It was a meltdown in China.
The United States undefeated run under Greg Ryan came to screeching halt as Brazil annihilated the United States 4-0 in the World Cup sem-finals.
Brazil dominated every facet of the game and the U.S. Women consistently struggled to even get any possession.
Greg Ryan’s decision to change goalkeepers may have put the pre-game attention on individuals but it also may have been a move out of fear of the attacking power of Brazil.
An own-goal and a sending off in the first half of Shannon Boxx made Brazil insurmountable.
Remember that Brazil dominated the U.S.women in the last Olympics Gold medal final.
This is no surprise. Your thoughts?
September 27, 2007
U.S. Women crushed by Brazil
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Nobody mentioned that Olympics, oddly, good point. Poor decision by Coach Ryan, just from a political angle. Solo loses 4-0 and Solo takes the heat. The better team won today. How does this effect the W-League starting up?
Comment by Alex — September 27, 2007 @ 9:35 am
I watched as much of the game as I could, before rushing to work this morning. This game has a strange vibe to it.
Considering that every team in the world (including Brazillian, though not this game) made drastic changes when facing the U.S. Women team, because the mere mention of the our team strike fear in the opponents, as a team that cannot be beaten.
This game on the other hand, the our coach made drastic change to accommodate another team. Simply put, the coach is scared. And I think the team reflected that on the field.
The unforgivable referee error on Boxx sealed the fate of the exit. Interesting enough, by sitting Hope, they played without hope.
Comment by SLY — September 27, 2007 @ 11:07 am
wow, I’m shocked! I would have never thought of the US Women’s National Team losing by that margin.
Comment by Chino — September 27, 2007 @ 3:09 pm
Removing Solo from the goal was a horrible decision. Ryan out coached him self.
Stopping a shot is less than 50% of what goal keeping is all about. It\’s about defensive organization, communication, positioning and coordination. You have to have real live games under your belt to be able to achieve that harmony with your back line, and the semi-finals of the World Cup is not the time or place to get it.
It showed immediately on the corner kick / \
Comment by Terry — September 27, 2007 @ 5:43 pm
This is not surprising and is a great wake up call for womens soccer in the United States. You now have to be more than just competitive and with a high work ethic.
Brazil matched both of those elements and separated themselves with their individual and collective ability. Comfort on the ball.
They were the better team in the Olympic Gold Medal game a few years ago.
This can be a springboard for an examination of womens player development.
Comment by glenndavis — September 27, 2007 @ 5:55 pm
Do you bench Solo?
Comment by Alex — September 27, 2007 @ 10:16 pm
Hey Glenn, remember me? I called in a few years back when Ryan was first hired and said that I thought the job should have gone to Pia Sundhage instead, and US women’s soccer needed to move in a different direction than the athletic, brawny style it had become overly reliant on during Heinrich’s era? Sadly for our women, I was right. Under Ryan the program has taken a major step back, and it’s unfortunate Scurry’s legacy was probably tainted in the process.
Comment by Devon — September 28, 2007 @ 10:07 am