Women’s World Cup

Hell of an effort by Spain. Rapinoe and Heath have been dominating WC defenses with their wide wing work. They stretch the opponent's defensive line and create openings in the middle. Spain did someting I didn't think I'd see. They completely shut down Rapinoe [until after the US's 2nd goal] and they did it with one-on-one defense. Megan won the ball, but was unable to do anything with it. Time and again she lost possession to a single Spanish defender. Very impressive.

And, not content with outmuscling Megan and Morgan, they attacked extremely effectively. Bet your bottom that France took some copious notes. Oh, and the second penalty was a good call. Tobin wasn't hammered, but she was moving at top speed and the Spanish defender caught her with a boot.

It's been a long time since I've enjoyed an international tournament as much as I have WWC2019.

 

Watching as much WWC as I can, and it occurs to me that the major difference between the men's and women's game at international trophy level is that the men seem to be most concerned about NOT being the guy who makes a mistake. The women, on the other hand -- and this includes those obviously out there to make up the numbers -- show much more confidence and are all about taking control. For that reason, the football at the WWC is superior over all than the man's game. It's more attacking and exciting, and there's a lot more individual skill on display.

Your mileage may vary of course.

 

damn; brilliant match tonight ... France v. USA should be the final NOT the quarter.

 

only one match left ... I'm going to miss this commercial. I'm not a fan of commercials, nor of the swoop, but I will never tire of this:

 

Yet another solid performance by our women. Some day, I hope to see our men as confident, strong, and aggressive as our women were IN EVERY SINGLE MINUTE OF EVERY MATCH in the tournament.

USA USA USA