USA loss in WWC final

For a large part of the final the USA played their best soccer of the tournament. They controlled play, they limited Japan's shots, and overall looked like the better team. There were two things they didn't do and it led to their downfall. During their first half dominance they were unable to to put away any of their 12 shots. The far greater problem was their composure with the lead. The USA constantly showed grit and determination throughout the tournament. They always played their best when the score was tied or the US was behind. What they didn't do was ice games. Forgotten in the Brazil game was the fact that the US led 1-0. Against France they led 1-0 early on but were then dominated for large portions of the game and only played their best once France had tied the game. This problem cropped up again and the USA did not do a good job of killing the final minutes of regulation or the second overtime. The women had a great run but when facing a team that had the same grit the US had shown throughout the tournament it came down to composure. Between now and the Olympics next year the team must develop a center mid-fielder who can calm things down, create for others, and possess the ball the way no starter showed they could this world cup.

Semi-finals Women's World Cup

USA versus France tomorrow at noon on ESPN. The United States will need to be able to refocus quickly after their emotional win on Sunday. The USA is 11-0-1 all time against France outscoring them 38-8 in those 12 games. I expect the USA to be able to focus and pull out and impressive win over France to put themselves into the final. 3-0 USA.

USA USA USA!

Karma is a mofo. USA wins! No analysis or review, if you didn't watch the game it is your loss as a sports fan. GO USA!

USA loss to Sweden WWC

The USA lost to Sweden 1-2 in a game the USA needed to tie in order to win the group and avoid Brazil in the next round. The biggest weaknesses were LePeilet at left back and the inability of Boxx to create anything for the team. I think that against Brazil the USA team must have much more productive possession in order to keep the skillful Brazilians from getting into a flow offensively. Inserting Lori Lindsey into the lineup for Boxx would accomplish this. The good news is that if the USA can get by Brazil on Sunday (at 11am est) they don't have to face Germany (the host team and tournament favorites) until the finals.

WWC USA vs. Sweden

Sorry for no real preview of the game but I am in class and you may want me to know about heart disease should you ever happen to be my patient. The broadcast starts at 230 and the game @2:45 today on ESPN. Win or tie and the USA is top of group. A loss would still put the USA in the quarter-finals. Go USA!

US into quarters at WWC

With their 3-0 victory today the US women's national team played their way into the next round of the World Cup. Overall a good performance that was somewhat dampened by poor finishing. The competition gets harder from here on out and the US cannot depend on getting 27 shots so when they do get their chances they need to be more efficient in making them count. The worst culprit was Abby Wambach who is one of the world's leading goal scorers. The victory also put the USA in a position to win the group with only a tie against Sweden in the final game of round robin play. The Swedish team with be without their captain as she got her second yellow card and so will have to sit out a game.

USA vs. Columbia, WWC

The USA women's team plays Columbia today at noon on ESPN. The USA is a big favorite in this game but it is important that they take advantage of it to assure that they not only lock up a spot in the quarter finals but can rest some of their starters in their final game of group play.

You can ask my family after watching the last game and hearing me yell the entire game that the US team had to have someone better than Boxx to play the central midfield role about how happy I am to see Lori Lindsey be put into the starting lineup. I am not sure if it will pay off long term as I have not seen much of Lindsey and do not know how she will handle her defensive responsibilities but something needed to be done. Boxx looked lost for most of the last game on defense and she had very few positives on offense. Even if Lindsey simply posses the ball better than Boxx did it should provide for a much smoother USA attack.

Prediction USA victory and look for it to be big, something in the 4-0, 5-1 range.

More soccer on a Dawg blog

Of my few readers most probably come because I write about the Dawgs, afterall that is why I created the blog. I am, however, also a huge soccer fan so I will continue to write about soccer as long as there is something worthy going on and more importantly as long as there is no actual football to help me pass the time until there is a gluttony of football happenings starting with summer camp.

The women's World Cup starts today with two matches (France-Nigeria at 9am and Canada-Germany at noon) on some combination of the ESPN channels. Usually the host, Germany this year, have a lamb for the slaughter in their opener but this year they play a Canadian team that is ranked in the top ten in the world, so it could provide some drama.

The US team despite its number 1 world ranking is not the favorite it usually is anytime it lines up. Germany, winners of the last two World Cups and the hosts, along with Brazil are the favorites but do not count out the US as they just won the last major competition (Olympics). For anyone who is not a fan of a)soccer or b)women's sports I suggest you give a few games a try anyways. The women's games tend to be more open (offensive minded) than many of the men's games.

It is also fun (to me at least) to cheer for the United States in any sport, if there was . Toss in the fact that the we play the North Koreans in the first game (Tuesday at 1215 on ESPN) and you have even more reason to cheer. So if you can't get off for a long lunch break to escape for a couple beers to your local bar then set your DVR and come home to some good ol' fashioned American homerism patriotism!

Gold Cup loss for USA

Despite going up 2-0 over Mexico in the Gold cup final tonight the USA was unable to overcome the loss of Cherudolo. Cherundolo had been the most consistent and possibly most valuable player the entire tournament for the United States. Without him in the back the defense was unable to hold up under the creative Mexican attack. The United States had just pieced together a strong starting four across the back that was starting to look very solid but the lack of depth at the outside back positions showed through. The 4-2 loss will be tough to swallow for the United States but the finding out that several young players can handle the spot light was positive. The biggest thing the USA needs to develop between now and the start of World Cup qualifying is depth across the back line and a forward that can play with consistency.

USA advances to Gold Cup finals

Bob Bradley made all the right moves tonight in using Donovan and Adu as substitutes in the game tonight. He also pushed Dempsey up to forward. All three moves paid off as Adu played a beautiful long diagonal ball to Donovan who attacked the near post and played a beautiful ball to Dempsey on the back post to give the USA the 1-0 victory. They will take on the winner of Mexico and Honduras Saturday night at 9.

Gold Cup rematch with Panama tonight.

Panama pulled the upset beating the US in group play but the men's team gets their shot at revenge in the more important game tonight. Winner makes the finals, loser goes home. There have been changes in the lineup since that game and will be at least one more tonight as Altidore is most likely still out. Donovan sat out the first 65 minutes of the quarter final match and should have slightly fresher legs so look for a big game from him.

USA Soccer - update

The men's team blew easy chance after easy chance last night but still managed the 1-0 victory to advance to the knockout stages of the Gold Cup. They will face Jamaica on Saturday. If they are going to win that game and continue to advance they can't waste the number of chances they did in the game last night, however at this stage it is not about style points, it is about getting the result.

USA Soccer - Must win.

Tonight the US men's national team plays Guadeloupe in what is a must win situation if it wants to advance in the Gold Cup. While things seem desperate for the US it does bring to mind the last time they were in a similar situation, the Confederations Cup two years ago. The US had lost its first two games and had to not just win the third game but win it big and get some help. That is exactly what happened and the team advanced to the next round. The team didn't stop there, they faced off with Spain who was on a very long winning streak and the US pulled off the upset beating Spain 2-0. Then in the final the US was up 2-0 on powerhouse Brazil before eventually fading and loosing a tough game 2-3. There is no team close to the talent of Spain or Brazil and the USA's situation is simpler tonight than then, win and you live to play another day. The question is will this team show the heart they displayed back then or will they fade into the shadows like Lebron in the 4th quarter.
GO USA!!! Game is on Fox Soccer channel with the broadcast starting at 8:30. Should be several bourbon's in by then in my prep work for the other football season coming up!