Category: Opposition Research

Posts on the USWNT’s upcoming opponents, its key rivals (Brazil, Germany, Japan, and Sweden), its neighbors (Canada and Mexico). For posts about youth WNT opponents, please see the Under-xx category.

Roster Round-Up: March 2020 International Window

The first full international window of 2020 is upon us. Most active women’s national teams will be participating in friendly tournaments, such as the SheBelieves Cup, the Algarve Cup the noveau Tournoi de France, and others.  Meanwhile, six national teams, including the Matildas of Australia, will be playing in Olympic qualifying play-offs.  Over in UEFA, some teams will continue their qualifying campaigns for the 2021 Women’s Euro.

Here is a special extended edition Roster Round-Up, organized by friendly tournament.  The usual teams are covered in summary detail, while links are provided to the rosters of other notable teams. Continue reading “Roster Round-Up: March 2020 International Window”

2020 SheBelieves Cup: Updated Rosters, USA TV Schedule, and News Updates

The 2020 edition of the SheBelieves Cup, which is hosted by the United States Women’s National Team, officially gets underway on Thursday, March 5th.  Rosters for the four participating teams – the USWNT, England, Japan, and first-timer Spain – have all been announced.

In the United States, all USWNT matches will be shown live on ESPN channels, while the non-USA matches will be available via ESPN’s streaming platforms. Continue reading “2020 SheBelieves Cup: Updated Rosters, USA TV Schedule, and News Updates”

Opponent Watch: Spain’s Roster for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup

With inaugural SheBelieves Cup participants France and Germany once again not returning and last year’s debutante Brazil preferring the allure of France, the Netherlands, and Canada, the United States Women’s National Team needed to find a new participant for its four-team friendly tournament.  Eventually, the USA settled on #13-ranked Spain, who you might remember from that nail-biting Round of 16 match in last year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup (official highlights).

While Spain’s players may have revenge on their mind, head coach Jorge Vilda is focused on preparing for the back half of qualifying for the 2021 UEFA Women’s Euro, which will be hosted by fellow SheBelieves Cup team England.  Although Spain easily won its first two qualifying matches last autumn, the Iberian team hit a slight road bump in the form of a nil-nil away draw with Poland. Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Spain’s Roster for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup”

Notes: More Details Emerge About Japan’s Proposed New Women’s Professional League

In November, the board of directors of the Japan Football Association (JFA) voted to establish a new professional women’s league.    Specifics about this potential new league were lacking, but late last week, more details surfaced, attributed to “interviews with multiple stakeholders” (wire article in the Hochi Shimbun).  An English version or summary of the report was published by the Kyodo News agency (via the Japan Times).

As announced in November, this new league would be at the top of the women’s pyramid in Japan with the Nadeshiko League, which currently has three divisions (1, 2, and “Challenge”), continuing in some form. (Japan Times) Continue reading “Notes: More Details Emerge About Japan’s Proposed New Women’s Professional League”

Opponent Watch: England’s Roster for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup

Update (01-Mar-2020):  Lucy Bronze is out due to a calf injury and has been replaced by  Alessia Russo.  (TheFA.com)

First to announce their official roster for this year’s SheBelieves Cup is the United States Women’s National Team’s first opponent:  England.

The rematch of 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal opponents will be played on Thursday, March 5th at 7:00 p.m Eastern (TV: ESPN2) .  (Full SheBelieves Cup TV/streaming schedule)

Phil Neville’s list has eight players born in 1997 or later, including two uncapped players who recently played collegiately in the United States:  Center back Grace Fisk of South Carolina (profile) and goalkeeper Sandy MacIver of Clemson (profile).  Both graduated after the fall 2019 season and are now playing professionally in the FA WSL. Continue reading “Opponent Watch: England’s Roster for the 2020 SheBelieves Cup”

