Tag: Women's Soccer

Thoughts on Portugal vs USA and New Zealand vs USA – October 23rd, 26th, and 29th (2025)

November 1st, 2025

Hey Everyone,

Long time no post :). Hope this finds you well. After watching the USA vs Portugal games I game up with the following, some of which I have mentioned before:

Firstly, the players need better fitting clothing. It must be extremely uncomfortable to run around with wedgies. Each player should have uniforms tailored to their bodies for comfort. Personally, I do not feel comfortable in excessively tight clothing and even more so when that clothing cuts up my butt. Jeez.

Secondly, VAR for International Friendlies. If we want these friendlies to truly be tests and a challenge for our players, we need to have VAR. There was a goal in the first game against Portugal, I believe, that would have been disallowed if we had VAR. Please, please VAR.

Third, I wish our players and team did more when our players get attacked. In the first game, Cooper was decked and I really didn’t see reaction from our team or our coaching staff. Friends don’t let friends take a beating like that. Stand up for your teammates and players, and defend them.

Fourth, I hate it when our team takes the ball to the corner of the field in the final moments of a match to waste clock. I hate it. In my opinion, you are either trying to score a goal or not. If you don’t want to drive at the goal, for whatever reason, then just kick the ball down the field and play defense. I don’t think it is honorable to waste time to secure a win. It’s unsportsmanlike and unacceptable. The USA must play with honor and integrity.

Fifth, I hate when our players commit a foul and then stand in the way of a quick restart kick from the opposing team. Once again, honor and integrity. If the U.S. cannot win with honor or integrity, we shouldn’t win at all.

I wish the coaching staff would drill theses fourth and fifth points into the team and even punish the behavior of those that refuse to abide. We have to raise the standards of U.S. play and U.S. sporting culture.

That’s it. I think in the first game there was a disconnect by some of the recent returns to the team, e.g., Horan and Macario, and the less recent returns to the team. But other than that, I don’t really have any notes for improvement. I do want to give a shout out to Sears, though. I think she plays well and has good game sense.
USA vs Canada – July 2nd, 2025

July 5th, 2025

I just wanted to say that there was one moment in the match where Emily Dickens, the U.S. goalkeeper, was being threatened by a Canadian attack, and the U.S. defensive unit seemed well organized. Emily Sonnett didn’t run into Dickens and Dickens’ management of the situation, e.g., isolating and staying on top of the Canadian attacker, was superb.

This is the primary area of improvement I noticed from U.S. soccer matches in the past, and it seems, at least in this match, that there was a lot more organization and cool headedness amongst the U.S. goalkeeper and defensive back line. Well done and keep it up.

Also, I like Dickens. She’s cool :).

‘Till next time. Cheers!
May 31st (China) + June 3rd (Jamaica) Match Recaps/ Recommendations

June 6th, 2025

So. I would like to see better use of ‘ticky tacky.’ For example, what Lindsey Heaps is really good at, or even what Sentnor, Coffey and Patterson are good at. A lot of teams press nowadays and being able to use ticky tacky is important to maintaining ball control and for moving the ball forward. Players need more confidence with this.

Players need to have better positional and player awareness of how ticky tacky works and where they should physically be to either assist or contribute to ticky tack or to get out of the way of the ticky tacky. Ultimately, players need to be able to plan 1, 2, 3 steps into the future, while using ticky tacky.

Lastly, we need better in box (attacking third) awareness – at least we did in game one against China. There were plenty of times during this game that Alyssa was open in the box but the team didn’t see her or didn’t pass to her.

Ultimately, I think the team did well. Go Team!
USA vs Brazil, April 8th, 2025, Game 2 Post-match Analysis

April 11th, 2025

Heyo, a couple of points from this match and actions for the future.

First of all, the refereeing was terrible, once again. I’m starting to think that we need to create or invent a new soccer association or organization whose goal is quality refereeing, no corruption, and effective group governance of multiple nations, e.g., the “International Soccer Association.”

