Tag: Spain

The USWNT vs Spain: Is This Your King?

Posted on by Backline Soccer

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.

Posted on by Backline Soccer

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.

Women’s World Cup Daily: Previewing the Round of 16

Posted on by Backline Soccer

Tomorrow begins the knockout stage. While we all take a break today, here is a preview for each match. If you want a bit more detail on a couple of the most tantalizing games, head over and check out our own Allison Cary’s post on the Top Three Matchups in the Round of 16.

Germany – Nigeria (22 June, Grenoble)

Germany will be heavy favorites, but it would be a huge mistake to write off Nigeria. They were after all one bizarre penalty retake away from earning a draw against France. And their strike force has the speed and intelligent movement to wreck the fragile Germany defense. The big question will be whether Nigeria can do enough to harass the German midfield. If this turns into a training ground exercise sort of match, with Nigeria endlessly chasing, I have faith in Germany’s ability to pick off the defense and score the goals they’ll need.

Norway – Australia (22 June, Nice)

One of the most exciting matches of this round. If you subtract Sam Kerr, Norway has arguably the stronger team in all three lines right now. Of course, add Kerr back and the equations start to change pretty rapidly. Not only is she arguably the best striker in the world, her mere presence warps games and forces the other team to re-organize to accommodate. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out. In theory, this should be a high-scoring thriller, with Norway using their ability to attack directly to pose all sorts of troubles for Australia’s cobbled-together backline, and Australia firing back with Kerr and Foord up top. But it could go very much in the other direction. If Norway decide to focus on controlling the midfield and starving Kerr of chances, this might end up a tedious 0-0 decided on penalties.

England – Cameroon (23 June, Valenciennes)

England went three-for-three in the group stage without quite kicking into full gear. This could be more of the same, against a Cameroon team who has proven to be quite difficult to play without posing nearly as much attacking threat as anticipated. As with every England game, one big question will be who Phil Neville chooses to play. It’s a squad with a huge amount of depth, and with five or six spots where you can make compelling arguments in multiple directions about who to play. Will he go with experience or youth? Pace or precision? Volatility or dependability? I’m particularly curious to see whether Georgia Stanway might have done enough to play herself into taking over the role of creative midfielder from Fran Kirby.

France – Brazil (23 June, Le Havre)

This is the glamor tie of the round, with two of the great names in world soccer. But these are very much two teams moving in different directions. France is a co-favorite for the tournament, while Brazil is an aging team trying to eke out one more result before their key players shuffle off the stage. Still, for all their struggles coming into the tournament (nine losses in a row!), Brazil managed six points in the group stage, including a solid performance against Italy in their last game. But for all that Italy has been great, they’re no France. Brazil will need much better from Marta (who hasn’t really contributed much, to be honest) and will need flawless games from the likes of Thaisa and Andressinha. That’s certainly possible, but if they expose any cracks, that midfield is going to get absolutely run over by France, and that will probably be the game.

USA – Spain (24 June, Reims)

If this game feels familiar, it should. The US played Spain just five months ago. It was a 1-0 game for the US that day, but Spain earned plaudits for their excellent possession and ability to control the game for long stretches. Expect some of the same this time, but probably to a lesser extent. The US were in their off-season last time, with Spain right in the middle of their season. That’s not true now, and it’s hard to see this version of the US conceding any space for Spain to play. The main question for the game is whether Spain is able to exert enough control in the middle of the pitch to dictate play, or if the US can overload the wings and bring overwhelming force to bear against the center backs before anyone can get back to help them. I’m betting on the latter, and would be surprised at any result other than a comfortable win for the US.

Sweden – Canada (24 June, Paris)

This has been widely billed as a boring tie between two teams that play hyper-defensively. Which is a good test of whether folks have actually been watching Sweden. Because this version of Sweden is hardly the stolid defending team that rode a series of drab games to the Olympic final three years ago. They may not be scoring much, but it’s not for lack of trying. They’re not going to say damn the torpedoes and go full leather into the attack, but this shouldn’t be a completely cagey match, and has at least some potential to be genuinely interesting. Both coaches have the ability and willingness to adapt, which could make for some fascinating chess as the game progresses.

Italy – China (25 June, Montpellier)

Italy were the surprise winners of Group C and as a reward got a game that certainly looks easier on paper than their groupmates. But in practice, this looks like precisely the sort of team that Italy will hate to play. China showed against Germany that they have the ability to play an aggressive physical game which depends very little on doing anything constructive. But Italy’s success so far has largely come from two things. First, picking at the weak spots in their opponent’s setup and then ruthlessly exploiting them. Second, using their physicality to disrupt the opposition, riding their luck a little bit to avoid getting tossed into the sin bin. Will they have the same results against the chaotic bundle of energy that is China? On the opposite side, will China look to play at full tilt like they did against Germany, or will they sit a bit deeper and ride their luck like they did against Spain. The former was far more successful than the latter, so I’d be surprised to see anything else here. Let’s all say a brief prayer for the lower-body health of Italy’s forwards.

