she believes what exactly?
Posted on 03/06/2016 11:17:22 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper
The U.S. Women’s National Team opened play at the 2016 SheBelieves Cup on March 3 in Tampa, Fla. with a 1-0 victory against England as second half substitute Crystal Dunn scored a spectacular goal in the 72nd minute, just six minutes after entering the game.
The USA is tied with Germany atop the standings with three points after Germany defeated France, 1-0, in the first match of the evening. The tournament is serving as excellent Olympic preparation for the USA, Germany and France, and with four of the top five ranked teams in the world, three of which made the final four at the Women’s World Cup last summer, all competing in the United States, this is the best four-team women’s international event in the world this year.
The competition is being played in a doubleheader format and will continue on March 6 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee (Germany vs. England and USA vs. France) and finish March 9 at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida (France vs. England and USA vs. Germany).
The USA's matches against France and Germany will both be broadcast on ESPN3. Fans can also follow all the action from #USAvFRA on Twitter @ussoccer_wnt and @ussoccer_esp, and follow the team along its journey on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (ussoccer_wnt).
2016 SheBelieves Cup Schedule & Standings
Date Matches Stadium City Kickoff TV
Mar. 6 USA vs. France Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tenn. 2 p.m. CT ESPN3
Mar. 6 England vs. Germany Nissan Stadium Nashville, Tenn. 4:30 p.m. CT
Mar. 9 France vs. England FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Fla. 5 p.m. ET
Mar. 9 USA vs. Germany FAU Stadium Boca Raton, Fla. 7:30 p.m. ET ESPN3
|
Team |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts. |
|
Germany |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
United States |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
|
England |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
-1 |
0 |
|
France |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
-1 |
0 |
STORYLINES
USA vs. France: Despite first playing France in 1988, the U.S. Women do not have an extensive history against France, having played just 18 times and only six games since 2006. The most recent meeting came in the championship game of the 2015 Algarve Cup, a 2-0 U.S. win that gave the USA its 10th Algarve title and flipped the result of about a month earlier when the USA fell 2-0 in Lorient, France, on Feb. 8. In Faro, Portugal, Julie Johnston opened the scoring early with her first international goal and Christen Press added a second goal off a brilliant dribble and finish. The match in Lorient was the first match of 2015 for both teams and it was France’s first win in the series history. France scored twice in a two-minute span in the second half on a header from Eugénie Le Sommer and a miss-hit cross from the right wing by Jessica Houara that flew over U.S. goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, hit the far post, and bounced in. In the meeting in Lorient, Abby Wambach saw her penalty kick saved by Sarah Bouhaddi late in the game and in the meeting in Portugal, Hope Solo saved a France PK from Amandine Henry late in the match. The USA and France also faced each other twice in June 2014, a 1-0 U.S. victory in Tampa, Florida, on a goal from Sydney Leroux and a 2-2 draw in East Hartford, Connecticut, as Alex Morgan scored both goals, equalizing twice to cancel out scores from Louisa Necib (on a penalty kick) and Amandine Henry. Before those matches, there came an epic pair of matches in world championships. The USA defeated France 3-1 on July 13, 2011, in the FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal in Monchengladbach, Germany. The U.S. also won the Olympic curtain raiser 4-2 on July 25, 2012, in Glasgow, Scotland, as Alex Morgan scored twice, while Abby Wambach and Carli Lloyd contributed a goal each. The USA is 15-1-2 all-time against France. Seven of those meetings took place from 1991-97. The USA has scored 50 goals against France while allowing 15. Before the 2-2 draw in 2014, the first tie between the teams came at the Four Nations Tournament in Guangzhou, China, in 2006, a 0-0 draw. U.S. midfielders Tobin Heath and Lindsey Horan played with and against almost all the French players while playing with women’s club power Paris Saint-Germain.
U.S. Roster Breakdown: Of the 22 players named to the roster for the SheBelieves Cup, 19 were on the squad that earned a spot in the 2016 Olympics. U.S. head coach Jill Ellis recalled 2015 Women’s World Cup champions Whitney Engen and Heather O’Reilly, who with 228 caps is the most experienced player on the U.S. roster. Ellis also gave Seattle Reign defender Lauren Barnes her first WNT call-up. Barnes played every minute of all 20 matches she played for the Reign last season, helping the club to the regular season title and a berth in the NWSL title game. Fifteen players on the roster were a part of the 2015 Women’s World Cup Team while seven players – most of whom have carved out consistent rosters spots in the past six months – make up the remainder of the roster.
Multiple Scoring Options: Nine different players have scored for the WNT so far in 2016. Carli Lloyd and Crystal Dunn lead the team with seven goals apiece, followed by Alex Morgan with six. Additionally, Tobin Heath and Christen Press have scored two each, while Lindsey Horan, Samantha Mewis, Kelley O’Hara and Mallory Pugh singles goals. The USA is 7-0-0 in 2016, having scored 29 goals while allowing none. The USA has four consecutive games against teams that made excellent runs at the 2015 Women’s World Cup as it prepares to face France, Germany and Colombia twice.
The Lloyd-Morgan Duo: Carli Lloyd has 86 career goals with the WNT and is sixth place all-time in scoring. Lloyd’s goal against Trinidad & Tobago on Feb. 19 came from an assist from fellow Houston Dash teammate Brian, making for a Dash-to-Dash goal in their home venue at BBVA Compass Stadium. Lloyd has scored 23 goals in the USA’s last 20 matches starting with the Round of 16 game at the WWC. Morgan scored three goals in the Olympic qualifying semifinal match against Trinidad & Tobago on Feb. 19. It was her third career hat trick and the first since Nov. 28, 2012 against Ireland. She now has 62 goals in her career and is in eighth place on the USA’s all-time goal scoring list. Next up for Morgan is Cindy Parlow’s 75 career goals. Lloyd and Morgan have combined for five goals 2016 with one providing the assist and the other the goal.
