hotsauce421
Player Valuation: £25k
Hey, I haven't posted much at all, but I want to try to post more and I didn't see a thread for this so...
England kept their hopes of advancing alive with a win against New Zealand, 2-1. New Zealand struck first, but Jill Scott -- who plays for Everton -- got the equalizer in the 63rd minute on a header from about four or five yards out. She also assisted on the winning goal in the 81st; I thought she could have taken the shot herself, but she passed it to Jess Clark who was in a better position and scored in a pretty much open net. Anyway, she was my woman of the match. England will probably need at least a tie against Japan to advance to the quarterfinals; Japan beat Mexico 4-0 today, and England tied Mexico 1-1 in the first game.
I haven't watched every game in the tournament. I was pleased with the USA's performance against North Korea, but I'm not confident that we'll win it this year. I think Germany has a good chance, but they were less than impressive against Nigeria. France has shown well so far, as has Japan, really. So, to be honest, I have no idea. Brazil struggled against Australia. It's interesting because it seems that all the favorites are struggling so far or have struggled in the run-up to the tournament.
As for the USA, I just don't really think we're good enough right now. We were good against North Korea, but I still have concerns. Lauren Cheney I thought had a really good game (normally a forward, but Pia Sundhage put her on the wing, and has said that Cheney will play there again against Colombia). I love Amy Rodriguez but she can frustrate me to pieces sometimes with her finishing. I really like Alex Morgan off the bench -- she's young, she's got something to prove, and she has an excellent strike rate so far for the US.
The game I'm looking the most forward to (other than the US) is France-Germany. I think that's the best game of the group stages; two top teams. You'd favor Germany, but France has been the best team out there so far. Basically, I'd predict the winner of that game to win it all.
England kept their hopes of advancing alive with a win against New Zealand, 2-1. New Zealand struck first, but Jill Scott -- who plays for Everton -- got the equalizer in the 63rd minute on a header from about four or five yards out. She also assisted on the winning goal in the 81st; I thought she could have taken the shot herself, but she passed it to Jess Clark who was in a better position and scored in a pretty much open net. Anyway, she was my woman of the match. England will probably need at least a tie against Japan to advance to the quarterfinals; Japan beat Mexico 4-0 today, and England tied Mexico 1-1 in the first game.
I haven't watched every game in the tournament. I was pleased with the USA's performance against North Korea, but I'm not confident that we'll win it this year. I think Germany has a good chance, but they were less than impressive against Nigeria. France has shown well so far, as has Japan, really. So, to be honest, I have no idea. Brazil struggled against Australia. It's interesting because it seems that all the favorites are struggling so far or have struggled in the run-up to the tournament.
As for the USA, I just don't really think we're good enough right now. We were good against North Korea, but I still have concerns. Lauren Cheney I thought had a really good game (normally a forward, but Pia Sundhage put her on the wing, and has said that Cheney will play there again against Colombia). I love Amy Rodriguez but she can frustrate me to pieces sometimes with her finishing. I really like Alex Morgan off the bench -- she's young, she's got something to prove, and she has an excellent strike rate so far for the US.
The game I'm looking the most forward to (other than the US) is France-Germany. I think that's the best game of the group stages; two top teams. You'd favor Germany, but France has been the best team out there so far. Basically, I'd predict the winner of that game to win it all.