Netherlands – Japan (25 June, Rennes)

On paper, this looks like the most exciting match of the round. Two teams with a lot of attacking potential, but in very different styles. The Dutch will look to spread the defense, to create spaces for Miedema to work in, and to give their wide attackers targets to ping with crosses, and create room for slashing runs. This relies on a great deal of technical ability but is fundamentally about vertical movement. Japan, by contrast, are all about triangles. They’ll hope to move the ball quickly through the middle. So far, Japan has been more potential than reality, and my gut tells me that will continue here as well. The Netherlands are absolutely exploitable, but I’m not sure Japan has enough firepower to match the goals they’re likely to concede. At the risk of invoking the pundit’s curse and ensuring this ends up 0-0, I’d expect goals—quite a lot of goals—here.  

Women’s World Cup Daily – June 12

Posted on by RJ Allen

June 12: Matchday 6

Nigeria 2 – 0 South Korea

So far, the World Cup has mostly been games with clear favorites trying to overcome plucky underdogs, with only one or two real exceptions. This game was something different: two solid teams, with different styles of play, and no obvious advantage. Before the tournament, I think I said that South Korea might just beat out Nigeria, but certainly not by much. Nigeria have good attacking options, but their direct approach didn’t seem particularly well-suited to handle the collective defensive work that South Korea could bring.

I therefore anticipated a cagey match, with South Korea controlling possession, and probing carefully, always with an eye toward protecting themselves from the counter. And that’s more or less what we actually got. The problem was that South Korea made a huge mess of one attack, with a missed clearance finding its way into their net for an own goal, and with a wonderful bit of strength and skill from Asisat Oshoala – who had up until that point actually been pretty terrible in the tournament.

For South Korea, this is just about the end of the road. Despite having a team with a fair bit of potential, they just weren’t able to find their rhythm. And now, given other results, they’ll either have to beat Norway by four goals (very unlikely), or beat Norway and make up 5 goals on Nigeria – who are playing France so it’s possible.

Germany 1 – 0 Spain

This was an enjoyable game in many respects, but also a very frustrating one. It was enjoyable because we got to watch two very talented teams start to build toward their true potential.

Spain possessed the ball well, unsurprisingly, but also managed to produce more incisive passes and direct movement than in their first match. It didn’t produce any goals, and they couldn’t really sustain it, but through the opening half hour, they looked like the version of Spain that we all tipped as a genuine dark horse.

Germany showed that they can play well without Dzsenifer Maroszán – albeit in a less exciting style. They were mostly content to cede possession, and to attack directly when they could force a transition. It was a fairly measured defensive performance – not much in the way of true pressing – but it was enough to keep Spain relatively at bay and generate enough chances. They were able to convert one of their two or three clear chances this produced – about par for the course – and it was enough to take home the three points.

It was a frustrating game, however, because we only saw glimpses. Spain produced some good work in the opening 30, but really struggled otherwise. The two Garcias looked lively in the buildup, but failed in either their touch or shot once they got into the box. Hermoso did some good creative work pushed back in the #10, but it’s not clear she did enough to justify taking her away from goal. Especially since the shift pushed Alexia Putellas out wide left where she was a relative non-factor. The underlying problems are all still there for Spain. They can possess the ball nicely, and there are flashes of brilliance. But it never quite comes together.

For Germany it was frustrating because this team has so much more potential. A squad with this kind of midfield talent shouldn’t struggle so much to keep the ball. I’m a big fan of Sara Däbritz (a Däbritz Believer, as I named myself today), but she was extremely restrained in this game. In fact, I tweeted this exact point:

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And then approximately twenty seconds later, she scored:

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Still, the goal had little to do with her creative work, and more to do with cleaning up a loose ball at the end of a nice attack down the right. Which is where the vast majority of Germany’s attacks went. They had clearly targeted Corredera as a weak link in the Spanish defense, and found a lot of success down that wing, with great work from Gwinn at right wing and Hendrich at right back.

The biggest concern for Germany going forward has to be their center backs. That’s nothing new. They were a problem against South Africa, and a clear weak link going into the tournament. But this game potentially showed how that weakness can be managed. The biggest problem is their movement in space and skill on the ball. With a high defensive line, those are both very exploitable. But they are both reasonably strong defenders with their backs to the wall. If allowed to set up deeper, they’ll be solid. That does, of course, mean conceding quite a bit more space. But this game showed that the German midfield is probably good enough to generally cover that ground. It will mean playing a lower-possession game, but that’s not necessarily a problem.

France 2 – 1 Norway

A wonderful game, possibly the most entertaining of the tournament so far. That’s partly because each of the goals was a delight in its own specific way. And partly because the level of play was exceptional throughout. France were clearly the better team over 90 minutes and certainly deserved their victory. But Norway were no pushovers. They did excellent work to police the midfield and keep from getting overrun, while their wide players struggled but (mostly) held out against the waves of attack.

