Re: World Soccer XXI: Don't Tread on the Red, White, and Blue
I think the comments below about the goalkeeping for the US Women being an advantage are spot on...look at what killed France, Sweden and Brazil...very poor goalkeeping decisions and execution.
Loved France's game, if they could finish and get a passable goalie (did I hear their #1 goalie was not playing because of issues with teammates?) they'd be even more fun to watch. One thing about France, they must have been giving up an average of 1" and 15 pounds per player, minimum. They have no height/girth whatsoever, 90 minutes of battling Boxx, Wambach, Lloyd etc and you are going to lose some important battles late in the game. Their subs were even more slight of build than the starters.
I can't believe how poorly the US moved the ball through mid-field. Passing accuracy was terrible. Granted they were moving a few bodies around but they only got past the 18 with the ball 1x in the first ~15 minutes of the second...and we booted that over the endline. That was complete domination for a while.
I thought Japan caught lightning in a bottle against Germany - looks like they might be better than people expected but they too will have a hard time with the US size. I'm not a kick-chase proponent but the US should be playing for corners and set pieces and going over the top vs. trying to matriculate the ball down the field...I don't see us beating Japan at that game.
edit: And miraculously, Liverpool came up with 20 million and Downing is on his way. I give Villa credit for getting far more than the original 12 they were offered. No hard feelings for Downing, may he be well rested on the bench and not be too disappointed if he loses his England spot if not playing regularly in EPL.
