Women U20 World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016

[The Ref]

Player development, learning, improving skills, etc. etc. occurs in camps and regular practices far more than in occasional tournaments where you play 3-4 games.  First, not all players play.  Second, the lesser players may play a few minutes or none at all.  In a game a player gets limited time on the ball, at best a total of 3-5 minutes.  Far more progress is derived from regular season play like NCAA and similar leagues.

[BearcatSA]

Of the matches I watched (Spain and the second half vs Japan) they looked way, way out of their depth.  It was hard to take away positives.  For the players, obviously these girls get to see how it should be done when watching the quality of their oppositions' tactical and technical know how, especially the Japanese. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

To me it smells of two things.

One is Herman protecting his rear at the expense of offering a fighting chance to young ladies who he'll happily chuck under the bus. Because they can't all make the first team. 

Second, it says you are fine with losing badly you don't care since in some magical future you can get it all back. So strategic really,  every one else tries to win to win tomorrow but we're smarter than them all.

Very cynical and troubling loser mentality that we'll see again soon sorry to say.

[footyfan]

I don't care who the spin doctor is, these results can't be spun.

In 2002, the U19 team captured the imagination of the country, and with it, lit a fire in many young girls. That cohort - led by Sinclair and McLeod - was a high-water mark for female youth competition.

In 2004, Timko won the Golden Boot, with the team failing to get past the QF.  In 2006, when it moved to U20, the team failed to get out of its group - same in 2008. We failed to qualify in 2010; 2012 again saw the team unable to progress past the group stage. 

As the host in 2014 - and a top seed, providing an easier pool - the team lost out in the quarter-finals.

I am sorry, with our registration numbers in this country, we must be capable of better results. Herdman is at least partially responsible as he brought in Priestman (who couldn't get out of Group B in the U17WWC in Jordan), and certainly had a hand in the hiring of Worthington for Papua New Guinea. 

The ultimate blame lays on the stoop of the CSA.

[The Ref]

2 hours ago, dsqpr said:

Japan, just wow. Players all technically excellent and team-play and tactics even better. Obviously superbly coached. It is hard to believe their players are inherently that much better than ours.

Challenging opinion.  I would agree that Japanese are not inherently better, they just have developed far more than ours through perhaps more practices, better selection, better programs and better coaches.  I may be wrong but I think our girls get their training mainly from universities in the U.S. and that appears to be insufficient adding the fact that our coaches seem to do diddly.

[Vic]

It's not that complicated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Women's_Football_League (Founded: 27 years ago)

Notice age and club:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_women's_national_under-20_football_team#Current_squad

 

 

[Vic]

Watching the Spain/DPR Korea quarter. Pretty exciting game.  Regulation just tied all square.

Is DPR Korea a U20 team?  U25?  They have some women who look 30.  Maybe it's just too much deer root powder.  They make these tournaments a joke.  

Teams caught knowingly playing overage players should be banned 50 years from all competitions.  That's how you stop it.

[The Ref]

6 hours ago, Vic said:

Watching the Spain/DPR Korea quarter. Pretty exciting game.  Regulation just tied all square.

Is DPR Korea a U20 team?  U25?  They have some women who look 30.  Maybe it's just too much deer root powder.  They make these tournaments a joke.  

Teams caught knowingly playing overage players should be banned 50 years from all competitions.  That's how you stop it.

Their overage explain why they get tired so early in the game.

[Vic]

North Korea, the most successful country in the world at the U17 Women's World Cup tournaments. They were also 2016 champions this summer. They're in another U20 semi and could hold both youth tournaments.

Never medalled at senior.  Never turned out a great senior player.  The only countries they've beaten in their past four senior World Cups are Nigeria and Denmark (17 years ago when they were sketchy).  The only country they've beaten this year is Vietnam.

The past year has seen enormous FIFA corruption arrests, charges, fines and resources leveled at people who have financially been gaming the system.  How about the kids getting hosed?  Isn't that what this is supposed to all be about?  How about committing even 0.1% of the attention and resources of "cleaning up the game" from finance and politics to the game itself.

[Unnamed Trialist]

On 07/11/2016 at 1:52 AM, Vic said:

A week to kickoff.  

Spain are a great well-managed side and Nahikari García is a treasure and a real joy to watch perform.  Most players you would say watch-play but for some like her it's more of an artistic performance.  It's not speed and power, it's guile and grace.  Probably 110 pounds soaking wet and the smallest player on the field but if she's on her game she's a day's work.  There's not many players that will run at you instead of around you and it's almost non-existent on the women's side.