The key match-up in the game was on the French right wing, where Diani showed off her pace and skill, regularly beating the defense. However, she never quite managed to make anything of the crosses she was able to send in. So despite the apparent danger, the eventual goal actually came from the other wing. And what a wonderful goal it was. It started with the French counterpress which recovered possession quickly. A quick pass to Henry found her with a mile of space in front of her to run at the Norwegian defense. As they closed ranks, Henry slid a quiet ball wide left to Majri who now had plenty of time to pick out her pass into the box. As the ball bounded in, Thiney held off her defender and shielded the ball, allowing it to reach Gauvin, who then buried her shot.

All together the whole move took maybe 13 or 14 seconds, and involved six or seven French players. It was a wonderful team goal.

Then came the bonkers Wendie Renard Own Goal, or ‘But Contre Son Camp’ (CSC) as I have learned they call it in France. It was a colossal mistake, of course, but also a demonstration of what happens when you force defenders to make point blank decisions while facing their own goal. Renard simply couldn’t know what was behind her and had to try to put the ball out. She missed, and the game was even.

But France eventually found their winner through a penalty. On that point, I won’t bother to rewrite what I already said on twitter, I’ll just link to it here, and reiterate the crucial point: defending in the box is supposed to be hard because we want to incentivize good attacking soccer. In the case of the handball rule, we’re probably going to need to change the rule or interpretation. In the case of these ‘would be fouls anywhere else’ calls, the change is going to come from defenders changing their behavior. And that will make soccer better.

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For a brief moment, it seemed possible that France might not win this group. But they’re now virtually locked in. Which means they’ve held up their half of the bargain, and that fatal showdown between the US and France in Paris on June 28 remains very much in the cards. I know I’m excited!

Notes

– I’m going to try not to say much more about the US game against Thailand. It’s mostly there in the piece I wrote last night. But the key thing I want to come back to is: I’m not looking to cast blame. And I don’t think there’s any definitive right answer to these questions. But I just wish people (myself included) were more willing to take a look at what they take for granted, and consider whether it’s really something they want to endorse. I know most of the conversation on this subject has been standard talking head stuff, but I feel like a little bit has seeped through at the edges which really has me (and hopefully others) reflecting a bit on what responsibilities we all have to be good humans as well as sports fans.

– This piece from Kim McCauley convinced me that I probably understated the genuine strategic value of the US going all-out.

– If you’re not following Katja (@applessquabble), you’re really missing out on learning about the Scandinavian teams (and plenty of others as well).

– As my twitter followers know, I’ve become a huge Miranda Nild fan – she’s a Bay Area girl (go Bears!) who just played her first World Cup match against her home country. Check out my quick thread on her comments after the game last night. For a very emotional moment, she comes across really well.

Tomorrow’s action

I’m previewing these games over at Stars and Stripes FC tomorrow, so take a look over there at some point fairly early in the AM eastern time to see my thoughts.

But the tl;dr is that Australia-Brazil is a HUGE game, much more significant than we were anticipating, while South Africa – China is another between two teams with zero points who need a win. It’s in Paris, so that’s the one I’ll be at.

Women’s World Cup Daily – June 8

Posted on by RJ Allen

June 8: Matchday 2

Germany 1 – 0 China

This was not a very good game, and most of the blame for that falls on the referee (see below). But obviously the teams themselves played a big role. China came out ready to kick the German players, it not necessarily the ball. And it certainly set the tone for the game. In the opening fifteen minutes, Germany was in relatively firm control, and carved open a few very nice opportunities. But as the game progressed and the kicking grew more intense, the German team started to lose control of things a bit. By the end of the half, China had sprung a couple attacks of their own – most coming from extremely poor giveaways by Sara Doorsoun in the German defense – and it was only dumb luck for the Germans that kept the match scoreless.

The second half settled a bit more into a normal level of physicality, as the referee put a slightly firmer hand on the till. And once Germany found their goal, the match more or less petered out.

Many commentators seem to think that this was a colossal failure from Germany, and are already back to dismissing them as serious contenders. I’m happy to wait and see what happens. They are unlikely to face a team willing to commit to such cynical tactics again or a referee who allows it. And this will also have been a wakeup call for them, which may be sufficient to get them into gear.

For China, they were probably not really expecting anything here, and while they’ll rue having missed their chance to nick a result, even a 1-0 loss won’t hurt them too badly in a tournament where goal difference could be an important tiebreaker. They have Spain next, who seem like precisely the sort of team that might wither under this kind of relentless physicality. It will certainly be interesting to see if they try it again, and if it works.

Spain 3 – 1 South Africa

This was a weird and wild game, that very much belies the final scoreline. Spain came in as favorites, and left with a seemingly comfortable victory, but it certainly didn’t come easy. In the first half, Spain almost played as a caricature of themselves: passing the ball relentlessly through the middle, barely ever working it wide, and finding (to their apparent surprise) that the center was often clogged and impassable. Meanwhile, while South Africa found little time on the ball, they made the most of their rare chances, generally looking to spring Thembi Kgatlana in a wide left position. This was quite effective because Spain’s right-sided players – Torrejon and Sampedro – seemed as uninterested in defending out wide as they were in attacking there. Kgatlana’s goal came after it looked like the attack had fizzled as Spain was able to set, but she followed the play in, received the return ball, and then launched a perfect ball into the top corner.  For the rest of the half, Spain looked flummoxed. They continued to control the game, and weren’t completely toothless, but kept looking to pass rather than shoot, and kept exposing themselves to counters.

