Latest / Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football / USA 1 Colombia 0 | USWNT Wins 2026 SheBelieves Cup | Recap Analysis 2027 Lookahead 🏆

Transcript

USA 1 Colombia 0 | USWNT Wins 2026 SheBelieves Cup | Recap Analysis 2027 Lookahead 🏆 · Into the Channel ⚽️ A Podcast Primarily About Women's Football

0:04
OK, welcome to it's a channel podcast premier about ones
0:09
football. I'm your host Dean of the
0:11
suspicious and as always I am joined by my Co host Mr. Grant
0:15
Angle. What is up man?
0:18
I'm feeling fantastic buddy. I, I believe we got our way
0:23
through this round Robin mini tournament and you know, I think
0:27
there were some things to take away and some things to just
0:30
kind of shrug at. I think so.
0:32
I think so. I mean, you know, USA wins, you
0:35
know, lifts the Cup, You know, I'm not sure.
0:37
We didn't, we didn't really beat the defending champ.
0:39
So it's still, they're still up in the air about who you know,
0:41
who's believing the hardest. You know, at the end of the day,
0:44
I want to talk, I want to talk a little bit about how the USA
0:47
measures up because you look at kind of four nil on aggregate 3
0:52
matches. It's like we used to four nil
0:54
used to be like a good half for sure team and I'm not sure how
0:59
to feel about it. So a lot to talk about.
1:02
We got six one matches culminating in today's action.
1:06
And like I said, USA, you know, victorious.
1:08
So let's get into it where you want to get started.
1:10
It's concerned with a beverage, my good man, you know, you make
1:13
your you make your way through, even if it is just a three match
1:16
round Robin. Yeah, you'd crack a beverage
1:18
after to celebrate. Last episode I said I loved the
1:21
round Robin. Maybe I spoke too soon on that.
1:26
Maybe a single malt kind of eve. It's a Saturday night.
1:29
Look at you. I love that do a thing.
1:33
Is it fair to say, though, that like, I don't know, I we try not
1:37
to be negative nellies on on this on this here fine podcast.
1:42
I thought the matches were fine. I mean never that it felt like
1:45
there was a there was some pre season vibes to this.
1:48
Even understanding that some of these players are are obviously
1:51
good players over in Europe. Definitely disjointed,
1:54
definitely disjointed. You know, obviously the the
1:56
international from club, you know, there's, it's been a while
1:59
since international was like really, really fully cranked.
2:03
You know, it's usually like summer, summer kind of action,
2:06
but let's get to it. I usually ask you where you get
2:07
started, where you get started, but let's get started at USA 1,
2:12
Columbia Nil, like you said. I mean, what we talked about it
2:16
just, you know, so far a little bit disjointed.
2:19
A match that was surprised to see Columbia outshoot the US.
2:23
And a lot of a lot of fun, small, interesting kind of
2:27
quirks that caught that caught my eye.
2:29
And I'm sure there's a bunch of the car, you're right.
2:31
And I want to kind of, I'm excited to kind of share notes
2:33
to see where we landed here. Yeah, I liked, I liked
2:37
Columbia's aggressiveness. I like that they had an
2:40
attacking mindset as particularly in the first half,
2:45
you know, they were going to play fast and play physical.
2:47
Chiseto was able to find a little bit of joy down the right
2:50
side. I mean, there's really not a lot
2:53
many players in the world can do to stop her from doing that.
2:56
She played in a dangerous cross. But it did feel like the USA was
3:01
doing a pretty good job of of not allowing them to get real
3:06
dangerous touches at the end of their actions and kind of in
3:09
that in that final third. But it also felt like Colombia
3:12
probably left some meat on the bone, too.
3:15
I mean, I think, I think a little bit of both.
3:17
I mean, I think, you know, Colombia could have used a
3:20
little bit a little bit more talent and a little bit more,
3:24
you know, skill and Polish in the final third.
3:26
You know, there's somebody just to kind of balance out Kaiseto a
3:29
little bit because she was an absolute problem for sure.
3:32
But too many of her runs and sequences kind of ended with
3:35
like no good options. And part of that is, you know,
3:38
the USA just kind of closing down channels, you know, as it
3:41
gets, you know, closer to scoring time.
3:44
But I thought Coffee versus Kaiseto was a real battle.
3:48
They went back and forth and forth with quite a bit.
3:51
That one went 5 or 6 rounds. You know, Coffee poked away a
3:54
ball early from Kaisto. Kaisto got on, I think on that
3:58
cross that you're mentioning blew right past Sam Coffee.
4:02
And then we get the moment where Sam Coffee fouls Kaisto.
4:06
And I got to mention it, Julie. Julie found he accusing Kaisto
4:12
of milking an injury. I wasn't sure what to do with
4:16
that because, like, I mean, how many times have we seen Linda
4:18
Kaisedo run through contact? It's just she's really not that
4:21
kind of player at that point. I'm like, how much do you know
4:25
about Linda Kaisedo, Julie? Julie thought he because this is
4:28
this is an ice cold take in in my in my view.
4:33
You know she's crushing a lot of Real Madrid tape, do you?