Secondly, the U.S. has to work on it’s “last line of defense” strategy. Seen from that collision between Sonnett and the goalie in game one, the blown coverage for the first goal in game two as well as the 1st goal Japan scored against the U.S. in their game against the U.S. in the SheBelieves Cup.

I think that Sonnett has the tendency to overthink situations, overreact to other situations, and not coordinate effectively with the U.S. goalie as well as other members of U.S. defense/ team in other defensive situations. Sonnett needs improvement. She’s great, but also a liability, especially in “last line of defense” situations.

Third, I think we saw promise from our front line, but we also saw that Cat was not comfortable enough sharing the ball with her teammates in the attacking third. I think A.T. was generous in the attacking third, but Cat was not reciprocal. I think Cat was good at passing to her team outside the attacking third, but once Cat got in “goal range” I think she lost her sense as a facilitator and thought only of scoring. This is problematic as we had multiple chances and runners in on goal for a solid pass from Cat.

All our players have to be able to fill multiple roles throughout the field. Whatever it takes to score goals. That means being able to pass, shoot, hold the ball up, etc. where the players are on the pitch and whatever situations or moments they may find themselves in. This is the only we can win.

Fourth note, the Brazilians, like the Colombians, have a tendency to play dirty and cheaply. Flopping and faking injuries is part of their culture of sport. It’s a shame, and coupled with incompetent/ crooked/ bent referees, this is a problem.

Fifth, I like Becky S.’s commentary and analysis. I think she’s a great addition to the broadcast booth.

and lastly, I hope against the upcoming Chinese team, in anticipation of them using an excessively defense style, that we counter by using an excessive offensive style. I’ve said this before, but I think on-field adaptability is key. If the coaching staff and players can coordinate this, without use of subs or the halftime whistle, I think that would be great. I think this would be a great opportunity to practice this especially offensive style.
Short Analysis of the 2025 SheBelievesCup

February 28th, 2025

I’m backkkkk!!!!! After watching the SheBelievesCup I wanted to express my thoughts, so here I am!

Firstly, I’m disappointed with the game against Japan. I feel we definitely could have kept a clean sheet, while winning the game, if not for poor defense.

Sonnett lost track of a mark, panicked, and bowled over Campbell. If she hadn’t, Campbell could have prevented that goal, easily. Regarding the 2nd Japanese goal, no American fought for the 2nd ball. The Japanese used a trick which Americans traditionally use, and it worked.

My diagnosis of the problem is that American defenders don’t see themselves as part of a defensive unit, as they should. Sonnett should have analyzed the situation and seen that Campbell had the mark and then adjusted her defensive strategy accordingly; for example, to the needs of Campbell and the rest of defensive effort, she didn’t.

Not one of the U.S. players fought for the 2nd ball off the initial strike at goal by Hasegawa and accordingly a Japanese player picked the ball up and went for the nutmeg, the only possible way she could have scored on Campbell from that angle.

Defense is about more than individual efforts. It’s about coordinating individual efforts to protect the goal. Being a chicken with your head cut off ain’t it and being excessively reactionary won’t save yourself or the team and may even do more harm than good, which we saw with that first Japanese goal.

Regarding offense, I think a lot of our players fumbled, hard. The amount of errant passes that were given away, the lack of effort from specific players, even when they had just come in for the 2nd half, was crazy.

As Fowdy mentioned in her commentary, the lack of urgency and need to send the ball in, especially when we were losing. The lack of urgency to put ourselves in positions to fight and put the Japanese in a position to fight us was disappointing.

Going forward, I’d like to see our team reassess our defensive approach to functioning more holistically and not panicking.

