2023 World Cup General Match Thread

[rkomar]

I don't think Bev will be holding them back.  In the last game, the players were holding themselves back against the manager's wishes.  The question is, can Bev figure out a way to get the next generation to play bravely without stiffening them with old veterans on the pitch?

[BearcatSA]

24 minutes ago, Shway said:

The game against Australia will and should feel like a final. The ladies and x will be going up against a tough home crowd, who know whats at stake. 

I just hope Bev doesn't have them sit back,,,because they gotta go for it.

I think we will get the result we need.  Quinn and Fleming in the middle of the park gives an important advantage in controlling the tempo.  Keeping Sinclair as a last 30 sub will help.  Schmidt impressed off the bench, as well.  The only question mark for me is Buchanon's status because I think there is a fall off back there if she is not present.

[BearcatSA]

5 minutes ago, rkomar said:

I don't think Bev will be holding them back.  In the last game, the players were holding themselves back against the manager's wishes.  The question is, can Bev figure out a way to get the next generation to play bravely without stiffening them with old veterans on the pitch?

While watching those rushed, over the top balls for Huitema to chase but turn into possession losses, I was wondering if that was a coaching direction or players making their own decisions but not executing.  My sense is that it was the former. 

I would be more comfortable about pressing them if Buchanon's back there to sweep up.  If she is firing on all cylinders, I am teally confident that we will be through unless we get FIFA-ed by a dubious penalty call in favour of the hosts.

[Treppy2]

3 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

So now that Nigeria has beaten Australia 3-2, we have the same points (4) and goal differential (+1) as Nigeria but it looks like they are ahead in the standings.  Presumably the next tie-break is goals scored where they currently have one more. Rounding out the table, Australia has 3 points and Ireland has 0.

A win or a draw against Australia gets us through, but a win doesn't ensure us of 1st place since Nigeria can also beat Ireland and stay ahead on GD or total goals scored.  So while advancing is definitely in our hands, topping the group is not (insofar as we don't control the Nigeria result - but we could smash in enough goals to realistically grab 1st spot through GD).  Am I missing something?  

That's all correct.

Also — and this isn't beyond the realm of possibility — if Canada loses 2-1 and Nigeria loses 1-0, Canada and Nigeria would finish tied for second and be level on goal difference, goals scored and head to head result. The next tiebreaker is each team's disciplinary record. That would currently be level, too, at four yellow cards apiece, except a Nigerian yellow was changed to red after VAR in the 98th minute in their match against Canada. It would be wild if that was the ultimate tiebreaker.

[dyslexic nam]

29 minutes ago, Treppy2 said:

That's all correct.

Also — and this isn't beyond the realm of possibility — if Canada loses 2-1 and Nigeria loses 1-0, Canada and Nigeria would finish tied for second and be level on goal difference, goals scored and head to head result. The next tiebreaker is each team's disciplinary record. That would currently be level, too, at four yellow cards apiece, except a Nigerian yellow was changed to red after VAR in the 98th minute in their match against Canada. It would be wild if that was the ultimate tiebreaker.

Better than a coin flip I guess.  Crazy.  

[RS]

2 hours ago, rkomar said:

I don't think Bev will be holding them back.  In the last game, the players were holding themselves back against the manager's wishes.  The question is, can Bev figure out a way to get the next generation to play bravely without stiffening them with old veterans on the pitch?

Canada's not particularly good at "holding back." 

It's a recipe for disaster against an Aussie side that will be desperate for the victory and will have the full voice of the crowd behind them. Canada needs to play their own game and not aim for a draw.

[maplebanana]

2 hours ago, Treppy2 said:

That's all correct.

Also — and this isn't beyond the realm of possibility — if Canada loses 2-1 and Nigeria loses 1-0, Canada and Nigeria would finish tied for second and be level on goal difference, goals scored and head to head result. The next tiebreaker is each team's disciplinary record. That would currently be level, too, at four yellow cards apiece, except a Nigerian yellow was changed to red after VAR in the 98th minute in their match against Canada. It would be wild if that was the ultimate tiebreaker.

I think that's also the case if we draw by 1 more goal than Nigeria draws. So 1-1 CAN/AUS and 0-0 Nigeria/Ireland results in 5 pts each, +1 GD, 3 GF, 2 GA. And head to head was a draw. So it goes to disciplinary tiebreaker. If we get a red and 1 less yellow than Nigeria, then ... coin flip!

[rkomar]

I'm interested in seeing how hard Ireland tries now that they are already eliminated.  It could be Irish hardheadedness driving them to their first goals and a win, or practicality keeping them out of the dangerous/difficult parts of the game.  I think we are going to learn something about this team.

[Treppy2]

2 hours ago, maplebanana said:

I think that's also the case if we draw by 1 more goal than Nigeria draws. So 1-1 CAN/AUS and 0-0 Nigeria/Ireland results in 5 pts each, +1 GD, 3 GF, 2 GA. And head to head was a draw. So it goes to disciplinary tiebreaker. If we get a red and 1 less yellow than Nigeria, then ... coin flip!

Yes, that’s true, but if both matches end in draws, Canada and Nigeria would both finish with five points and would go through, while Australia would finish with four points and be eliminated. The tiebreaking procedure would be used to determine who wins the group.

[SthMelbRed]

5 hours ago, RS said:

Canada's not particularly good at "holding back." 

It's a recipe for disaster against an Aussie side that will be desperate for the victory and will have the full voice of the crowd behind them. Canada needs to play their own game and not aim for a draw.

