Somebody is getting their first star. I like that.

Cheering for the Matildas.

Or dreaming of a river vacation to Washington state. or Missouri. or any of the 50 other Columbia's in the US.

But Colombia is waaaaaaaaay different. I've been several times. the women..... where's the chef's kiss emoji when you need it?

Seitz is the truth. She's the Collina of women's soccer. Was better than the last several female ref big-timers (Bibi Stenhuis too). But she's got a political game to play. I think the female refs that were in Qatar have a leg up.

-The WWC opened up with a Japanese referee and Japan is out. She went to Qatar also.
-Frappart (FRA) reffed her way out of the Final, IMO, with some questionable decisions in Spain v Holland, including freezing on the last penalty that caused confusion. She was also in Qatar.
-Australia is in the semis and she'd be a hometown fave but she's eliminated
-Same as above with England's Welch. She's probably top 5 in the world.
-I think Penso is better than Katja (I know both of them) but it's clear Katja is the #1 from the USA and she has the better crew. Although Tori knows Katja's crew and regularly works with Katja's crew on men's games in MLS
-You also have the Ukranian ref as the feel-good story to do the final. And the New Zealand ref for host nation options.

***As an aside, One of my mentees will be the #1 USA women's referee pretty soon. and probably have the top 2. Remember the names, Natalie Simon and Alyssa Nichols.

I think we're looking at Koroleva (USA), Penso (USA), Yama****a (JPN), Batista (BRA), Keighley (NZ), and Monzul (UKR) for these last 4 matches.

Alves got the first semi.

jessexy said:

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Not to derail the entire thread but this opens up a chance for the American referees to work much deeper into the tournament than normal. Since the USWNT always advances pretty deep into the tournament, that limits the chances for CONCACAF refs. On the women's side, they tend to be the best in the world since soccer has been more advanced in the USA and Canada.

There are 2 crews of Americans and one Canadian crew that are all good on the world stage. And the Director of Women's Officiating for FIFA is an American woman. There is also a USA VAR crew and 2 Canadian VARs over there now.

If you remember the men's World Cup, an American referee was the 4th official for the final between Argentina and France. So, this has been a successful World Cup year for USA officiating and for PRO, even though there are some negative opinions for those that follow MLS.

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That ref lives in the Austin area and he came out and did a Q&A the week after for our soccer club it was pretty cool to hear him talk about the experience.

Penso got the second semi. Good for Tori.

Yama****a is the 4O.

Bam!!! I just need a Monzul whistle on the final and Keighley on the 3rd place match and I'm gonna play the lotto daily.

I've known Ishmail since about 2008 or so. And Armando since about 2011/12. (He's in the San Antonio area). Jair Marrufo is in El Paso and another future FIFA referee is in the Houston area. South Texas is a hotbed for FIFA refs. NTX hasn't had one since Kevin Terry in the mid-2000s.

jessexy said:

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Bam!!! I just need a Monzul whistle on the final and Keighley on the 3rd place match and I'm gonna play the lotto daily.

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I'll bet it's Staubli on the final. It's her 3rd WC, she's really good and has had a good tourney. Koroleva gets the 4O slot.

I agree Keighley gets 3/4.

What a crazy final 10 minutes to send Spain through to the final!

Interesting read on the Spanish team but also issues plaguing women's soccer around the world.

https://www.newyorker.com/sports/sporting-scene/the-world-cup-and-the-frustrating-inspiring-state-of-womens-soccer

Anyone else up for this Aus-Eng match? Been a good one so far.

Second half just starting now. England scored on a nice shot after a deflected pass fell right to an open attacker in the box. Australia had some good chances as well.

I'm kind of stunned England is in a position to make the final. I've watched a ton of their games and they just don't do anything excellent. Kind of a blah squad imo.

Golazzzzo!

SAM KERR BANGER ALERT

The bar I'm at in Sydney nearly exploded

UPDATE: the six British supporters here nearly exploded

Well, crap. Heck of a run by the Matildas. England may not look special in any facet of the game, but they definitely capitalize on their chances.

I guess it's safe to say all the European clubs sinking money in to women's soccer is paying off

And lets not forget England are playing without several of their best players due to the injury bug this year. Arguable that their best forward, midfielder and center back are all out for the World Cup

Very true.

Along injury lines, it was great to see Kerr back in the lineup as a starter. Such a difference maker.

Highly entertaining game. Sam Kerr had a couple of chances late to tie it up.

That miss on the header overshadowed a killer cross into the box.


Was cool to see the home crowd/team make a deep run.

England vs Spain in the final is going to be a great clash of styles.

3-1 England!

Vlatko stepping down.

https://x.com/espn/status/1691947639711871441?s=46&t=SDwjtrx4oYg1B7e9RSrEwQ

Some good coaches out there. Hope USSF opens the checkbook.

jeffk said:

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Some good coaches out there. Hope USSF opens the checkbook.

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And are less strict on things like living arrangements.

Whoa, slow down. Let's not get crazy.

jeffk said:

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Some good coaches out there. Hope USSF opens the checkbook.

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Randy Waldrum would be my first call. 100%. He's taken Nigeria to the knockout rounds, T&T to the brink of qualifying, and was a USA U23 coach previously. And he's recruited all these players while being a college coach.

Mathguy64 said:

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jessexy said:

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Bam!!! I just need a Monzul whistle on the final and Keighley on the 3rd place match and I'm gonna play the lotto daily.

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I'll bet it's Staubli on the final. It's her 3rd WC, she's really good and has had a good tourney. Koroleva gets the 4O slot.

I agree Keighley gets 3/4.

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Hearing the Welsh ref got the 3/4 game. Keighley doneso.

I still like Monzul for the final. Although there's a heavy chance that the Japanese ref will get the final now that Australia didn't advance. Aussie being in the Asia federation limited her chances. But with them out she can do the game now. She's got the big ones for this WWC (opener and USA-Holland) and she was at the Men's WC in Qatar. methinks she's got it.

Third place game bt Sweden and Australia is Saturday at 4:00 am ET

Title game bt Spain and England is Sunday at 6:00 am ET

jessexy said:

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jeffk said:

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Some good coaches out there. Hope USSF opens the checkbook.

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Randy Waldrum would be my first call. 100%. He's taken Nigeria to the knockout rounds, T&T to the brink of qualifying, and was a USA U23 coach previously. And he's recruited all these players while being a college coach.

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Just make sure payment is not in Nigerian currency/through a Nigerian bank and you should be set!!

Looking for 2 tickets on shade side to buy

Holy crap. They rearranged crews and gave better ARs and the final to Penso.

Seitz used some muscle. Lots of muscle.

91AggieLawyer said:

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jessexy said:

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jeffk said:

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Some good coaches out there. Hope USSF opens the checkbook.

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Randy Waldrum would be my first call. 100%. He's taken Nigeria to the knockout rounds, T&T to the brink of qualifying, and was a USA U23 coach previously. And he's recruited all these players while being a college coach.

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Just make sure payment is not in Nigerian currency/through a Nigerian bank and you should be set!!

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You shouldn't worry about Nigeria from some of the stories I've heard about his time at T&T and how they managed the money there. You'd have the cartoon chin on the ground image in your head.