After halftime, Spain came out with renewed energy. They actually started using the entire pitch and began to look for more direct attacking moves. This produced a few solid chances, though as the minutes ticked on and they couldn’t find a goal, they started to lose their calm and began flailing a bit. But then came the goals – two in rapid succession – each from a penalty, and each bringing its own controversy.

The first was a handball at the top corner of the box. By the letter of the law, it was clearly the correct call. But it was of the variety that makes neutrals grimace with frustration. Still, the equalizing goal was probably a fair reward for Spain, who had produced enough chances to justify a goal.

The second came from a dangerous challenge, once again in the far corner of the box. Watching live, I saw absolutely nothing to this. Vilkazi won the ball, and play continued. But then VAR reared its head, and play halted while they looked. And what they saw was a studs-up, crotch-level kick. Clearly dangerous play, clearly a booking, and since it was in the box, clearly a penalty. And as a second yellow, it also left South Africa playing with just 10 for the final minutes. That was a hole they were never going to dig out of, and it was no surprise when Spain, finally discovering the space to operate thanks to their player-advantage, produced a beautiful goal to seal the game.

It was a wonderful start for South Africa, and in a slightly different world, could have been a truly famous victory. But it wasn’t to be. And so Spain got their three points, in spite of having a miserable time for a big chunk of the game, against fairly weak opposition. They’ll need to harness some of the energy of the second half if they expect to advance any further.

Norway 3 – 0 Nigeria

I was on a train with no wifi for this entire match, so can’t speak about any of the events. The result, however, leaves us with four games and zero surprises. In all four, the team that was expected to win did so. Obviously, the expected winner should in fact win pretty often (that’s why they’re expected!) but a tournament is no fun without a few good upsets along the way. Tomorrow has some real promise on this front, with three games where the underdog has every chance of finding a result.

The other big story here was Ada Hegerberg’s non-presence. This is a legitimate issue to discuss, but the conversations around it have been very frustrating. I’ll have a full article on that subject available tomorrow, so stay tuned for that.

Assorted thoughts:

Refereeing

We spend a lot of time talking about refereeing decisions, for better and (mostly) for worse. There certainly was a lot of that today, especially with the two penalty calls and the sending-off that so completely defined the Spain-South Africa game. But for all the controversies about those sort of calls, I think the bigger conversation needs to be about how referees set the tone for the game. It’s an important skill, and goes a long way to ensuring enjoyable games.

The referee in Germany-China, the Canadian Marie-Soleil Beaudoin, failed at this job miserably. China came out to kick hard, and maybe play the ball once the kicking was done. It certainly did seem to rattle Germany, and in that sense was obviously a successful strategy. Which means it’s hard to blame Jia Xiuquan, precisely. They sought an advantage, and found one. And you can also frame this as a problem with Germany. They are the better team, and should have done something to address the situation.

But ultimately, this is coming at the wrong way. This is essentially a story of a referee who allowed rough play to go by with little or no punishment, and thereby incentivized that sort of play. We don’t leave it up to everyday people to enforce the law, and it shouldn’t be up to soccer teams to enforce the rules, either. I’m hardly a believer in strict textualism, and understand that referees absolutely need to exercise some discretion. But that should be in the service of making the game better, safer, and more aligned with the spirit of the rules.

Apparently, on the US broadcast, Christina Unkel said that referees are loathe to hand out yellow cards for fear of generating suspensions.

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This is a terrible approach. The punishments exist for a reason, and while there can of course occasionally be injustices – nobody loves it when two nothing fouls rule a player out of a quarterfinal – the risks are far larger if you permit unrepentant physicality to rule the day. To wit:

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Fitness

One thing that weighed on my mind in Spain-South Africa: relative fitness levels. South Africa were clearly flagging significantly by the final twenty minutes, which may well have contributed to the mistakes that produced the penalties. It’s no coincidence that Spain started looking better at this point. It’s a story we’re likely to see repeat itself in the tournament, with countries like the US, Germany, France, and England – composed entirely of full-time professionals with the luxury of absurd physical regimens to keep them fit – face off against countries with players who simply can’t go the full 90 at anything close to 100%.

Tomorrow’s action:

  • Australia – Italy. A good first test for Australia. Italy are a solid team with some genuine attacking threats. Australia should have plenty to overwhelm them (my gut says this feels like a 3-1 victory for Australia), but after their rotten run-in to the tournament, they’ll want to actually prove that they are in form.
  • Brazil – Jamaica. At one point, some oddsmakers were refusing to even take bets on this game since it was expected to be such a blowout. That was always a mistake, since Jamaica is much better now than their ranking suggests (it’s amazing what a year of actual training and some new recruits can do for a team), and Brazil much worse (they’ve lost nine games in a row, going back almost a full year). And now it’s been confirmed that Marta will miss this game. I still think Brazil has enough to pull out a win, but a draw is maybe the most likely result and a Jamaica win is absolutely possible.
  • England – Scotland. A rivalry that literally goes back to the dawn of modern soccer in the late 1800s, brought to life in a new form here. England are cleaerly the superior team, but Scotland are a tough team to play, and they will certainly be up for it. This should be a cracker.

