After failing to qualify for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, Mexico faces a steep uphill challenge as it tries to qualify for the women’s soccer tournament at this year’s Summer Olympic in Tokyo. With just two slots available at the upcoming CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualification Championship, Mexico must first finish in the top half of Group B, which also includes two WWC squads, Canada and Jamaica, along with debutante minnow Saint Kitts & Nevis. Should Mexico get out of the group, most likely in the runner-up spot, behind a solid Canada team, Mexico’s opponent in the all-or-nothing semifinal will be the reigning world champions, the United States Women’s National Team (absent a shock result in Group A). Continue reading “Neighbor Watch: Mexico’s Roster for 2020 Olympic Qualifying Announced”
Tag: women’s soccer
NWSL College Draft 2020: The Final List of Eligible Players
With the 2020 NWSL College Draft less than 24 hours away, the NWSL released the final list of eligible players on Wednesday evening.
A simplified version of the NWSL’s list is included below, split between goalkeepers and field players.
For an interactive (sortable and filter-able) version of this list see my Google Sheets spreadsheet for this year’s college draft. Continue reading “NWSL College Draft 2020: The Final List of Eligible Players”
Finally! U.S. Soccer Officially Announces 2020 SheBelieves Cup Teams and Schedule
Today, U.S. Soccer finally confirmed the teams and venues for the 2020 edition of the SheBelieves Cup, which will be hosted by the United States Women’s National Team. The other three teams will be England, Japan, and first-time participant Spain.
The Cup’s matches will be played on Thursday, March 5th; Sunday, March 8th; and Wednesday, March 11th. All USWNT matches will be televised live via ESPN channels (English language) and TUDN (Spanish language). Tickets officially go on sale on Friday, January 17th, although there will be a Visa cardholder “pre-sale” on Thursday, January 16th. Continue reading “Finally! U.S. Soccer Officially Announces 2020 SheBelieves Cup Teams and Schedule”
NWSL News of Notes: Ohai to Chicago, Purce and Zerboni to Sky Blue, Sonnett to Orlando, Stengel to Houston, Duffy to Orlando
The first dozen days of January 2020 saw a number of high-profile trades among NWSL teams, as well as some leadership changes. Continue reading “NWSL News of Notes: Ohai to Chicago, Purce and Zerboni to Sky Blue, Sonnett to Orlando, Stengel to Houston, Duffy to Orlando”
U-23 USWNT: Matt Potter Named Head Coach; B.J. Snow Leaves U.S. Soccer
On Thursday, January 9th, U.S. Soccer announced a pair of related staffing changes:
- The hiring of former University of Oklahoma women’s soccer head coach Matt Potter as the new head coach of the Under-23 United States Women’s National Team, and
- The departure of B.J. Snow, who most recently helmed the U-23 USWNT while also serving as the Director of Talent Identification for the USWNT.
These changes follow the recent hiring of Laura Harvey as the new head coach of the U-20 USWNT after December’s surprise departure of Mark Carr, coincidentally, for the vacancy created by Potter back in November (SoonerSports.com).
Continue reading “U-23 USWNT: Matt Potter Named Head Coach; B.J. Snow Leaves U.S. Soccer”
U-20 USWNT: First Camp Roster Under Laura Harvey Announced
Update (14-Jan-2020): Stanford’s Katie Meyer is the fourth goalkeeper called-in for this camp. U.S. Soccer’s original write-up for this roster only named three goalkeepers and noted that Harvey might add a fourth. Meyer was a regular call-up during the 2016 U-16 and U-17 cycles (attending 6 and 7 camps, respectively), but has only had a few call-ups since the start of 2017.
Late Wednesday, U.S. Soccer released the roster for the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team’s last full camp before CONCACAF qualifying for this year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. This camp, which runs from January 9th to the 20th, will be the first camp helmed by recently installed head coach Laura Harvey. Of the 25 players called in so far, at least 18 attended the Nike Friendlies camp in December, and just one of the players participated in December’s senior USWNT identification camp: Brianna Pinto of North Carolina.
External Link: New U-20 WNT Head Coach Laura Harvey Calls 25 Players To Pre-Qualifying Training Camp In Florida (U.S. Soccer)
Stanford’s Sophia Smith, another attendee of the USWNT identification camp, is once again unavailable due to a senior USWNT call-up. Curiously, the other two U-20 call-ups of December’s identification camp are absent: Center backs Naomi Girma of Stanford and Maycee Bell of North Carolina. Girma was withdrawn from the identification camp for what seemed to have been a minor injury. Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: First Camp Roster Under Laura Harvey Announced”
U-20 USWNT: Laura Harvey Hired as Head Coach
On Monday, following last month’s surprise departure of Mark Carr for a head coaching position at the University of Oklahoma, U.S. Soccer announced that now-former Utah Royals FC head coach Laura Harvey will be leading the Under-20 United States Women’s National Team.
Harvey’s first duties include overseeing the current U-20 USWNT camp, which runs from January 9th to the 20th. After that, her first international matches as head coach will be the CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship in February, which are the qualifiers for this year’s FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup. Harvey’s duties will also include “manag[ing] the integration and programming of the U-18 and U-19 [Women] National Teams.” Continue reading “U-20 USWNT: Laura Harvey Hired as Head Coach”
Post-Holiday Round-Up: Two More U.S. Soccer Coaches Step Down; NWSL News; Japan Confirms SheBelieves Cup Participation
A quick round-up of notable news since mid-December:
- U-20 USWNT head coach Mark Carr hired by the University of Oklahoma
- USWNT goalkeeping coach Graeme Abel hired by the University of Oregon
- 2023 FIFA WWC bid books published
- NWSL News: OL Groupe buys Reign FC; 2020 Draft list of eligible players released; No expansion
- 2020 SheBelieves Cup: Japan confirmed, one to go
- 2020 FIFA U-20 WWC: Will be jointly hosted by Costa Rica and Panama
U-17 USWNT: 28 Players Called In For January 2020 Camp
On Friday, U.S. Soccer announced that the Under-17 United States Women’s National Team will be holding a camp in Lakewood Ranch, Florida, from January 5th to 15th, 2020. Head coach Tracey Kevins has called in 28 players, 24 of whom attended the last U-17 USWNT camp, which was held in November 2019.
External Link: U.S. U-17 Women’s National Team Kicks Off 2020 With Training Camp In Florida (U.S. Soccer)
Of the four remaining players who did not attend the November 2019 camp, two are regular U-17 call-ups: Defenders Baleigh Bruster and Andrea Kitahata. The other two players are both attending their first U-17 USWNT camp: Goalkeeper Azul Alvarez and quasi-professional midfielder Olivia Moultrie.
Continue reading “U-17 USWNT: 28 Players Called In For January 2020 Camp”
USWNT: Roster Announced For Last Camp Before Olympic Qualifying
On the last Friday of 2019, U.S. Soccer released the roster for the United States Women’s National Team’s first camp of 2020, which will run from Sunday, January 5th to Wednesday, January 15th, and will be held in Florida. This will be the last camp before CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying, which kicks off on January 28th.
External Link: Andonovski Names 28-Player Training Camp Roster To Kick Off 2020 For The U.S. Women’s National Team (U.S. Soccer)
New USWNT head coach Vlatko Andonovski has called in 28 players, including 22 member of the USA’s 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup squad. Of that squad, all but Alex Morgan (pregnancy) have been named to this roster. Continue reading “USWNT: Roster Announced For Last Camp Before Olympic Qualifying”
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