Keys to the game: control the midfield; keep a cool head; bust out counterattacks when you can. USA has the speed advantage IMHO. Go USA!
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by Randinho| 126 Comments
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Keys to the game: control the midfield; keep a cool head; bust out counterattacks when you can. USA has the speed advantage IMHO. Go USA!
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raven
Awright!
Baud
WWIII!
raven
Are all the yellow’s cleared for the USA?
raven
@Baud: Torpedo’s LOS!
Randinho
@raven: If they follow the same rules as for the men, yes.
raven
@Randinho: Cool
MobiusKlein
Why The f am I still at work? It’s 4pm, and I still have to get stuff done.
On the bright side, I get ice cream.
MattR
@raven: Yes. All cards clear after the quarterfinals (so a player can’t miss the finals due to an accumulation of yellow cards. Only if they get a red card in the semi finals)
raven
@MattR: thx
Baud
Good game so far
raven
Has playing on artificial turf been as bad as it was thought?
raven
fuckin EAS alert!!
Tree With Water
Ike’s message to D-Day troops (abridged):
“Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. [She] will fight savagely.
..I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, and skill in [soccer]. We will accept nothing less than full victory.
..Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking”.
HumboldtBlue
@MobiusKlein: I’m not at work and that means I get beer.
The USA has a great chance to shut up the naysayers and display just how much better they are and so far they have. Come on, ladies, get a goal and force these Krauts to expose that back line that’s about as tough as a feather!
HumboldtBlue
@raven: No
Amir Khalid
@Tree With Water:
Sports is not war, and the language of the latter deserves no place in it.
HumboldtBlue
Damn, it looks like she got knocked out
Culture of Truth
That head collision looks bad
raven
@Amir Khalid: I reposted the first sentence on my Facebook a minute ago and a bunch of people disagree, or think that it is all in good fun anyway. WWII metaphors always emerge when them Germans are playing.
ThresherK
I haven’t seen a less readable set of numbers on a jersey than Germany’s in a long, long time. In anything smaller than a closeup it’s almost illegible. Have they worn them before in this WWC?
Randinho
Popp should probably come out or at least have an x-ray at halftime. She got hit in the weakest part of the skull.
Culture of Truth
Still 0-0
Amir Khalid
@raven:
And when England play Argentina, there are always references to the Falklands war. It feels to me like either war is being trivialised, or sports is being raised to the pitch of all-out hostile conflict.
Omnes Omnibus
That Morgan lady has some nice moves.
HumboldtBlue
@raven: That’s twice Morgan has blown a chance and that should have been a cross
? Martin
Boy, no question we have the best two teams in the world in this game.
raven
@Amir Khalid: And your perspective, of all people, I respect.
HumboldtBlue
@Randinho: I thought so too, lower part of the skull
? Martin
Man, how have we not scored?
Omnes Omnibus
@? Martin: The ball hasn’t gone into the net yet.
burnspbesq
Popp should be on her way to the locker room. That was a bad foul, and she already has one booking.
ThresherK
How many of those little hand-warning signs does that player get (German, can’t read the #s) from the ref before one of them adds up a card?
Randinho
@HumboldtBlue: Principally on the side, which is where Natasha Richardson hit her head on the ski accident that killed her.
Germy Shoemangler
Check out this Peanuts cartoon from May 2, 1958
burnspbesq
US dominated but has nothing to show for it.
HumboldtBlue
@Randinho: Yeah, I see that, I confused Popp with Brian and I thought Brian came to worse off for it.
MobiusKlein
@burnspbesq: Not being behind?
shell
Original versus musical version on TCM tonight:
‘Auntie Mame’ followed by ‘Mame.’
Then ‘Philadelphia Story’ followed by ‘High Society.’
Tree With Water
@Amir Khalid: Tell that to the NFL. Or better yet, give a listen to George Carlin comparing football and baseball. Then grab some sunshine and lighten the fuck up..
David Koch
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE GAME
raven
@Tree With Water: Easy now.
Omnes Omnibus
@Tree With Water: Speaking of lightening up, have you ever considered it?
SiubhanDuinne
@shell:
By rights, then, they should also do “Pygmalion” followed by “My Fair Lady.”
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Are you lost?
Baud
This sucks.
HumboldtBlue
US just got robbed, that’s a terrible call
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
No more than usual. Why do you ask?
Randinho
Choke!
Baud
Sweet
Omnes Omnibus
Big sigh of relief there.
HumboldtBlue
That’s only just, if that was a penalty I am Lionel Messi’s dad.
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: Just wondering what those musicals were all about!
OnkelFritze
Dammit
ThresherK
Neener neener. I’m not so sold on that yellow card after the uncalled “slow dance” in the German defensive box near the end of the first half.
phantomist
Why is Germany allowed to use an East German goalie?