Geez just saw this post. A bit of a confession: I also watch Nahikari but for another reason, nothing perverse, just happen to find her rather attractive. 

I remember this board, as PC as it can be, when Kara burst on the scene. But I suppose we care not supposed to say such things. 

[Vic]

Time flies, Lang's now in her 30s.

From the success of their youth programs Spain are on a straight-line climb in the rankings.  I think you'll see a lot of her in the years to come.

[The Ref]

So Korea and France will dispute the final next Saturday while the U.S. with Japan will play for 3rd and 4th places.  Our CSA says: " Canada Soccer’s development pathway appears secure as Canada wrapped up the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016."  I disagree with the CSA's vision.  Canada was eliminated in the group stage loosing all their 3 games with a balance of 13 goals against and scoring only 1 goal.  That being bad enough what I find worst is the way we played is not the way one plays the game.  All the other teams played well and seemed well coached and managed.  If our U20's are the future of our senior team, such future looks bleak.  Am I alone to see our girls totally misdirected?

[Blackdude]

2 hours ago, The Ref said:

So Korea and France will dispute the final next Saturday while the U.S. with Japan will play for 3rd and 4th places.  Our CSA says: " Canada Soccer’s development pathway appears secure as Canada wrapped up the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Papua New Guinea 2016."  I disagree with the CSA's vision.  Canada was eliminated in the group stage loosing all their 3 games with a balance of 13 goals against and scoring only 1 goal.  That being bad enough what I find worst is the way we played is not the way one plays the game.  All the other teams played well and seemed well coached and managed.  If our U20's are the future of our senior team, such future looks bleak.  Am I alone to see our girls totally misdirected?

I don't think that our girls are misdirected. Do you honestly think that they really believe that? They had to spin it one way and said that they have many U20 eligible for France 2018, that's pretty much the only positive thing they can say really from that team. They were young, they'll learn and in 2 years, we won't have to fight NCAA teams to get them. I do think that Worthington was out of his depth and it showed. He said some ridiculous things before the tournament and I don't think he can really continue. 

I'm just asking people who don't like the spin that the CSA does. Name me one organisation that tells it like it is when it's not doing great for them? Seriously, I've never seen one. 

[The Ref]

7 hours ago, Blackdude said:

I don't think that our girls are misdirected. Do you honestly think that they really believe that? They had to spin it one way and said that they have many U20 eligible for France 2018, that's pretty much the only positive thing they can say really from that team. They were young, they'll learn and in 2 years, we won't have to fight NCAA teams to get them. I do think that Worthington was out of his depth and it showed. He said some ridiculous things before the tournament and I don't think he can really continue. 

I'm just asking people who don't like the spin that the CSA does. Name me one organisation that tells it like it is when it's not doing great for them? Seriously, I've never seen one. 

Maybe I am misreading you which causes me to be a bit confused.  You write that the girls are not misdirected and then you write that Worthington should not continue. 

[red card]

It's noteworthy that North Korean youth teams have managed to play a tactically sophisticated style despite being the most insular country in the world. While we Canadians can barely produce more than 1 tactically astute player in any given national youth team. 

On the other hand, North Korean senior women's teams don't achieve similar levels.

[rkomar]

I don't know how North Korea does it, but it wouldn't surprise me if their team stays together and trains all year long.  I don't see anything like that happening in Canada.

[Blackdude]

11 hours ago, The Ref said:

Maybe I am misreading you which causes me to be a bit confused.  You write that the girls are not misdirected and then you write that Worthington should not continue. 

That the article isn't misdirecting the girls. That's what I said.

 I still think that they need someone else at the helm. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.

[The Ref]

2 hours ago, dsqpr said:

I'm not sure what you mean by "misdirected" but I thought we were poor technically and tactically. Lots of effort and commitment from our players but they almost looked to me like a hockey team trying to play football. That was in stark contrast to other teams and I simply cannot believe that is the best we can do. It certainly seems to me that our whole player development system must be in need of great improvement.

Maybe "misdirected" was not the right word.  Substitute with mis-coached.

[Vic]

We've always been a bit "stiff" comparatively to the rest of the world. The awkwardness is being exacerbated though by the advances of other countries.  For example, if you look at the standard in European countries in the past decade it's far higher now and only going to keep advancing.  Germany and the Nordics have been turning out great players for decades, now it's spreading the continent to countries like England, France, Spain, the Netherlands, etc.

As the elite women's game in more and more countries continues to grow and professionalize and spread - without the elite women's game in Canada growing beyond the national training centers this gap is only going to widen.

