Agreed. She's been one of my favorites over the years... but played terribly every game this trny. I can't believe they had her hit a pk with how her service and touch was the rest of the game.
***Official 2023 Women's World Cup Thread***
- Thread starter AlaCyclone
- Start date
Why all the rapinoe denialism? Past performance doesn't justify play in the current world cup. This does not diminish how I see her amazing career... but it does diminish how i think of the coach.
Also... true leaders know when to give up the mantle to the younger generation (see hamm, Chastain, etc).she should not have been out there this tournament. Not one of our best 15 or 16 players. Rewatch the games...see how many absolutely terrible touches she had, and how out of position in defense in the press
Michael Jordan also wasn't the best basketball player in the world not long after he passed 40. That's where Rapinoe is now - her physical decline due to age has left her unable to keep up with the new generation.
I forget who it was that said it, but one of the former players kept on commenting about how the passion wasn't there within this team, and early on I mostly blew it off. But watching the group stage I finally understood where she was coming from. This is a team that has seen so much success over the last several World Cups that the hunger simply wasn't there like it was for other nations - and that happens. Not to mention you have a number of key players way past their prime who probably shouldn't have been on the team in the first place. Bottom line is a lot will have to change for 4 years from now. Rapinoe has to go; Morgan probably should go as well, certainly 4 years from now. Ertz has already retired.
No…. I’ve said that. It’s not her decision though. All competitors want to play.
Our coach was a major failure.
The loss by USWNT to Sweden was not all that surprising. Sorry. Sweden has made huge strides in the sport as have other countries, and we've never been as dominant as some people seem to think. Of the last 8 FIFA women's world cups, the US won only half of the tournaments. Germany won 2. That's really good, but not dominant. We've been more dominant at the Olympics, winning 4 out of 7, but even then, have not earned Olympic gold since 2012.
My point is, as a nation, I think we tend to build up huge expectations for our athletes, sometimes (often?) excessive, and then try to explain away our so called "failures." The reigning Olympic gold medalists didn't make it out of the preliminary round and the gold medalists in Rio met the same fate. Sweden was the silver medalist both times. One can only conclude that winning women's FIFA and Olympic gold is really tough - and as many have said, the world is getting better. And key injuries really, really hurt this team; with the difference between winning and losing so narrow, one or two key injuries can have a devastating effect on a team's success.
I'm proud of the women and how they fought through whatever was affecting this team. For me, I am shining a very bright light on the coaching staff. After watching the games, I don't think the women were prepared mentally or strategical for this tournament. But that's easy for me to say, sitting in front of a TV set.
PS. Congratulations for the Aussies and Kiwi's for blowing attendance records completely out of the water. Very impressive.
My point is, as a nation, I think we tend to build up huge expectations for our athletes, sometimes (often?) excessive, and then try to explain away our so called "failures." The reigning Olympic gold medalists didn't make it out of the preliminary round and the gold medalists in Rio met the same fate. Sweden was the silver medalist both times. One can only conclude that winning women's FIFA and Olympic gold is really tough - and as many have said, the world is getting better. And key injuries really, really hurt this team; with the difference between winning and losing so narrow, one or two key injuries can have a devastating effect on a team's success.
I'm proud of the women and how they fought through whatever was affecting this team. For me, I am shining a very bright light on the coaching staff. After watching the games, I don't think the women were prepared mentally or strategical for this tournament. But that's easy for me to say, sitting in front of a TV set.
PS. Congratulations for the Aussies and Kiwi's for blowing attendance records completely out of the water. Very impressive.
From looking over this thread, there's a lot of reactions and I bet most didn't even watch it or follow the team.
LOL
LOL