Women's Soccer World Cup 2019

[Jacob]

The US was impressive, but Endler was definitely the player of the game. She’s a top-class goalkeeper.

 

[James]

Yeah Chilean goal keeper was really good. Between her snd the cross bar and Lloyd missing the net on a pk, could easily have been 8-0.

What do we make of US gk Alyssa Naeher missing of the ball on the Chilean off side?

 

[DocGKR]

I have been a USSF referee for 20 years, all three of our kids played soccer at a high competitive level, including two daughters playing in college. Unfortunately, I also teach an introductory Head Trauma/TBI course at a major west coast medical school and the data clearly and fully supports the wisdom in reducing headers for youth soccer players...

 

[SBrown]

What do we make of US gk Alyssa Naeher missing of the ball on the Chilean off side?

 

[crgildart]

I have been a USSF referee for 20 years, all three of our kids played soccer at a high competitive level, including two daughters playing in college. Unfortunately, I also teach an introductory Head Trauma/TBI course at a major west coast medical school and the data clearly and fully supports the wisdom in reducing headers for youth soccer players...

Yep. and nobody should be playing football or wrestling in the WWE either. It will be lower income kids paying the biggest price taking the biggest risks to get college scholarships and pro careers more often than other kids who won the birth lottery of well to do parents and inside tracks to great jobs/careers that don't significantly raise the risk of CTE..

Back on topic, I suspect that this "no header drills" for younger kids in organized ball is just now beginning to contribute to the growing gap between US kids and the rest of the football/soccer world.

 

[James]

Back on topic, I suspect that this "no header drills" for younger kids in organized ball is just now beginning to contribute to the growing gap between US kids and the rest of the football/soccer world.

Yeah, that's not on topic. Not even the slightest attempt to relate it to what's happening in the Wwcup

 

[crgildart]

Yeah, that's not on topic. Not even the slightest attempt to relate it to what's happening in the Wwcup

Not this tournament, but it might ten years from now. I'll get more engaged with 2019 when we get to the knockout rounds.

 

[Jacob]

What do we make of US gk Alyssa Naeher missing of the ball on the Chilean off side?

I had to step out for a bit and missed that part of the game. But looking back through the replays in the highlights, it looks like she didn't fully commit to going for the ball when she saw the forward start swinging her foot. It looks like both players actually pulled out at the last second, which is why the ball trickled on through untouched.

It's a hard one to criticise. Yes, you want your GK steaming through and taking the ball, wiping out whoever gets in her way. But, in that particular situation, that would've meant putting both hands and possibly her face right in the path of a swinging foot in a position where she couldn't really use her arms to take the blow (the ball was coming in at a bit of a weird angle relative to the forward). And it's really hard to override the natural instinct to pull away from danger, especially if you don't see the danger until the last second.

I think the ref made the right call on that one, because the forward was definitely offside when the ball was played and put off the GK, who would've collected the ball easily if not distracted by the forward.

 

[x10003q]

Not this tournament, but it might ten years from now. I'll get more engaged with 2019 when we get to the knockout rounds.

This is doubtful. Women participating in sports is more accepted in the US vs the rest of the world. There is a huge volume of women playing soccer in USA today, way more than any other individual country. The NCAA programs are training grounds for many national teams which raises the quality in the US. There will be more women following Lindsey Horan to play in European leagues instead of NCAA program and this will only raise the bar for US women.

 

[crgildart]

This is doubtful. Women participating in sports is more accepted in the US vs the rest of the world. There is a huge volume of women playing soccer in USA today, way more than any other individual country. The NCAA programs are training grounds for many national teams which raises the quality in the US. There will be more women following Lindsey Horan to play in European leagues instead of NCAA program and this will only raise the bar for US women.

You do realize we were talking about youth programs not allowing headers or header drills until age 15 or 16 right? It doesn't matter if there's a hundred or a billion girls playing youth soccer in the USA... if they're not learning the most crucial fundamental skills until high school or college age we're still going to have a skills gap compared to other places where these skills are learned much earlier. Positive side is fewer of our athletes will be suffering from CTE as they reach retirement age.

 

[James]

This is doubtful. Women participating in sports is more accepted in the US vs the rest of the world. There is a huge volume of women playing soccer in USA today, way more than any other individual country. The NCAA programs are training grounds for many national teams which raises the quality in the US. There will be more women following Lindsey Horan to play in European leagues instead of NCAA program and this will only raise the bar for US women.

It may be but there's more money in Europe now. I suspect your line of thinking is at least 5 yrs old.
Lindsey Horan got about $100k/yr to play in France. It's more accepted in soccer not to go to college in Europe.

Meanwhile, France only beats Nigeria by the Nigerian goal keeper stepping off line for the pk.


Today's results:

 

[dbostedo]

^^^
Ugh... I think they may need to change the keeper rule for PKs. Personally, I don't think that should be a foul and a retake. I'd like to see keepers given 1 step or 2 yards, or something, prior to the kick. They have little chance to save a well struck ball as is... heavily (and properly) enforcing the rule as written now will get rid of even more saves.

Also... South Korea lost, but scored on one of the better passes of the tournament.

 

[James]

Norway won on 2 pk's. Sort of pathetic for both sides.
If Korea hadn't scored, that was a pk.

