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2017 Algarve Cup , March 1 - 8, 2017


tc-in-bc

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Judging by the twitter feed, we dominated but couldn't put any by the Portuguese goalie (who appeared to be making a lot of saves).  We were also trying out a few youngsters.  It does sound like we're missing that killer instinct to put games away, though.

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Spain-Canada final, on Wednesday. This competition format is weird let's face it.

To be balanced, Spain did the exact same thing, let up vs. Iceland and got a worse result than expected. Spain changed all but one player from the Norway game. Dominated, had an indirect free kick at goal mouth, the Iceland keeper made a few good saves.

Spain dumped their old fashioned coach after the WC, who the players blamed for poorly preparing them, and with Vilda have someone younger they can dialogue with. Basically they are convinced they can rise, and since they have gotten good youth results, rivalling Germany in Europe, the new generation is more ambitious. The key for the quality of women's football is that the league is professionalizing, players are actually making money and they are signing a few internationals, and there are new sponsorship deals for the league and TV deals as well. And Barça is putting money into the women, trying to get deeper into the Champions League than quarter finals.

The only club in Spain to ignore the women is Real Madrid, they day they change their minds things will really start to take off.

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[ 1 ] 2017 Algarve Cup: Canada vs Portugal hightlights :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1FN2EBmddc

[ 2 ] The  third match was the right time for Canada to play kids but being  shut out by Portugal is little bit disappointing. Where is Janine Beckie? She's usually good for at least one goal per tournament and right now she has  zero goals in three matches. Canada needs that second scoring threat to help to create space for Christine Sinclair.

[ 3 ]  Re. Spain. It should be noted that Ada Hegerberg didn't play in the Spain-Norway match and that Dagny Brynjarsdottir didn't play in the Spain-Iceland match. That said, Spain's depth is impressive. Almost the entire Spanish team is in it's 20s with just  one player in her 30s ( Sonia Bermudez -- who played in the NWSL a few years ago)  And 29 year old  Vero Boquete only played in one match !  In addition, Spain  only brought four players from  their U20 team, who all got starts in the Iceland match, but who were used  less in the  prior two matches. To me, It looks like this Spanish team can compete and yet they have a  boatload of successful U20, U19, and U17 players  waiting in the wings.

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Everyone's lineups are hit and miss and knowing you only need a draw has been the death of many a team.  Kudos to Herdman and the team for making the final, Portugal isn't a heavyweight but we all know the game can be a cruel master and on any given Sunday...

Thanks for the background on Spain, very interesting.

It will be a classic matchup of styles and a real treat, too bad the networks can't pick it up because it would be fantastic for Canadians to watch.

Spain bring a formidable combination of technical skill and comfort in possession and a whole different level of passion. This is their moment and their planets are in alignment and they will be motivated through the rafters to bring home a trophy.  If we want to get between them and the podium we'll need 90 minutes of high intelligence, iron will and organization.

 

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7 hours ago, tc-in-bc said:

[ 1 ] 2017 Algarve Cup: Canada vs Portugal hightlights :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1FN2EBmddc

[ 2 ] The  third match was the right time for Canada to play kids but being  shut out by Portugal is little bit disappointing. Where is Janine Beckie? She's usually good for at least one goal per tournament and right now she has  zero goals in three matches. Canada needs that second scoring threat to help to create space for Christine Sinclair.

[ 3 ]  Re. Spain. It should be noted that Ada Hegerberg didn't play in the Spain-Norway match and that Dagny Brynjarsdottir didn't play in the Spain-Iceland match. That said, Spain's depth is impressive. Almost the entire Spanish team is in it's 20s with just  one player in her 30s ( Sonia Bermudez -- who played in the NWSL a few years ago)  And 29 year old  Vero Boquete only played in one match !  In addition, Spain  only brought four players from  their U20 team, who all got starts in the Iceland match, but who were used  less in the  prior two matches. To me, It looks like this Spanish team can compete and yet they have a  boatload of successful U20, U19, and U17 players  waiting in the wings.

Good post, t-c. 

I am actually thinking that with the level of the youngsters, they are going to have to change the Spanish second division or players are going to have to leave the country. 

As followers of women's soccer know, it was not uncommon for players to retire earlier than men, not making a living and other factors. But as the conditions improve, this is changing, they are lasting longer, into their thirties. Meaning less roster spots for the youth. In North America, our younger talents can go to NCAA and play decent competitive ball (though I think, as things stand now, worse than the 6-7 top European leagues, don't know where they stand actually). In Europe this is a problem as where do you play when you are 20 with so much mature talent in the top flights. 

In Germany and England the tiering is balanced, usually just twice as many teams each tier down.

The Spanish 2nd tier is actually 8 groups, divided regionally, so some are really weak. This means it is totally amateur, and playing in it can't be much of an incentive. If your team relegates from 1st, you are screwed as the drop off is drastic. Then, even top 2nd tier teams, division winners, have to go through a playoff to promote, and can get unlucky. This drop off is okay for the top amateur middle class, growing the game. But it is bad for the competitive game, as I see it. 

It used to be thought that for a strong player pool you need a league. Now, lacking a college structure, it is clear you need a league, you need some talents to emmigrate to play at a top level, and then you need a [Edit: competitive, and well-funded] second division so the youth can work their way into the system smoothly. 

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^[ 1 ] Nobody saw the match. It wasn't streamed by Canada, Spain , or Portugal ( the host ).

[ 2 ] 2017 Algarve Cup Final highlights :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx5NifqIob0

      Spanish match report:

http://www.sefutbol.com/en/match-report-champions-algarve-cup

[ 3 ] Sinclair not injured. According to the Canada Press article ( N. Davidson?),  Sinclair and Rose would start the match on the bench and Herdman would swap them in when Spain's high pressure began to lose steam:

http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/canada-loses-algarve-cup-final-1.4015953

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