2023 World Cup General Match Thread

[BearcatSA]

That was the match of the tourney so far, for sure.  That Ramirez up top is a terrific striker leading the line.  

[Free kick]

Yes,  I have not (due to the time differences)  had the opportunity to watch a great deal of non-Canada games in this WC.   But I did watch Ger-Col and it was worth watching.   Great drama.  But more importantly, there were nice goals.  And, nice goals is something that is still relatively lacking (despite all the other massive improvements over the past 20 years) in the Women's World cup.  

 

PS.:  had this same matchup occurred 20 years ago,   it would have been a very noticeable one sided affair.   This is the biggest difference in Womens soccer compared to 20 years ago and compared to women's Hockey, there is far far more parity in Women's soccer.  And hence better worthwhile entertainment for viewers and fans.  

Edited July 30, 2023 by Free kick

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, Free kick said:

Yes,  I have not (due to the time differences)  had the opportunity to watch a great deal of non-Canada games in this WC.   But I did watch Ger-Col and it was worth watching.   Great drama.  But more importantly, there were nice goals.  And, nice goals is something that is still relatively lacking (despite all the other massive improvements over the past 20 years) in the Women's World cup.  

PS.:  had this same matchup occurred 20 years ago,   it would have been a very noticeable one sided affair.   This is the biggest difference in Womens soccer compared to 20 years ago and compared to women's Hockey, there is far far more parity in Women's soccer.  And hence better worthwhile entertainment for viewers and fans.  

There were several/too many times when the Germans were somewhat surprisingly struggling with first touch and techniques like shielding to maintain possession under 1 v 1 pressure.  You can't get away with that like you could in previous cycles vs teams viewed as lesser competition:  you can't just out-athlete opponents.

The Colombians show a lot of good stuff but impressed me with their overall athleticism, particularly quickness/pace.

[red card]

Looks like the women's World Cup is going up another level. We're now seeing certain matches with that wonderful cocktail of drama, jaw dropping goals, moments to remember, moments to anguish over, individual brilliance, emerging stars, tactical battles and crowds joyfully celebrating the sport and their country.

So far, we have seen 6 matches at this elevated level: as should be, the host (Matildas) country's opening match, the chaos of England v Haiti, team vs superstar in France v Jamaica, Horan's Incredible Hulk moment in USA v Netherlands, quality v quality in France v Brazil and the full course buffet of Germany v Colombia.

Have to give credit to world feed announcer Robbie Thomson for his 2 great calls on the Colombian goals. Erin McLeod doesn't look at the camera enough but she broke down Caicedo's footwork that I haven't seen other analysts on Canadian tv do.

 

https://www.tiktok.com/@fcfseleccioncolombia/video/7261587596013358341

 

[The Ref]

7 hours ago, red card said:

Have to give credit to world feed announcer Robbie Thomson for his 2 great calls on the Colombian goals. Erin McLeod doesn't look at the camera enough but she broke down Caicedo's footwork that I haven't seen other analysts on Canadian tv do.

https://www.tiktok.com/@fcfseleccioncolombia/video/7261587596013358341

 

Sorry I missed that.  What did McLeod say about Caicedo?

[BearcatSA]

I was hoping to watch a replay of Japan-Spain but it seems like TSN has the Canada loss on a contnuous, sado-masochistic loop.

[JamboAl]

17 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

I was hoping to watch a replay of Japan-Spain but it seems like TSN has the Canada loss on a contnuous, sado-masochistic loop.

That’s a shame because Japan put on a clinic on how to defend and how to be ruthless on the counterattack.  It was probably the most clinical performance of the tournament so far (other than what Australia did to us).

[BearcatSA]

22 minutes ago, JamboAl said:

That’s a shame because Japan put on a clinic on how to defend and how to be ruthless on the counterattack.  It was probably the most clinical performance of the tournament so far (other than what Australia did to us).

That's why I wanted to watch it.  That, or McCabe beaking off at her coach during the second half of the Ireland-Nigeria game.

Edited July 31, 2023 by BearcatSA

[kacbru]

Congratulations to Zambia on their first goals and win at a World Cup.

