SoccerWise - NWSL/USWNT Editiion

Episode Date: July 17, 2024

Jordan and Gass join forces today to provide coverage of the USWNT send-off match and give you some midseason report cards for teams in the NWSL. They'll start the show with their takeaways from the Costa Rica match, what it means for the US going into the Olympics. Stick around after the USWNT coverage to hear more about the big summer signings in the NWSL, listen to some mailbag questions, and hand out midseason awards. REMINDER: Soccerwise will be doing a live show at Land Grant Brewery in Columbus, OH, on Monday July 22nd at 7pm ET. Be sure to catch Soccerwise live on YouTube and Twitch at 2pm ET every Tuesday (with Gass and Tom), Wednesday (with Gass and Jordan), and Thursday (with Gass and Tom). Soccerwise Live 2pm ET Every Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday on Youtube/Twitch/Twitter

Boom. We are ready. We are here. Soccer-wise, back for you on Wednesdays. David Goss and Jordan Angeli with you for this one. We've got a big show. We've got some U.S. to talk about. We've got a lot of NWSL coverage that we're going to do. We're at the little bit of the international break, the mid-season point, which means we get to talk about some bigger issues and some bigger stories. Jordan, I saw you on the big screen on Saturday.

I was doing big Leonardo DiCaprio. I know that person pointing at the screen every time you came on. Congratulations for not sweating into a puddle. I did. And I would not have been able to be on camera at any point during that game. Yeah, that was a hot game. They gifted us some nice Impact 99, like 99ers themed scarves, which was maybe not the best thing to gift someone. If you didn't notice, I was wearing it for about half the time. And then

I was like, I'm done. I am overheating in this scarf. It is very nice. So I thank you, Asakura, for that. But you, I do have to say, you nailed the Simba cam by just lifting up your beer and saluting the crowd as one should. Thank you. I was very excited about that. I was the only one who was prepped because you gave me the inside intel and no one else around me was doing anything and I was holding it up. Super excited and super ready. I purchased a large amount of money worth of Mia Hamm throwback jerseys. So the Impact 99 gear definitely sold. I didn't get any. I want to say I have one for you, but I have too many already promised. Yeah. I want the 99ers. There was like a T2 that just said the 99ers, which I loved. Um, but it was cool.

I got to see a few people. I got to see Christine Lilly who I used to play with in Boston and chat with her and catch up with her. I got to chat with Saskia Weber who painted her hair like she did in the 99 World Cup final. It was cool to see them all together. They had a blast. And I think we all are just so happy that there's this gear that we can now purchase as adults in memory of what that did for our lives. I have one that I bought that's promised for my two nieces who play soccer in Colorado that are very, very young. So that generation, you talked about it last show of what it meant to you as a young player in Colorado and being excited about what your future could be.

So now we got the next generation as a part of that. And fingers crossed, we will have another generation of gold medalists coming up in a few weeks that other people can get involved with and celebrate. We will talk about the U.S. Women's National Team send-off series game against Costa Rica. Haven't had you on since that Mexico game as well. So we'll put it all together and we'll talk about where this team stands right now and some other more general Olympic thoughts on this show. We've got some big news I touched on slightly on Monday, some big signings, including in San Diego, as well as in Utah once again. So we'll talk about what that means. We've got a mailbag question that we were excited to dig into about the season coming along. And then

we're going to do our mid-season awards slash handicapping the awards towards the end of the year. So we're at a really clean spot to talk. Yeah. MVP, Defender of the Year, all of it. Yeah. Well, before we get that, should we talk too about what's happening next week? Yes, we should do that because we are doing our first ever live show in Columbus, Ohio on Monday night. 7 p.m. is when people are invited at Land Grant Brewery alongside Nord Decker. Jordan, this is your backyard. I know. You won't be there because we didn't get the private jet booked early enough, so we weren't able to get the flight times cleaned up.

But I've been to Land Grant once and had a great time, but you know this area really, really well, and you know all these fans really well. So I'm excited about it, and give me a little idea, a taste of what we're going to get. Well, it's going to be so much fun and everybody in Columbus, if you're listening to this, I know a lot of you still follow along with some of the things that I'm up to these days. I miss you guys. I wish I could be there, but it just, we couldn't work it out. We couldn't work out. Um, I couldn't swing it right now with my schedule, but you're going to have the best time with Tom and Goss at Land Grant and Goss for you. Like one of the things I tell everybody who goes to Columbus, yes, drink some of the Land Grant beer, of course, but you have to go to Brassica. It's my favorite place to eat. And you will love it because they have delicious hummus. And I know

you're a big hummus fan. Is it on short? No, it's in short. Oh, yeah. I have been here. And it is literally in my calendar as like must do first so that I make sure I get it out of the way. It's the best. I love it. My mouth just watered thinking about it.