Not the full voice. I'll be there yelling for them to fall over whenever they run with the ball. 🙂 

[Joe MacCarthy]

8 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

While watching those rushed, over the top balls for Huitema to chase but turn into possession losses

All I could think of was that Pellerud was looking very feminine on the sidelines, and younger.

[Joe MacCarthy]

Like the men's WC this is where not taking advantage of opportunities will kill us.  That missed PK put us behind the 8 ball and I fear out of the World Cup.  Why they can't just blast it to the middle of the net on either side is beyond me.  Even if the goalie guesses right they are going to have to stop a blast with only one hand and as we saw with Grosso at the Olympics that usually isn't enough. 

Nigeria has put in the work to get the breaks, I fear us beating Australia (or even tying) will be a big ask.  I didn't give up on them vs Ireland (and was rewarded) but everything will be against them in the next game and I don't know if they have the nads to stand up to it.  The second half against Ireland showed me something but I don't know if I can count on that again.  I hope to be proven wrong.

 

 

 

 

[gigi riva]

good game between Argentina and South Africa 2-2 final 

[kacbru]

Just back from South Africa - Argentina.  Best game of the 4 I've seen live so far.  Really evenly matched.  Argentina couldn't cope with the speed of South Africa's front 3 and were under constant pressure. Their striker Kgatlana was causing constant chaos - and they went up 2-0.  South Africa's first goal was bizarre, everyone thought the play was off-side, even the South African players, and they sort of half-heartedly passed the ball into the net, only for the offside call to be reversed by VAR.  Then Braun scored one of the goals of the tournament thus far from outside the box.  Beautiful shot.  And it was all Argentina from then.  South Africa barely held on for the draw.  Great game, too bad both teams still searching for their first WC victory.

[BearcatSA]

Losing Walsh in the centre of midfield looks to be a big blow to England and their chances, though James shone in her start, including a stylish curling strike for the winner.

[kacbru]

France - Brazil is only 15 minutes in, with no score, but shaping up like a helluva game. 

[Sinc_Tanc_Olympic_Action]

Okay, this is the first time I've heard that Tiffany Cameron has switched to the Jamaican national team now.  I was so confused when I heard her name and had to google this.  I knew she dropped off the face of the Canadian national team in favor of some other players but I didn't know she is actually our competitor now.  Interesting.  I guess that's what happens to players with dual citizenship.

[The Ref]

By the look of things Sweden may end up destroying Argentina.

 

[Free kick]

On 7/27/2023 at 9:04 AM, nolando said:

This may have been asked somewhere here already, but how did two CONCACAF teams, Jamaica and Panama, teams end up in the same group? That's unusual, right?

They actually screwed it up. I went back and watched the draw to try and figure this one out.  Yes, as others mentioned, the anomaly of the two concacaf team in one group did occur because draw was held prior to the completion of the intercontinental playoffs, just as in the Mens WC.  But unlike the mens WC, some of the three IC playoffs had as many as 3-4 teams..

As it turned out in the draw,  the winner of the IC playoff C (ie.: Chinese Taipei , Paraguay, Papua new Guiniea and Panama) was drawn into group B with Can, Aus, and Ire.  But they didnt place them there and sent them to group F because they said that there was already an Asian team in Group B.  But that created the problem of Jam and Pan in the same group.   So why was there a stronger restriction on two Asian sides in one group?  

End result,  Nigeria from pot 4 ended up in the same group as Can, Aus, Ire.   And it looks like they are going to advance to the second round and one of Canada or Australia might be going home early.   Nigeria look clearly better than any other pot 4 teams and maybe even better than most pot 3 teams.  
 

scroll over to the minute mark 1:15:19 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by Free kick

[red card]

In the battle of white-kitted managers, Herdman lost out to Renard.

 

 

Edited July 29, 2023 by red card

[Joe MacCarthy]

The thought of us advancing when two of the outcomes are good has me somewhat fearful.  It screams out the word "prevent" to me and IMO it's tough to win a must win game playing that way.

Good to know Priestman is a courageous coach and hopefully my fear will be assuaged.

I noticed Jordan Wilson of Onesoccer seemed to feel the same as me and reluctantly gave the obligatory Canada for the win prediction. 

It's all a matter of rising to the occasion and battling the intangibles.  I think we are better than they are (and have proved it) but this is a one off for all the marbles.  Whoever has the nads of steel will win it.

[red card]

Updated modelling by Neilsen says Canada will finish first and make it to the quarters. Originally, they had Canada losing to England in R16.

Final 4 remain unchanged.

 

https://www.nielsen.com/womens-world-cup-2023-data-hub/

Edited July 30, 2023 by red card

[kacbru]

Just back from NZ - Swiss. Heartbreak for the Football Ferns. Completely dominated the first 30, couple of great chances and one off the post, but couldn't score. Then the Swiss keeper took a Borjan injury timeout and that settled the game for the Swiss.

They never really threatened to score, but took NZ out of the game.  It wasn't until added time that NZ had more chances pumping the ball into the box, one of which the NZ keeper got a head to but put it just wide. It would have been a fairytale goal to put them into the final 16. 

Ah well, they did well - better than expected and it has been a great WC so far. Really nice to see the Football Ferns knock the AllBlacks off the front page of the sports section.

It is also amazing that the world's 3rd largest sporting event comes to a city of 130k, we weren't saddled with all kinds of expenses, and FIFA paid to upgrade a bunch of training pitches for community benefit. 

[Cadeau]

Columbia beats Germany 2-1 at the death. It was a great game with great drama and physicality.

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, Cadeau said:

Columbia beats Germany 2-1 at the death. It was a great game with great drama and physicality.

Still watching my pvr but my word!  That Linda Caicedo goal for the opener was something special.