[jediwands]

Thanks Alex!

Thanks KerBear!!

Thanks callie 1327!

[everwoodfan52]

Love the title!! Thanks for the new thread, Michelle.

[jediwands]

I slapped the new thread up. We can change the title but that one popped into my head given our current discussion, heh.

Here's a great recap out the US/Brazil match yesterday:

YouTube - ‪USA vs Brazil 2011 Women's World Cup Quarterfinal‬‏

ETA: Like it? Good!

[everwoodfan52]

Originally Posted by Wilpen (View Post) Here's a great recap out the US/Brazil match yesterday: YouTube - ‪USA vs Brazil 2011 Women's World Cup Quarterfinal‬‏ ETA: Like it? Good!

Fantastic photos!! Especially the ones of Abby scoring....before..during....and after. Wow! The series of Hope's save were great, too.

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by Betty Fantastic photos!! Especially the ones of Abby scoring....before..during....and after. Wow! The series of Hope's save were great, too.

Yes!

You can almost capture the human emotion with those pictures telling the story. I love all the comments too. People are comparing this match to Miracle On Ice. This match is definitely going to be remembered for a long, long time! That is what we call making history.

This person said this:

This has got to be the most amazing goal in soccer history, men's or women's.

YouTube - ‪USA vs Brazil Women's World Cup Abby Wombach's tying goal in the 122nd min‬‏

I think that's quite possibly true given EVERY element that went into this cross/header. Seriously.

[everwoodfan52]

I can watch that video over and over, Michelle. The determination to get that ball up...the teamwork...that fantastic ball from Rapinoe right to Abby's head...WOW!



MLS All Star game vs Manchester United: July 27th


David Beckham and Landon Donovan lead MLS All-Star team - ESPN

[jediwands]

How on earth can Beckham lead the all star list when he's been to weddings and other events? LOL.

Interesting. Not that ManU wouldn't beat MLS but they even have a larger advantage considering they are a team and the all stars are thrown together by the fans for MLS. I rather have the Galaxy or Red Bulls flat out play them instead. It would be a more competitive match IMO.

[everwoodfan52]

Originally Posted by Wilpen (View Post) How on earth can Beckham lead the all star list when he's been to weddings and other events? LOL.

Believe it or not....he's been having a pretty good year.

Interesting. Not that ManU wouldn't beat MLS but they even have a larger advantage considering they are a team and the all stars are thrown together by the fans for MLS. I rather have the Galaxy or Red Bulls flat out play them instead. It would be a more competitive match IMO.

I agree. These selections were voted by the fans and a lot of them are because of popularity...and not skill.
Man U is going to play a lot of individual teams as well.

Here's their schedule. They're playing New England tomorrow...

Cheap Manchester United Tickets - Manchester United Mls Schedule

Tomorrow's match against the Revolution is televised ESPN2

World Football Challenge - LIVE!
New England Revolution vs. Manchester United
Gillette Stadium Foxboro, MA USA 8:00 pm to
10:00 pm

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by Betty Believe it or not....he's been having a pretty good year.

Of course he is, because it's his last season in MLS so he has something to prove in order to move on in Europe again next season. Sorry I'm cynical but I think there is a big plan here.

I agree. These selections were voted by the fans and a lot of them are because of popularity...and not skill. Man U is going to play a lot of individual teams as well. Here's their schedule. They're playing New England tomorrow... Cheap Manchester United Tickets - Manchester United Mls Schedule Tomorrow's match against the Revolution is televised ESPN2 World Football Challenge - LIVE! New England Revolution vs. Manchester United Gillette Stadium Foxboro, MA USA 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm

Great. Thanks for the information. I will definitely check the matches out.

I wonder what the men's national team thinks of what the women have accomplished so far. I would love to know what Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley feel and if they are keeping close tabs on the matches.

[everwoodfan52]

Of course he is, because it's his last season in MLS so he has something to prove in order to move on in Europe again next season. Sorry I'm cynical but I think there is a big plan here.

I totally agree with this analysis.

I wonder what the men's national team thinks of what the women have accomplished so far. I would love to know what Dempsey, Donovan, Bradley feel and if they are keeping close tabs on the matches.