The bowl. And you can get all, it's like chipotle, like Greek chipotle. Yeah. You can get all the toppings for free. And I love it. And go have two meals there. Just one for me and one for you. I will 100% do that. I will send you a photo and I will get your complete order just so that I could fully experience it for you in remote. That is a great shout. I appreciate that. I'm excited to go to LandGrant. So we'll

be there on Monday. We will have a live show for you, but it's really about hanging out. We just want to, you know, hang around, talk soccer with people who care. Come. We will take questions from the crowd as well. So bring your questions. Be ready. I will carry the NWSL torch as Tom more on the MLS side. So if you have any NWSL questions in there, definitely come in and ask them and be a part of it with us. And we'll talk national teams. We'll talk all-star. We'll talk all of that. We're going to have some guests as well come by that are in the area. We're planning some special stuff. So we might have some surprise names to throw out there as well. But this is

our first opportunity to get out in the wild and meet people. I think we've been pretty overwhelmed by the support already in what we're doing. And this was kind of something where we're figuring it out as we go. So it's going to feel special. Quite honestly, for me, this is like a dream come true to like be able to have like a live soccer event, something that I would have attended as a fan back in the day. So I'm very, very excited about this going forward and very excited for the summer to come because we're also going to have our Olympic coverage coming up as we go

through things. U.S. women's national team with their sendoff series finale against Costa Rica last night at Audi Field. Great crowd for that one. Obviously, the heat continues to rise and rise and rise as this is the final game before the Olympics for the U.S. 0-0 against Costa Rica. So not the ideal finale for this team. A few lineup things that were forced to shift. Jenna Niswanger held out of the team because of load management was what Emma Hayes said. And Rose Lavelle late scratch because of potential groin issue.

So Corbin Albert inserted into the central midfield as well. We'll talk about what those mean and those moves and sort of the depth and flexibility of this team going forward. We've got a lot to talk about with this group, but let's just start, Jordan, with your initial thoughts coming out of this Costa Rica game. I think it was a lot of what we expected from Costa Rica to sit a little bit lower, to make it difficult for the United States to get the space that they really want, which is in behind the back line with the three up front that they have in Rodman, Swanson, and Smith. That's where they really thrive with a little bit of space to run into. So I thought overall, the United States clearly created enough opportunities.

I saw on Twitter, OptaJack said that they had 12 shots on target, 67 touches in the box, the most of any match that they didn't score since Opta began collecting stats in 2015. So it's not as if they weren't getting opportunities, Goss. They were there. The game was there for the taking, even in a low block. I am not worried about this United States team because they will face a low block, but I'm hopeful that they will take this game and understand that they have the players and the temperament to be able to make better decisions when they are in the attacking third. And really, that's what it came down to, in my opinion. Yep. I agree with you. I mean, I, I got a lot of messages from people being like Costa Rica,

is this what we're doing? Like what's going on? And it's like, I could give you the timestamp of five chances that were a pretty straightforward pullback or pass from being a goal. And so I agree with you of like, it felt like it was there. What's interesting coming out of this game is I watched Emma Hayes' post-game press conference. She gave some quotes as well to the broadcast. She's not frustrated. She's like, you know, she's coached a team that has faced a low block most of her career because she has coached the best team in her league off and on, but fairly consistently. And like this happens.

But U.S. fans and some of the players are still living in like a three year span of why does this keep happening? What's wrong with this team? Right. And for Emma Hayes, she's not feeling the echoes. And what I said on Monday was like, if the U.S. had played the way they played against Mexico last year against Vietnam and Portugal, they would have won their group like that based off that performance. I think fans are feeling the echoes of that, of the lack of goals in the World Cup and the lack of goals in some of the big games over the year, year or two that Emma Hayes doesn't feel. And so it's hard to sort of, I think for a lot of people, put those two together of like Emma Hayes just being like, yeah, we didn't score today. Like that happens. She said like we had

two called offside that were an inch off. If they go in, game's different. Where a lot of fans are like, what is happening? What's the future of this team? And it's hard to sort of, I think, put those two together. Well, it's exactly what you want, though, from a head coach coming in who has very clear tactical understanding of what she wants her team to do. And one of the things I think we will really look back on, especially in these last two games, is we'll say, all right, it wasn't the same old, same old. Every single game didn't start the same. It didn't end the same. There were what, three, maybe four different formations that we saw within those two games. We saw players tucking in at time as an outside back, sometimes playing out of a three back. We saw them going to a 3-5-2, which we never really saw those bigger tactical

changes previously. So the fact that we've been calling on this team to be able to be adaptable in the midst of a game, and now they're presented with that under Emma Hayes, and they're able to adjust and continue to perform, maybe not in this game. I think there's a lot of good that you can take out of this, but I think there's also a lot that we're going to, as you mentioned, have some frustrations about. Gosh, when I watched that game, it felt to me like it was screaming for a cut back to the top of the box. There was space out wide and the wingers were doing a good job of getting in beyond at times and you're not going to get a lot of opportunities. But when you get there, you have to be able to execute.

And if there is a little bit of space in behind with Rodman or with Swanson on the far side, it felt like the ball to the top of the box was on. I don't think we saw that until Jaden Shaw came in at the end of the game. She got an opportunity at the 18 for a cutback ball to the top of the box. See, that's not good enough. And I think they'll realize that that's not good enough.

