USWNT

Turning point was Rapinoe's politicization of the team.  Destroyed the vibe and relationships on the team by focusing on differences instead of commonalities.  Pervasive in the system now.

I only tuned into the 2nd half, because the falcons were utter trash....

Cook was lost.
Dunn for some reason had Bello disease and didn't think she needed to track back and defend.
Coffey has no right being on this team, sorry.
Rodman for all the hype, i think gave the ball away on every touch she had after entering the game.
Still don't like Huerta either, just doesn't move the meter for me.
The really tall girl isn't my fav either, yes, she can win balls in the air, but that's it.

What I saw in the 2nd half was a Germany team that kept the ball, moved it with simple quick 1-2 touches, and counters when necessary. In the 2nd half Germany was the better team for sure. What surprised me the most was how Germany was physically man handling the US and how soft we looked physically.

Twitter still blaming college soccer etc, I agree with rifle the college game is healthy --- you see it more often now, raw athleticism is getting weened out, most top teams play soccer. You saw it last night Rodman just right to run past defenders and it didn't work.

US was better team in the last 25 min of the first half. Created plenty of chances and looked to be in control both on and off the ball.

Germany was definitely the better team in the second half all around.

If some of Germany’s shots would of been 3 inches to one way it would of gotten ugly. Horan’s attempt was nice to see.

Alex Morgan is not the same player but there isn’t other alternatives in a true 9 position that has challenged her.

Sophia Smith, Pugh, Sanchez, Horan, Lavelle are some of the better talent on the team.

Most of the subs were shocking besides Sanchez

Hope to see the team fix some of their issues. I agree that this team is individualized compared to other top teams that are playing well together.

Alex needs balls fed to her. She is best running behind the defense and on crosses. She has never been one to dribble around people. Not her skill set. These new kids are so talented but don't play simple. Sometimes I think they are trying to impress. It reminds me of watching an college ID camp. Lots of individual skill and no working together.

Dunn did remind me of Bello but I think that is a fitness issue.

Germany did not impress me at all in the first half. Lots of sloppy play. Gave the ball away in defensive third at least 4 or 5 times early in the game. If we were more clinical finishing it would have been 3 or 4 to nothing in our favor. Horan had a header barely miss and the bicycle hit the post.

I think it is just changing out the squad that has been an issue. Not sure when they will gel but they will.

Again. Not a major problem. These are friendlies. Designed to see what works and what doesn't.

30+ years of adulting, working, building teams - easy to see the damage done when toxic personalities disrupt the group dynamic.

I agree with the rest of your post.  We have fallen behind.

We have plenty of players to be successful. But the USWNT treating the team like a social group and not a professional sports organization, that is what I will chalk up their issues too. 

That’s a great point. Take a look at Spain’s 17’s that just won the World Cup. Their best player (MVP of the tournament) plays along side Aitana, Alexia (2nd time Balón D’Or), and many top players at FC Barcelona. A hand full of others on that team are playing pro as well or will be in the next year.

I also think the US 17’s have some good talent but as you said it, they’re headed to college to play. (I also agree that there is nothing wrong with that) Two very different paths that in turn have very different outcomes.

I watch US vs Germany. Felt like US should have won. No one has mentioned this, but there was a pretty obvious penalty in the first half that wasn't called when Germany defender hacked Horan down. Pretty shocked that a ref working this level game would have missed it. It was blatant. Would have definitely gone to VAR if they were using it and been called. US definitely does need to get better in front of goal, but the ref makes that call, and a few inches difference on at least 2 off the bar and Horan's first half header that was a couple inches wide, and a better decision from Pugh when she stole the ball off a goal kick (had Morgan for an easy finish and took one too many dribbles) and they would have had 5 or 6 goals. In contrast though, I thought they got outplayed pretty badly against England and Spain. Considering the Germany game was the most recent, maybe they are heading in the right direction. The US may not be the outright favorite to win the WC this year, but they will still be contenders and at least one of the favorites. Initial poster mentioned that the U17s went out in the group stage, but they actually won their group and got knocked out in pks in the quarterfinals against Nigeria. In the game they lost (in PKs) they had the same issue the full team had against Germany. Had a ton of chances to score and didn't. And the goal they gave up was a pretty questionable penalty call (by VAR in this case though). The U17s also did actually beat and tie Spain (who won the WC) in friendlies a few months before the tournament. They also beat Japan and Germany who were two of the top teams in the tournament. The 20s on the other hand did struggle a bit in the WC and didn't get out of their group, but I think they did beat France, Netherlands, and Mexico in a pre-WC tournament. As others have said, the rest of the world is catching up - they are starting to invest more in the women's game. But this is a good thing, and I don't think the rest of the world has passed the US in the women's game - at least not yet, they are just making it more competitive and interesting. I'm not concered. I'd rather the US be challenged instead of consistently being the most dominant team in the world.

Very open ended in the second half. Fun game to watch!