FIFA Women's World Cup 2015: Canada

Priene said:

I perfectly timed my switch from utter pessimism to ridiculous optimism. We are England. We have three lions and stuff and we can outhoof every other nation on the planet.

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I would have preferred a bit less hoofing over the top, TBH!

But I am glad we won cos it's the furthest we've gone in a World Cup. And they fought hard. Especially in the second half. There were a few times I thought we were going to throw it away again.

I was very impressed with the Canadian keeper though. Very strong. I like to see a keeper come out and control her area. Speaking as an ex-right back, it makes a hell of a difference to a defence when they have a keeper they can trust.

Thought the crowd were a bit off though, booing our keeper's injury like that.

mirandashell said:

I would have preferred a bit less hoofing over the top, TBH!

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You can never have too much hoof in hoofball.

mirandashell said:

But I am glad we won cos it's the furthest we've gone in a World Cup. And they fought hard. Especially in the second half. There were a few times I thought we were going to throw it away again.

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If we got to the final it would surely be against the Germans. It's always against the Germans.

mirandashell said:

Thought the crowd were a bit off though, booing our keeper's injury like that.

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Doesn't sound stereotypically Canadian. Well, I forgive them because their manager is a Geordie.

Probably the Americans in the crowd who were booing...

Not unless the vast majority of the crowd were American.

If we got to the final it would surely be against the Germans. It's always against the Germans.

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We have to get past Japan first. I'm not looking further than that.

mirandashell said:

Not unless the vast majority of the crowd were American.

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Tis a joke.

Regardless, they booed because they thought it was time-wasting. They couldn't see her eye from the stands. She walked up the ball and basically sat down. If it had been the other way around, I'm sure English fans would have booed, too.

Ermmm..... there was a shot on the screen of the state of her eye. It was obvious she was in trouble. And even after they saw it they booed. It was just bad. And let's not let a stereotype colour our opinion, eh?

Whatever. Fans watching just the pitch couldn't see that it was obvious.

And I have no idea what you're talking about with regard to stereotypes. What stereotype?

Oh for gods sake...... this was a nice thread to talk about football. Now I'm just getting annoyed....

I'm off. I'll be back later when this nonsense has stopped.

mirandashell said:

Oh for gods sake...... this was a nice thread to talk about football. Now I'm just getting annoyed....

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Ditto.

What are you two going to be like if it's England v USA in the final?

Not speaking to each other.

And it won't be. There's no way the US will beat Germany. I reckon it will be a Germany-Japan final.

We will do Japan. I've had a seventh sense precog of Toni Duggan waving the World Cup from a double-decker bus caught in a snarl up just outside john Lewis on Oxford Street.

Strong enough to put money on?

mirandashell said:

Strong enough to put money on?

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Gosh, no. I've had the exact same precog once before, only it was 2010 and John Terry was holding the trophy.

Priene said:

What are you two going to be like if it's England v USA in the final?

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Actually I'd be pleased as punch if England beat the U.S. in the final. Because a) they would have to play well and would thus have earned it and b) it's good for the game, imo. Plus there are some Arsenal ladies on the England squad.

And actually, I think there's a fair chance of the final being U.S. v. England.

Germany is a better team than the U.S. but Johnston--right now--is the most dominate player in the tournament. And Hope Solo--who is still an ass--is the still the best keeper in the world. The U.S. isn't easy to score on, no doubt about it.

And while Japan would seem to have the advantage over England, I think set pieces could be what decides the match. And England can do some damage there.

robeiae said:

Germany is a better team than the U.S. but Johnston--right now--is the most dominate player in the tournament. And Hope Solo--who is still an ass--is the still the best keeper in the world. The U.S. isn't easy to score on, no doubt about it.

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Agreed.

The US defense is very strong, maybe the best in the tournament. It's quite possible to have a game where Germany has the better of the play but the US still comes away with the win.

Plus, the US may be peaking at the right time. After a series of totally uninspiring performances in group play, they definitely picked up their pace and finally looked like a cohesive team against China. If they can continue that arc and elevate their game, even Germany will have a tough time with them.

And I am sort of glad it's not the US/France. I would have had a hard time rooting for the US in that scenario -- at least my support wouldn't have been quite so wholehearted. But Germany? Yes, I'm all in for the Americans to beat them.

rugcat said:

And I am sort of glad it's not the US/France. I would have had a hard time rooting for the US in that scenario -- at least my support wouldn't have been quite so wholehearted. But Germany? Yes, I'm all in for the Americans to beat them.

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I feel the same way. I was hoping for a France win from the beginning. Really like watching them play.

Never mind sweetie. We all carry the pain of that one.

I suspect the fans booed the keeper because they thought she was wasting time. Which obviously she wasn't, but still. It's a custom.

If the US beats Germany it'll be because Germany have a swath of players playing hurt or out altogether. But either way it should be close and close games are good for the sport overall. It will be good to watch.

Final comment on the refereeing, and critique thereof: saying a referee was inconsistent is like calling the writing in a book bad. Good for you, you have an opinion. If you want to critique a referee, fine, but if you want anyone who actually refs to take what you say seriously you need to understand and analyze the actual technique. I don't expect fans to be able to discern every little thing a ref does or doesn't do. A lot of it is impossible to detect on TV anyway. The broad stuff, though, is not hard to find and learning some of it will make any comments you can offer more informed.

Besides having played for years, I also have done some refereeing, though only for amateur club games. It is an incredibly difficult task, and it's true that many people don't understand what is involved.

Nonetheless, there are bad referees, and bad refereed games, and you don't have to be a genius or have extensive experience in reffing games to recognize it when you see it.

Overall, I think the refereeing has been reasonable. But I have seen a number of suspect calls, and the fact that it's a difficult job is not valid excuse for them.

robeiae said:

Actually I'd be pleased as punch if England beat the U.S. in the final. Because a) they would have to play well and would thus have earned it and b) it's good for the game, imo. Plus there are some Arsenal ladies on the England squad.

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England winning the World Cup would be huge for the game, and not only in England. The potential at club level is vast (we have roughly 40 men's clubs getting over 15k attendance and their grounds are empty every other Saturday), but it needs something to light the fuse. Cycling has gone from nothing to huge in a few years because of the exploits of people like Chris Hoy and Bradley Wiggins. If the women's team brought home the World Cup by playing beyond themselves and expectation that would be special. And they're actually likeable, which the preening, self-important, under-performing men's team stopped being many years ago.

VeryBigBeard said:

Final comment on the refereeing, and critique thereof: saying a referee was inconsistent is like calling the writing in a book bad. Good for you, you have an opinion. If you want to critique a referee, fine, but if you want anyone who actually refs to take what you say seriously you need to understand and analyze the actual technique.

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I really don't (want people who ref to take me seriously). This is a messageboard in cyberspace. I watched the game and what I saw was inconsistency from the ref. This isn't something limited to soccer in the least. Happens in hockey all the time: things that are borderline fouls--at best--get called at one moment, but then the same or worse sort of things are not called in the next.

And refereeing a hockey game is no easy task, either.

So. What. Saying someone is wrong simply because they are not a referee is like a politician saying voters aren't allowed to question policy....

So it's USA v Germany tonight. Any thought? My feeling is never bet against the Germans, even though they looked a bit ropey against the French. (Confession: I watched it in a pub and I was a bit drunk by the end of the second half).

My money is on Germany. They may be ropey but they will win. Even if the ref has to help them out.