France Beats USA: What Does This Mean For France?

Posted on by RJ Allen

On Saturday, the United States traveled to Le Havre, France to face the host nation of the 2019 Women’s World Cup in a friendly. The U.S. went through 2018 without losing a single match, but they started the new year with a 3-1 defeat against France.

Many have looked at this game from the American perspective. But what does this victory mean for the French national team?

France has been one of the top ranked teams in the world for a long time, but they have failed to win a major tournament. They are considered strong contenders for the 2019 World Cup title, due to their skill level and the added bonus of being a host nation. But the same was true for their last three major tournaments, and each time they fell out in the quarterfinals. That’s a trend they’ll be hoping to break this year.

The French started Saturday’s game with a goal in the ninth minute scored by Kadidiatou Diani. They were able to stop the U.S. from controlling the game and executing their preferred style of play. But Christen Press got some chances for the United States, and France’s lead felt shaky until the 56th minute. It started with a beautiful pass from Marion Torrent that cut through the U.S. defense. Diani got on the other end of the ball and took a shot from a difficult angle that went over Alyssa Naeher and into the net. When Marie Katoto bagged another goal for France in the 78th minute, the French knew they were starting their year off with a win.

There were many positives for the French to take away from this match. First, they scored three goals on fourteen total shots. Finishing has always been an issue for the French national team, but Diani and Katoto stepped up to make sure France did enough to get the win. Additionally, the crowd in Le Havre was sold out and definitely favored the French side. It was a positive glimpse of what to expect this summer.

Before the game, team captain Amandine Henry spoke with the media. “We know that we can play the big teams,” she said. “We know that we have to be mentally ready, and we are. We also know that we have to play from the first to the 90th minute. We are definitely more mature now.”

My own biggest takeaway from the match is the Henry is right. Whether its the finishing, the dominance, or the boost from the home crowd, France proved on Saturday that they are amongst the best in the world. They can face the big teams and no one should count them out.

In the World Cup host nation, they are hoping that their win over the United States is just the start to a legendary 2019 campaign.

Embarrassment Continues: Sky Blue Look for Unpaid Assistant Coach

Posted on by RJ Allen

If not providing adequate facilities wasn’t enough, if not paying players a proper wage wasn’t enough, if the lack of interest from current players wasn’t enough then Sky Blue FC have gone the extra mile to embarrass their organization by putting up an advertisement for an unpaid assistant coaching position.

Sky Blue FC is a New Jersey based soccer team that plays in the National Women’s Soccer League, operated by the US Soccer Federation. Despite the reveal of poor conditions for players on the field and in the checkbook, the league has done little to address ownership woes or demand changes be addressed by a given deadline. This has allowed the team to provide vague answers and now push their pettiness to from player neglect onto the coaching staff.

The position in question is listed as an Assistant Coach with the first team. Responsibilities include assisting the head coach with planning and implementing of training sessions, gameday planning and organizing and editing game footage.

All of this would be done without payment or benefits, severely limiting the candidates for the position. To make matters worse, the job goes on to describe the team as one with ambition.

“Sky Blue FC is seeking an ambitious and professional Volunteer Assistant Coach to join the team for the 2019 Season. The Volunteer Assistant Coach will assist the Head Coach in all aspects associated with operation of an NWSL team.”

Sky Blue has seen themselves fall from grace faster than any team in recent memory. Without the league stepping in to address the issues or the federation imposing punitive measures to the ownership group, they are being allowed to continue their negligence for another season.

For The Future Of Girls: Why We Need To Support the Afghan WNT

Posted on by RJ Allen

The Afghan women’s national team has taken a great risk to tell their stories.

The allegations of physical and sexual abuse have all been against the federation’s president, Keramuudin Karim, who was suspended by FIFA along with four other members of the federation. The Guardian published the initial article alleging abuse a month ago, and on December 27th, journalist Suzanne Wrack released another piece for the Guardian detailing exactly what the women are claiming.

The piece is difficult to read. The women speak about a secret bedroom that the president had attached to his office, with a door that seemed to blend into the wall and that could only be opened by his fingerprint. When women resisted the sexual advances of the president, they were beaten and threatened. If they spoke about releasing their story, the president tried to ruin their reputations and threatened their families.