SiubhanDuinne
@ThresherK:
That blue on red in the same tone value is just stupid graphic design. Can’t imagine how that got approved.
Randinho
I will say this: Johnston should have just cleared that ball. She was being too clever.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Oh, I was replying to Shell. S/he started it!
ThresherK
@SiubhanDuinne: That’s blue? I thought it was black, a traditional German uni color. But in either case, yeah.
HumboldtBlue
@Randinho: yup
HumboldtBlue
Thats a foul … outside the box though
Amir Khalid
@phantomist:
For the past 25 years, there has been only one reunited Germany.
Omnes Omnibus
@Amir Khalid: Not quite 25.
/Pedant
Baud
USA!!!
ThresherK
That was genuine. Annnnd, converted.
Omnes Omnibus
Goal!
SiubhanDuinne
USA USA USA
? Martin
Boy, did we need a lot of breaks to get to that goal. We’ll take it!
David Koch
FUCK YEAH!!!!
CARLI1!
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: I don’t know that person so I couldn’t be a smart ass to them!
Randinho
Tobin Heath is playing a hell of a game today.
Amir Khalid
@Omnes Omnibus:
Or thereabouts.
phantomist
@Amir Khalid:
Well, I guess that explains why she didn’t win the hammer throw in the last Olympics.
Randinho
And as I write that Tobin Heath comes out.
David Koch
Here comes the Flying Squirrel (AKA Kelley O’Hara)
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
That line is about the lowest-hanging fruit I have seen around here in quite a while.
But I shall resist! I am strong!
raven
@SiubhanDuinne: I thought maybe you wandered in here cuz the game is in Montreal!
Richard Mayhew
15 left, Germany needs to press.
Us needs to sub with thoughts to playing 120
Richard Mayhew
Us D sitting to avoid a 1v1 breakdown
Good offside 82 German forwards not getting back
Culture of Truth
had to resist a jersey joke myself
Randinho
In all honesty, neither penalty should have been called; one for not being a penalty and the other for a foul taking place outside the area.
That being said, don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. Take full advantage of it instead. Lloyd, Sasic didn’t.
? Martin
Wife’s: wow, the US team is really pretty.
Me: There’s no money for women to actually play the sport in the US. If you’re aren’t pretty enough to get endorsements, you’re probably going to give up after college.
Culture of Truth
GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL
Omnes Omnibus
There’s the dagger.
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
No, believe it or not, I am becoming a little bit of a sports fan in my dotage. Didn’t think it would ever happen USA USA USA USA sorry where was I?
HumboldtBlue
Nothing squirrely about that. Krauts out of gas
? Martin
Woo! That takes all of the other controversies out of play. Can’t say that wasn’t earned!
Aleta
that was slick
Richard Mayhew
Beautiful penetration
Corner Stone
Germany looks really slow the whole game. Long path to get here?
Omnes Omnibus
@Richard Mayhew: Phrasing!
Corner Stone
@Richard Mayhew: TWSS. Oh!
ThresherK
Great stuff! O’Hara turned out to be a prescient sub.
Richard Mayhew
@? Martin: speaking as a misogynistic pig referee, most d1 women players are good looking to smoking if fit, athletic, symmetrical, nice butt, small chest look is your thing
David Koch
THE FLYING SQUIRREL!!!
ThresherK
@Omnes Omnibus: Are we not doing “phrasing” anymore?
Omnes Omnibus
@ThresherK: My apologies to the group.
Culture of Truth
@ThresherK: Good sub. Lucky she didn’t get the boot.
phantomist
@? Martin:
So there’s a chance somebody got my ,not so funny, East German joke?
David Koch
Kelley is only 5’4″ but when she would walk around campus she had this towering command presences. What a stud.
raven
I have to say that either team we play for the title will bring out more war talk!
Randinho
@ThresherK: Indeed. Ellis has out coached the German coach. Have the Germans made a single shot from inside the penalty box other than the pk attempt?
SiubhanDuinne
@raven:
Yup. 1775 or 1941, take your pick.
? Martin
WOO!
USA! USA! USA!
This was a MUCH better team than in previous games. Boy did they step up. I would not mind seeing a US/Japan rematch.
Randinho
@raven: So, Revolutionary War Redux or WWII Redux?
Baud
There it is.
ThresherK
@Richard Mayhew: Symmetrical, as in my preference for a woman who has a good shot from the left foot and right foot?
Culture of Truth
dusting off Bunker Hill and Pearl Harbor references
? Martin
@phantomist: My wife let the bad east german joke go, but I could tell she was thinking it.
Angerer is perhaps not the first choice for a fashion model, but she’s a hell of an accomplished athlete.