They had better be watching!! I think they're feeling proud but also embarrassed that they couldn't accomplish the same thing.

I wish the Men's team was as quick to change coaches as the women's team was with Ryan.
What are they waiting for? This is the time!


ETA:
This is very interesting...

Several England players have hit back at Hope Powell after their coach accused some of them of "cowardice" ahead of the Women's World Cup quarter-final penalty shootout.

Coach Powell, 44, said she had to ask three times for volunteers to take the crucial spot-kicks against France. But midfielder Jill Scott, supported by two team-mates, Tweeted: "You win as a team, you lose as a team". England eventually lost 4-3 in the shootout after the match ended 1-1. Scott was backed up by Karen Bardsley and Claire Rafferty. And striker Eniola Aluko, who did not play against France, added: "Obviously [that saying] is just words. Unbelievable." Powell's comments were also in stark contrast to her mood immediately after the match according to Casey Stoney. "I don't think anyone's a coward and that's not the impression I got from Hope when she debriefed us after the game," Stoney told BBC Radio 5 live. "She said she was very proud and we should hold our heads up high." Injured striker Kelly Smith and forward Karen Carney were the only non-defenders to take penalties. They both scored, with defender Stoney tucking the third penalty away before Claire Rafferty and skipper Faye White missed the last two kicks to send England home. Rafferty, 21, only came onto the pitch nine minutes before the end of normal time for her World Cup debut. Powell said on Saturday: "Faye said 'Right, if no-one else wants to do it I will do it'." The missed kick may have been the 33-year-old's last act in an England shirt. "Three times I had to ask [for volunteers] before anyone stepped forward," added Powell. "'Where are you?' I was thinking, and then a young kid is the first to put her hand up. And Kelly Smith was dying on her feet but she stepped up and took one. "You've got to want to take a penalty, but other players should have come forward and they didn't. That's weak, it's cowardice."

[jediwands]

Originally Posted by Betty They had better be watching!! I think they're feeling proud but also embarrassed that they couldn't accomplish the same thing.

Yes, I bet they have mixed feelings. They probably are friends with some of the women, of course, so there might be some personal emotional connections as well as a general American sentiment. At the same time, our women are ranked #1 in the world. We are the Spain of women's soccer. So the severe gap between our women and men's team has to be a bit awkward for the men.

I wish the Men's team was as quick to change coaches as the women's team was with Ryan. What are they waiting for? This is the time!

It's ridiculous. Seriously.

ETA: This is very interesting... Several England players have hit back at Hope Powell after their coach accused some of them of "cowardice" ahead of the Women's World Cup quarter-final penalty shootout.

I do NOT sign on with this method of choosing PK kickers. I am shocked it was an up for grabs kind of thing. You have to have a very general idea of who your kickers are going to be. This is World Cup, too, and shoot outs are very common actually! Why on earth would it be so up for grabs like that? Every team I ever played on, we had a formula and we're settled in with our kickers overall. You have to be prepared. I am shocked this coach would leave it up to the girls like that. The girls are the players, the coach decides these things. I find it weird how this went down and I believe the coach was out of line with the coward insinuation.

[jediwands]

credit espn

Sir Alex praises growth of MLS Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes soccer in the United States has made giant strides even in the eight years since he first took his squad across the Atlantic for pre-season. Major League Soccer, which has expanded to 18 teams for this season and will add another in 2013, is enjoying its highest average attendances ever at 17,297. It means that it terms of fans at games MLS has overtaken Ice Hockey as the fourth most popular sport in the United States. On that first commercial tour to the States in 2003 not one of United's opponents was from the MLS. Now the league is considered strong enough to offer a test to United. "I always thought the problem would be the size of the country,'' said Sir Alex ahead of Wednesday's tour match against New England Revolution. "Travelling from Boston to Los Angeles is a long haul. But in Brazil they have two leagues. They could easily do that in the United States if it takes off and they got more clubs involved. "In fact, you could have four leagues because of the size of the country and the population base. There are unbelievable possibilities for the United States. "It is different to when I first came here in 1978. I went to see quite a few teams to see if I could bring something to Aberdeen that would have been useful in terms of not just the football side but the commercial side. "But it was difficult. Teams used to travel to play three away games at a time and it never really worked. "Now we see the United States in a different light. There is evidence now that they are starting to produce their own players. "They have advanced their game because of the coaching and their sports science. Their preparation is first class. "That has put them to a different level in terms of my appreciation of them and also my understanding that you are not going to get an easy game.''

