The U.S. women’s national team has a chance for some sweet revenge, and a taste of gold this morning as the Americans face off against Brazil in today’s Olympic women’s soccer final.
You may recall Brazil is the same team that roasted the U.S. team, 4-0, in the World Cup semifinals last year. The U.S. team has overcome the loss of Abby Wambach, and a tournament-opening loss to Norway, to reach the final against a Brazil team that will be favored going in.
The game is set for 9am and will be aired on USA as well as the NBC Olympic soccer channel). If you will be at work, or can’t watch it on TV, you can watch live streaming video of the match on the NBC Olympic website.
If you will be watching the match, please feel free to share your thoughts, opinions and some play-by-play in the comments section below.
Enjoy the match
you just fail at life and reading. when have we played our full squad against Brazil in the past year? the answer is none. We were missing Kat and Osborne in the first 3 matches, Kat Osborne and Wambach in the last.
Kat the best defender on the team hasn’t played against brazil since the last WC, same with osborne. Due to whitehill’s injury Chalupny who was a starting midfielder had to drop back to a defensive roll.
We have yet to face Brazil with our true starting squad since the WC, and guess what they still lost. Oh and calling me an idiot as well as changing your name to “matt is dumb” just shows insecurity, immaturity, and completely lowers your appearance on these forums, not to mention the team your so avidly supporting as beeing the best in the world cant win.
You cant call yourself the best if you dont win, plain and simple, results are what matters in international play, and brazil has failed to capture a single title
Im not even talking about the women’s team. You’re so stupid Pia doesn’t even have them play a direct style. They are clearly trying to transition from being a full, complete crap direct team they were last year which you seem to love, to a full possession style team. They are somewhere in between styles right now and play just like German women(possess against teams you can and defend against those you can’t). The way the US won this year and how Germany won last year against Brazil is very similar. Oh and if you think US outshot brazil you are mental. Brazil could have easily scored six or seven goals and the US barely managed like two shots and one trash one on one attempt by rodriguez in the first 90 minutes. If not for some great Hope Solo saves and Lloyd being adventurous in OT that game could have easily gone the other way. I like how you are also using fifa rankings, which are complete crap. Listen man playing your full team against other nations who are missing most of their good players all the time doesn’t make you the best team in the world.
Brazil are the best and the best doesn’t always win as theyve come up second three straight times.
ag nigrin,
Using the word “polimic” wow I wouldnt have gotten my Masters degree if I would have known id encounter such a wordsmith like you.
I savor the victory but dont want it to be the last. They were fortunate to win period. They also won the last olympic games and got complacent. Their play in that final also showed an alarming slide.
But people like you and Matt were just happy wining la di da. Instead, they should have been alarmed at just how much Brazil was better then they were on the field and dominated the run of play.
Matt im glad you were impressed by Pia’s winning streak a whole 6 months WOW! If you do recall Greg Ryan also went undefeated for a few YEARS going into the world cup. But everyone was complacent because jolly gee whilikers they were the olympic champion.
I know I want them to get that third star and if they dont improve they wont do it and will be embarrased by Brazil or Germany again.
uh oh, look at this
http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/ranking/lastranking/gender=f/fullranking.html
is the US’s ranking once again #1? i guess the people at fifa are idiots too then huh?
tell me something, how many games has the USA lost in the past year with pia’s direct strategy? one? yeah thats it. Oh and you cant use the argument that we didnt play tough teams seeing as how we played brazil 3 times leading into the finals. oh they didnt have their best fowards in marta and christian? guess what, this time we didnt have wambach, whitehill, and osborne which means we were missing a star striker, star defender, and star midfielder. Even without Osborne and Cat Brazil still did not get passed the us defense. They had very few true opportunities. And even then the use had just as many, rodriguez blew on chance, lloyds shot when off the post, the game could have easially been over in regulation, or very very easially ended 2-0 in favor of the US.
If this direct style doesnt work on the national level why has our womens team been in the top 5 fifa rankings pretty much since its existance? If germany’s style is SOOOOO much better than the US’s why did they get completely manhandled by Brazil. One thing to keep in mind to is we were playing in un natural positions by keeping our midfield so compact. Players werent useually where they are because we were playing to brazils offensive strength, which when your having to make a forced pass under pressure with players beeing further back than they useually are you arent going to have the same rhythm you always do.