And that goes back to my first point of decision making in the final third has to be on point. You are not going to get a lot of opportunities. So how can you make the most of what you are given? And this is a big learning lesson for this team. And I feel like they will be able to take all of that film that they're going to watch with Emma Hayes. She talked about their film sessions and how lengthy they are. And they're going to be able to then perform and utilize that when it comes to the Olympics

in just a few days. Yeah, I felt like against Mexico, the final third decision making issue was overplaying and a lot of it was put into goal scoring situations and taking a second or third touch, even on Sophia Smith's goal. It was you. I thought it was going to be hit first time and she takes a touch, but she sets herself up. She creates the chance this game.

It was what you said, which was actually the decision that was made a lot of times was blind ball to a hopeful area. It was not, there was not a lot of times where a Swanson or a Rodman or whoever else broke into the attacking third, pick their head up and picked out a player. It was very often like, here's the danger area, which I can understand that you know high high stress moments

high pressure moments but against a low block a team playing in a low block like there aren't really empty gaps you gotta find a teammate and you have to make that decision um speaking of that space that was created i talked about on monday how much swanson clears out the left side in the runway it creates for a nice longer and obviously her ability as an attacking fullback. It was Crystal Dunn in this game because load management for Nijswanger, which is a little worrying to me that that's coming up for one specific player, and she is one of the youngest players in the team. So we can talk about that if you want to, what maybe this means.

But what did you make of Dunn's performance in that spot and sort of the same idea of, is it like for like, and is that still a setup that you like for this team? I think to go first to the players that were not allowed, not able to play with Dunn, with, excuse me, Lavelle and Icefonger, that does worry me. It worries me because this is a small roster. And those are two of your starters. And Rose Lavelle has history of injury. So I hope it truly is precautionary and something that they are able to then go into the Olympics and perform every three days. It's going to be a lot. But the benefit of the team that Emma Hayes picked is Crystal Dunn was named as a forward.

Well, we also know she proved in the 2019 World Cup that she is one of the best left backs that you can have. And she had a great performance. I thought she was good on the ball, solid, exactly what you would expect at times drifting inside to become a pseudo midfielder. At times in the second half, especially, she was a wingback playing in a 3-5-2. And I would say it wasn't just done. One of the performances that really stood out to me, granted Costa Rica did not ask much of this team defensively, was Tierna Davidson.

And I think we forget how good Tierna Davidson is with the ball at her feet and on her, especially her left foot. She can break lines with one pass. She can bypass not just the forward line, but also the midfield line for the defense and find that seam in between that soft spot in between the back line and the midfield. And that is going to be so crucial for them. So I thought Davidson really allowed Dunn to be a little bit more free to go forward because they didn't have so much risk in the defensive moments that there's a ball in the second half where Davidson has the ball dribbling towards half field and Dunn is already in the attacking third and she just threads it through. I thought she played really well, maybe not asked a lot of defensively, but those two, it's a good combination on that left side, even though, you know, Niswonger and Davidson play

together in NWSL, you can see the comfortability of Dunn and Davidson as well. Yeah, I thought Davidson was phenomenal in this game. I thought there were a few question marks coming out of the Mexico game about her spacing because there's such responsibility on her shoulders, which is you're basically defending two positions worth when the ball's lost and in transition moments. And with some of Alissa Nair's deficiencies in possession, a lot of the build-out, if teams press higher higher is going to fall on the two center back shoulders. And that is a lot of

that's a lot of responsibility for those two players. Emma Hayes actually talked about in her postgame, like the four different games they've played under and the four different styles. And this was not that style, right? This was playing against a low block team, which means you have to be prepared in rest defense to win the ball back in the right areas. And I thought Davidson was perfect in all of that. Dunn is interesting because she's a winger. Like she's not a defender.

And last year, one of my frustrations was because whether it was Smith or Lynn Williams, whoever was playing out wide left, I think was instructed to stay so wide that Dunn's only real chances were to underlap and come inside. Now the space is out wide. We saw in the first half that ball played over the top. It forced the corner kick in like the eighth or ninth minute. That was a great moment. Otherwise, I didn't think Dunn was actually as involved in the attack as I would have expected in a game like this.

And I think it's partially she wants to come inside and connect and play because she's a midfielder and that's what she wants to do. So it'll be interesting to see how she sort of reads that space in front of her if this is her starting spot going forward and how she decides to affect things. I think Nye Swanger just being a natural lefty and wanting to get wide and wanting to get out wide. If Swanson's coming inside, she's got three to four targets to hit when she gets in

those spots. And it's a dream scenario for her. Dunn plays it a little bit differently and obviously can because won a World Cup from left back and is a great attacking player. When that did happen and Dunn was wide, especially in the first half and Swanson had tucked inside as an inverted winger, it left this really nice little button hook run between the center back and the outside back that is really difficult to be able to defend because now you have two forwards, Smith and Swanson, on the center back and one of them peels off to go into that space in the channel. It's exactly what can be super effective for this team. It was Smith twice.