[BearcatSA]

Got to see the highlights of the Japanese goals.  Was that the A list Spanish side?  The Japanese seemed so much quicker during counterattacks.

[Gian-Luca]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

Got to see the highlights of the Japanese goals.  Was that the A list Spanish side?  The Japanese seemed so much quicker during counterattacks.

I don’t know if it was or not, but if I were them, I’d be happy about playing the Swiss instead of Norway in the next round

[red card]

1 hour ago, BearcatSA said:

Got to see the highlights of the Japanese goals.  Was that the A list Spanish side?  The Japanese seemed so much quicker during counterattacks.

From the previous match, the Spanish only made 1 change while the Japanese made 5. But Japan has only started 4 players in all 3 matches. And unlike Spain, Japan have modest, understated players in perfect team harmony. 

 

[BearcatSA]

10 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

I don’t know if it was or not, but if I were them, I’d be happy about playing the Swiss instead of Norway in the next round

Norway's thumping of the USA C team (Phillipines) might be a bit of a mirage, but it's knockout now, so anything can happen.

[Unnamed Trialist]

8 hours ago, red card said:

From the previous match, the Spanish only made 1 change while the Japanese made 5. But Japan has only started 4 players in all 3 matches. And unlike Spain, Japan have modest, understated players in perfect team harmony. 

Fact is, Spain is already through, they can do what they want. 

Then, the possible rivals in the next round are similar. In fact, if they play Switzerland and Japan gets Norway, it is actually better for Spain. Norway started slowly but is better than the Swiss. It is in the calculation.

Spain has key players missing because of the player boycott, as I mentioned earlier. Mapi Leon, the keeper Sandra Paños, Guijarro. Misa in goal is not as reliable as Paños, the CB beside Paredes is not as good. Putellas is still coming off a long injury and it shows. Paralluelos in attack is really too young still and has yet to become an effective striker, she was an elite track athlete and converted and it still shows.

But still, vs. Japan they seemed to be coasting, when their play should really match Japan beautifully.

Now, if the US does not win their group, the Spain draw ends up being not bad, if they beat the Swiss they'd get the Netherlands potentially, who they'd match.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Portugal just had an extraordinary half vs. the US. They lack a bit more direct play, and abuse the short ball. But still, some masterly possession sequences, great individual dribbling talent (shimmy, push into the free space, over and over again) making the US seem very mediocre. The US can't play up the middle, tries up the side. The Portuguese just need to look at the rival goal a bit more, it seemed like keepaway at times.

The US also had a few dirty plays, they probably deserved another yellow for that charge into the keeper. Then they bitch incessantly to the ref, the privilege and arrogance is so distasteful. Horan, very unlikeable that one.

I suspect the Americans will win, because I imagine Portugal will cough it up deep in their own end with their paused, futsal style.

 

[kacbru]

Portugal so close to putting the US out. Shame. 

[RJB]

Sweden is the USA likely opponent.  They don't get the credit they deserve for the Olympics - we get too much too - where they thumped the USA 3-0, and were 5-0 up to the final only to lose on penalties (and concede a penalty during the game). 

Semi finalists in 2019 too, losing in extra time. 

I like their chances!

Edited August 1, 2023 by RJB

[BearcatSA]

5 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Portugal just had an extraordinary half vs. the US. They lack a bit more direct play, and abuse the short ball. But still, some masterly possession sequences, great individual dribbling talent (shimmy, push into the free space, over and over again) making the US seem very mediocre. The US can't play up the middle, tries up the side. The Portuguese just need to look at the rival goal a bit more, it seemed like keepaway at times.

The US also had a few dirty plays, they probably deserved another yellow for that charge into the keeper. Then they bitch incessantly to the ref, the privilege and arrogance is so distasteful. Horan, very unlikeable that one.

I suspect the Americans will win, because I imagine Portugal will cough it up deep in their own end with their paused, futsal style.

I warched the second half of NED-USA and from a techique standpoint it was pretty poor:  a lot of bad execution from both sides, with poor passing and decision making.  My bias against the Americans is that they just out-athlete and out-compete other sides as they progress through the knockout stages, so maybe my blinders are on to the other skill subtlties in their game.  I thought the Germans looked similar in their loss to Colombia.