Yeah with video now, a gk off their line is easy to spot. At least it's not the discretion of the ref anymore.

As much as they may want to complain, the Nigerian's goalie was clearly off, even if only 1-2 inches.
They should change the rule to make it more sporting.

 

[Jacob]

I think the main problem with the PK rule is that it's taken so long to properly enforce. Goalkeepers are allowed to move before the ball is kicked as long as they move sideways, but refs have rarely ever stopped them when they moved forward. So, they always did that, because it cuts down the angles more.

The real test is whether they decide to enforce it consistently. They either need to use VAR to enforce it all the time or not use it at all. If they only do it sometimes, then the refs will just be opening themselves up to all sorts of criticism (and possibly accusations of bias).

I saw a GK save a penalty a few days ago, only to face a rekick because she moved forward early. I think it was the Jamaican GK, but I can't remember for certain.

 

[Jacob]

This is doubtful. Women participating in sports is more accepted in the US vs the rest of the world. There is a huge volume of women playing soccer in USA today, way more than any other individual country. The NCAA programs are training grounds for many national teams which raises the quality in the US. There will be more women following Lindsey Horan to play in European leagues instead of NCAA program and this will only raise the bar for US women.

European clubs are really getting into women's soccer now, as they've seen that there's money to be made there, and that's going to have a big effect on youth participation. The current and future generations of European players will be going through the same club systems that produce world class men's players.

As long as US players continue to come from middle- and upper-income families, then it's unlikely that large numbers of them will follow the examples of Horan and Pulisic (on the men's side) and skip college and move to Europe as teenagers. At the same time, it's unlikely that the NCAA will extend their 4-month season to match the 8- or 9-month season that the European clubs play. So, the top 18-22 year olds in places like England, France, and Spain will be playing or training pretty much year-round for professional clubs, while most of the US players will be playing part-time in college.

Also, there's the constant exposure to the game. It's almost always on TV here all year long. And with so many professional teams, it's much easier to get out and watch matches in person. When you grow up in that sort of environment surrounded by friends and family members who also follow the game, you learn a lot without realising it.

 

[James]

I think the main problem with the PK rule is that it's taken so long to properly enforce. Goalkeepers are allowed to move before the ball is kicked as long as they move sideways, but refs have rarely ever stopped them when they moved forward. So, they always did that, because it cuts down the angles more.

The real test is whether they decide to enforce it consistently. They either need to use VAR to enforce it all the time or not use it at all. If they only do it sometimes, then the refs will just be opening themselves up to all sorts of criticism (and possibly accusations of bias).

I saw a GK save a penalty a few days ago, only to face a rekick because she moved forward early. I think it was the Jamaican GK, but I can't remember for certain.

Well it seems as if in this wcup they are going to enforce it. I've seen it at least twice, and I think everytime they're checking. It's just too easy to check with overhead video. When you see green between the heel and the line, they're off. It's good in that it takes it away from the ref for a judgement call.

At the least I think you'll start to train gk's like nfl receivers, keeping a foot on or inside the line.

Do gk's ever start behind the line and try to time a short run/ jump? It would seem like it couldn't be worse, and might allow more lateral distance.

Today's games:

I'm going to take Italy over Brazil though it'll prob be a tie. I wonder if Marta will start.
If Aus doesn't destroy Jamaica they're in trouble.

 

[dbostedo]

If Aus doesn't destroy Jamaica they're in trouble.

Unless Italy beats Brazil, in which case Australia advances with a win or a tie. Or if Italy and Brazil tie, Australia just needs to win.

(Or did you mean in a larger sense of "if they don't destroy Jamaica, they're not playing well enough to go very far"?)

 

[James]

Or did you mean in a larger sense of "if they don't destroy Jamaica, they're not playing well enough to go very far"?)

Yes, in that sense.

On the US side, there's been talk of the US should loose to Sweden so they don't win the group and play France next. The players are having non of it and plan on beating Sweden and France.

 

[Jacob]

Well it seems as if in this wcup they are going to enforce it. I've seen it at least twice, and I think everytime they're checking. It's just too easy to check with overhead video. When you see green between the heel and the line, they're off. It's good in that it takes it away from the ref for a judgement call.

At the least I think you'll start to train gk's like nfl receivers, keeping a foot on or inside the line.

Do gk's ever start behind the line and try to time a short run/ jump? It would seem like it couldn't be worse, and might allow more lateral distance.

The reason they step forward is to cut off the angles. It's not really necessary to help with lateral movement. So if the refs make them start following the rules from now on, you'll start to see goalies take a small hop straight up so that they land just as the ball is being kicked. Either that, or they'll take a side step in the direction they're guessing. It just depends on whether refs continue to make them follow the rules.

But, I'm not certain if FIFA will decide to make the change permanent. I've seen them abandon a rule enforcement change in the past despite it working really well, so I wouldn't be shocked if they did it again.

 

[James]

The other rule they need to get rid of is this new delaying the offside flag. I can see if it's close, but blatant offsides on an attack just wastes time and could lead to unnecessary penalty cards or injuries in the play that's sllowed to go on.

As to gk angles, it would be interesting to see an actual study of how much they're accomplishing taking a step forward. Likely they're better off going sideways immediately. I don't think it would be that hard to determine either way.