I’ll be in Valenciennes for the opener, and will do my best to catch as much of the others as I can before my train back to Paris.

Is Spain a Dark Horse or Overrated?

Posted on by RJ Allen

Something strange happened this spring. A team that most casual fans probably hadn’t given two thoughts were suddenly everyone’s favorite ‘dark horse’ for the World Cup. And it’s not hard to understand why. Spain has long been a sleeping giant of women’s soccer, full of potential that has never quite been realized. But in the past year, things have started to change. Barcelona advanced to the final of the Champions League, while Atlético Madrid took home their third straight league title, and drew 60,000 fans to a game in the process.

Meanwhile, the national team started to string together some genuinely impressive performances—often outplaying highly-regarded opponents like the US, Netherlands, and England—though not necessarily emerging with victories in the process.

And that’s the key thing. If Spain are really going to live up to their ‘dark horse’ moniker, they’ll need to start translating classy performances into concrete results. There’s no denying the talent on this team. The question is whether they’ll be able to make good on the potential this time around, or whether it will take another cycle for potential to become reality.

Spain is no stranger to this phenomenon. Their men’s side spent decades as a favorite of pundits who kept declaring them just about ready to take a step forward and join the inner circle. Eventually, it happened. The question is whether the women are on the cusp of a similar transition, or are merely at the beginning of a long and frustrating road.

Spain’s strengths are real…but so are their weaknesses

Spain’s strengths are obvious: technical ability, tactical awareness, smooth possession. The midfield duo of Vicky Losada and Alexia Putellas is among the very best at the tournament, and are fresh off working together to take their club team, Barcelona, to the Champions League final. Much has been made of Spain’s decision to part ways with Vero Boquete—their all-time leading scorer, and still an excellent player as made apparent by her recent performances with Utah Royals in the NWSL. But with Losada and Putellas, Spain is spoiled for options in central midfield.

Their principal target will be Jenni Hermoso, a top-level striker who has ben pouring in goals for Atletico. Hermoso is far more than a goal-poacher, and likes to play supplier herself, but Spain will probably do best if she sticks to a pure striker role, since they lack any other obvious goal-scoring threats. Their other best hope in an attacking role is Patricia Guijarro, a rising star in the game, but also someone just coming off injury, and who has not yet proved she is ready at the highest levels.

The result is a team with a lot of nice attacking options, but which won’t necessarily translate those into goals as often as they’d like. When everything is clicking, Spain move the ball with lightning speed through a series of one-touch passes, and it all looks as pretty as any nation in the world. The problem is: it doesn’t always click. And when it doesn’t, they lack the cutting edge to manufacture goals through more direct means. The result is a team that will inspire people with their beautiful play, but whose success may ultimately depend more on how effectively their defense can stifle the game.

And this is the dirty little secret of the case for Spain: even with all the beautiful passing, their greatest strength as a team is probably their defensive solidity. The key player here is Mapi León, a rising star in the global game, who was a huge part of Barcelona’s successful season. She is a superb defender, as well as an important link to the attack from her wide left position. They’ll also depend on players like Marta Torrejon, Irene Paredes, and Andrea Pereira to lock down the defense. But even with solid internationals across the back and in goal, Spain is ultimately not quite strong enough to hold off the very top teams on the ability of their defenders alone.  

That means that they’ll need to blend their strengths together—using possession primarily as a technique to deny the opposition the ball, and thereby deny them chances. The great danger is that they’ll allow themselves to be drawn forward, trying to dance the ball into the net, and leave themselves exposed.

How will Spain fare?

Spain have gone from underrated to overrated quickly enough to give you whiplash. No sooner had the ‘dark horse’ narrative begun to percolate than knowledgeable observers jumped in to push back, highlighting all the reasons to doubt their potential. All of which is fair. But at this point, the backlash might have exceeded the original claim, putting Spain right back into the underrated category.

Whether the metaphysics of their rating interest you, there’s no denying that Spain will be an exciting team to watch. Ultimately, 2019 is likely to end up being a bit too early for them. With a friendlier draw, they might well have advanced quite far, but they have very little margin for error now. If they can’t overcome Germany—one of the top teams in the world—the very best they probably can hope for is a Round of 16 draw against the United States, England, or Australia. That’s a lot to ask, and probably more than this team will be able to manage.

But don’t count them out just yet. There’s enough potential in this squad that if everything comes together, they could go a very long way.

Euro Roundup: World Cup Qualifying Special

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome to Euro Roundup! This edition will be a bit different: with European World Cup qualifying nearing the end, we will take a look at how recent qualifiers have gone as well as the state of play with future qualifiers.