Two best chances of the first half were both that inside-out run for Smith into the left channel. She tried to set up her ran on the second one, and the goalkeeper intercepts it. I think she tried to pull it back for Swanson on the first one, and Swanson takes a long chance. Those are the two best chances of the first half. And they were exactly what you said. They create that gap. They create that opening. Smith read that space. And once she gets into that space, she's in a very similar area to what she plays in with Portland week in and week out when she comes off that left wing and play makes running at defenders. I thought that was awesome. I think that should be a huge part of the game

model for this team going forward and a huge part of their opportunities. It is, though, still slightly transitional moments of when the game is open. That low block, that final third, you talked about the pullbacks and some of the decision making. Do you put it down to Roosevelt being out and not having a true natural 10 in this team? Do you put it down to lack of familiarity or do you put it down to like, it's just one of those nights? Maybe a little bit of both, honestly, Gus. Everything that you just said, I think we can equate that back to what happened in DC last night. It feels to me, and one of the things that I have seen over the years in teams that are

playing a low block, it is extremely difficult to break down. So the fact that the United States were getting opportunities is a positive. But one of the best ways I have seen a low block broken down is a quick switch of point of the attack. And then there's almost this half space, not quite in the channel, but on the edge of the box that if you can switch the point from left to right and then play a little diagonal chip to the back post for a sneaky runner in the back, we saw it coffee to her ran almost link up in that exact way. That is where you can really hurt a team who's in a low block as they start to shift responsibilities, get lost. And maybe it's a midfielder sneaking in at the back post or a late run from a winger who's kind of lost themselves in the channel. We didn't see enough

of that. And then if you're playing that ball, then the team has to adjust and you might be able to at that time, fake that shot, play a little quick combination straight through the gut of a team and get a shot off. I felt like it was too predictable to try to get to the end line in the channel and have a cross. And this team just needs to say, okay, there's multiple ways we can do this. And that first example, I think is a really good way that this team, especially with the players that they have in Coffey and Horan in those spots at times, or even in Corbin Albert to play that little chip diagonal, they could have greater success in those moments. I completely agree with you. I think one, especially that personnel, that should be where Lindsay Horan lives. The advantage you have in

having her on the field is she is an aerial presence coming out of midfield that's very rare. And I think it's the duality of her, one, starting the switch of point of attack and then getting in the box, but also saying, no, I'm going to be the distributor because she can dink that ball to somebody's head as well in those moments or even just play then, if that's not on, a nice little slip ball in the seam. So she can fit both roles, but the, the role of the late run in the box, that's where she makes her money. That's where we've seen Lindsay Horan score a lot of goals. And so one of the takeaways I have from this game is if you do think that it is going

to be a team that's going to sit in and play in a low block. And I think we'll talk about some of the other Olympic teams in a moment. I would actually want to see Jaden Shaw as the 10 and Harana as the 8, so that that run is untrackable because it comes from deeper. It's also an overload because you're adding another midfielder into the attack where Coffey and Albert don't want to make those runs, don't want to be in that position, and Shaw can do the same thing. So you've got a second option to be there in a spot. I don't know that at her age right now, Jaden Shaw is going to pull apart a back, a deep block as a 10,

but I think her inclusion in the team earlier yesterday, we would have seen more variance, more rotation, more options. And like, if you're not going to move the ball on the grounds really quickly, having more movement off the ball and making it harder for Costa Rica to trade players off and communicate and decide who's stepping in and who's picking up runners and all of that. I think that could have made you more dangerous. And I think that's an option going forward if Roosevelt is out because you're in a bit of a bind and that Caterina Macario is not coming. Yeah, that's what I was just thinking.

And Roosevelt is the only true 10 in this team. I am most disappointed. I would say that Jaden Shaw didn't get more minutes. That would have been maybe a halftime sub for me to say, okay, we've seen this group and okay, you didn't score a goal. Let's give 45 minutes to a different three in the midfield and see if they can figure out. Yeah, they switch formations at halftime.

So that would be a little bit different as to how you break a team down. But I would have really liked to see Shaw either start the game or come in at halftime to give her a little bit more time to play in that 10, to find the pockets. Because we have seen her, not just with San Diego, but especially with the women's national team. She scored in every start that she has gotten so far. She has been unstoppable.

And I think that's the confidence and ways you need to give to a player like her because she might not play a lot. She might not. There is a chance we go to this Olympics and Shaw plays a handful of minutes at the end of each game. But if you go in knowing, okay, I figured out a way to break a team down right before the Olympics started, that is just going to bolster her confidence and know that she can come in and no matter the situation and help this team win. I think she believes that still, but then you would have had it in writing, right?

You would have had it in her show in her performance because I did think she came in and she just added something a little bit different to the end of the game. So I would have liked to see her for a little bit longer. The front three, it's going to get talked about a ton because it's the stars of the team. It is the part that we're all so excited about when we talked about the mexico game last week and it's like what do we want to see it's like score 500 goals like let the front thing run it hasn't happened that way um in talking to people and

it's like oh would you replace this player would you move this player if it was me and i was coaching this team i would die knowing that it doesn't work before taking any chance to try something new. It seems like from your head motions for the podcast that you're in agreement. These three are dynamic. They can run at you in one. All three of them are good in 1v1s. All three of them can create and combine. I think Trinity Rodman has added that piece to her game over the last year and a half.

