Category: Rival Watch

Notable news and analysis about the USWNT’s key rivals: Brazil, Germany Japan, and Sweden.

Roster Round-Up: October 2019 International Window

A round-up of rosters for top national teams who will be playing during the October international window, whether in friendlies or Women’s Euro qualifiers.

Roster links and brief write-ups for the following other teams are provided in this article:

CONCACAF:  Canada
CONMEBOL:  Brazil
AFC:  Japan
UEFA:  England, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, France, Spain, Norway

A write-up on the roster for the USWNT’s opponent this international window, Korea Republic, can be found here.  For details on the USWNT’s roster, see USWNT on TV: October 2019 Friendlies vs. Korea Republic.

Continue reading “Roster Round-Up: October 2019 International Window”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: August-September 2019 Group Stage Window Recap

UEFA Women's Euro logoQualifying for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021, which will be hosted by England, got underway last week, as 30 matches were played over six days.  None of the top favorites stumbled, as Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Iceland, and Russia each earned two wins out of two matches, while other notable teams, such as Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Switzerland, and Austria each won their only qualifying match of the window. Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: August-September 2019 Group Stage Window Recap”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: Match Highlights for the August-September 2019 Group Stage Window

UEFA Women's Euro logoOfficial highlights of nine Women’s Euro qualifying matches, featuring Germany, the Netherlands, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Austria, and more, plus the two England friendlies (versus Belgium and Norway) and the France-Spain friendly.

Most videos are from YouTube, while some are embedded inside Twitter tweets or Instagram posts.  If I find any more notable highlights for this qualification window, they will be added to this post.

Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: Match Highlights for the August-September 2019 Group Stage Window”

UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 Reference Guide (August 2019)

Qualification for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 kicked off today (August 29th).  To help interested fans keep track of all 200 matches that will be played by the 47 teams involved, I created a downloadable and printable reference guide, which summarizes all the teams (current rankings, performance in past Women’s Euros, performance in recent qualifying), as well as lists all matches (by group) and summarizes the matches for each day matches will be played.

The 21-page PDF file can be downloaded via this link:
UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 Group Qualification Stage Reference Guide (PDF, 1.72MB)
Continue reading “UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 Reference Guide (August 2019)”

News of Note: December 15, 2012: Mexico Defeats Brazil, USWNT May Host Scotland in February, 2015 WWC Logo Unveiled

News of Note: Final match of the Fan Tribute Series is tonight… Name and logo for the new women’s pro league to be revealed tonight… Mexico defeats Brazil in Brazil… Portland’s franchise will be named “Portland Thorns FC”… 2015 Women’s World Cup Canada Official Emblem unveiled… USWNT to host Scotland in February… 2013 Algarve Cup groups mostly confirmed… Continue reading “News of Note: December 15, 2012: Mexico Defeats Brazil, USWNT May Host Scotland in February, 2015 WWC Logo Unveiled”

News of Note: December 4, 2012 – Morgan and Johnston Win Player of the Year Honors, 2013 Cyprus Cup Field Set

News of Note: U.S. Soccer Female Athlete of the Year Awards… The USWNT’s December 15th Match Will Be Televised… North Carolina Wins Its 22nd National Title… Twelve Teams To Compete in the 2013 Cyprus Cup. Continue reading “News of Note: December 4, 2012 – Morgan and Johnston Win Player of the Year Honors, 2013 Cyprus Cup Field Set”

News of Note: November 30, 2012

News of Note: Brazil has a new head coach… Women’s FIFA Ballon d’Or Finalists are Alex Morgan, Abby Wambach, and Marta… FIFA World Coach of the Year for Women’s Football Finalists are Pia Sundhage, Norio Sasaki, and Bruno Bini… Thursday’s Germany-France Friendly Ends In a 1:1 Draw… Former General Manager of the USWNT, Cheryl Bailey, was named Executive Director of the new women’s pro league… Portland’s Franchise intends to play most of its home matches at JELD-WEN Field… Women’s Champions League quarterfinal match-Ups set… MAC Hermann Trophy Semifinalists Named… The NCAA College Cup continues Friday night. Continue reading “News of Note: November 30, 2012”

Brazil: Jorge Barcellos Out, Márcio de Oliveira In; Plus Roster for the City of São Paulo International Tournament

Last Friday (November 23rd), the big news out of Brazil was that the CBF fired its men’s national team head coach, Mano Menezes, along with his entire staff. But, also included in the terse official announcement (cbf.com.br, in Portuguese) was that Márcio de Oliveira is the new head coach of the Women’s National Team, replacing Jorge Barcellos, who was brought in last November to replace Kleiton Lima. According to the Cruziero do Sul website (in Portuguese), Barcellos was not notified of his firing until late Friday afternoon. Oliveira is also the head coach for São José Esporte Club’s women’s team (www.SaoJoseEC.com.br, in Portuguese), which includes several veteran national team players on its current roster (in Portuguese): Daiane (Bagé), Danielli Pereira da Silva, Formiga, and Francielle.

On Thursday, the CBF website posted its WNT roster for the upcoming City of São Paulo International Tournament (Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo), which includes several new call-ups. The tournament, which also includes the national teams of Mexico, Denmark, and Portugal, begins on December 9th. It is played in a round-robin format with placement matches. Continue reading “Brazil: Jorge Barcellos Out, Márcio de Oliveira In; Plus Roster for the City of São Paulo International Tournament”

USWNT: The USA Draws 1:1 with Germany in Chicago

Saturday night, in front of a sell-out crowd of 19,522, the United States Women’s National Team drew 1:1 with Germany at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Illinois. Abby Wambach scored the USA’s only goal in the 2nd minute when the Americans capitalized on a turnover deep in Germany’s half. Twelve minutes later, Anja Mittag equalized for Germany on a counterattack. Continue reading “USWNT: The USA Draws 1:1 with Germany in Chicago”