While other federations have recently kicked off their qualifying campaigns, national teams in Europe have been in qualifying since September of last year. With the majority of it completed, some teams are close to booking their place in the World Cup in France in 2019.

Group 1

England took on Wales in what was to be the toughest test so far. A record crowd of 25,603 people watched the match at St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton. Wales set themselves quite defensively and their game plan worked. The way they set up made them really hard to break down. The best chances were long-range ones but Laura O’Sullivan made some amazing saves on the day and Wales took away a well-deserved point.

While that was it for Wales, England had one more game this time against Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia have been and were again a frustrating team to play against, but England came away with a 2-0 win this time and went to the top of the group.

Group 2

Group 2 saw some close matches again. It kicked off with Switzerland taking on Scotland. Switzerland had won all their previous matches in qualifying and looked to continue that here. It was closely contested, with the Swiss winning 1-0 with the winning goal scored by Lara Dickenmann.

The following day, Poland and Albania saw out a 1-1 draw with goals scored by Katarzyna Daleszczyk and Geldona Morina. The final day of matches had Albania taking on Belarus and Scotland taking on Poland. Albania beat bottom-of-the-table Belarus 1-0, but it wasn’t easy. Lucie Gijini scored just a couple of minutes from time to take all three points.

Scotland vs Poland was a close match as well but there were a couple of incidents that changed the game. First, Scottish goalkeeper Lee Alexander saved a penalty. Later on, Paulina Dudek was sent off after getting her second yellow and that opened the game. All three of Scotland’s goals were scored in 12 minutes. Zoe Ness scored her first international goal in the 79th minute, Claire Emslie scored seven minutes later, and Erin Cuthbert rounded off the scoring in extra time.

Group 3

The Netherlands had a double helping of the Irish in these qualifiers as they took on both Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland were up first, and another record crowd of 30,000+ were in attendance—the Dutch European Championship win really has changed attitudes and opened up people’s mind to women’s football over there. They were in for a real treat as the Netherlands thrashed Northern Ireland 7-0. A few of the more notable names were in on the scoring. Lieke Martens opened the scoring and doubled the lead eight minutes after her first goal. Vivianne Miedema added another, and Sherida Spitse made it 4-0 when she put away a penalty before halftime. There wasn’t much let up after the break. Shanice van de Sanden made it 5-0, with Spitse getting her brace, and an own goal sealed the deal.

It was a tougher test in the next match, with just a 2-0 win against the Republic of Ireland. The previous fixture between the two had ended in a draw, but the Orange Lionesses weren’t taking any chances with that this time. Lineth Beerensteyn and Sherida Spitse scoring the only goals in the game, with Spitse putting away yet another penalty.

Group 4

Sweden and Denmark look to be the teams that might be progressing from their group but the order is yet to be decided. Only one team can progress automatically, with the runner-up up having to see if they will be one of the four teams in the playoffs. Right now, Sweden are in the driver’s seat. They only played once but made it a good win.

Hungary were on the end of a 4-1 defeat with Fanni Vago getting at least something from the game. Caroline Seger, Sofia Jakobsson, Stina Blackstenius and Mimmi Larsson were all on target that day. Meanwhile, Denmark won as well, but it was quite tough. They came up against Ukraine who are trying to get into the playoff spot at least, and they won by only a goal which was scored by Sanne Troelsgaard.

Group 5

Group 5 could throw up surprises later on, but it was pretty much business as normal this time. After going through a tumultuous time, Germany’s interim coach guided them to a good 4-0 win over the Czech Republic. For one of the players, however, it was a great game. Lea Schuller got all four goals that match, scoring two goals in each half.

Iceland are keeping pace with the Germans and are only two points behind with a game in hand. They had two games and came away with two wins. First up was a trip to Slovenia. They came away from that game with a close 2-0 win with goals from Gunnhildur Jonsdottir and Rakel Honnudottir. The next away game was a bit easier. Faroe Islands did really well in the preliminary stage, winning all their games, but have struggled in qualifying. Iceland won quite comfortably with five goals from five different goalscorers. Jonsdottir and Honnudottir scored yet again, as well as Harpa Thorsteinsdottir, Agla Maria Albertsdottir, and Fanndis Fridriksdottir.

Group 6

Italy is absolutely flying in Group 6 and look to be one win away from booking their ticket to the World Cup. They are in a group with fellow Euro 2017 teams Belgium and Portugal, but have won all of their matches so far.  They faced bottom side Moldova and managed to win 3-1. Italy scored twice in the first half with the first goal coming in the eighth minute. Anastasia Toma got one back for Moldova just before halftime, but Valentina Giacinti got the final goal.

The Azzurre faced a tougher test in the next match against the Belgians. The Red Flames took the lead when Janice Cayman slotted home a penalty. Just a few minutes later, Martina Rosucci got the Italians back in it. Cristiana Girelli scored the winner 10 minutes from time and kept the winning run going.

