Author: RD Welch

Olympics: Quick Notes On France’s Tune-Up Matches

In July, France played three tune-up friendlies, all at home: a 6:0 win against Romania on July 4th, a 3:0 victory over Russia on July 11th, and a 2:0 win versus Japan on July 19th. This post is primarily a quick review of those three matches, along with a summary table of minutes played, and thoughts on France’s likely starting line-up in their opening match against the United States. Continue reading “Olympics: Quick Notes On France’s Tune-Up Matches”

U-20 WWC: Germany’s Semi-Official Tournament Roster (USA Group Opponent)

[Edit – July 30: The write-up portion of this post does not reflect the replacement of goalkeeper Lisa Schmitz with fellow ‘keeper Meike Kämper and Clara Schöne with Katharina Leiding.]

On Tuesday, the DFB released Germany’s semi-official roster for this year’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan. As expected, the roster includes German Women’s National Team midfielder Dzenifer Marozsan, whose first call-up during this cycle was for the just-concluded training camp. Among the players nominated by head coach Maren Meinert are six other players who, prior to the recent Norway friendly, were uncapped this cycle. Four of those players, all midfielders, were brought up from Germany’s current U-19 WNT, which failed to make the final stage of this year’s UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship. One of the other two previously uncapped players is defender Sophie Howard, who will be attending the University of Central Florida this fall. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Germany’s Semi-Official Tournament Roster (USA Group Opponent)”

The First Women’s Soccer Match At Old Wembley Stadium

According to then-contemporary news reports, the first women’s soccer match[1] at Old Wembley Stadium, England’s most-hallowed soccer ground, was contested on July 16th, 1987, a full sixty-four years after the Stadium opened in 1923. In that match, which was the opening game of the fourth annual London International Football Festival, the Cincinnati Cardinals, an under-14 girls travel team from Ohio, played a Millwall Lionesses L.F.C. youth squad. And, yes, the Americans won, albeit by the slimmest of scorelines, 1:0. Continue reading “The First Women’s Soccer Match At Old Wembley Stadium”

U-20 WWC: Mid-July Friendly Results, Plus Notes on Germany’s Friendly

During the second week of July, a handful of Women’s Under-20 friendlies were contested, including matches that separately involved Mexico and Canada, plus Germany, who will be the United States’ final group opponent in August’s Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

Mexico traveled to Argentina and beat the hosts in two friendlies, by 1:0 and 3:1 margins. Canada is in Europe and played Italy on Saturday, winning 3:0.

On Sunday, Germany hosted Norway and defeated the guests 5:0, which was slightly better than the 7:1 drubbing Germany gave the Norwegians in last year’s UEFA Women’s U-19 Championship final, but much worse than the two sides’ 1:1 draw in a friendly at La Manga earlier this year. Continue reading “U-20 WWC: Mid-July Friendly Results, Plus Notes on Germany’s Friendly”

Olympics: Summary Statistics for the Squads

On Friday, FIFA released the official rosters for the Olympic soccer tournaments (FIFA.com, click on a team’s name and select “Squad List” on the next page; also in PDF format, which has additional data, namely caps and goals). The first part of this post is a table which lists the average and median ages and heights for each squad, along with the team’s rank for those statistics. The second part lists superlative statistics (oldest, youngest; tallest, shortest) for teams  and players. Continue reading “Olympics: Summary Statistics for the Squads”

Olympics: Notes on North Korea’s Roster (USWNT Group Opponent)

On Friday, FIFA published all of the rosters for the Olympic soccer tournaments. Among the new-to-us rosters was that of the USWNT’s final group opponent, North Korea (FIFA.com), who were also in the USA’s group in last year’s Women’s World Cup.  Only 6 players of the players on the official 18-player roster return from last year’s squad. Ten of North Korea’s official players are U-20 age-eligible. Also, two of their alternates are U-20 players and a third alternate is a U-17 player. Continue reading “Olympics: Notes on North Korea’s Roster (USWNT Group Opponent)”

Olympics: In Mid-June, Colombia’s Yoreli Rincon Fractured Her Little Toe

In mid-June, Colombia’s star midfielder, Yoreli Rincon, fractured her left foot’s little toe while training with her club team, Brazil’s XV de Piracicaba. Initial reports are that the injury is relatively minor and Rincon should be fully healed in time for the start of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament, which kicks off on July 25th. Continue reading “Olympics: In Mid-June, Colombia’s Yoreli Rincon Fractured Her Little Toe”

Olympics: Recent Matches Involving Qualified Teams (Updated, 21-July)

Here is a list of friendlies and other international matches involving Olympics-bound women’s soccer teams, for the two months leading up to the start of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament. This post is intended as an “FYI.” After the final tune-up matches on the 20th, a more proper write-up is planned.

This post will be updated as more matches are completed.

If you know of any international matches that are not listed, whether official, friendly, or closed-door, please post that information in a comment. Matches not involving two senior women’s national teams (e.g., scrimmages against club teams) are beyond the scope of this post. Continue reading “Olympics: Recent Matches Involving Qualified Teams (Updated, 21-July)”

U-17 USWNT: Travel Roster For Overseas Training Camp

On Monday, U.S. Soccer released the travel roster for the United States Under-17 WNT’s last major training camp prior to the Under-17 Women’s World Cup in Azerbaijan. Only nineteen players were called up, with one additional player to be named at a later date. Eighteen of those players participated in CONCACAF qualifying. The two players from Guatemala not on the roster are midfielder Sarah Robinson and defender Lizzie Raben. The one added player is defender Claire Wagner, who is a teammate of Joanna Boyles and Morgan Reid at CASL’s Chelsea Ladies (Raleigh, NC). During the camp, which runs from July 19th to the 30th and will be held in Croatia and Slovenia, the U-17s will play four tune-up matches, all against older players, with the first three opponents being club teams, while the final will be versus the full women’s national team of Slovenia. Continue reading “U-17 USWNT: Travel Roster For Overseas Training Camp”