In less than a year, the women’s soccer teams will reconvene in Beijing for the 2008 Olympics. Based on the performance on the U.S. women’s team at the World Cup, there is work to be done. The U.S. women’s team won the consolation match against Norway but they fell far short of their goal to win the World Cup. At the moment, both Germany and Brazil have better teams. There seem to be three immediate pressing issues that face the American team.

The first and most pressing issue is the long ball style that they are playing. This means a long pass to a striker like Amy Wambach and / or set pieces. Possession and creativity at the midfield are not emphasized and this does not create an offensive flow. Other teams can adjust to this style and close off the offensive pressure. An example is how Brazil neutralized the offensive pressure in the semifinal game. This puts enormous pressure on the American defense.

The second puzzling aspect of this World Cup was the substitution pattern that the Americans used. For example, when trailing in the game, the emphasis was to put in defensive oriented players. This further throttles any offensive pressure. Perhaps this would be understandable with a lead but it is baffling when trailing and when offense is needed. At other times, even with a significant lead, the bench was not used to give the starters a rest. It was bewildering.

The third issue is personnel. Is Hope Solo finished as a national player? Will Kristine Lilly be back? Will Greg Ryan’s contract be extended through to the Beijing games? Those are just some of the personnel questions. Apart from the internal drama of the Hope Solo incident, this team was rocked by a overwhelming defeat by the team from Brazil. The team that goes to Beijing will have to contend with Brazil and the current World Cup championship team from Germany. How will they collectively respond?

The positive from this tournament is a renewed spectator interest in women’s soccer. And there are more teams now who feel that the soccer gold medal in Beijing is within their grasp.

Catherine Forsythe

[tags]world cup, soccer, u.s. women’s team, olympics, beijing 2008, personnel, style[/tags]