They are good finishers. They are extremely confident right now because of the seasons that they're having. I don't think you mess with it. They are going to score goals and they're going to score a lot of goals. So just because they didn't get that in these two games, you know, that we're talking about strictly, there's one goal between the three of them in two games. Of course, the expectations are high. That's not going to be enough. But I think these three, I would ride with them as well because they are very good and the best trio that we have along that front line.

If you lose in this Olympics because those three can't finish, then you lose in this Olympics. That's the reality of what's happening. And I don't want to oversimplify or, you know, make it like, Oh, there's no coaching. Like coaching doesn't matter. And it does,

I think creating opportunities and finding different patterns for them and all of that. But like, these are three MVP candidates and they play for the same country and they all fit together. And like, you got to find out it does. You have to,

it has to hit you over the head that it's impossible for them to play together before you take the risk of trying to break it up and move things around. Let's go into the midfield. We talked about it a bunch. Lindsey Horan comes out of this game. There's a lot of talk about her and where she fits into this team. And what she does. Always a lot of talk about her coming off a Champions League final on her club

side coming into this team. Captain, what do you make of her performance and how she fits in this group? I think she's irreplaceable. I think within this group, you do not have another player that's like Lindsey Horan. You can stack up attacking mids, you can stack up sixes, but she can play all three of the positions within the center of the midfield. She is confident on the ball. She's press resistant. I feel like she can connect the lines and she has an edge and a grit and a mentality about her that she is driving this team to be better. I saw some talk on Twitter about the way she was reacting in situations late in the game when she wasn't getting the ball in the box. Arms up, disappointed,

and people calling her out that she's the captain. You know what? She wants to score a goal. Why can't she have the emotion? Because it's been 80, you know, 70 minutes of where she wants to score has not been given the right pass. And that can be frustrating. But I don't think it impacted her performance at all. I think, if anything, it is a way for her to help drive her teammates. Hey, let's figure out a way to be better in the attacking third. I think she's irreplaceable. And people are always going to talk about Lindsey Horan. And that's what happens when you're the captain of this team. You're going to have a lot of chatter about you.

I do not know one player on this squad or really within the U.S. system that can do what Lindsey does. Because I will guarantee you this, David Guss. There will be a moment in this tournament where the United States need to score, and she will be the player who scores the goal. Yep. The thing she does well, no one else does. The thing she does well at these huge moments, it's the goal against the Netherlands last year at the World Cup. She had two huge chances in this one. One was a back post header off a corner kick that she put it back across the box, which I thought was the right decision. And the other one was the late chance where Girma clips that ball into the box. And that's the Lindsey Horan goal, right? It's the late run out of midfield. It's an aerial ball. It's where she's at her best.

I think people are most shocked that she didn't score it. Like if she would have scored, it would have been like, oh yeah, of course. And it was tough because it's one of those where you need the glancing. Like you don't need to put power on it and you don't really need to direct it. You're just trying to move it off the goalkeeper who's right behind you she gets under it a little bit yeah um and knocks it up i agree with you there's no one else in this team the way it's set up and so it's like you're not really going to replace her i what i said about jaden shaw i don't know that she works as the 10 in this team she might have worked in a game that's a bit more transitional where it was less tight, because I thought the game slowed a little bit at times when they

played into her in the pockets. And she is press resistant, because she can hold anyone off, she can keep the ball, but she does that going negative to make sure she doesn't lose it. And there was pockets where she was on the edge of the box where you when she's in the 10. Yeah, where you want it to be aggressive. So as aid it makes sense and I think you saw it in large stretches in the Mexico game as we said with the thin midfield um it would be interesting to see her played as that 10 again going forward I'd also love to see like every set piece that she just makes the hard run across the near post not her decision like from the coaching staff like the Julie Ertz old run that she used to do to the near post right why are you setting like from the coaching staff. Like the Julie Ertz old run that she used to do to the near post. Right. Why are you setting up anything else besides the most

dangerous player, just always the run across the near post? Yeah, because you have Davidson at the back post who's very good in the air and she can win that. So can you go a little cheeky near post flick ball, which the United States have scored so many goals on over the years. I think that's a really good shout. So let's talk about the Olympics, though, because the big consternation is can they beat teams that are set up this way? It's a group with Zambia. It's a group with Germany. It's a group with Australia.

