Today, the senior women’s national soccer team lost its first group match in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
I’ve opined that this might be the World Cup in which the rest of the world catches up to the United States, but in observing the team’s play over the last few months, you wonder whether the world is catching up to the American standard of play, or whether the current U.S. level of play is down significantly.
I watched a U.S. team today that one might say was unlucky, but it was also a team which very much looked a timid and flawed side. Too many bad giveaways, too many “home run” passes or shots with open teammates, self-destruction when it came to making even the simplest plays, and what I see as a bit of a lack of trust in each other.
As this site has said so many times, the act of choosing a national team for an international event can either make or break you as a coach or a manager. Pia Sundhage has left a number of very good players at home such as Leslie Osborne, Christine Nairn, Sydney Leroux, Natasha Kai, Lindsay Tarpley, Casey Noguiera, and Kendall Fletcher. Heck, Cat Whitehill, a very experienced defender, is even in Germany commentating for ESPN.
And given some of the exposure of a slow-footed defense today by Sweden, I think the U.S. could have used her.