Suzanne Wrack has done an excellent job covering this story. And it has gained social media traction, with players like Alex Morgan sharing both the articles and her own outrage. The Attorney General of Afghanistan has said he is investigating the problem, but the players have low expectations. The president is a former government official, and many think it is unlikely that the president won’t be able to find a way out of this situation. FIFA’s reputation for corruption is no better.

It is important that the global women’s soccer community keeps this story alive. Suzanne Wrack is doing a fantastic job providing coverage in a major media outlet. But support from other national teams—by those players, fans, or journalists—could help keep FIFA’s feet to the fire. The Afghan women need our support right now and it is important that we do not let this story fade into the background.

According to UN Women, 35% of women will suffer physical or sexual abuse from a non-partner in their lifetime. So, it seems unlikely that Afghanistan is the only federation dealing with sexual and physical abuse. This isn’t just an Afghanistan problem. It’s a global problem. And we do a disservice to the women of Afghanistan and female athletes all around the world if we ignore it.

One woman had a powerful quote in the latest Guardian article. “I know that my family is in danger and I know they will be when more comes out. But I want to stand and speak about it because of the future of girls. I want girls to have a safe environment.”

The Afghan players have risked everything to tell their story. And it’s up to us to make sure they know that the women’s football community has their back. These players need our help.

Will we stand by and let them be ignored?

USWNT Camp Underdogs: Kealia Ohai

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to a three part series where we take a look at three different players on the USWNT Player pool bubble – or just the outside of it.. We’ll take you through the reasons they may or may not be included in the 2019 USWNT January camp.

Player Name: Kealia Ohai
Current Team: Houston Dash
Chance of Getting A Call Up: 6/10

Why a call up is due:

After missing most of last season injured, Ohai played a critical role for the Houston offense this season. She finished the year with five goals and four assists, but even when she wasn’t putting the ball in the net, she was helping create scoring chances for players like Rachel Daly. She has also proven her leadership capabilities this year following Carli Lloyd’s departure from the Houston Dash and stayed healthy after returning from her season-ending injury from last year. She’s a creative player that could expand scoring opportunities for the United States. She had a successful youth career with the U.S., which included helping the U-20 team qualify for the U-20 Women’s World Cup. However, despite her youth success, Ohai has only had a handful of opportunities with the senior national team. Still, she has tried to make the best of her chances to impress Jill Ellis.

Why it may not happen:

She hasn’t scored for the U.S. since October 2016 and only has three caps. After getting called up to the preliminary roster for this summer’s Tournament of Nations and the SheBelieves Cup in March, she was cut from the final rosters for both tournaments. Additionally, scoring hasn’t been the problem for the United States. With offensive weapons like Alex Morgan, Megan Rapinoe, and Mallory Pugh that are consistently producing, Jill Ellis doesn’t have a lot of incentive to experiment. Unfortunately for Ohai, the competition level might be too high for her to earn a spot in France.

USWNT Camp Underdog: Andi Sullivan

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to a three part series where we take a look at three different players on the USWNT Player pool bubble – or just the outside of it.. We’ll take you through the reasons they may or may not be included in the 2019 USWNT January camp.

Player Name: Andi Sullivan
Current Team: Washington Spirit
Chance of them getting a call up: 6/10.

Why a call up is due:

With the start of 2019 and the looming World Cup, the majority of the roster is fairly set; however, Andi Sullivan should be including in the January camp and the friendly against France. Historically, once the World Cup cycle ends, several of the veteran players announce their retirement from international play. Including Sullivan in the mix would keep a player in her early twenties around the core group to step in to help fill that void. Additionally, she could easily step in if there is an injury to the U.S. midfield. While playing in the NWSL, she played 23 out of Washington’s 24 matches, starting 22 contests and only getting subbed off twice and racking up 1984 minutes. The bright spots of her play was her 78.9% passing while averaging 44.8 passes per 90 and a successfully tackling rate of 86.8% demonstrating her potential going forward if given time to develop.