Group 7

Spain is also flying through their group stage. They have won all of their games so far and are on 15 points with Austria in second with seven. With three games remaining for both, Spain aren’t quite mathematically there just yet, but they are very close.

First up, Austria faced Serbia and they were a tough test for them. Serbia took the lead just a few minutes in but undid that good work by conceding an own goal. They held on and drew 1-1 with Austria dropping crucial points. Next up, Austria faced Spain in what was a Euro 2017 rematch. Spain avenged the Euro defeat with Jennifer Hermoso scoring the only goal.

Predictions

So who looks to be qualifying, who will be in the playoffs, and who may just miss out? As previously mentioned, Spain and Italy look set to be qualifying automatically in their next games. Spain face Israel on June 7 and Italy face Portugal on June 8. Switzerland look firm favorites to qualify as well, but there is a small matter of a game against Scotland who are behind them with a game in hand. The deficit is only six points so a win for Scotland could change things up. The Netherlands could qualify yet again. The Republic of Ireland are three points behind, but luckily they have both played each other home and away. It’s more about who could get second and a possible playoff spot. Norway won’t want to miss out on a World Cup, and they have a game in hand over the Republic of Ireland, as well as being only one point behind. They do still have to face each other both home and away; Republic of Ireland will host on June 8th and Norway will host on June 12th.

As previously mentioned, Sweden and Denmark are fighting it out for that top spot in Group 4 with Sweden three points ahead. This is another group where the top two will face each other. They face each other on the final day of qualifying which is September 4. Points will be crucial for Denmark, as they may miss out on playoffs as the other results stand at the moment. The biggest shock of all could come from Group 5. Iceland are currently second but they are only two points behind Germany with a game in hand. They shocked everyone by beating the Germans in qualifying earlier on. If they repeated that feat, they could qualify automatically with the Germans quite likely to be in a playoff spot. The crucial match between the two will take place on September 1.

Ending up where we began the roundup, Group 1 could have an interesting ending, with England leading the group just two points ahead of Wales. The two face each other in what is likely to be another well-attended match on August 31. However, with how certain results could fall, this encounter may be more attacking. Either side of that game, England face Russia and Kazakhstan away with wins looking likely in both. Wales face Russia as well as the stubborn Bosnia and Herzegovina.

It’s shaping up to be quite some race for those all-important World Cup spots so keep your eyes open in a couple of months time and see just who will go and who will falter.

Euro Roundup: Snow Joke, Silverware and Spectators

Posted on by RJ Allen

Snow Joke

Recently, the UK has been going through some testing times with the weather. At the start of March, a snow storm wreaked havoc everywhere—something we’re not used to. This extreme weather meant many fixtures were postponed. This weekend wasn’t quite as bad, but there was more snow. League games across the country were hit, as well as the FA Cup quarterfinals which were due to take place on Sunday 18th March. Only one game survived, with Sunderland vs Manchester City, Durham vs Everton, and Arsenal vs Charlton all called off. These games look to be rearranged for Sunday, March 25, but this is going to cause scheduling headaches with WSL games to be moved. Liverpool managed to keep their Cup game on against Chelsea, but they might have wished it had been postponed, as Chelsea ensured their place in the semifinals with a 3-0 win.

These postponements—both this season and in previous seasons—do raise some questions. It’s not just snow that’s caused havoc, but heavy rain too. Some teams invest in their playing staff, training and various other things but is it time to start really investing in playing conditions and pitches?

There are some complexities here. Some teams share grounds and might not have much much power to change things. Chelsea, for instance, own the leasehold at Kingsmeadow, but AFC Wimbledon—the previous owners—still share the stadium with them, for the time being. Manchester City own their own stadium, which is the ideal solution. The women play at the Academy Stadium, which is just down the road from the Etihad, where the men’s side plays. Owning it means they can do what they want there and improve the playing surface if needed.

What do you think? Should investments into playing facilities be high on the priority list for women’s clubs?

Silverware

Most leagues operate a winter season beginning in August and September, then ending in May or June. Leagues are now entering championship rounds, relegation rounds, and the business end of the regular season, and this comes along with chances for silverware. Some cups are close to wrapping up.

Arsenal claimed the first silverware of the season when they beat Manchester City 1-0 to win the Continetal Tyres Cup. They have now won the Conti Cup five times—a record—with City having won the other two.

The FA Cup, which pits WSL sides against all comers from county and regional leagues on up, is heading into its final rounds. Charlton are the lowest ranked team left in the competition, as they currently ply their trade in the WPL South. They are up against Arsenal, who have won it the most times (14). Durham are the sole WSL2 representative left, with WSL1 teams making up the rest of the teams. The semifinals will be televised on the BBC for the first time on April 15. The first one will be on at 12:30pm GMT on the Red Button and the second one will be on at 3:30pm on BBC2. The final will be taking place at Wembley on May 5, and it will kick off at 5:30pm GMT. This will also be televised by the BBC on BBC1. This is available to watch for UK viewers with access to this but there are no details yet as to how people outside the UK can watch.