I talk about Australia a bit on Monday. Big news happening like moments before we record this. Lena Oberdorf went off injured for Germany in the game against Austria. It sounds like a knee injury. We're a week out from the Olympics. That's a huge blow for a German team that, like the U.S., is trying to find their feet for the first time in a really long time

at an international tournament here. Do you think we will see the same problems in the group stage for this U.S. team? And then overall in the Olympics? Do you think their success or failure will be decided on their ability to break down teams in situations like this? I wouldn't doubt it. We're going to see it at some point. I don't think, I don't know if our teams are going to be as organized defensively as this Costa Rica squad was. I do think Zambia will probably play a little bit deeper because they are very good in transition moments. They

have the best goal scorer right now in the world in Barbara Banda. So why would you not want to play to her strength, which is transition space in front of her, go at people with your lightning speed. So I think they will see a low block against Zambia, against Germany. It will be more of a tactical game. There will be stretched moments. There will be times where Germany is in possession. There will be times when the United States is in possession. That is going to be the highlight of the group stage, I think,

when you talk about the quality of how good those two teams are with the ball at their feet. So I think that is going to be more of an aesthetically pleasing game, if you will. But Australia is going to be a big test because they showed last year in the World Cup that they are solid defensively. They can play in this mid block and really tempt you into spaces that they want you to go into and then hit you quickly in transition. So I think overall, we're going to see a mixture of different formations, different tactics from the teams. It's not going to look exactly like we've seen, but I am really confident with what we've seen from the United States over these last few games under Emma Haynes.

Granted, four games. Every other coach that has had a major tournament has had at least 16 games before they've gone into that major tournament. In these four games, we have seen a lot of different tactics from Hayes, a lot of problem solving, and knowledge from this group that they can be adaptable. And that is the number one thing we wanted to see over the last few years. So I think they're in a good place.

No matter what a team gives them, they are going to be able to recognize and exploit and finish because it's a big tournament. And that's, I just always will believe in this U.S. team and their mentality. Yeah. I think we'll do a full Olympic preview next week. I don't know that this is, I don't know how to put this because the U.S. should win and can win. I don't know that this is set up for the U.S. to win. Like the acknowledgement, I think, of hiring Emma Hayes with knowing she was going to finish the year at Chelsea, the year of Olympics, was this is a longer term project. And like we need to reset now rather than can we limp over the line with an interim coach or keeping Vlatko or whatever

happens because the talent's so good and Swanson will come back and like win a gold medal, which is possible both then and now. Right. But I think there's a world in which the U.S. loses at the Olympics and it feels okay because it feels like progress is being made and we're going in the right direction. Yeah, it feels odd to say, and I could be wrong, right? I could be wrong in two weeks. I could come on and be like, this was brutal. This shouldn't have happened. They had the path there.

All of these things. Yeah. I would fully acknowledge that. I think it's just hard as an American to be like, it was okay to lose. And I totally understand where your point is, that there was progress in the loss, and we're going to see this team continue to advance. But I'm not going to lie, that's hard for me to hear as a former player and a competitor, which I'm sure it's hard and weird for you to say, too. That's not what we expect of this team. But there is a real chance this is the third major tournament in a row where they are not successful.

And that has never happened before. Yeah. Now, at the same time, you start to get to the third and it's like, well, how do we restart? And at some point you have to do that. And I do feel like they are doing this right. It's a change of generation. The responsibility is on new players shoulders. The game has shifted a little bit.

I think the NWSL is shifting a little bit. And that's part of what's happening as well. But I will say, like, the belief should be that you can break down Zambia. You mentioned Germany, the way that game goes, as well as Australia I talked about on Monday being my fear because of what you said, which is they acknowledge when they go into the game that they don't want the bulk of possession. They are elite, though, defensively, and they obviously have game changers in transition that can really hurt you. If the U.S. were to win their group, they would play the runner up from group C,

which is Spain, Japan, Nigeria and Brazil. I don't think you're playing against a team that's sitting in a low block in a neutral site in a game like that. And so I think that sets up pretty well for a situation where my point being for the U S is like, most of the teams you face in an Olympic knockout game are not going to sit in a low block against you. France is not going to do that at home. They have like no choice and Spain's not going to do it. Canada would, but you've played them and you've played them successfully. A Japan won't do that. So while Costa Rica should be a team you can beat because they didn't qualify for the Olympics for a reason,

part of your issues in that game. I don't know that they translate as poorly into an Olympic setup going forward. Yep. I agree. I agree with you. Uh, any other big thoughts that anyone stand out to you positive that you were

excited about, um, from these games? I think I'm still a little bummed that Croy Bethune didn't make the, she wasn't the first alternate brought up because this is, this is my fear is Rose Lavelle is not able to play every single game. And then you start Jaden Shaw and who's coming on as the 10 after her. And Croy Bethune can play as a winger.

