16. Sweden finished their group with six points, earning wins over Thailand and Chile, but losing 2-0 to the United States. Canada also finished with six points, earning wins over Cameroon and New Zealand, but ultimately losing 2-1 in their final match against the Netherlands. 

These are two of the most equally matched teams in the Round of 16. Sweden had an easier group than Canada, but also earned more commanding wins and scored more goals. Canada struggled in their first match against Cameroon, but certainly went toe-to-toe with the Netherlands and earned a convincing 2-0 win over New Zealand. Canada might have a slight edge over Sweden in the attack, especially considering the motivation of Christine Sinclair, but Sweden’s attack will surely test the Canadian backline as well. 

Losing both Christine Sinclair and Marta in the Round of 16 would be sad. I think Canada has a slight edge over Sweden, but this game could genuinely go either way. Don’t be surprised if this one goes to extra time or even penalties. 

Netherlands vs. Japan: June 25th at 3:00pm ET

The Netherlands vs. Japan feels like the old guard versus the new. The Netherlands won all three matches in their group: 1-0 over New Zealand, 3-1 over Cameroon, and 2-1 over Canada. Japan, on the other hand, struggled a bit more in Group D: they played to a scoreless draw against Argentina, beat Scotland 2-1, and lost 2-0 to England. They have featured in the last two Women’s World Cup finals, winning it all in 2011. Could they really be packing their bags in the Round of 16? 

I think the Netherlands will likely win this match. Their first match against New Zealand was a bit shaky, but they seem to have settled into this tournament. They’ve scored 6 goals in three games compared to just two from Japan. Scoring on the Japanese defense won’t be easy, but if the last fifteen minutes of their match against England is any indication, I think the Japanese will really struggle to get that final touch against the Dutch.

In these three matches, I think France and the Netherlands have a clear advantage. But all six of these teams will have to be 100% locked in. Any slip up will be capitalized on by their opponents, and even one bad move could send any of these teams home.