4:37
I don't No, no, no, I don't but and but shout out to our guy
4:39
Luke Wildman, who I thought, you know, I thought Luke and then
4:44
the two alleys on the other telling us have done a great job
4:47
promoting, you know, the other places that these players are
4:50
playing. A lot of Champions League talk,
4:52
a lot of Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid, you know, like that
4:55
that's getting a lot of mentions.
4:58
And I think that's only really good for the game as tournaments
5:02
like this, cups like this get a lot of eyeballs and a lot of
5:05
like this is this was us, you know, 456 years ago.
5:08
All right, now what? Now what are we supposed to
5:10
watch? Because like, I got fired up off
5:12
of this. There's got to be more.
5:14
Yeah, I think that's fair. And I will say there is a part
5:17
of me that, you know, obviously we want the broadcasters to be
5:20
fair, but I do, I do think it's funny a little bit.
5:24
Maybe it's just like the twisted part of my brain that like when
5:27
you just have absolute Homer broadcaster who who played for
5:31
the team, who is a legend for the team, who's just going to
5:34
give you straight propaganda for the team.
5:37
They want to. They want to win.
5:41
I mean, usually, I mean, you know, I, I'll say that I think
5:46
I'll, I'll say that I think that coverage around US international
5:49
team, it feels very, very dated to me, you know, because like
5:54
you have to imagine there are American players, I'm sorry,
5:58
American fans, maybe fans of the Washington spirit, whose
6:01
favorite player is Lacey Santos, right, as an example.
6:05
So we're not, it doesn't feel like we're in a place where it's
6:07
like all that matters is like the stars and stripes and I'm
6:10
like, or whatever, Oh, you know, it's like, no, no, no, this is,
6:11
this is a lot bigger than that. And the chisel, they really
6:16
rubbed me the wrong way because I'm like, this is, you know, I,
6:19
I think Julie might have accused Tapia of time wasting at 35.
6:24
And I'm like, why would somebody be like, what would be tie
6:28
wasting? And like it, it makes it no
6:30
logical sense. It's just a weird thing.
6:32
And then, you know, to her credit, she was like, yeah, you
6:34
know, I'm the type that I'll, I'll go to Angel City match, get
6:37
on my fake yellow card and then act like an obnoxious fan.
6:40
That was funny to me. Yeah, I like that.
6:42
Yeah, I think I pulled. The loop on it.
6:44
Yeah, I mean, she's definitely not afraid to to to wrap herself
6:49
in the flag, we'll say. And you know, look, I she had a
6:51
legendary career. She's a World Cup winner for
6:54
that squad. 2X. But yeah, so I mean, like, but
6:58
I, I, I hear what you're saying though.
7:00
And you know, for the, all the people who watch so much
7:03
Champions League and know that Kyle, like, I think your
7:07
original point stands that Kai Sedo, she she runs through
7:11
contact. She invites the contact
7:13
sometimes. So it, it was funny to to be
7:15
like, oh, is she overselling there or I can't remember what
7:18
the exact quote was. But you know, Julie, you're a
7:21
legend. We know where you stand.
7:23
No doubt, no doubt. A quick question for you.
7:27
I want to look ahead for a little bit just because this one
7:30
was really gnawing at me. Obviously in this match, no, or
7:35
actually these three matches, no Cat Macario, who's been a real
7:39
goal engine for this team last 12 months.
7:41
And then obviously we we get word that Sophia Smith is on her
7:45
way back, but you know, obviously not here yet.
7:48
I, I took myself to the thought exercise because one nil versus
7:51
Canada, hard fought, one nil versus Columbia, hard fought,
7:56
you know, and like, you know, where we see what's happening in
7:58
Europe. And I asked myself, US was
8:01
national team without Kat Macario or Sofia Smith.
8:05
God forbid that happens, you know, like those two, you know,
8:09
like dependable goal sources, right?
8:14
Could the USA win the World Cup if, for whatever reason, we are
8:19
without those two specific players?
8:24
I think yes in in 2027, I think yes.
8:27
Now will things and I don't mean to be annoying here.
8:32
Obviously. Congratulations to her on the
8:33
nuptials. Sophia Wilson.
8:36
My bad, you hit it from the oven.
8:38
I knew there was something wrong.
8:39
With you hit me with it twice and I was like, oh, the second
8:42
time, don't do it the second time, all right?
8:44
Sorry, buddy. I appreciate it.
8:44
I appreciate it. It's going to be a hell of a lot
8:47
easier with Sophie Wilson, right?
8:50
But I, I think we're pretty big owners of Alley Cent Norstock,
8:56
and it wasn't talked about on the broadcast.
8:57
You know, she kind of grew up playing #9 that's her like more
9:00
natural position. I think she's a great fit as a
9:03
number 9. I think she's going to continue
9:06
to improve. She's going to now she's going
9:08
to get a full season with Tema Chiwenga on the wing with her
9:11
playing hopefully at at at #9 I think that could really help.
9:16
But Sophie Wilson is an MVP, Golden Boot winner, goal scoring
9:23
machine. And I, I think it'll be easier.
