Upcoming Opponents – Page 7 – Women's Soccer Express

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”

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)”

USWNT Olympic Opponent: France’s Semi-Official Final Roster, Plus Training Schedule

Earlier today, French WNT head coach Bruno Bini announced his team’s roster for the 2012 Summer Olympics, along with their training schedule. The most notable roster change from the 2011 Women’s World Cup is the inclusion of goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi, who is generally regarded as France’s best ‘keeper, but has had issues on and off the pitch , which led to her exclusion in 2011. Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent: France’s Semi-Official Final Roster, Plus Training Schedule”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – Updated May Camp Roster

ColFutbol.org has posted a news item with a slightly different roster for its current camp. From the previous roster, three players were added, Liana Salazar and Ingrid Vidal, who both play collegiately for the University of Kansas Jayhawks (Salazar’s profile, Vidal’s profile), plus Florida native Catalina Perez (Team Boca; Boca Raton), who was a back-up goalkeeper for Colombia at the 2010 U-20 Women’s World Cup. Not included on the roster were ~~Nataly Arias (U. of Maryland, 2004-2008)~~ and the hard-to-find-info-on Kena Romero. (Edit, 5-June-2012: Nataly Arias is still on the roster, while Alexis Hermosa was removed from the roster.) Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – Updated May Camp Roster”

USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – May Camp Details and More

Earlier this month, USWNT group stage opponent Colombia ramped up its preparation for the 2012 Olympics by convening for a month-long training camp. Twenty-two players were called up, including at least eleven players with American connections. Along with a camp roster, Colombia also released details of its schedule ahead of the Olympics. (ColFutbol.org news release, in Spanish) Continue reading “USWNT Olympic Opponent Watch: Colombia – May Camp Details and More”

USWNT: Brazil, Since Last We Met…

The United States Women’s National Team will play Brazil in the USA’s second match of the Women’s Kirin Challenge Cup on April 3rd, in Japan. The last time these two teams met was just eight months ago, in the 2011 Women’s World Cup. Since that match, Brazil has changed its head coach, changed its captain, and changed its federation’s president. The one thing that has not changed is Brazil’s reliance on a three-back formation. Continue reading “USWNT: Brazil, Since Last We Met…”

USWNT Rival Watch: Brazil’s (Old?) 3-4-3 Formation

Edit: So, I missed Ray’s Curren’s March 28th article at AWK on the Brazil-Canada match, which he attended in person. He notes that Brazil used a 4-4-2 formation, which does match the notation used in the CBF’s match report. Based on a closer look at some CBF news items on in-camp scrimmages earlier this year, it seems that new head coach Jorge Barcellos has been trying the 4-4-2 formation at least since January.

At this point, consider this post useful for historical, e.g., non-current, purposes. Although, with only a few months to go until the Olympics, it is possible that Barcellos may fall back to this formation.

Continue reading “USWNT Rival Watch: Brazil’s (Old?) 3-4-3 Formation”