UNLIKE IN THE PROVERB, LIGHTNING DOES STRIKE TWICE — So, should North Korea have another poor outing in an international tournament, this year’s head coach won’t have to think up a new excuse. Although given Korea DPR’s tough draw into a group that includes formidable superpower United States and emerging power France, Sin Ui Gun, who replaced the previous coach, KIM Kwang Min has probably been working on a list of new rationalizations to use in post-game press conferences. Continue reading “Olympics: Preview Notes – North Korea (Group G)”
Tag: Olympics
Olympics: Preview Notes – Great Britain (Group E)
WAIT, “GREAT BRITAIN?” — In FIFA there is no “Great Britain,” as each of Great Britain’s four constituent countries, England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, all have their separate federations. But, with London being the host city, and its country’s Olympic team being Great Britain, not England, the home team could only compete under the Union Jack, not St. George’s Cross. And, due to the fact that none of the four confederations really like the idea of unitary Great Britain soccer teams, these teams are the soccer equivalent of a shotgun wedding that gets annulled in a month and is never spoken about again. Continue reading “Olympics: Preview Notes – Great Britain (Group E)”
Olympics: Preview Notes – Sweden (Group F)
DON’T COUNT THEM OUT — Down a player due to a dubious red card in the consolation match at last year’s Women’s World Cup, Sweden found a way to scoring a go-ahead goal and hold onto the lead to claim third place. This year, Sweden finds itself without several key players due to injuries. But, among the healthy is their star forward, Lotta Schelin. And, that is cause of concern for any defense. Continue reading “Olympics: Preview Notes – Sweden (Group F)”
Olympics: Preview Notes – France (Group G)
FRANCE IS HOPING FOR A LIGHT HORSE FINAL, since Les Bleus can no longer be considered dark horses. But, these filles are not the only light horses in the tournament, or in their group, as France finds themselves in the same starting gate as the United States.
Continue reading “Olympics: Preview Notes – France (Group G)”
Olympics: Complete Listings For NBC’s Coverage, Including Online Options
[Edit: Some non-USA matches on MSNBC and NBCSN may be cut-into, so have Live Extra streams ready as a back-up.]
The following is a summary of the viewing options for NBC’s coverage of the women’s soccer tournament at the London Olympics, along with (hopefully complete and accurate) schedules for (1) the standard cable channels, NBC Sports Network and MSNBC; (2) NBC Specialty Olympic Soccer Channel; and (3) live online streaming options via NBCOlympics.com’s “Live Extra” feature. Continue reading “Olympics: Complete Listings For NBC’s Coverage, Including Online Options”
Olympics: Quick Notes On France’s Tune-Up Matches
In July, France played three tune-up friendlies, all at home: a 6:0 win against Romania on July 4th, a 3:0 victory over Russia on July 11th, and a 2:0 win versus Japan on July 19th. This post is primarily a quick review of those three matches, along with a summary table of minutes played, and thoughts on France’s likely starting line-up in their opening match against the United States. Continue reading “Olympics: Quick Notes On France’s Tune-Up Matches”
Olympics: Summary Statistics for the Squads
On Friday, FIFA released the official rosters for the Olympic soccer tournaments (FIFA.com, click on a team’s name and select “Squad List” on the next page; also in PDF format, which has additional data, namely caps and goals). The first part of this post is a table which lists the average and median ages and heights for each squad, along with the team’s rank for those statistics. The second part lists superlative statistics (oldest, youngest; tallest, shortest) for teams and players. Continue reading “Olympics: Summary Statistics for the Squads”
Olympics: Notes on North Korea’s Roster (USWNT Group Opponent)
On Friday, FIFA published all of the rosters for the Olympic soccer tournaments. Among the new-to-us rosters was that of the USWNT’s final group opponent, North Korea (FIFA.com), who were also in the USA’s group in last year’s Women’s World Cup. Only 6 players of the players on the official 18-player roster return from last year’s squad. Ten of North Korea’s official players are U-20 age-eligible. Also, two of their alternates are U-20 players and a third alternate is a U-17 player. Continue reading “Olympics: Notes on North Korea’s Roster (USWNT Group Opponent)”
Olympics: In Mid-June, Colombia’s Yoreli Rincon Fractured Her Little Toe
In mid-June, Colombia’s star midfielder, Yoreli Rincon, fractured her left foot’s little toe while training with her club team, Brazil’s XV de Piracicaba. Initial reports are that the injury is relatively minor and Rincon should be fully healed in time for the start of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament, which kicks off on July 25th. Continue reading “Olympics: In Mid-June, Colombia’s Yoreli Rincon Fractured Her Little Toe”
Olympics: Recent Matches Involving Qualified Teams (Updated, 21-July)
Here is a list of friendlies and other international matches involving Olympics-bound women’s soccer teams, for the two months leading up to the start of the Olympic women’s soccer tournament. This post is intended as an “FYI.” After the final tune-up matches on the 20th, a more proper write-up is planned.
This post will be updated as more matches are completed.
If you know of any international matches that are not listed, whether official, friendly, or closed-door, please post that information in a comment. Matches not involving two senior women’s national teams (e.g., scrimmages against club teams) are beyond the scope of this post. Continue reading “Olympics: Recent Matches Involving Qualified Teams (Updated, 21-July)”
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