Throughout this tournament, I think the front end of our offense has improved regarding the greater comfort in holding the ball in the attacking third, but that comfort came off as complacency and cowardice in the game against Japan, wherein we were too comfortable passing the ball instead going for the goal. Once again, and reminiscent of previous games, the U.S. offense still struggles to find that bite, that scrappy, go for the jugular approach. And because we played a team that had no intention of being bowled over, it didn’t work. To be honest, I’m glad it didn’t.

Patience is a virtue, but sometimes you have to be the magic and create the opportunity on goal through sheer force of will, through sheer intent. That’s what the U.S. is missing. We have upped our passing capacity and ability to be more comfortable in the box, but where is that killer-instinct switch? It’s missing right now.

Anyway, going forward I would love it if the next SheBelievesCup, as well as other friendly games and tournaments, had VAR. There were at least two calls that would have been overturned if there was VAR.

Lastly, why do we play Colombia and invite them to participate in our tournaments, when they consistently play dirty? I’ve posted about their conduct in a previous post, but they’re always fouling, faking injuries, etc.. I’m sick of it. If you want to play with the United States, be a better team. Play with honor and integrity. And if you’re not willing to, bye!

Anyway, that’s it. I’m going to post another analysis that I had come up with for the previous friendly games in Europe from the end of last year (2024) – see below. I had written it up separately from this blog, but now that my blog is back, I’ll post it here.

Cheers! and thanks for reading! And as always, Go Team! :)
Analysis of the December, 2024 U.S. Tour of Europe

December 6th, 2024

This post references the two international friendlies the U.S. had in England and the Netherlands, respectively, during the end of last year (2024). I think the ideas here are worth bringing forward, so I’m posting this to the blog. Thanks for reading!

After watching these two games, I came up with a recommendation for the USWNT; that all U.S. players should train the skillset of ball holding and ‘hold up’ play under pressure. For example, when some of our defenders tried to bring the ball forward into midfield to initiate an attack they were too easily shut down when they were pressed by the opposing team. What I would like to see from each member of our team is the ability to hold the ball under pressure and maintain a variety of attacking, passing, and defending options from this position.

For example, what we see with the U.S. Midfield, e.g., Rose, Lindsay, Lily, Sam and Korbin. When these players are pressed they don’t immediately fold or backtrack. They manage the ball in a way that allows the attack to continue, instead of being stymied or ‘constipated,’ for lack of a better word.

Additionally, I think that training to defend against this sort of hold up play is important, as well. For example, during the game against the Netherlands, I remember Tierna being undone and overtaken by a Dutch player’s effective use of hold up play in our own box which opened up a chance to a good shot on our goal.

In conclusion, I think each USWNT player, and the overall team, should be able to both use hold up play as well as be able to defend against it. Moreover, the team should feel comfortable when being pressed and not feel like they are suffocated whenever it does happen.

Cheers!
New Play Style for American Soccer: Strategic On-field Adaptability.

December 4th, 2024

Initial Publication Date: February 18, 2024. Updated Publication Date: December 4th, 2024.

This recommendation comes after watching the USWNT take on China, December 5th, 2023.

It was really frustrating to see the U.S. team struggle to break through the Chinese defensive formation, but it was even more frustrating to watch the U.S. fail to adapt their own attacking formation and strategy to counter the Chinese.

My recommendation is this: teach players how to adapt to opposing strategy quickly and during the game, e.g., without having to use a substitute or waiting ’til halftime. Teach the players how to recognize a problem and adapt to it themselves, without the need for coach intervention.

For example, once the Americans realized the Chinese were running a strict 5-4-1, they should have immediately adjusted their attacking and defensive shape, as well as their approach to breaking through the Chinese defensive strategy, e.g., by playing the wings instead of playing direct/ inside.

If the players can master this type of adaptability and flexibility, we will be much more resilient and a much more ‘American’ type of team. Creativity and ingenuity are the hallmarks of American soccer and one of our greatest strengths.

Let’s emphasize that by encouraging our players to take more on-field responsibility to creatively break down the opposing team. Note, I realize communicating an on-field strategy change/ shift between 11 players may be somewhat tricky, but I’m sure the girls and coaching staff can figure it out.

