I think the lack of games against top competition is a big issue along with the age of the team. There is only so much you can tell from playing some of the tomato cans in CONCACAF. Need to find a way to integrate more games against top opponents.ColoradoMooseHerd said:"Post-pandemic, it's clear that the American women's team needs to get back to more frequent matches against the Euro powers No. 2 Germany, No. 3 France, No. 4 Netherlands, No. 5 Sweden, No. 6 England. They only played those teams three times since that July 2019 World Cup final. If soccer playing is also problem-solving on the field, the American players need to face the problem teams more often."nereus said:LeonardSkinner said:jeffk said:
Other than winning games, there's not a lot of incentives for USSF to try to incorporate new talent into the WNT and I don't know that Fed leadership values long-term competitiveness as a top tier priority above making cash in the present. Also, we've been winning regardless of the warning signs present. Players will obviously fight tooth and nail to get and then keep their roster spot, but the powers that be haven't really pushed to groom the next generation of US women's NT players.
That said, we got worked over pretty good today. The next two games just got the spotlight shined on them all the brighter.
I'm quite sure leadership values money over long term success. In pondering this topic, my mind wandered to "whatever happened to the Algarve Cup?" I recall that being the international competition that mattered for a while.
It's still going on, but US Soccer created the She Believes Cup in the States that occurs at the same time. They gave up on competition and growth for money.
I'm sure they make more money in the She Believes Cup, but the competition at that event hasn't been lacking. Every country that has ever been at that event is currently ranked in the top 12 except Argentina who only got the spot this year due to Japan pulling out and limited teams willing to fill in due to COVID. France, Germany, England, Brazil have both played in the She Believes Cup more times in the past 5 years than in the Algarve Cup. We aren't dogging competition with the She Believes Cup.
And other top teams aren't playing in that cup every year either (and they weren't before we created the She Believes Cup either). It already split time with the top 10 ranked teams with the Cyprus Cup and other events.
It is still a good event, and was an even better event before it had an additional Cup to compete with, but it didn't have all the top teams in it. And considering a number of the bottom teams were much worse then who comes to the She Believes Cups, we often played a more difficult schedule in that Cup then we would have in the Algarve Cup. 2015 our last year with the Algarve Cup, we played #12 Norway, #19 Switzerland, #20 Iceland, & #3 France. The next year in the She Believes Cup we played #2 Germany, #3 France, & #5 England.
Also how do you not have a reasonable back up for Ertz...I mean there isn't another 6 on the roster, given how important a position this is and the number 1 is injured its baffling that there isn't another defensive mid to be had anywhere.