[Gian-Luca]

6 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Fact is, Spain is already through, they can do what they want. 

Then, the possible rivals in the next round are similar. In fact, if they play Switzerland and Japan gets Norway, it is actually better for Spain. Norway started slowly but is better than the Swiss. It is in the calculation.

Spain has key players missing because of the player boycott, as I mentioned earlier. Mapi Leon, the keeper Sandra Paños, Guijarro. Misa in goal is not as reliable as Paños, the CB beside Paredes is not as good. Putellas is still coming off a long injury and it shows. Paralluelos in attack is really too young still and has yet to become an effective striker, she was an elite track athlete and converted and it still shows.

But still, vs. Japan they seemed to be coasting, when their play should really match Japan beautifully.

Now, if the US does not win their group, the Spain draw ends up being not bad, if they beat the Swiss they'd get the Netherlands potentially, who they'd match.

I don't think there will be many easy games or lopsided scores once we get into the knockouts, unless the latter arises from teams leaving themselves short at the back from having to go for it if they are behind. I just think Norway's ceiling is a lot higher than Switzerland's and they seem to be gaining steam as they go along, unlike, say, the US who were playing very nervy at the end and only squeaked through. Haiti goes winless and scoreless, so unlike Jamaica pull off a huge upset, the US are the only Concacaf team (out of 6) who will go through and by the skin of their dyed hair. The Americans currently have only been able to beat a toothless Vietnam team, and with Jamaica beating Panama (still bizarre that two Concacaf teams ended up in the same group), so unless I am forgetting something, Canada's victory over Ireland is the only Concacaf team to get a win thus far against a team not from Asia in either the men's or the women's World Cup in this current 2022/2023 cycle. Right now, leaving out Oceania since they are the hosts with mixed results from the two teams,  it is looking as though women's football in Europe is hugely on the rise, with South America also closing the gap. Africa not doing too badly but Asia, other than Japan, seems to be badly in decline - I recall when China was considered a powerhouse in the women's game and they got crushed 6-1 by England in a scoreline which I though somewhat flattered China. As for Concacaf, the "bottom feeders" are getting better, but the traditional top two teams (even if they are defending World & Olympic champions) have obviously struggled.

Interesting that you mention Mapi Leon boycotting the tournament - I hadn't been aware of that. I suppose if nothing else that avoids a potential situation that you don't often see as a possibility in men's sport, which is a player competing against the person they are in a romantic relationship with - her girlfriend is the Megan Fox-esque Ingrid Engen of the aforementioned Norway.

[Stanley]

Just watched the highlights from the England-China match.  China would have done better if they had started a bucket of sand as a goalkeeper.

[BearcatSA]

43 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

I don't think there will be many easy games or lopsided scores once we get into the knockouts, unless the latter arises from teams leaving themselves short at the back from having to go for it if they are behind. I just think Norway's ceiling is a lot higher than Switzerland's and they seem to be gaining steam as they go along, unlike, say, the US who were playing very nervy at the end and only squeaked through. Haiti goes winless and scoreless, so unlike Jamaica pull off a huge upset, the US are the only Concacaf team (out of 6) who will go through and by the skin of their dyed hair. The Americans currently have only been able to beat a toothless Vietnam team, and with Jamaica beating Panama (still bizarre that two Concacaf teams ended up in the same group), so unless I am forgetting something, Canada's victory over Ireland is the only Concacaf team to get a win thus far against a team not from Asia in either the men's or the women's World Cup in this current 2022/2023 cycle. Right now, leaving out Oceania since they are the hosts with mixed results from the two teams,  it is looking as though women's football in Europe is hugely on the rise, with South America also closing the gap. Africa not doing too badly but Asia, other than Japan, seems to be badly in decline - I recall when China was considered a powerhouse in the women's game and they got crushed 6-1 by England in a scoreline which I though somewhat flattered China. As for Concacaf, the "bottom feeders" are getting better, but the traditional top two teams (even if they are defending World & Olympic champions) have obviously struggled.

Interesting that you mention Mapi Leon boycotting the tournament - I hadn't been aware of that. I suppose if nothing else that avoids a potential situation that you don't often see as a possibility in men's sport, which is a player competing against the person they are in a romantic relationship with - her girlfriend is the Megan Fox-esque Ingrid Engen of the aforementioned Norway.