I think Americans are falling into the trap of having to sacrifice our creativity to play a more ‘European’ style of soccer. I think this was emphasized by the style of play put in place by Vlatko Andonovski during his tenure as head coach of the USWNT.

While being able to play like the Europeans is useful, being locked in by their style of play is not. We must evolve, and the way to do that is encouraging on-field adaptability, ingenuity and independence. Let’s set the new standard of play. A standard which will lift up our creative strengths as Americans, while allowing us to use and counter the formation centered approach of the Europeans.

To provide a specific example of this adaptability with regard to formation, let’s go back to the December 5th game against China. To counter the Chinese 5-4-1 formation, the Americans could have used a 1-5-4, or even 0-5-5 formation. This formation change could have been temporary, e.g., 10 minutes, permanent, e.g., for the rest of the half or game, or sporadic, e.g., for a counterattack, transition play, or just during a change in possession.

Anyway, it would be nice to see this type of adaptability used during the upcoming Gold Cup tournament, the SheBelieves Cup, or at least used during the upcoming Olympics.

Go Team!
Should VAR Review Missed Red/Yellow Cards?

December 3rd, 2024
Initial Publication Date: November 26th, 2023; Revised Publication Date: December 3rd, 2024.

After having watched the match between the USWNT and Columbia on October 29th, 2023, I was wondering if VAR should be able to investigate a fifth ‘match-changing situation;’ missed yellow and red cards. As it stands today, VAR is only allowed to be used for the following:
- Goals and offenses leading up to a goal
- Penalty decisions and offenses leading up to a penalty decision
- Direct red card incidents only (not second yellow card/ caution)
- Mistaken identity (player being wrongly ejected or penalized/ carded)
If there is a missed card, i.e., one is not handed out, VAR does not have the mandate to investigate and request a review of the incident from the Referee. While I can understand the desire not to have the Refs stop play for every minor infraction, what frustrates me is the lack of cards handed out during this match and the harm done to the Americans as a result. For example, Alyssa Thompson. After she was tackled in the 2nd half, I asked myself “how could this happen?” and “how can we prevent this from happening, in the first place?” She could have been seriously injured.

This brings me to my next point. If a player is injured and has to be removed from the game, does that not qualify as a match changing incident? Of course it does, but if the Referee misses the penalty leading to the injury, then the offending player and team get away with seriously crippling an opposing team’s ability to play in the match, as well as one of their players. This is the problem with the current rules; at best, they are reactionary. How can we be proactive in preventing these types of match changing incidents?

First off, I think handing out cards appropriately, and from the start of the match could help. I mentioned this in my previous post from October 30th, 2023; hand out cards immediately and do not allow a grace period where all that is given are ‘warnings’ or ‘stern talking tos.’ A card is a card, no matter when the offense occurs in the match; when bad behavior goes unpunished, worse, more dangerous behavior is encouraged.

Next, consider punishing the player, coaches and federation staff. FIFA can draft new guidelines for unsportsmanlike and dangerous play that extended beyond the specific match or incident in question, i.e., fines, suspension of a play, disqualifications from major tournaments, etc. Additionally, US Soccer could draw up similar guidelines for dealing with unsportsmanlike and dangerous teams and federations, i.e., refusing to play with them in the future, demanding they apologize, etc.

Lastly, allow VAR to review missed red cards, at least, or perhaps, cards where the player(s) could have been seriously injured. I remember watching a video clip of Abby Wambach getting punched in the face in an Olympic match against Colombia, many, many years ago. This incident went unadjudicated because the refs missed the offense. This, or the incident involving Alyssa Thompson, are the types of incidents I am thinking of.

Regardless of what you may think about a potential fifth situation, there has to be a change to how that match was adjudicated, either at the VAR level, Referee level, FIFA level or from all three.