Opponent Watch: Japan Calls In 25 Players Ahead of the SheBelieves Cup

Update (15-Feb-2020):  Midfielder Hasegawa Yui (age 23, 42 caps) and Hayashi Honoka (age 21, 1 cap) were withdrawn before the camp started due to unspecified injuries. No replacement players will be called in. (jfa.jp)

Update (25-Feb-2020):  Hasegawa’s injury was quite minor, as she has been named to Japan’s SheBelieves Cup squad. All but three players, defender Seike Kiko, midfielder Hayashi Honoka, and forward Ueki Riko, from this original camp roster have been named to Japan’s SheBelieves Cup squad.  As expected, Kumagai Saki, who plays for Olympique Lyonnais in France has also been named to Japan’s roster for the tournament. (jfa.jp)

Update (01-Mar-2020):  Forward Kobayashi Rikako has been withdrawn due to injury.  Ueki Riko has been recalled as Kobayashi’s replacement. (jfa.jp)

(This article follows Japanese name customs:  Family names are listed first, followed by the given name.)

Ahead of next month’s SheBelieves Cup, Japan has called in 25 domestic-based players for a six-day training camp that runs from Friday, February 14th to Wednesday, February 19th.  As this camp is outside of a FIFA window, team captain Kumagai Saki, who plays for Olympique Lyonnais in France, has not been included, but is expected to be on the roster for the SheBelieves Cup.

Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Japan Calls In 25 Players Ahead of the SheBelieves Cup”

CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship: Group Stage Stats For Semifinal Teams

Ahead of tonight’s semifinals, which will decide CONCACAF’s two representatives for this Summer Olympic’s women’s soccer tournament, here are summary tournament stats for the four semifinalist squads.

Semifinals (Friday, February 7th):

  • Canada vs. Costa Rica: 7:00 p.m. ET – Fox Soccer Plus (7:06 p.m. kick-off)
  • USWNT vs. Mexico: 10:00 p.m. ET – Fox Sports 1 (10:15 p.m. kick-off)

The statistics were compiled from the CONCACAF website’s match details pages for this tournament, which feature detailed player stats for each match.

Continue reading “CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship: Group Stage Stats For Semifinal Teams”

CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship: Mexico to Host; Preliminary Schedule Announced

On Friday, January 31st, CONCACAF released a preliminary schedule for this year’s edition of the CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship, which will be hosted by Mexico from April 18th to May 3rd (CONCACAF.com).*   Up for grabs at the tournament are three tickets to November’s FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup in India. Continue reading “CONCACAF Women’s Under-17 Championship: Mexico to Host; Preliminary Schedule Announced”

NOTES: Jamaica’s Roster For CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying 2020

In this post:  Jamaica’s roster for the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, with collegiate profile links and player ages, plus some additional facts and details about Jamaica.

Jamaica, who finished third in the last senior CONCACAF women’s tournament, thus earning a spot in their first FIFA Women’s World Cup, are hoping for a better finish this time, in order to earn one of two tickets to the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

However, they will be without the coach who guided them into the WWC, Hue Menzies, resigned in December amid a “pay dispute” with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), as the JFF owes Menzies six months of unpaid  salary and other compensation.  (Jamaica-Star.com) Continue reading “NOTES: Jamaica’s Roster For CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying 2020”

NOTES: And, Introducing… The Saint Kitts and Nevis WNT

Debuting today in their first senior CONCACAF women’s tournament is tiny Saint Kitts & Nevis (SKN), who finished first in their five-team qualifying group, which was hosted by Trinidad & Tobago.

Saint Kitts & Nevis has a population of roughly 55,000 and is the smallest independent country in the Western hemisphere (Wikipedia).

SKN’s WNT is coached by (Deborah) Jené Baclawski (Twitter profile) who is the Technical Director for the South Texas Youth Soccer Association.

The Canadian Press wire service recently published a short article on the team, with quotes from Baclawski:  Underdog St. Kitts prepares to face Canada at Olympic women’s soccer qualifier (via theglobeandmail.com).

Continue reading “NOTES: And, Introducing… The Saint Kitts and Nevis WNT”