[everwoodfan52]

That is really nice.

Sir Alex Ferguson has often been complimentary of the MLS..whether he means it or not...it's very gracious. I wish we could get someone like him to coach the US Men's team.

[jediwands]

Hey guys... Betty and I added some USA Women's World Cup gifs in the opening you might want to check out.

Originally Posted by Betty That is really nice. Sir Alex Ferguson has often been complimentary of the MLS..whether he means it or not...it's very gracious. I wish we could get someone like him to coach the US Men's team.

That's great. Yes, he might be saying that because of the MLS ties he has with the pre-season set up but my guess is he's a very straight-forward kind of guy. If he didn't feel that way he'd just not saying anything instead of compliment like he has. It seems sincere enough. Yes, maybe he could recommend a replacement for Bradley?

[everwoodfan52]

Originally Posted by Wilpen (View Post) Hey guys... Betty and I added some USA Women's World Cup gifs in the opening you might want to check out. :

Yes, check out our cool opening post.

One last report before I go to sleep!

Grant Wahl U.S. determined to build its own legacy separate from '99 team MÖNCHENGLADBACH, Germany -- The U.S. women's soccer team is two games away from making history, and on the eve of Wednesday's World Cup semifinal against France (ESPN, noon ET) the biggest moment in that history -- the 1999 World Cup title -- remains both an inspiration and, truth be told, an albatross. But finally, finally, finally, these U.S. players are realizing, they have a golden opportunity to create their own iconic triumph before a national audience in the millions. Let's be honest: You can't watch a second of ESPN's (mostly excellent) World Cup coverage without seeing one of the '99ers, whether it's Julie Foudy, Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry, Kate Markgraf, Mia Hamm or former coach Tony DiCicco. After the U.S. bounced Brazil in the most dramatic fashion possible on Sunday, goalkeeper Hope Solo and forward Abby Wambach got the superstar treatment on Good Morning America and other national talk shows on Monday. But they also know they won't truly escape the shadow of '99 unless they can win two more games here. It's a delicate balance: Today's U.S. players want to be respectful toward their legendary forebears, the sports pioneers who toiled in obscurity for years before their breakout moment in '99. But the Class of 2011 also wants to write a new chapter in the history of this team. Right now the U.S. women are like the younger sister of a high school genius/homecoming queen, a younger sister who has to listen to stories about her older sibling's greatness all the time. "That's all we've ever heard about," said Solo of the '99ers here on Tuesday, just a few feet away from where Foudy was standing. "And we all know that they paved the way. But at some point in time you have to let go and build new stories and new names to the game. I think if there's any team to do it, it's this team." "Somebody asked me [on Sunday], 'Is it that much more inspirational to win since it was on the 12-year anniversary of the '99 team winning?' I was like, 'None of us thought of that. We're here to win.' We're not here to win because they did it 12 years ago. We're here to win for our country, for our team, for all the work we've put in. So all this stuff about '99, their journey was great, but that was 12 years ago." It hasn't always been easy for this younger generation. The '99 team had the Rushmore faces of their sport (Hamm, Michelle Akers, Kristine Lilly, Foudy, etc.), the HBO documentary and the head start from Title IX that gave the U.S. a leg up on most other countries. Today's players have to deal with more competition in the women's game: Japan and France, for example, are both first-time World Cup semifinalists. More teams than ever have the chance to win this tournament. "It's hard," says U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd. "What [the '99ers] did was legendary, and I never want to take away from what they accomplished. If it weren't for them, maybe I wouldn't be in this situation right now. They built so much. But I think we should be given a little bit more credit than we're getting. I think the game has evolved. It's a lot harder. The U.S. isn't just going to go out there and beat teams 3-0 or 4-0 anymore." "I think we are going to write our own story," Lloyd added. "I think there could possibly be another movie about this team. And I think that's something special." Here