 

[The Ref]

Incredible timing as yesterday Papua New Guinea was shaken by a 7.9 earthquake.  Luckily the U20 W.C. had just ended.

[Blackdude]

On 17/12/2016 at 1:19 PM, The Ref said:

Incredible timing as yesterday Papua New Guinea was shaken by a 7.9 earthquake.  Luckily the U20 W.C. had just ended.

Even if the U20 WC was going on, it would have been fine. It was far away from Port Moresby where every match were played.

[The Ref]

1 hour ago, Blackdude said:

Even if the U20 WC was going on, it would have been fine. It was far away from Port Moresby where every match were played.

Good to know.  I am not up in geography.

[GK COACH]

On ‎16‎/‎11‎/‎2016 at 5:12 PM, Unnamed Trialist said:

Why is no one interested that we are so poorly prepared for this tournament. 

Take the worst play today, their third goal. We had shown nothing in terms of getting one back vs. a rather mediocre Nigeria team. We could not play out, lord knows why we even try, and we could not play long, since we played wrongly, stupid wrong long ball, never into space or seeking out diagonals, flat and predictable. We had no way at all to advance the ball into a position we could get our second goal from. And then our keeper decided to do something she does not know how to do, she is not trained to do, and it seems, shamefully, that our coaches are asking her to do. 

The preparation here is the worst I have ever seen for a Canada women's team, it is frankly disgraceful. And I don't blame the players, I blame the coaching staff who look they are doing charity work for the underprivileged, and the CSA, for letting them get away with that bs. 

I mean, it was a hard group, terrible, like the u-17 group, I know getting through was always going to be tough. But we are one of those teams in women that has always been feared, no one thinks it is going to be easy vs. Canada. We are respected at least. But today, face it, Nigeria was persistent and all, but we were softer, way softer, than we have ever seen.

Just read this? As a GK coach obliged.....Not trained to do?! She is almost 19 years old and you believe her coaches should be ashamed?!  Horrible goalkeeping.  Watch replays - dives backwards everytime for dramatic show after the ball has already passed her and in the net and does not communicate to her backline to keep them in proper shape, very poor positioning and distribution. Gave up numerous soft goals where she didn't even move. No presence or power on crosses what were under pressure, no speed off the line. Has fear - eyes completely shut when challenging (you cannot save what you cannot see).  Proulx technically sounder and much more explosive - way more potential and much more presence and focus - far more athletic (not awkward), especially at 2 years younger.  Watch next year when Proulx in College and Rylee Foster does not have the benefit of Buchanan in front of her.  Proulx also has the benefit of a great keeper coach at her school in Phil Wheddon.  Proulx will be next in line after DAngelo and Sheridan deservingly.  Also look to the next GK Sophie Guilmette - huge potential, much better technique at an early age as well as Kat Haarmann.  Sound goalkeepers have the power to change the game and the confidence and performance of the team in front of them.  You can bash the coaches if you like but the tempo and speed of play of the game is orchestrated from back to front.  There was virtually no distribution to the midfield and that is GK basics.  How on earth can players such as Rose and Carle Levasseur Pickett Kats and Stratagakis have any success without solid distribution from the back instead just punting 50/50 balls up the field circumventing the entire mid-field and sometimes just out of bounds.  Canada Soccer needs to focus their efforts on developing the likes of Proulx Guilmette and Haarmann for the future they are the real deal.  It is very difficult to re train a young GK to not dive backwards it is near impossible to change the technique of older GK.   Natural GKs are far and few between spend resources training and developing them.

[Vic]

Diving backwards on angle done properly can gain 5m of save reaction.  Depending on the situation it can sometimes be the right choice.

I spoke to an international GK coach a couple months ago who astutely said goalkeepers are different and he does not try and force change with what each is comfortable with and works for them.  He looks to correct what doesn't work for them.

Natural athleticism is a great trait for goalkeepers.  A few others would be height, durability, and most of all mentality (coachability, adaptability, pattern recognition, mental skill, etc).

[The Ref]

19 hours ago, Vic said:

Diving backwards on angle done properly can gain 5m of save reaction.  Depending on the situation it can sometimes be the right choice.

I spoke to an international GK coach a couple months ago who astutely said goalkeepers are different and he does not try and force change with what each is comfortable with and works for them.  He looks to correct what doesn't work for them.

Natural athleticism is a great trait for goalkeepers.  A few others would be height, durability, and most of all mentality (coachability, adaptability, pattern recognition, mental skill, etc).

What do we mean by "diving backwards"?  Is it leaning back but standing on your two feet or actually flying backwards and landing on your back?