I think she could even play as a nine if you needed a false nine. I just feel like she's so different than other players on this squad. Whereas Williams has a lot of similarities to some of the front runners, but she's, she's scored goals at big tournaments and she has been with this team for a while. So that, that I think gives Williams the upper hand. But I thought it was great to see Kroy Bethune get her first two caps and for her to be able to showcase that, especially in Washington where she plays. It was a big roar from the crowd. So I'm excited for her and what the future holds for her. Yeah, I agree with you. Lynn Williams deserves to be on an

Olympic roster because of what she's done. But the injury that you had that you were replacing was not for one of the forwards on the front line. And Bethune gives you more options and gives you more ability as we go along. Let's dig into some NWSL news before we get to our midseason awards. I have continued to say Delphine Cascarino has signed with San Diego. You have mentioned to me that it is not official, but there are heavy rumors across the world. I talked about this a bit on Monday. France International, big name. What do you make of this move? Oh my goodness. If she's coming to NWSL, I think it's going to be hard to like wipe the smile off my face as someone who covers this league so detailed in a detailed way. She is an incredible talent. And what I like about her is she is eyes to goal all the time, whether she's playing on the right and getting to the end line or she's tucked inside to use her right foot to be able to strike a ball

on goal and I think there will be some like comparisons to her and Sanchez and how they are so good for Sanchez as a lefty Cascarino as a righty but she has a lethality about her that is different than Sanchez she wants to get at goal and she wants to size up a defender and get after them so I don't know who knows how Sanchez was going to play who their and she wants to size up a defender and get after them. So I don't know. Who knows how San Diego is going to play, who their coach is going to be. I don't know, but I don't care because I love this player and I want her in NWSL. Yeah, agreed. It is very exciting.

It's very fun. And it's one of those where it feels like for whoever's the next manager, like you can't really get it wrong with a player like this coming into this group. Let's hit the mailbag from SingElectric in the Discord. If you are not part of our Patreon, subscribe. You get access to our Discord. We're talking NWSL all the time in there. We're talking the national teams.

Everyone's on during the games. We'll be on during the Olympics in there, like chatting, reactions, all of that type of stuff. Some people to get all the tension tension out with like as you're nervous and as you're feeling it um as well as hitting all the news as it comes in as we go along uh sing electric says with a number of the biggest names in the league out for the olympics are there any players we think could take advantage of the opportunity and make a case for more minutes even once the regular starters are back you know what's weird is I picked three players and I just realized they're

all rookies, which says a lot about the rookie class this year. It was really, really phenomenal. I'll go three rookies in three different clubs. First, Kate Wiesner for Washington Spirit. She's a lefty. So with Carl gone, with Casey Kruger gone, she can play on the outside back. I think she could play either side, but she also can play as a winger. I think she's going to get a lot of opportunity. And under Jadraldez, who's officially there now, she can soak up that information and be able to translate it. So I think Wiesner is one to watch. Macy Bell and Gotham, they lost their center backs. And Macy Bell had a lot of hype about her coming out of UNC. Would she translate into the NWSL? She's gotten some minutes, even gotten a goal,

but I think she's going to get some more time at her position, which is a true center back. So watch out for Macy Bell. And then Portland, when you don't have Sophia Smith, there is going to be space for other players. I think Izzy DeQuilla is a good one to talk about, but I'm going to actually go with Peyton Linehan in Portland. The speed and the pace of Linehan is similar to Smith. She wants to pick up the ball in the same types of areas,

more really as a winger, but I think she's going to have more space around her without Smith there to be able to find herself. She's been good for them already, but those three in particular are three players that I feel like are going to continue to add to how productive they can be and how useful they can be to these teams going forward. I was going to say two of those,

so I appreciate you throwing them in, especially Belle, but I was actually going to go with Izzy Dequilla. I think that her ability to flex into a few different positions and be a clean possession player, but also stretch lines and score goals. I think in terms of what Portland's going to have to fill in for, she's going to be in the lineup every game because she can play a few different spots. And I think we could see where she's at her best, whether it's more central, whether it's out on the wing, whether it's playing up top. And this is the opportunity for a young player who should be on the field, but we don't know where. And that's a positive in getting on the field as a rookie, but a negative in establishing yourself as a locked-in starter. I think that could be a game-changer going forward.

But I'm stoked about all of those, and it would be fascinating to see Bell emerge because then can you push Sonnen into midfield more often? Do you not? Do you play three at the back? There are a lot of different options there. And with Washington, it's just everyone else they drafted. If Corey Bethune and Hal Hirschfeldt and them are not there

and Trinity Rodman, can the 18 other draft picks go into those roles? everyone else they drafted. If Corey Bethune and Hal Hirschfeld and them are not there, and Trini Rodman, can the 18 other draft picks go into those roles? So that's really exciting. Let's jump into our awards, because you mentioned all rookies. We've got Rookie of the Year. It's one of the big debates in this one. I've got MVP, Defender of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year, and Rookie of the Year. Let's start with MVP. I wrote down Kroy Bethune, Barbara Banda, and Temwa Shawinga. Did I miss anyone? It feels hard to just narrow it with those three and not put Swanson and Smith in there. Swanson, I don't know.