I don’t know why the women’s world cup doesn’t get as much play as the mens, because that was every bit as exciting of a game as anything we saw last year.
raven
Who wonna da secon wod wah??
HumboldtBlue
@Corner Stone: I am wholly corrupt and biased but the Krauts were wildly overrated coming into this tournament regardless of their No. 1 ranking. They defend with the same effectiveness that Bristol Palin avoids getting pregnant and a first game romp against an overmatched squad only heightened that overrated-ness.
Roger Moore
@Randinho:
They did, according to the map they have on ESPNFC. OTOH, they’re claiming that Germany didn’t have a single shot on target, which seems amazing to me.
HumboldtBlue
@Randinho: We won both so it doesn’t matter. Neither team has the overall skill and strength of the Americans and I would rather face the Brits, they are a far weaker squad than Japan who have the footwork, passing, composure and experience to best the Yanks.
Richard Mayhew
@ThresherK: everything balanced… Except perhaps a broken nose tilted slightly to one side
Randinho
And to keep the war metaphors going, Argentina is destroying Paraguay in the Copa America semi-final 6-1, or as I prefer to call it, the War of the Triple Alliance Redux.
David Koch
@Richard Mayhew: you may want to watch this it’s pretty stunning (especially the squirrel).
Randinho
@Roger Moore: Noted. Those stats by the way, truly tell the tale of the game:
Germany 16 shots, none on target. 10 shots from outside the area, 6 from within including the pk attempt.
USA 11 shots, 5 on target. 9 shots from within the area including the pk, 2 from outside the area.
I don’t know how the German coach expected to beat Hope Solo with shots from distance.
burnspbesq
Honestly did not think this US team was capable of that performance.
As an American of Irish ancestry, i should be rooting for Japan tomorrow, but a World Cup final appearance would be massive for the development of the women’s game in England.
HumboldtBlue
@burnspbesq: The US is by far the deepest and most skilled team in the world and this constant hand-wringing about how they are so poor at this and so lousy at that has been one of the great laugh generators to come from this tournament.
The US are far more technically skilled than every other team in the world except one, Japan. They have individual excellence across the pitch, they play defense far batter than any other team and they are a constant danger when on the attack even if they a terrible at finishing. They just routed the No. 1 ranked team in the world and outside of 15 minutes at the beginning of the second half it was a one-sided contest.
burnspbesq
@HumboldtBlue:
I don’t think we’ve been watching the same tournament. I’ll just leave it at that.
bk
@burnspbesq: I’ve been watching the same tournament that HB has been watching, and I have come to pretty much the same conclusions.
Corner Stone
@HumboldtBlue: I’m not the futbol nut a lot of people here are, but I’ve spent a lot of my life playing/participating/watching athletes and sports. And I’m not sure what others have seen but this was not close. GER looked slow and sloppy.
HumboldtBlue
@burnspbesq: One of the great truths about a tournament like the World Cup is that winners get the chance to improve, cohere, mix lineups and find a spark, a connection, a formula.
Japan is the only team that can out-pass the Yanks, they are technically skilled have brilliant footwork and can maintain possession through a quick sprint or a series of sharp, short passes.
We have raised the bar so high for the U.S. women that Neymar is concerned about their mental makeup, but you can’t honestly believe that a team that is as skilled across the lineup card — pacey wingers, bold and decisive center backs, creative mids and over-excited forwards backed by an outstanding keeper — isn’t a team that has earned it way to the final and stands a good chance of being one of the most complete champions the competition has ever seen.
pseudonymous in nc
The reality distortion field here is… interesting, but there’s always been a slightly cultish mentality surrounding the USA women, and the Fox commentary team perpetuates it. That said, the German team also believed the hype enough to blast away from outside the box throughout the match apart from the run that drew the penalty.
I’ll gladly say that Alex Morgan is one of the purest strikers in the game today. male or female: there’s a classic quality to the way she plays. Wambach is a headless chicken when she comes on, the midfield is soft and inconsistent, and there has been no real inventiveness or brilliance throughout the US campaign. “Creative mids”, my arse.
@Randinho:
Yeah but no. Soft shots straight to the keeper get placed in the “on target” column as if they’re better than shanks that go wide of the goal, when really, they’re no different. This isn’t ice hockey.
smintheus
@pseudonymous in nc: Lloyd, Rapinoe, Klingenberg, Johnston, and Heath have been consistently excellent this tournament, and collectively they’ve dished a lot of beautiful passes into dangerous areas. Certainly they’ve played better than Morgan who, for all her great dribbling skills and attacking elan, has been struggling without her normal ability to finish.
pseudonymous in nc
@smintheus: We’ll just have to agree to differ on this, and the final will be decent enough proof.