After watching that match, one has to wonder whether FIFA has a policy encouraging FIFA Refs to be more lenient in foul calling or if the Refs in this match specifically, were told to be more lenient in calling fouls against the Colombian team.
USA vs Colombia 10/29/2023

December 2nd, 2024
Initial Publication Date: October 30th, 2023; Revised Publication Date: December 2nd, 2024.

Note: I only managed to watch about one hour of the match (the first 35 minutes and the last 25 minutes); I was making dinner.

Key Takeaways…
1. Colombia plays dirty. The fouls, the flops, the obstruction of play, the exaggeration and faking of injuries. I’ve noticed this from previous matches against Colombia, as well.
2. The Ref refused to give out cards, at least until the 35 minute mark (I stopped watching after the first 35 minutes). The number of cards that weren’t handed out, that should have been throughout the entirety of the match, was ridiculous.
In Detail…

Colombia.
1. The insanely aggressive and flagrant fouls. For example, the way Thompson was tackled by the Colombian player towards the end of the second half. Colombia is playing to injure Americans.
2. The flops and fake injuries. The amount of summersaults and combat rolls I saw employed by Colombia was RIDICULOUS. It’s laughable, sad. and infuriating… In the second half, I thought one of the Colombian players had been possessed by demons. She needed an exorcism, not medical assistance.
3. The lack of honor, the cheating, the stealing, the lying; this culture of sport and soccer is taught and reinforced from the top, down. The coaching staff are directly involved in propagating it. Sadly, this isn’t limited to just the Colombian team. In my opinion, Latin Soccer, at large, has the same ‘culture,’ or what I would call ‘corruption,’ of sport. It’s disgusting to watch many Latin teams play, i.e., many of the men’s teams.
4. Look, some American player’s have their moments, but this kind of wide spread cheating, and frankly, B.S., isn’t ‘endemic’ to US soccer. Americans, generally speaking, play with honor and dignity. Additionally, I would expect the American coaching staff to correct any type of dishonorable play that occurs by an American. For example, if I was coach and one of my players was pulling this sort of B.S. behavior, I would bench them. That behavior would not be tolerated and I don’t think it should be tolerated by the current U.S. coaching staff.
Referees.
1. I don’t know why the Refs refused to give out cards for the first half of the game. Are they told not to? Were they cheating? What justification is there for not giving a yellow or red card? Refusal to do so incentivizes dangerous play and subsequently, injury. A card is a card, it doesn’t matter at what point in the match the foul occurs. Stop warning players and hand out the damn card, immediately. The Colombian team is using every leniency they can to injure Americans to better secure their chances of winning these games.
2. Stand up to this kind of behavior. The American players can’t take this lying down. Stand up and push back. Do I mean start cheating like the Colombians? No. I mean don’t let them walk all over you. Don’t cower in fear. Be brave. Confront their bullshit. For example, Lindsey Horan. Thank God for her. She stood up to the Colombians and the B.S. from the Ref. We need more of the girls to follow Lindsey’s example.
Recommendations:
1. Publicly complain and be loud about these injustices. US Soccer, coaching staff, players, commentators/ broadcasters and fans should be very vocal. Do not silently suffer or let this go unattended. For example, use a post match press conference to call out Columbia’s dirty playing, coaching and their culture of soccer. During the same conference, call out FIFA and it’s referee policy which encourages injury through disregard of clear yellow and red card fouls. The USA can not tolerate our team being injured.
2. Refuse to play with teams, like Columbia, that play dirty. Set a standard and if teams violate that standard avoid playing with them until proper and appropriate reconciliatory measures are taken.
3. To file a general complaint towards US Soccer, please consider this page: https://www.ussoccer.com/contact-us To file a general complaint towards FIFA, please consider this page: https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/organisation/contact-fifa/contact-form
Oh, one more point. Alyssa Thompson is a beast. She is quick and has great link up play. I liked the quick passing we saw from this game. I think the US team should focus more on quick passing AND anticipating the 2nd, 3rd and 4th pass. It would really help. I noticed that some link up play fell apart because a player wasn’t expecting or anticipating a pass.

