Ellis' shitty coaching choices have one positive and some negatives. While it was insanely dumb the way she used Lindsey Horan against Spain, Horan should be well rested and ready to go and having arguably the best player in the game fully rested and fit for a Quarterfinal is a big advantage. On the flip side how much will some of the older players (Rapinoe, Sauerbrunn, Heath) have in the tank for this game? Can she risk not starting Rapinoe to use her as a second half sub to keep her fresh? How much of a leash does Morgan have as she's been ineffective since playing Thailand?
Jill Ellis is the big question mark. The US can out-talent most teams including France, but if this game is nip and tuck is she going to make the right decisions? It's a huge variable.
Uruguay beats Chile 1-0 and wins the group, Chile second. Ecuador and Japan draw and are both eliminated so Paraguay goes through.
Brazil vs Paraguay
Argentina vs Venezuela
Colombia vs Chile
Uruguay vs Peru
We "ass blasted" teams from CONMEBOL and Asia that shouldn't have been in the tournament.
Spain has only recently started giving a shit about women's soccer and Real Madrid just announced they're starting a women's team so presumably it's just going to get better. TV ratings around the globe are great for the tournament. 7 million people in Italy watched their women's team play Brazil in the group stage so presumably some of the Serie A teams are going to start caring too.
If Sweden hangs on here UEFA should get 7 of 8 teams in the QF (Italy and Netherlands are favored tomorrow). UEFA is trending upwards in women's soccer, particularly in the countries where men's soccer has been dominant at the club level. How much the gap has closed remains to be seen, but the gap is undeniably closing.
It can't be said enough how bad Fox is at broadcasting this event. One analyst put the blame squarely on Sauerbrunn for the goal when it was a horrifically dumb decision by Naeher to play the ball there and for the love of god can networks stop letting Alexi Lalas talk about anything that isn't MLS or the USMNT? He's bad enough there but at least he played in MLS and for the USMNT. He's out of his depth talking about women's soccer and other men's soccer.
Rapinoe was bad in the run of play today but calmly stepped up and buried two penalty kicks. That's why she's so vital to this team. Cool as a cucumber.
Eills holds out Horan because of her yellow card and brings her in at the very end of regulation in a game that has been extremely chippy? What in the fuck is she thinking?
Lavelle is maddening. They should'v had a second goal after the ball she played to Rapinoe, but so many of her touches are just off. She's incredibly talented and incredibly inconsistent.