are four other things on my mind heading into USA-France: • Wednesday is Becky Sauerbrunn's big chance. It's an unlikely story: After not having played a single minute in this World Cup, center back Becky Sauerbrunn is set to start on Wednesday in place of Rachel Buehler, who's suspended after her red card in the Brazil game. Sauerbrunn trained with the starters in practice on Tuesday -- the other 10 first-teamers remained unchanged from the Brazil lineup -- and she has been preparing to play ever since the moment in Sunday's postgame celebration when a teammate turned to her and said: "Are you going to be ready?" "If they call my name, I'll be ready," Sauerbrunn said. A 26-year-old Virginia alum who plays in WPS for MagicJack, Sauerbrunn says there's no way she would be on this U.S. team were it not for the existence of the U.S. domestic league. She did play in two games against Japan in May when Christie Rampone was injured, but Sauerbrunn wasn't even sure she'd be on the final U.S. roster when she went into her meeting with coach Pia Sundhage before final cuts were made. ("I thought it was 50-50.") Now she'll be starting in a World Cup semifinal. One thing that should help on Wednesday: Sauerbrunn is familiar with her central defender partner, Rampone. They both play alongside each other on their WPS team. • Can the U.S. avoid an emotional letdown? Their dramatic comeback against Brazil was the talk of the U.S. sports world the last couple days, an all-timer fantastic finish. But the Americans' situation heading into Wednesday's semifinal is eerily similar to the one the U.S. men faced at last year's World Cup after Landon Donovan's last-second goal saved the team from elimination against Algeria. There's a short turnaround between games here, and you got the sense the U.S. men didn't quite put their emotional win behind them enough before falling to Ghana in the Round of 16. Solo, for one, said the biggest challenge the last couple days has been emotional, not physical. She didn't sleep at all on Sunday night due to the adrenaline rush, she said, and she was hoping to start looking forward to France on Monday morning. When she showed up at the team breakfast on Monday she was silent, not wanting to bring up the previous day, but so was everyone else. Finally, somebody spoke up: "That was pretty incredible last night." And they started talking about the game again. "We couldn't just sweep it under the rug," Solo said. "We had to experience the emotions, had to welcome those feelings. Last night [Monday] we were finally, 'All right, new city, new stadium tomorrow, time to turn our entire focus to France.' But it did take a day longer than I thought it would." • Does France have the horses to beat the Americans? Simple answer: Yes. The U.S. will be favored in this game, mainly due to its advantages in athleticism and experience on the big stage. France is a young team, but it does have 10 players from Olympique Lyonnais (which won this year's Champions League) and an edge in ball skills and creativity over the U.S. that could put pressure on the American defense. Keep an eye on creative midfielder Louisa Necib, forward Marie-Laure Delie (who has scored more than a goal per appearance) and forward Gaëtane Thiney, whose two goals helped bury Canada 4-0 in the score line shocker of the tournament. France isn't bulletproof, though: its defense had a Keystone Kops moment against England, bumping into each other comically to allow England's first goal. That's the kind of weakness the U.S. will try to exploit. (A random question going through the media center today: Has there ever been a good rivalry between the U.S. and France in sports? It was hard to think of one. The only lasting image in my mind was Vince Carter's straddle-your-head slam dunk over Freddy Weis in the 2000 Olympics, something of a one-sided rivalry.) • The French coach is a hoot. My first sight of French coach Bruno Bini here came before the news conference, when I saw him smoking a thin French cigarette outside the media center. Bini wasn't in the best of moods -- he has been sick and throwing up the last couple of days; I washed my hands upon hearing this, having shaken his hand earlier -- but it turns out he's big into motivating his team with the arts. In 2009, Bini wrote a tune called "The Song of the Coach," which the French team sings before most games, and he likes showing his players motivational clips from the films Dead Poets Society and (no joke) Any Given Sunday. Is he the French Al Pacino? We'll find out on Wednesday.