Replies

I think today's lineup was a long term bench management call. Ellis has now played everyone, other than the backup goalkeepers. Eight different players have scored. Christen Press and Jessica McDonald haven't scored, but they've at least had some good shots and a couple of balls off the post. Team psychology can be tricky. All these women are professionals and they all want to win, but it would still be a bummer to make a World Cup team and sit on the bench for a month without ever getting into a game. You also don't want to have to bring someone into a tough game against a peer level team, maybe in a backs to the wall situation, who hasn't played. Ellis got a lot of the potential yinyangs out of the way today.

The U.S. team has depth, but today's starting lineup also was a reminder of why Tobin Heath and Megan Rapinoe are special players. Neither played today, and it showed. Having them both out there together is awesome. Ali Krieger helped her cause. Sam Mewes has earned more playing time as well; her absence today was noticeable. The team that played today was not nearly as sharp as the team that played Thailand, even adjusting for the strength of the opponent.

German Bild has a story that even the American B Team has a victory because there were many changes to the line-up.

Btw I was surprised Germany coach is married to a man.

Sometimes you really can’t go by looks.