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.

Olympics: Brazil’s WNT Announces Its Roster (Plus Other Notes)

On Friday, head coach Jorge Barcellos announced Brazil’s roster for the women’s soccer tournament at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Great Britain (CBF.com.br, in Portuguese).  Only one player, defender Bruna Benites, was not on the roster for last year’s Women’s World Cup.  Neither Gabriela Maria Zanotti Demoner, who played collegiate soccer at Franklin Pierce University, nor Rafaelle Leone Carvalho Souza, who currently plays for the University of Missippi (Ole Miss) are on the eighteen player roster. The roster includes one U-20 player, forward Thaís Guedes, who also played in the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Continue reading “Olympics: Brazil’s WNT Announces Its Roster (Plus Other Notes)”

Olympics: Colombia Announces Its Team Roster

On Tuesday, USWNT group opponent Colombia announced its 18-player Olympic roster for its Women’s National Team (ColFutbol.org). Only 14 of the 18 players on the roster participated in the Women’s World Cup last year.  The four new players all currently play collegiate soccer in the USA: Natalia Ariza, Stefany Castaño Cardozo, Ana María Montoya, and Melissa Ortiz.  No alternates were named. Continue reading “Olympics: Colombia Announces Its Team Roster”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: North Korea Loses Twice Against the Netherlands

North Korea, an Olympic group stage opponent of the United States Women’s National Team, lost both a closed-door match and an official friendly against the #14 ranked Netherlands earlier this month. In the closed-door match, the Netherlands came back froom a goal down to win 4:1, while in the friendly, the Netherlands won 2:0, with the first goal coming in the 42nd minute. Both matches were played in the Netherlands. Details of North Korea’s line-up and substitutions are not readily available.

Sources (All in Dutch):
www.onsoranje.nl – Write-up on closed-door match (June 1st)
www.onsoranje.nl – Write-up, with box score, on the friendly (June 5th)
www.vrouwenvoetbalnederland.nl – Another write-up on the friendly, has the minute for NED’s first goal

More on the Netherlands: They are currently at the top of their group for Women’s Euro 2013 qualifying, with 5 wins and only 1 draw. The only draw was a 0:0 affair with England, whom they will play next on June 17th, in England. With a win, the Netherlands will lock up a ticket to Sweden.

Opponent Watch: Japan’s Travel Roster For Friendlies in Sweden

Early on Tuesday, Japan released its roster for the two friendlies versus the United States and Sweden that will be held in Sweden in mid-June as part of the Volvo Winners Cup. Twenty-one players were called up, including Homare Sawa and Mana Iwabuchi who were both recovering from medical issues. One uncapped player was called up, Ami Otaki, who finished university at the end of last year and now plays for UEFA Women’s Champion League champions Olympique Lyonnais in France.

Japan and the United States WNT play each other on June 18th at 13:00 local time in Sweden.

Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Japan’s Travel Roster For Friendlies in Sweden”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – June Camp Roster

On Tuesday, Colombia released the roster for its June training camp (ColFutbol.org, in Spanish). From the previous camp, only one player was cut, goalkeeper Paula Forero Cabrera. This current roster is essentially all the players in the final mix for the Olympics, along with midfielder Yoreli Rincon, who is still with her club in Brazil. Rincon will join the team sometime this month.

Thirteen of the twenty-two players have American collegiate connections, including ten who are current players for college teams. Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – June Camp Roster”

Opponent Watch: Sweden’s Roster For Friendlies Versus the USA and Japan

On Tuesday, Sweden released its 22-player roster for its two friendly matches versus the United States and Japan, as part of the Volvo Winners Cup, which it will host in mid-June. There were no surprise inclusions, but Sweden’s injury woes since the 2011 Women’s World Cup has forced several changes to the team’s starting line-up, especially on its back line.

Sweden and the United States WNT will play each other on June 16th at 16:00 local time. Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Sweden’s Roster For Friendlies Versus the USA and Japan”

Olympics: Notes on the Latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings

On June 1st, the latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings were released. While there were no major shake-ups, the most notable rankings movement was by Brazil, whose series of losses to Canada, the USA, and Japan, caused them to drop 33 points and fall from fourth place to fifth place, behind Sweden. Meanwhile, the United States remains in the number one spot and was able to extend its points lead over Germany and the other top teams. Continue reading “Olympics: Notes on the Latest FIFA Women’s World Rankings”

Olympics: More Details on Brazil’s June Camp

On Friday, the CBF posted a short news item detailing the schedule for Brazil’s penultimate domestic training camp prior to the Olympics. As part of the camp, Brazil will play two scrimmages, one versus the Under-15 boys’ team of Fluminense (Wikipedia) and then one versus Brazil’s Under-20 Women’s National Team, who are preparing for the U-20 Women’s World Cup, which begins in late August. Also mentioned in the news item were the arrival dates for some of the European-based players, including Marta and Elaine, who both play for Tyresö in Sweden. Continue reading “Olympics: More Details on Brazil’s June Camp”

A Round-Up of Other Notable International Matches (Late May 2012)

Besideds the USA’s 4:1 win over China, three other notable matches occurred in the past week: Canada defeated China 1:0 at home, Germany defeated Romania 5:0 in a Women’s Euro qualifier, and Sweden beat Scotland 4:1 in an away friendly. Continue reading “A Round-Up of Other Notable International Matches (Late May 2012)”