In Sweden, the teams for the Svenska Cupen final have been confirmed. Linköpings narrowly beat Eskilstuna United 2-1 to book their place, with Rosengård beating Djurgårdens to confirm their place as well. This is a repeat of the past few finals, with Linköpings winning in 2015, but Rosengård winning twice in 2016 and 2017.

The main silverware in Europe, however, is the UEFA Champions League, which decides who really is Europe’s best team. The quarterfinals take place on the March 21 28. Manchester City, who were knocked out by Lyon last year in the semifinals, take on Linköpings. Montpellier take on Chelsea, Wolfsburg take on Slavia Praha and Lyon face Barcelona. That final match will be the one to watch—Barcelona made it to the semifinals last year before being knocked out by PSG.

Spectators

Attendance is quite a talked about point in women’s football, with an ever-present debate about how to attract more spectators, and whether women’s sides should be playing at the same grounds as their male counterparts. That’s what Atletico Madrid did this weekend when they took on Madrid CFF in the Madrid derby.

For some background, Real Madrid do not have a women’s team yet. Madrid CFF, or Madrid Club de Fútbol Femenino were founded by current president Alfredo Ulloa in 2010. Alfredo is a Madridista, and didn’t want to see his daughter Paola, a goalkeeper, go and play for archrival Atletico, so he started Madrid CFF. Those two teams faced each other at the Wanda Metropolitano and drew 2-2 before a crowd of 22,202. Luckily for Atletico, Barcelona also drew so they stay ahead in the title race.

Thank you for reading yet another Euro Roundup. Are there any leagues you would like to know more about? Let me know on Twitter @englionesses or in the comments below!

Euro Roundup No.2

Posted on by RJ Allen

Welcome back to Euro Roundup. I hope you all enjoyed the first installment and will be looking forward to many more to come. If there’s anything that you would like me to cover in a future roundup or if there’s something you want to find out about football in Europe, feel free to tweet me and I’ll consider it.

International Flavour

January is typically more about International teams with training camps and friendlies occurring this month. This month usually sees teams fly off for sunnier climes and kick off the year with some international training at La Manga. This is a time where each team can work on fitness, techniques, and test out tactics with no risk. These camps become especially important in a qualification or major tournament year.

Teams that have gone out to La Manga include England, Scotland, Spain, Netherlands, Russia, and Norway. The same day that this goes out, the Netherlands will be facing England in a friendly. They haven’t got off to the best of starts at La Manga, however. They faced Spain on the 20th and lost 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexia Putellas and Gema Gili. This marked the end of the 12-game unbeaten run that they had which included the Euros. Other friendlies included Scotland taking on Norway with the Norwegians coming out as 3-0 winners, and Slovakia beating Russia 1-0.

There are friendlies going elsewhere as well. France took on Italy in Marseille as part of their World Cup preparation. The game ended in a 1-1 draw with goals from Amandine Henry and Cristiana Girelli. Sweden traveled to Cape Town to take on South Africa and emerged 3-0 winners with debutant Loreta Kullashi netting a brace.

League Action

There has been some league and cup action that has happened since the last roundup but with the international break, it’s been mostly lower leagues that have been in action as well as some cup action.

In cups, the Faxafloi Cup was in action in Iceland with FH beating HK/Vikingur 3-0 and IA winning 4-0 against Grotta. That wasn’t the only cup in action as the Reykjavik Cup occurred with Fylkir, KR, and HK/Vikingur all winning. Italy had one cup match in the Coppa Italia as Tavagnacco thrashed Unterland 6-0. Rounding up the cups in the Netherlands, Wartburgia II were on the end of a 6-0 thrashing thanks to Saestum.

Now to the leagues. In Belgium, there was only one game in the Super League. Genk beat OH Leuven 3-1 to leave OH Leuven 6 points from safety. In the 1st Division, SG-Tertre-Hautrage and Kontich both won to keep their title challenge going with both on the same points but Tertre edging ahead on goal difference. The 2nd Division saw all the bottom three clubs lose in Group A, but Cerkelladies Brugge are level on points with Sottegem who are just above them. Genk II kept their winning run going to keep their 6 point lead intact.

Spain is not only the current site of international friendlies but also has some league action of its own. The 1a Nacional, below the Primera Division, is split into 7 groups. Group 1, 2, 5, and 6 were the groups that played this week. Notable results are Oviedo Moderno winning to go within a point of leaders Deportivo de La Coruña. Osasuna beat Oiartzun 2-0, taking Osasuna above Oiartzun and into 4th in Group 2. Group 5 saw Tacón go top after a 5-2 win against Parquesol. They pushed Atletico Madrid down into 2nd who they lost to the previous week. Finally, Group 6 Las Palmas saw Femarguin go 3 points ahead after beating Firgas 4-0.

Not all lower leagues were so lucky with staging games. Wet and wintery weather hit the FA Women’s Premier League quite badly with just the one match surviving. That match saw Crewe Alexandra take on Chorley in the Division 1 Northern league. Crewe were 1-0 up at half time but persistence from Chorley meant that in the end they won 4-2. Chorley are now a few points behind Crewe in the table.