Women's Football / Soccer World Championship

[Alrik Fassbauer]

The team of Nigeria was very, very harsh against Germany - and the (female, too) referee didn't even punish most of the fouls !

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

I'll be watching Australia - Norway soon.
Match begins at 18:00 local time.

 

[aries100]

The team of Nigeria was very, very harsh against Germany - and the (female, too) referee didn't even punish most of the fouls !

I watched this match, too - and I, as well, couldn't believe the fouls she let slide by. The nigerian women really played hardball; by that I mean playing physically ay too hard.

On another note, in one of the latest matches, EQ Guinea, a player from them, took the ball with her hands; the referere didn't give a penalty kick as there should have been….

edit:

on yet another note, Australia won 2-1 over Norway.... - a very big surprise...

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Both teams were nearly equal !

It was very hard for both team to get a goal at all - both were nearly equally strong, and both teams had a very similar layout.

The only difficulty I saw was that the women of Norway who were in the front line could have used a tiny bit more support from their back lines, so to say.

But apart from that - all I can say is that both team were nearly equal, and that the "fight" went to and fro.

Edit : By the way, it had almost been an 2:2.

 

[GothicGothicness]

Yes! Sweden beats those cocky american women

 

[Nerevarine]

Yes! Sweden beats those cocky american women

Indeed, Sweden played a great game and deserved the win, even if they lost control of it a little bit in the second half and made the outcome more exciting then it had to be (I will never understand why teams fall back into a complete defensive style when they have a lead - the best way to defend a lead, imo, is to stay on the attack and keep the opposition on their back foot, thus never really giving them a chance to get back in it). I tend to think that the U.S team is always rather borderline cocky as well, so it's nice to see them served some humble Swedish pie . It will be interesting to see if they have the humility and mental fortitude to treat this setback as a learning experience or if they collapse.

 

[JDR13]

Any team that has a past record like the US team is going to be cocky. I'd say they earned it.

 

[Nerevarine]

Any team that has a past record like the US team is going to be cocky. I'd say they earned it.

That's kind of the key though - the past . None of the players on this team were around during the glory days of Mia Hamm and co., so it seems like they haven't really earned the right to be over-confident just yet (especially after being utterly embarrassed by Brazil in the last World Cup). But I see your point - this is a very talented and deep squad as always and they have a tradition of winning to be very proud of. How they fare in the rest of the tournament will show their true mental toughness and character.

 

[JDR13]

That's kind of the key though - the past . None of the players on this team were around during the glory days of Mia Hamm and co., so it seems like they haven't really earned the right to be over-confident just yet (especially after being utterly embarrassed by Brazil in the last World Cup). But I see your point - this is a very talented and deep squad as always and they have a tradition of winning to be very proud of. How they fare in the rest of the tournament will show their true mental toughness and character.

Are you sure you follow soccer closely?

The US team is still the #1 ranked team in the world right now, and prior to last November went two years without losing a match. I'd say that's pretty recent. They're also the current defending Olympic gold medalists x2.

The Swedish team has cuter girls though.

 

[Nerevarine]

Are you sure you follow soccer closely?

The US team is still the #1 ranked team in the world right now, and prior to last November went two years without losing a match. I'd say that's pretty recent. They're also the current defending Olympic gold medalists x2.

Fair enough, and well-played I might add . I guess I was focusing too much on World Cups instead of the whole picture, because you're absolutely right that they have been on an impressive run recently. I must admit that I don't follow soccer that closely outside of World Cups and the English Premier League - it's just too hard to find televised non-World Cup games in the U.S., and I refuse to watch the joke that is the MLS

The Swedish team has cuter girls though.

Really? I hadn't noticed...

 

[JDR13]

Really? I hadn't noticed…

I've always had a weakness for fair skin and blond hair.

 

[GothicGothicness]

Well, one of the swedsih team members exchanged T-shirt with a german fan..... the german journalist have been enjoying those pictures a lot.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

Any pictures/photos ? :lol:

LOL, there's a video of that : http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddbal...ne-oqvist-swaps-shirts-with-germany-fan-video

There is a black bar in it which says "We say no !" :lol:

 

[aries100]

The most interesting was that the Swedish did get a goal annulled for offside; clearly there wasn't any off-side in the end minutes of the game....sadly I must admit that some of the referee's decisions at this World Cup (including the lineswomen) have been less than solid. And more so then at the men's world championship.

Yesterday evening, (I think?) on the german tv-station ARD, Hart aber fair was on. And I watched it a little bit. Very good discussion, imo, especially about how we make sure that the attention for women's football/soccer stays - after the World Cup is over...

 

[Nerevarine]

The most interesting was that the Swedish did get a goal annulled for offside; clearly there wasn't any off-side in the end minutes of the game….sadly I must admit that some of the referee's decisions at this World Cup (including the lineswomen) have been less than solid. And more so then at the men's world championship.

Sadly, it seems that the international officials - for both men and women - are always way too trigger-happy and error-prone when it comes to offside calls. There was another Swedish chance aside from the nullified goal that was also clearly onside. I understand that it's a difficult job to make decisions on really fast-developing plays, but I would prefer the linesman be a bit more hesitant/lenient on offside calls. In my opinion, it's better to be wrong and let the play go when it's only a fraction offside than to ruin a perfectly fair scoring chance when it's a really close, 50/50 decision where the player is onside.

Yesterday evening, (I think?) on the german tv-station ARD, Hart aber fair was on. And I watched it a little bit. Very good discussion, imo, especially about how we make sure that the attention for women's football/soccer stays - after the World Cup is over…

Yes, I think that the women have proven that they are very talented and skillful at this level, and it would be nice to at least have more exposure for the international tournaments aside from the World Cup - I know that I would be interested in watching more women's soccer (especially the Swedish team ) - at least at the international level. Not sure I would watch the professional level though - I already watch way too much sports as it is! - but the international tournaments are very entertaining and exciting.

Unfortunately, it all comes down to money (what doesn't?), and I don't think that women's soccer will ever be taken seriously enough - even though they certainly have proven their skill - to get enough viewers for the television stations.

 

[Alrik Fassbauer]

and I don't think that women's soccer will ever be taken seriously enough

I do - by women themselves.

 

[GothicGothicness]

wow, that was unexpected! Well done Japan I say!

 

[Nerevarine]

I think that Germany just completed one of the biggest chokes I have seen in any sport recently. Throughout the entire duration of the game, the German players seemed hesitant and indecisive, and they played like they would rather be anywhere else than the pressure of the big stage. All they needed was for one offensive player to provide some clutch play and killer instinct, but no one wanted (or was able) to take that role. Such a shame and waste really, because the better team clearly lost, and with all the opportunities Japan gave up, I don't really feel like either side "deserved" to win.

 

[Gorath]

Even the German coach said after the game that it was one of those days. They could have played on for hours but they wouldn't have made a goal. She also implicitly said the goal was a mistake by the goalkeeper. From such an angle it shouldn't have gone in.

 

[Nerevarine]

Even the German coach said after the game that it was one of those days. They could have played on for hours but they wouldn't have made a goal. She also implicitly said the goal was a mistake by the goalkeeper. From such an angle it shouldn't have gone in.

Indeed, it was certainly one of those days. Heartbreaking loss for Germany for sure, especially as the host nation (and for me a bit as well, since Germany is my ancestral homeland ) That's kind of the beauty of the sport though; even powerhouse teams aren't guaranteed a victory, and you never know what's going to happen until the game unfolds on the pitch.