Becky’s 100: U.S. co-captain Becky Sauerbrunn became the 35th U.S. female player to hit 100 caps when she took the field against Canada on Feb. 21 in Houston at the title match of the 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Champioship. Sauerbrunn will be honored for the achievement before the USA’s match against France in Nashville. She will also wear the captain’s armband.
Nearing the Century Mark: Hope Solo earned her 96th career shutout against England on March 3 in the USA’s first match at the 2016 SheBelieves Cup in Tampa, and is now only four shutouts away from reaching the century mark. The feat would be a first for a U.S. goalkeeper in the history of the WNT. Additionally, Solo currently has 191 caps, and she is the leader for caps by a goalkeeper in U.S. history. She is nine away from becoming the first goalkeeper in U.S. and world history to hit 200 caps.
Nine In; Three To Go: Nine nations have already qualified for the 12-team Olympic Football Tournament: The USA and Canada from CONCACAF, Brazil and Colombia from South America, South Africa and Zimbabwe from Africa, New Zealand from Oceania and France and Germany from Europe by virtue of their finish at the 2015 Women's World Cup. Two more teams will qualify from Asia and Europe during tournaments held almost concurrently to the #SheBelieves Cup. Two teams will qualify from Asia during qualifying being held from February 29 - March 9 in Osaka, Japan, and one more will qualify from Europe after a mini-tournament from March 2-9 in the Netherlands featuring Sweden, Netherlands, Norway and Switzerland. Long-time African power Nigeria, which gave the USA a difficult match in the Women’s World Cup, fell in the third round of African qualifying to Equatorial Guinea, which in turn fell to South Africa, which earned its second straight Olympic berth.
At Nissan Stadium: The U.S. WNT has played in Nashville twice, defeating Canada 1-0 in 2004 when the stadium was called The Coliseum and then again in 2013, a 3-1 victory against Scotland in Tom Sermanni’s second match when the stadium was called LP Field. The USA has played three other matches in Tennessee, all in Chattanooga.
she believes what exactly?
Ifyou don’t see what the point is, why on earth did you waste the time to comment?
Do you really think people care how you feel about soccer?
Say what?
Oh... soccer.
Never mind..
there's a blast from the past
Nope, but I had to read into the story quite aways before I figured out the article was about soccer. Ergo, I commented. Take my comment and $1 and buy yourself a cup of coffee; then go have a super day!
The worldwide appeal of soccer can be easily understood if you also understand economics and human behavior. Soccer (futbol or football, depending what country you are from other than the U.S.) has simple rules, little gear is required to play, and game does not favor any particular body frame.
Simple rules — equal number of players in either side, a goal and goal keeper, in and out of bounds rule, and an off-side rule similar to that in ice hockey; in unorganized pick-up games ‘fouls’ are called on the honor system.
Little equipment required — a ball to kick around (any ball will do so long it does not hurt the feet/head) which can be improvised, I’ve seen them made of rags in poor neighborhoods; the field can be improvised as well with anything (cans, buckets, sticks, trees, etc.) used to mark the goal frame.
Does not favor any particular body frame — unlike many other sports, soccer does not favor the taller, stronger, or faster individual; the game has a place for everyone in the field and some of the best players in the world are not hyperbole of human nature but rather average in size and strength, making their skill with the ball, and awareness away from the ball, their superiority in the game.
So, all above should clearly show that many around the world can play with hopes of earning their fellow countrymen admiration and perhaps becoming good enough to make it a lucrative career. You can see this same phenomenon in inner cities with basketball and in less urban areas with football (the helmet and pads kind). The difference with basketball and football is that only those with a certain physique reach the upper echelons of the sport while soccer, by the nature of the game, is open to wider body frame talent; hence its broad popularity among those who play it.
Around the world, many fans have played the game and understand the players skills and frustrations in the field. How many watching the last Super Bowl have actually donned pads and gotten hit in the field? Maybe Pee Wee, middle school and JV perhaps but not much more. Some may have never even gotten there. Basketball likely has more options yet at the organized competitive level the options are still minimal for the average Joe as well.
If the sport is ever to gain the popularity in the U.S. that it enjoys around the world, Americans will have to become accustomed to less immediate gratification due to lower scoring nature of the game and learn to appreciate the finesse required to control a ball with your feet rather than brute strength, speed, jumping ability showcased in the more popular sports in the U.S.
Apologies for the long post.
What ? No Pictures ?
Alex Morgan goal in 90+1 minute :)
USA 1 France 0
USA! USA! USA! USA!
Alex Morgan scores #USWNT winner over France in 91st minute at #SheBelieves Cup. (#LesBleues now out of contention) pic.twitter.com/NAJj6L9OB2— Howler Magazine (@whatahowler) March 6, 2016
A 17 year old high school senior running through and past the top defenses in the world is fun to watch.
All teams go through changes at some point. Germany who like USA is doing so and like USA beat France 1-0. Some new faces, but same coach for USA.
The name Hope Solo is a bit ironic considering your valid concern. Last night she was phenom, as usual. Last month Alex Morgan scored the fastest goal in US history. Looking forward to Olympic Gold. :)
http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/35735493
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