U-15 USGNT: 59 Players Called In For Talent ID Camp

On Wednesday, U.S. Soccer released the roster for an Under-15 Girls’ National Team talent identification camp which is currently underway at U.S. Soccer’s National Development Center in Kansas.*  A total of 59 players, all born in 2005, are attending the camp, which is being led by U.S. Soccer Director of (Girls’) Talent Identification Mirelle van Rijbroek.

*U.S. Soccer’s roster write-up was published online Wednesday afternoon, but backdated to Sunday, the 6th.

At least thirteen of the players attended a U-14 GNT camp in 2018, including the four 2005’ers who were on the USA’s 2018 CONCACAF Girls’ U-15 Championship roster:  Olivia Moultrie, Maggie Taitano, Gisele Thompson, and Amelia Van Zanten. (For that tournament, the USA sent a U-14 team that consisted of players born in 2004 and 2005.)  Moultrie, Taitano, and Thompson also attended the only U-16 USGNT camp so far this year, which was held in the Netherlands, back in June (U.S. Soccer). Continue reading “U-15 USGNT: 59 Players Called In For Talent ID Camp”

U-18 USWNT: October 2019 Camp Roster – 39 Players, 10 First-Timers

Earlier this week, U.S. Soccer announced that a U-18 USWNT camp is currently being held at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida (USSoccer.com). Mark Carr, who is the head coach of the U-20 USWNT, called in a total of 39 players, all born in 2002, for this camp, which started on Tuesday, October 1st and finishes a week later, on the 8th.  Ten of those players have been called into their first youth national team camp.

Curiously, the number of camp attendees – 39 players – is significantly larger than normal for U-18 USWNT domestic camps, as they typically have had around 24 players during the last U-18 cycle (2017-2018).  Continue reading “U-18 USWNT: October 2019 Camp Roster – 39 Players, 10 First-Timers”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: October International Window Preview

UEFA Women's Euro logoQualifying for the 2021 UEFA Women’s Euro continues this week, with 31 matches being played this window, including 10 matches on Friday, October 4th and 17 matches on Tuesday, October 8th.  France and Spain, who both had byes in the first qualifying window, start their qualification campaigns with relatively easy opponents.

Format Summary:  Each group winner and the top three runners-up qualify for the final tournament, which is hosted by England.  The remaining six runners-up are paired in home-and-away playoffs for the final three slots.

See my 2021 UEFA Women’s Euro – Qualifying Group Stage Guide (PDF, 1.7MB) for more details, as well as a complete list of all groups, all matches, helpful schedule tables, and more.

The marquee match of the window is in Group “I”, with the Republic of Ireland hosting Ukraine on Tuesday, in a Pot 3 vs. Pot 2 match-up.  Both teams are vying for the runner-up spot in a group that should be dominated by powerhouse Germany, who first host Ukraine on Saturday, October 5th, before traveling to Greece for a Tuesday away match. Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: October International Window Preview”

USWNT on TV: October 2019 Friendlies vs. Korea Republic

4-Oct-2019:  This post has been updated with additional USWNT injury details.

This Sunday, Jill Ellis will helm what should be her last match as the head coach of the United States Women’s National Team, when the USWNT plays 20th-ranked Korea Republic at Soldier Field in Chicago.  Prior to that, on Thursday, the USA will first host Korea Republic in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Both matches will be televised live, with Fox Sports 1 airing the Thursday match, while ESPN will have the Sunday matinee match:

DETAILS:  International Friendlies vs. Korea Republic

When:  Thursday, October 3rd @ 8:00 PM EDT
Where:  Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, North Carolina
TV Channel: Fox Sports 1 (FS1)
TV Window: 7:30 PM to 10:00 PM EDT (includes half-hour of pregame coverage)

When:  Sunday, October 6th @ 2:00 PM EDT
Where:  Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois
TV Channel: ESPN
TV Window: 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM EDT
Continue reading “USWNT on TV: October 2019 Friendlies vs. Korea Republic”

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”

Opponent Watch: Korea Republic Roster For October USWNT Friendlies Announced

Update (2-Oct-2019):  Forward Yeo Minji is a late scratch, as she did not travel with the team, per U.S. Soccer.

Earlier this week, the Korean Football Association announced a 24-player roster for the upcoming friendlies against the United States Women’s National Team, which will be played on Thursday, October 3rd, and Sunday, October 6th.  These two friendlies are expected to be the final USWNT matches helmed by Jill Ellis, who will be stepping down as head coach following those matches.

The times and TV details for those matches are as follows:

Opponent Watch: Korea Republic Will Have An Interim Head Coach, Previous Coach Resigned After Investigation Into Abuse Allegations

In October, the United States Women’s National Team will play the Korea Republic in two matches.  Korea will be led by an interim head coach, Hwang In-Sun, as the previous head coach, Choi In-cheul, resigned less than two weeks after being hired by the Korean Football Association, following allegations of physical abuse against players.

Continue reading “Opponent Watch: Korea Republic Will Have An Interim Head Coach, Previous Coach Resigned After Investigation Into Abuse Allegations”

The 2020 U-17 USWNT Cycle: Notes On Individual Players (September 2019)

As noted in the previous article on this current U-17 cycle, a core group of seventeen players have been regular call-ups this cycle and during the 2018 U-15 cycle:

Goalkeepers: Nadia Cooper, Neeku Purcell
Defenders: Baleigh Bruster, Andrea Kitahata,  Aidan McConnell, Ayo Oke, and Lilly Reale.
Midfielders: Emma Egizii, Tatiana Fung, Devin Lynch, Alexis Missimo, and Jillian Shimkin
Forwards: Trinity Byars, Simone Jackson, Ariana Manrique,  Allyson Sentnor, and Amelia White

Several from this core group are “players to watch.”  Allyson Sentnor, Alexis Missimo, and Trinity Byars have all garnered significant praise and attention for their on-field prowess.  Forward Amelia White is another standout goalscoring threat who offers speed and composure plus solid fundamentals.  Midfielders Tatiana Fung and Jillian Shimkin both have excellent technical dribbling skills.

These core players are part of a larger pool (identified in the above linked article) of 25 players who have attended at least two U-17 camps so far in 2019.  Among those players are midfielder Devin Lynch and defender Shea O’Malley, who are more recent regular call-ups.  This post is a collection of brief notes on those players, plus a few notable others who may be in the mix. Continue reading “The 2020 U-17 USWNT Cycle: Notes On Individual Players (September 2019)”

The 2020 U-17 USWNT Cycle: A First In-Depth Look (September 2019)

After another disappointing FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup performance in 2018, which saw the United States fail to make the knock-out stage (again), while fellow CONCACAF rivals Mexico and Canada both made the semifinals, the quest to claim the only FIFA women’s trophy not yet won by the USA was renewed this spring.

For this cycle, Tracey Kevins takes over the U-17 United States Women’s National Team head coaching reigns from fellow England-native Mark Carr, who is now the head coach for the U-20 USWNT.  Previously, Kevins was the head coach for the U-15 Girls’ National Team last cycle (2017-18), so she is already very familiar with the 2003 birth year pool.

Read on for details about the players called in so far, friendly matches played so far, and what lays ahead for the U-17 USWNT.

Continue reading “The 2020 U-17 USWNT Cycle: A First In-Depth Look (September 2019)”

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”