I didn't know it was on. Watching Champions League.

The U17 WWC team did well. I caught that

Was not on in my area but from what I can tell it was a pretty horrible performance. Losing 2-0 to Spain when 15 Spanish players are on strike can't be good.

They started Rapinoe. If 37 year old Rapinoe is our best option, we're in serious trouble.

They actually looked pretty good at times against England.

It's interesting that the system that benefited our ladies so much, ECNL/DA, college, is now hurting us.
NWSL just allowed under age players like in the last 1-2 years.
Watching the U17WWC, those girls are all signed with college programs whereas I'm willing to bet the euro U17WWC are all either pro or will be pro soon.
The Euros are modeling their women's programs like their superior men's academies.

The irony is that our men men are getting better because we're modeling our system after the euros.

Hell she started both games. How we are still calling her up at this point.

I think it was obvious in the 2019 World Cup, then the Olympics last year as well as watching the women's Euros this year.

The technical ability of the European teams has drastically gone up as has the tactical awareness and coaching. Like you said, with the women's teams being attached to the big Men's clubs has given them access to a lot of the best accessories that pro athletes need. I'd love to see the comparison of the training facilities of the NWSL teams compared to what women have access to in the English WSL.

And there lies the problem. They held onto this group for way too long. Now we sit 8 months from the WC with a squad that is going to have quite a few young players with very little familiarity and chemistry. That definitely showed in the England match. Lots of passes to space with nobody there.

Gonna be a trial by fire for the new girls

Yeah, USSF has (for a good while now) used the fame of established players to sell tickets and drive TV eyeballs for the USWNT and it's definitely hampered squad development moving forward.

The way both USWNT and USMNT plays, they need really dynamic midfielders. Right now, USWNT doesn't really have that partly due to injuries. They also haven't show a pipeline of young talent for those positions.

The whole pay structure motivated them to keep their "stars" and not continuously churn the roster.

And to sell tickets.

Add that the mls next/ecn to college to pro model is inferior to the euro system.

We'll still have great athletes and be competitive, but not nearly as good as we have been.

This sums up a lot of USWNT problems….

A professional league in shambles, a 3.5 month college season, fragmented semi pro leagues, & a youth system full of showcases/ tournaments that cost way too much $ and values results over all.

— Joe Ballard (@OriginalBigRagu) October 11, 2022

It as if you all are forgetting the early 2000s. 2021-22-23 is very similar to 2003-4-5. Many of the longstanding team members are retiring/should retire and have held on so long an entire generation of players don't have any experience on the full national team. We are trying to backfill with very talented, but young players but it will take time. Outside of Horan and Lavelle, no one under the age of 30 has more than 35 caps for this team. Outside of Pugh, Dahlkemper, and Sonnett, Lynn Williams is right there for most number of caps and she only had a handful of caps before Vlatko took over.

The US still has the vast majority of most talented players in the world. Are other countries bridging the gap? Of course they are, but it's because they are putting more money into the women's side. Title IX has given the US the edge for the last 50 years.

Many of you are wanting to blow up the US system. I'm not sure that is needed. It is still very good for the vast majority of the players. There are also ways for those players who are at the highest level to get the additional reps and work done. For the boys, the European system spits out the majority of the boys with an inferior education and very limited skill set.

At the moment, the decision between playing in the NWSL and Europe is still heavily leaning towards the NWSL. With England having so much success, the money may continue to flow into Europe and begin to change those dynamics, but it's not there yet. The higher quality of play is still in the NWSL.

There are solutions to be had within the US system that don't force young girls to choose between chasing a dream or receiving a quality education. College coaches have recognized this and are pushing for some changes to the system to keep the development of the highest level players continue while in college. Some of these changes may include playing fall and spring, letting players not only practice with NWSL teams but appear in games as well (and keep collegiate status), and sending players to Europe (already happening).

There's a really good reason why no one under 30 has caps.

I'd like to have your positivity but the writing seems to be on the wall.

Umpires u17 team is sold, but who knows what will happen with the college/Nwsl model.

For the elite players, they need to be training professionally from 15-16 on.

Most European womens leagues aren't as far along as many here feel they are. The overall quality isn't there to make it any better than the colleges top players here would attend. In 5-10 years it may be a better option but not today. I've looked into it fairly extensively for my daughter and Europe total quality is still several years away. As the money continues to be invested, it could very easily become a much more attractable option but it's not quite there yet.

The path jaedyn shaw chose could better prepare her but will it make a big enough difference to forgo a couple years of college at UNC? It's worked out well for her so far but will it work out for Olivia Moultrie? Both are still to be seen.

Will it work out better for Pugh or Rodman than smith or macario? I'm pretty sure any country in the world would find a prime spot on their full team for all four of them. Is there any other country in the world where four young players like these could make a difference on the US team?

The new world rankings just came out and the USWNT is still number one, even though no one is happy with what they are seeing.

What round do we think the USWNT will make it too in the WWC? Based off what we have seen so far in the run up

It depends on what we see the next few months.

If they roll out geriatrics they'll be out round of 16.

I think they'll get to Bronze.

I didn't get to watch either of the matches but looking at the starting lineups, there were really only two "old guard" players in either the England or Spain matches

Spain: Sauerbruhn, Rapinoe
England: Naeher, Rapinoe

No Lloyd
No Morgan
No O'Hara
No Heath
No Press

Is that not what everyone was complaining about last summer in the Olympics?

Morgan is the only one from that group that has even played in the last few clusters or games.

I wouldn't be shocked if we had a quarterfinal/semifinal finish. I see this year very similar to the transition tourney of 2007. The real question is do we have enough in the pipeline to keep from going through another 03/07/11 cycle without winning one. That will depend on how healthy we stay and how much politics continue to play in the matter.

One item to consider is US Soccer is no longer subsidizing the pay of the top 22 women for the NWSL. Much of the direction of the women's program will be determined by how the NWSL does compared to the European leagues over the next five years. Will the enthusiasm shown in San Diego and LA continue to the expansion teams in the next few years (which may include Austin)? If the NWSL continues to grow, then the pipeline will continue to be full. If our best players are having to go over to Europe to get better competition, then we will begin to struggle similar to the men's team.