You argument has absolutely no value because guess what, you having nothing to back it with. Brazil lost, get the f*** over it. not only did they lose they got shot out. How bout we rewind to the last world cup where they also got shut out 2-0 by germany. Or how bout a few more years to 2004 athens, where the us beat brazil 2-1. Brazil has yet to win a major tournament, the US has 3 gold medal Olympic wins, recent peace queens cup champions, champions in the Algarve cup, (not to mention in that tournament we beat norway 4-0).
Get your head out of your ass and admit the WNT is the best in the world and has the record to show for it.
The point is Pia recognized what style of play the us would excel at and implimented it, not everybody has to play a possession style game and win. Pia is one of the best coaches is the world and pretty much what your saying is that she is stupid for implementing a direct attack offense, that makes you look incredibly intelligent
thom thats sort of what im trying to say. matt seems to think that winning no matter what style of play is all that matters. sure, the whole point is to win. however, to be able to truly compete on the international level there are many other factors that have to happen before you can just win. the fact is that style of play and winning go hand in hand. its easy to win at all costs at the youth/high school/college levels while playing direct kick and chase if you have better athletes. that style has proven to fail time and again for us the highest level, though. the mentality that people like matt, bob bradley, 75% of the parents on your kids team, all have is just wrong. keep up what youre doing. ultimately youre preparing those kids better and when they are fully mature they will be in a far better position to win something that counts by playing the right way.
Matt is dumb – results should not matter when you are learning to play but at the top level be club or country nothing else matters but result.
Case and point #1. USA WC 2002- we played our best game vs. Germany in the Q’s and lost. Do you think anyone who isn’t a serious USA soccer fan remembers that? Answer is nope. The due remember a mediocre Germany squad that lost in the finals though.
Case and point # 2- Every Italian team in memory except in last 2 Euros.
My daughters 6th grade was 1-11 last year and I couldn’t care less because the girls got better and more skilled as we focused on skill development, imagination and having fun even if me and the other coach, a Brazilian born and raised dad, were pretty much hated by 75% of the parents who just wanted to win.
At that level you are spot on and that is what I think you were trying to say-right? That we focus on winning over skill development and flair at the developmental stages and that’s why we are deficient in skills, tactical awareness and flair at the highest level?
Am I getting your points right here?
Karma’s checklist:
Have the most public haters of Hope Solo (Wambach, Whitehill, Lilly, Scurry) miss the the olympics entirely. CHECK
Have Hope Solo make THOSE saves against Brazil in the final. CHECK
Have Carli Lloyd, the only player to befriend Hope Solo after she is outcast from the fraternity, score the game winning goal in the final. CHECK.
Karma’s work is clearly finished.
Matt you are an idiot. England never wins against brazil or argentina when it counts. Just look at recent results: lost to argentina in 98 then beat them in 02 when they werent good. Lost to Brazil in 02 as well. They even lose to Portugal who play a possession style too.
People like you are the reason that we suck at soccer. The mentality that direct play and results are all the matter, when in fact its the ability pass and shoot that wins games. Being good technically with the ball is only one aspect of the game. The USA needs more players like this that can break down an opponent and create a chance for themselves or another player. Germany may not play with flair but they also dont play 100% direct style either. Its a combination of tough play, possession and technical ability that allow teams like Italy and Germany to succeed where straight up direct teams like England and the USA are crap.
Oh and nobody gives a crap that you played amateur soccer. I played in the cali state championship when I was eight. I have as much pro experience as you.
Damn Martha and Mark…You would make a great couple since you are both a bunch of sour pusses. You guys should can the polemic for awhile (in other words shut the F*** up) and let us savor the USWNT’s Golden moment!
Of course kudos to all the players who gave it their all for 120 minutes. There is no doubt that Marta, Chritiane and all the other Brazil ladies who teethed on street ball against the boys are awesome. But today the Pia game plan of double and triple teaming them worked. The Brazilian franchise players were skilled enough to get chances, but most were half chances because they had to shoot off balance and around multiple defending players.
I could list coaching license credentials and coaching experiece, and join the “fun” pointing out the weaknesses of some of the USA Players, but let’s get real. Today heart and synergy worked and the sum of the total was sufficient to win the game.
Most exciting is there is something to build on with Pia ball.
Don
good points but you are way, way wrong about Brazil’s men vs. England.
That’s apples and oranges vs. the womans game.