I think she's at the bottom of this just because she doesn't have the midfield to fear. But with Grosso, will that change for the Chicago Red Stars? Smith has 10 goals and six assists. She's going to add to that. I think she's in that, but I think Ulesar is going to be in this mix too. Come the end of the season, things I said, DC is going to have the biggest upside. I believe that in the second half of the season, but it's going to be hard. Banda is putting on a show, Shawinga as well, and Kroy Bethune. I honestly think that at the end of the year, we are going to have an MVP and Rookie of

the Year that is the same player for the very first time, and it's going to be Kroy Bethune, because she is the biggest difference maker for a team who is only going to get better. I agree with you. The way I wrote these out, by the way, and so we're going to add this little is we'll end each one with who do we think could get into the conversation. So I think Swanson and Smith are two very obvious ones in that, not obvious ones. I have them on my list as like second half of the year, their performances could elevate them. But where we sit right now, I think Corey Bethune's probably the winner. Although I wouldn't be shocked if people were taking votes right now and you said Orlando's undefeated, they're in first, they've made all this history,

whatever, where over the second half of the year with Geraldo's there and some of the moves, as well as I just can't imagine Orlando maintains the undefeated run, that then you look at it and say, oh, Washington's the top two team. Bethune's put up these numbers, like then she's in there. But this is a fascinating one. So Swanson and Smith, I had as like,

I think they'll get into this convo. The other one I have is Ashley Sanchez. Like I think to me, North Carolina and Chicago are the two teams that are going in the right direction right now that will have huge second halves of the season. And they will get players in conversations for awards because of their performance and the way they move up the standings. And if Caroline comes back the way we expect and this team's pushing, I just think Sanchez adding the goal scoring and finishing to her game on top of the possession and what they do, that she's one of those huge potentials to

sort of like break into this. And you look at it say, if North Carolina is a top four seed, and they've done this, then like you have to have someone from that team in this conversation going forward. Yeah, absolutely. Defender of the year in here. So we've got Sam Staub, Elizabeth Bell, Emily Sams, Kaylee Kurtz, and Casey Kruger, who got off the bench yesterday for the U.S. Women's National Team. Where do you fall right now on this one? I kind of think it's going to be Emily Sams. From what you mentioned, Orlando is undefeated. She has been very good in just her second season in NWSL, played a few different positions. I think Emily Sams is just playing the most solid out of all of those, but it is going to be tough.

There's a lot of good players in there. I think Casey Kruger could be up at the top of my list as well. But yeah, top right now, I got Emily Sams. Do you get a chance at Defender of the Year if you're a fullback? I don't know. That's why I had to put Kruger in there because I was like, she has a goal, three assists. She's very good at defending, but also adding to the attack. Not often, but I had to put her in there because I was like, she has a goal, three assists. She's very good at defending,

but also adding to the attack. I, I, not often, but I had to put her in there because of that. I think it's one of those things that's stupid. Like I think fullbacks should be in the conversation more. It's just, it always falls on a center back. Um, and that's why I have Sam's as well right now. But in going back to my previous thing, the one I think gets in there is stop. Like if Chicago makes a run, like I think they could with Grosso now in the team, stop is an elite defender in terms of pure, just defensive actions of interceptions, blocks, all those types of things. And you feel her presence on the field. And I think she could get into this. Let's do goalkeeper of the year. I put Berger in here. I put Sheridan in here and I put Morehouse in there,

in here. How do you feel about those three as the options and where would you fall? I mean, Ann Katrine Berger is going to win goalkeeper of the year. I already feel like that. She is not only the best shot stopper, but her distribution, I think I talked about it last week, just like I could watch it on loop, just how she cuts a knife through teams with her ball playing skills. I think she's going to be the number one. But the one player I would say who isn't in here, who has been as a goalkeeper goes the best, is Mandy Haught at Utah. She's been asked the most of, and she has the best XG against differential.

I think at one point, the last time I called the game, it was eight. So she's saved eight goals that should have gone in for this Utah team. And that's just an incredible stat. The one I'm looking at has her at 6.3. Okay. It has Kaylin Sheridan at 6.6, slightly above, which it feels hard to say. And I think San Diego, it's going to be tough for anyone to get in a awards conversation with the

way the season has gone. But I also want to point out the like narrative that falls around these. If Canada makes a run to another metal and then she comes back and plays well, I think Sheridan could get into this conversation as we go along. All right. Last one here is Rookie of the Year. I think it's pretty clear that we're both picking Corey Bethune.

There are a lot of potential names of great players in here. I don't think any of them are going to get it. So it's Bethune. And the rest. And the rest. And congrats to the rest. They're having great seasons. Ali Settler is having a great

year Hal Hirschfeld as well I would just say I think Madison Curry has been really good as a rookie for Angel City and we'll see what kind of additions they make in the the second half of the year hopefully in this transfer window they just sold for a big amount of money to some pretty big names so if they're able to utilize this transfer window in a really good way, get a 10, get a goal scoring nine. I feel like we're going to see Curry and what she can do a little bit more because more people are going to be talking about Angel City. Yep. I think that makes a ton of sense and it'll be interesting to watch going forward for Corey Bethune to be anointed at the end of this year.

Ali Centenor, we're going to get to watch at the U20 World Cup as well, which will be really, really fun to watch coming up this summer. All right, that's all for us. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for being here. We enjoyed the show. Sorry for anyone watching live for a couple of the tech issues. We will figure it out as we go along.

And reminder, jump into the Patreon so that you can become part of the discord and get involved and subscribe and be a part of everything. And if you're in the Columbus area, join us for the show next week. But thank you all for listening. And we will be back again. Very,

very soon. Thank you.