Why it may not happen:

Let’s be honest here, Andi Sullivan’s rookie season was well, not something to write home about for the number one overall pick in the 2018 draft. Some of the middling play carried over for her when she was previously called up to the national team. Looking as recent as the November friendly versus Portugal, she failed to impress as the holding mid he most notable play was when she was booked in the 31st minute then subbed out at half time. Prior to this, Sullivan didn’t make the cut to be on the Concacaf women’s championship roster, and the last time she was representing the red, white, and blue was back in April against Mexico. She didn’t play the full 90, giving way in the 53rd minute to Carli Lloyd.

USWNT Fans Should Find Their Inner Chill

Posted on by RJ Allen

The USWNT have finished 2018 without dropping a match. 20 matches played and a 18-0-2 record to show for it. And now it’s time for all eyes to turn to 2019.

We now know who the USWNT will face in the group stage of the 2019 Women’s World Cup – Thailand, Chile and Sweden – so all that worry about a “group of death” is suddenly gone.

The US are all but a lock to come out of this group on top. Even if they somehow draw Sweden, the goal differential against Chile and Thailand should more than see them through.

The USWNT is in a good position heading into 2019. They have a solid core, and a large crop of players who appear ready to take the next step upward. Is it precisely the roster I’d prefer? No. And likely many other observers have some differences of their own. But with as much talent as the US has available, there aren’t a ton of flat-out wrong answers.

And while some issues linger, the USWNT is winning. Not just winning, but blowing teams out of the water. They faced Denmark, Germany, England, Mexico, China, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Canada, Portugal and Scotland and came away with wins. Australia and France were their only draws.

Fans of the USWNT are in a strange position. They have come to expect utter perfection, knowing that any moment the cleat could drop and the team could end up relegated to the trash bin of women’s soccer history.

The truth is often found between the extremes. This team isn’t perfect, but it’s very good. And it truth is: it doesn’t need to be perfect.

Jill Ellis is not an all-time great coach, but she’s done a pretty good job at bringing the USWNT back to a clear status as the best in the world, after their worst-ever performance in the 2016 Olympics. That period has included some real downs – notably the experimental phase that saw a three back with Allie Long in the middle – but she’s righted the ship. These days, the US is the sort of team that can – and often does – make good teams look bad.

I am not saying the USWNT will win the Women’s World Cup. But no matter what Kelley O’Hara or Jill Ellis says, they are the favorites by any sane measure. While there are places the team still needs to improve, there’s no reason to think they can’t do it. This is not the US team of 2003 or 2007, which faced real, maybe unfixable, problems.

For this holiday season may we all find a little chill in our gift piles. Six-plus months until the first Women’s World Cup match kicks off is a long time to rage tweet about who is going to be the second back up goalkeeper.

USWNT Camp Underdogs: Vanessa DiBernardo

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to a three part series where we take a look at three different players on the USWNT Player pool bubble – or just the outside of it.. We’ll take you through the reasons they may or may not be included in the 2019 USWNT January camp.

Player Name: Vanessa DiBernardo
Current Team: Chicago Red Stars
Chance of them getting a call up: 3/10

Why a call up is due:

DiBernardo has been a mainstay on lists like this for years, and there’s a good reason for it. While she lacks some of the pinpoint precision that defines the core players of the US central midfield setup, she also possesses the sort of searching vision that has generally been lacking in recent years. As one of the best attacking passers in the world, DiBernardo offers a slightly different look—one that could be particularly useful when the US plays weaker teams who hope to pack the channels. She’s no Lauren Holiday, but she might just be the closest approximation in the current US player pool, and the US could certainly use a player like that.

Why it may not happen:

The biggest reason to think DiBernardo won’t get a callup is that all the arguments in her favor have been true for years, with virtually no little evidence that it’s made an impact on Jill Ellis or her staff. DiBernardo would be an interesting move, but one that would fly in the face of Ellis’s longstanding desire to shift attacking play wide and to emphasize physically dominant players in the center. Given those conditions, DiBernardo is simply too far down on the depth chart to fit into the team’s plans in 2019.