Anyway, that’s all for now. Hope you all are well.
Regarding the U.S. Women’s loss against Mexico and Potential Solutions:

March 2nd, 2024
This issue has been explored for many, many months by many different analysts, of which I will recommend four.

The first is Blaire Newman, who contributes to the equalizersoccer website, three of her posts concerning this issue are listed here:
1. USA’s early exit from the World Cup: https://equalizersoccer.com/2023/08/17/five-changes-the-uswnt-must-make-now/
2. USA’s struggle session against the Chinese last December: https://equalizersoccer.com/2023/12/06/analyzing-uswnt-complicated-relationship-inverted-fullbacks-china-match/
3. USA’s loss to Mexico on 02/26/2024: https://equalizersoccer.com/2024/02/27/uswnt-mexico-concacaf-gold-cup-defeat/
The second is Claire Watkins and her ‘Just Women’s Sports’ podcast. Claire’s breakdown of this loss can be found here:
1. USA’s loss to Mexico on 02/26/2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AvFiGuhRGI
The third is Sam Mewis’ new podcast titled ‘The Women’s Game.’ Sam makes a point of analyzing each game that the US Women play during this Gold Cup. I recommend it. The episode exploring the Mexico loss will be linked here:
1. USA’s loss to Mexico on 02/26/2024: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfC15K5P_KY
The fourth is Caitlin Murray, writing for ESPN, found here:
1. USA’s early exit from the World Cup: https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/page/uswntreport0817/uswnt-five-things-do-2024-olympics
Lastly, what I have to say is that if the current U.S. coaching staff isn’t up to snuff, Emma Hayes, when she does eventually come in, should consider firing, ‘disciplining,’ or rearranging her staff. The hesitancy, timidness and refusal to acknowledge the obvious by the current coaching staff is harmful and I’m tired of it.
Awesome Soccer Anime/ Manga!!

March 4th, 2023

So the point of this post is to recommend a show I’ve been watching called ‘BlueLock.’ It’s a unique Japanese Manga / Anime that explores a side of soccer and sport that you don’t really hear about.

The reason I like it so much is because it goes into the core reason of why someone plays soccer. It talks about ego and following that inner voice / inner monster to become the best soccer player in the world. It’s a unique approach to team sports and really explores the individual motivations for participating in sport period.

While I don’t want to spoil too much, you will see how BlueLock takes a unique approach to teammate interaction and uses a unique training environment/ platform to create the best soccer players and best team in the world.

I think that American Soccer players, coaching staff and even sporting enthusiasts who don’t play soccer can get so much from this show. I love it. It really does help people connect with themselves on a deeper level and understand who they are on a deeper level. That is so important in life. Figuring out how to embrace yourself, all parts of you, is how to truly self actualize, meet yourself and figure out what you want to do and who you want to be.

Alongside this deeper meaning, there are a bunch of cool moves and attacking styles in this show so it could serve as an inspiring reference for players and coaches who want to bring new elements to their game. I would highly recommend the USWNT and coaching staff read and/or watch this series before the upcoming world cup. It’s awesome – ‘Sugoi!’

I’m currently watching the Anime adaptation of the Manga on Crunchyroll. If you’re interested, just do a web search for the ‘BlueLock’ Anime and/or Manga and you should easily find a platform to watch/read it from.

Enjoy!!!! and remember, if you can’t cut it in BlueLock, “Lock Off!” :)

Oh and for those of you who don’t know what ‘Manga’ is, they are comics and/or graphic novels which originate from Japan. Very similar to American style comics / comic books.

Oh and ‘Anime’ is just short for ‘animation.’ The term ‘anime’ is commonly used to refer to Japanese animation in specific.