Tag: women’s soccer

USWNT: Roster for Sweden and Costa Rica Friendlies (November 2019)

Last week,  Vlatko Andonovski announced his first call-ups (USSoccer.com) as the brand new head coach of the United States Women’s National Team. Of the 24 players, three were called into their first USWNT camp: goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe, the NWSL’s 2018 Rookie of the Year, Imani Dorsey and dual national defender Alana Cook.  A third uncapped player, Margaret “Midge” Purce, had been called into at least two previous USWNT camps, in 2018 and 2017. Other players called in who were not on the USA’s 2019 Women’s World Cup roster include outside back Casey Short, midfielder Andi Sullivan, and forward Lynn Williams.

Six players from the WWC roster are not available due to medical reasons: Tierna Davidson, Crystal Dunn, Ali Krieger,  Kelley O’Hara, and Megan Rapinoe, all for injuries, plus Alex Morgan, who recently announced via People magazine that she is pregnant, with an expected delivery date of April 2020. Continue reading “USWNT: Roster for Sweden and Costa Rica Friendlies (November 2019)”

USWNT: Vlatko Andonovski News Round-Up

On Monday, October 28th, U.S. Soccer officially announced that then-current Reign FC head coach, Vlatko Andonovski, would be the next head coach of the United States Women’s National Team. Here’s a summary and round-up of useful articles about Andonovski and his hiring. Continue reading “USWNT: Vlatko Andonovski News Round-Up”

Last Week in Review: NWSL Semifinals, NWSL Expansion News, Is It Vlatko? (21-Oct-2019)

Things that happened last week (October 14th-20th):

  • NWSL Semifinals:  NC Courage and Chicago Red Stars Advance
  • NWSL Expansion:  Louisville Announcement Expected, Sacramento in “Advanced Talks”
  • The Next USWNT Head Coach:  If Not Vlatko Andonovski, Then Who?

Continue reading “Last Week in Review: NWSL Semifinals, NWSL Expansion News, Is It Vlatko? (21-Oct-2019)”

Last Week in Review: CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying, U-15 GNT Camp Roster, Women’s Euro Qualifying (10-14-2019)

Things that happened last week (October 7th-13th):

  • Five teams qualified for next year’s CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship
  • The NWSL regular season is in the books:  Play-offs begin next Sunday
  • A U-15 USGNT Talent ID Camp was held in Kansas City
  • Women’s Euro Qualifying:  October Window Recap

Continue reading “Last Week in Review: CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying, U-15 GNT Camp Roster, Women’s Euro Qualifying (10-14-2019)”

2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship: Draw Speculation

With Caribbean and Central American Olympic qualifying concluded, the field is now set for the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, which is expected to be hosted by the United States and is expected to run from January 28 to February 9, 2020 (per the Washington Post‘s Steven Goff – Twitter).

Joining the USA, Canada, and Mexico are Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, and Saint Kitts & Nevis.  Of these eight teams, two will claim a ticket to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

This article takes a quick look at how the teams will most likely be divided into pots for the yet-to-be-announced group draw.

Continue reading “2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship: Draw Speculation”

Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: October 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights

UEFA Women's Euro logo

Qualifying for the UEFA Women’s Euro 2021 continued this month, with no significant surprise results among the top teams.  That said, the October window was not without drama:

In Group A, the Netherlands needed a 78th minute goal to separate themselves from Slovenia.  Elsewhere, Kazakhstan held expected Group G winner France scoreless for over 55 minutes.  And, in Group B, minnow Malta kept Italy off the scoresheet for even longer, at almost 70 minutes.

But the match of the window was the Republic of Ireland’s 3:2 victory over Ukraine, which saw Ukraine equalize at 2:2 just fifteen minutes after Ireland took a 2-nil lead.  The tie did not last for long, as a deflected blocked shot led to a decisive own goal in favor of the home team.

Host England was also in action, playing two friendlies, losing to Brazil in Middlesbrough and defeating Portugal 1:0 on the road.  The victory against Portugal snapped a five-game winless streak that stretched back to the Lionesses semifinal loss to the United States in this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup. Continue reading “Women’s Euro 2021 Qualifying: October 2019 Group Stage Window Recap and Highlights”

October 2019 International Window – Notable Friendlies Highlights

Not much to read here, just a short collection of highlights videos for notable friendlies played during the October international window.

Videos include France-Iceland, Poland-Brazil, Japan-Canada, and both USA-Korea Republic matches. Continue reading “October 2019 International Window – Notable Friendlies Highlights”

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”