The USWNT are World Cup Favorites No Matter What Kelley O’Hara Says

Posted on by RJ Allen

The United States Women’s National team had to be happy when they saw their draw in the 2019 Women’s World Cup but are trying to bang the drum to keep their motivation high. The team is in Group F against Thailand, Sweden and Chile who have poor historical record against the reigning World Cup Champions.

Still, that hasn’t stopped defender Kelley O’Hara from stating that they may be champs but aren’t the favorites in France come June:

“I would never place us as ‘favorites’ or put it on us,” said O’Hara following the draw. “We do hold ourselves to a very high standard and , yeah, we want to win. Who doesn’t want to win the World Cup? Being the defending champions, I absolutely want to go back-to-back.”

O’Hara may be referring to France as the potential favorites who are not only hosts but also have a win over the United States since the last World Cup. This year the French side has only lost one game, a 4-1 defeat to England back in early April, and have won their last seven games in convincing fashion. That coupled with fact that the US will more than likely meet France in the Quarterfinals if all go according to plan, stacks the pressure on both teams but doesn’t quite push the hosts over the reigning champions.

Then there is the issue of Sweden. They represent the only team in the group with a result of note, a goal-less draw against the US back in 2015 World Cup. While O’Hara and squad will certainly be looking for a slight bit of revenge, the group is structured in a way that makes it very difficult to fail and thus why there is no way that the reigning champions cannot be considered favorites.

“The gap between the top-ranked team and the lowest in this World Cup is much closer than it ever has been, in terms of just level of play,” O’Hara said. “That is attributed to federations investing more time and money into their female program which, I think, needs to continue. It’s just starting and it’s only going to get better, but it does need that investment from the federations.

“I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised to see that the competition is going to be stiff and exciting.”

The US will begin their warm-up tour in January against France, in France. Should they not get a result in that game perhaps the narrative will change. However, until the someone knocks the champions off of their perch, it will be very difficult for anyone to see the US as anything other than what they really are: Champions with the pressure to repeat no matter the opponents.

World Cup Draw: France Comfortable In Group A

Posted on by RJ Allen
On the morning of December 8th, FIFA hosted an event in Paris to determine the groups for the first stage of the 2019 Women’s World Cup.  Some groups, such as Group D and Group E, are shaping up to be an exciting competition. Other groups, such as Group F, might prove to be a bit boring, but will provide a smooth road for the strongest teams.  The host nation, France, finds themselves in a group somewhere between these two extremes. Group A features France, Korea Republic, Norway, and Nigeria. While France should be able to come out on the top of this group without a problem, it’s dangerous to dismiss any of these teams as a lost cause. Korea Republic have qualified for just two Women’s World Cups (2003 and 2015). In 2015, they made it out of a group that included Brazil, Spain, and Costa Rica, but lost 3-0 in the Round of 16 to France. They almost missed out on this World Cup, but managed to snag the final Asian berth by finishing in fifth at the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. Still, they sit at a FIFA Ranking of 14th and could be dangerous if given the opportunity.  Norway’s fate at the 2019 Women’s World Cup will likely be determined by Ada Hegerberg. Hegerberg is one of the best strikers in the world, but she took a break from international soccer due to perceived inequality from the Norwegian Federation. Even with Hegerberg in the squad at the 2017 Euros, Norway failed to win a single game in their group and exited after the first round. But they defeated the tournament’s champions, the Netherlands, to punch their ticket to France in the European qualifiers. I would probably favor Norway to finish as the No. 2 team in this group, regardless of Hegerberg’s decision.  Nigeria has qualified for all seven Women’s World Cup tournaments and made it as far as the quarter-finals in 1999. On their road to France, they won the Women’s Africa Cup, but barely. They failed to score against Cameroon in the semi-finals or South Africa in the final, winning the tournament on penalties. Nigeria has the World Cup experience, but is likely to struggle against the other squads in this group. As I said previously, France should made it out of the group without much of a problem. But the group will provide enough competition to keep it interesting. France are expected to do well in the tournament, especially with the added benefit of being the host nation. But they have had a lot of retirements since 2015, and haven’t necessarily succeeded in bringing in solid replacements. They will not be a team without weaknesses, and each of their opponents are capable of capitalizing.