Mapi Leon looks a lot like Emma Watson in that shot.

[Gian-Luca]

19 minutes ago, Stanley said:

Just watched the highlights from the England-China match.  China would have done better if they had started a bucket of sand as a goalkeeper.

Some of the England strikes were well-taken but that 5th goal was truly woeful. I think the Ref stopped more shots on goal than China's keeper did.  For those that missed it, late in the 2nd half China had a dangerous strike just outside the top of the PK box blocked by the idiot Ref who, in order to atone for this bit of unfairness to the Chinese, awarded the subsequent possession to England. Great bit of officiating there - block a shot on goal and then hand the ball to the team that you blocked the shot for as an additional bit of one-sided unfairness. Irrelevant in the grand scheme of things in a 6-1 drubbing, but even so, a fairly absurd officiating moment.

[Gian-Luca]

30 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Mapi Leon looks a lot like Emma Watson in that shot.

Good call - it may just be that photo from what I've seen, and it's probably not as strong as the Ingrid Engen/Megan Fox one, but given all the male celebrity spotting we've done over the years (Jay Chapman/Cody Bellinger, Kevin Harmse/Seth Rogen, "Isaac Hemsworth" and so forth - I'm sure there are more I've forgotten), it's about time we upped our celebrity spotting game with respect to the women. 😉

[BearcatSA]

2 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

Good call - it may just be that photo from what I've seen, and it's probably not as strong as the Ingrid Engen/Megan Fox one, but given all the male celebrity spotting we've done over the years (Jay Chapman/Cody Bellinger, Kevin Harmse/Seth Rogen, "Isaac Hemsworth" and so forth - I'm sure there are more I've forgotten), it's about time we upped our celebrity spotting game with respect to the women. 😉

You have a great memory for our posts over the years!  I always liked the Harmse one.  Too bad we won't be able to do our duelling Rudy tribute song references as often now that Camacho is in Columbus.

[Unnamed Trialist]

Just now, Gian-Luca said:

I don't think there will be many easy games or lopsided scores once we get into the knockouts, unless the latter arises from teams leaving themselves short at the back from having to go for it if they are behind. I just think Norway's ceiling is a lot higher than Switzerland's and they seem to be gaining steam as they go along, unlike, say, the US who were playing very nervy at the end and only squeaked through. Haiti goes winless and scoreless, so unlike Jamaica pull off a huge upset, the US are the only Concacaf team (out of 6) who will go through and by the skin of their dyed hair. The Americans currently have only been able to beat a toothless Vietnam team, and with Jamaica beating Panama (still bizarre that two Concacaf teams ended up in the same group), so unless I am forgetting something, Canada's victory over Ireland is the only Concacaf team to get a win thus far against a team not from Asia in either the men's or the women's World Cup in this current 2022/2023 cycle. Right now, leaving out Oceania since they are the hosts with mixed results from the two teams,  it is looking as though women's football in Europe is hugely on the rise, with South America also closing the gap. Africa not doing too badly but Asia, other than Japan, seems to be badly in decline - I recall when China was considered a powerhouse in the women's game and they got crushed 6-1 by England in a scoreline which I though somewhat flattered China. As for Concacaf, the "bottom feeders" are getting better, but the traditional top two teams (even if they are defending World & Olympic champions) have obviously struggled.

Interesting that you mention Mapi Leon boycotting the tournament - I hadn't been aware of that. I suppose if nothing else that avoids a potential situation that you don't often see as a possibility in men's sport, which is a player competing against the person they are in a romantic relationship with - her girlfriend is the Megan Fox-esque Ingrid Engen of the aforementioned Norway.

I agree that Engen is quite pretty, but she's only a residual player at Barca. At Barça btw we are used to player signings based on who's who's lover, and also know about splits when someone transfers out. It actually happens more than you might imagine in the women's game.

I actually don't feel apologetic getting "crushes" on female players, women have done it for decades with male athletes with no recriminations.

Some might recall the first time Putellas won the Ballon d'Or, dressed very nicely, a younger Mbappe was gawking at her the whole time.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Unnamed Trialist