9:27
But I I will say I think they're still live because the talent
9:31
pool is going to like a lot of these players are going to be
9:34
entering their prime, in their prime and good enough to score
9:38
goals against a tough international competition.
9:40
Well, when you say like entering their prime in their prime 27
9:44
sneaky close, you know, like it, it kind of like this snuck on on
9:48
me a little bit. We're like a year away from just
9:50
being like starting a real, real prep for what's going to happen.
9:54
So I don't want to do too much projecting on where players are
9:57
going to be next year versus where they're at now.
10:00
You kind of have to kind of roll with what you got a little bit.
10:03
But I loved seeing like Thompson score in this one, you know,
10:08
especially like getting the goal that way because we saw that we
10:12
saw the calibrating, you know, happening and we started get
10:14
frustrated missing missing a chance earlier a similar curler.
10:20
But I'm not sure that that's going to be enough.
10:22
You know, it does feel like, you know, and I don't want to, you
10:28
know, relegate anybody to second options.
10:29
But it's like I have Macario at a different level in my mind and
10:34
I have Wilson at a different level in my mind.
10:36
Wilson just because it's like any second of the minute, like
10:39
it's like you fall asleep for a second.
10:41
She's just going to cut you. And Macario, you know, doesn't
10:45
have the blazing speed, but she could, she could do, she could
10:49
do everything. And it's like she could pass,
10:51
she could pull it back, she could hold up, she could just
10:54
turn and fire. And she's got all the skills in
10:56
the world. So like you can almost count on
11:00
at least a goal from, you know, eat, eat whoever you're sitting
11:03
in that spot. Without those two, I feel like
11:07
everyone else is like under one point OXG, you know, like in my
11:11
own mind, you know, and then we're piercing, like you said,
11:13
we're piercing it together. It's like a little bit of
11:15
Rodman, little bit of Thompson, little bit of Moultrie.
11:17
What happens here, you know, Lindsay Heaps comes off the
11:20
bench, you know, she's leading the charge only she's 3 yards
11:23
offsides every time she leads to charge and we'll sort it out,
11:26
we'll figure it out. But I definitely had that
11:28
thought that without those two, if we don't have either of those
11:31
two players, I think it's I think it's real.
11:34
It's real rocky, you know, especially for facing some of
11:37
those other big teams at full strength.
11:39
I mean, it's probably fair without both of them.
11:42
Yeah, I think I would agree to that.
11:44
I I think as the young midfield players kind of start to
11:48
develop, maybe they could survive without Macario, but
11:52
still having Wilson kind of has that scoring threat.
11:54
Or if you don't have Wilson, then maybe play Centinor up
11:57
there at #9 and then you have Macario kind of at that
12:00
10:00-ish attacking midfielder type role.
12:03
I know some people have questions about how much running
12:08
Mokario can do, like how much can she contribute on defense if
12:11
she's in #10 and is she better off as like a distributing #9
12:17
But yeah, I mean, I think the depth, like I liked the coffee
12:22
Johannes pairing, and we still have Hutton there to kind of
12:27
contribute. And then the I mean to me, your
12:31
two backs, your left back and your right back.
12:36
I know Emily Fox is older than Avery Patterson, obviously, but
12:39
Fox is going to still be in her prime next year.
12:44
And, and what those two can do up and down the wings to add
12:48
more of an attacking presence. Avery, Avery Patterson put a
12:51
move on a defender before she fired in a cross today.
12:55
Like I her ceiling just seems super high.
12:59
Yeah, I mean, I couldn't imagine seeing a player that big and
13:03
strong coming at me that just crosses me into a blue.
13:07
Yeah. Just like, oh, I didn't know you
13:09
could do that too. Yeah.
13:11
I mean, she looked she looks so dynamic and maybe maybe
13:16
benefited a little bit from like no mileage over the last week or
13:21
some of the players are logging a lot of minutes because she
13:22
just looked like on a different speed setting and very, very
13:26
sharp. Definitely not in pre season 4.
13:28
I'm very excited for Avery Patterson Fox, I think, you
13:33
know, had a good game as well. I wanted to talk because we
13:35
didn't we didn't do we didn't do an episode after the Canada
13:38
match, But you know, I always kind of talk about my my, not
13:43
my, but what I've Co opted from from our our our friend Leanne,
13:47
Caitlin Ford and Katie McCabe being the engines for arsenal.
13:50
I think Emily Sana and Rose Lavelle have a little bit of
13:53
that for the US women's national team.
13:56
Like Sonnet specifically is such a freaking backstop that it's
14:01
like, you know, like when things kind of do breakdown, it's like
14:05
if she's there, you just kind of assume that it's going to get
14:07
handled. And there's just not that many
14:09
players that are able to do that.
14:11
And she also has a an I, you know, and like, you know, some
14:17
some motivation to kind of get the ball up field.
14:20
And Lavelle is just, you know, doing the rest from there.
14:23
And I think a lot like Linda, I say to a player that does not,
14:26
you know, like from the fuck a foul school of football, like,
14:30
no, I want to keep going and try to score.
14:33
Roosevelt absolutely cut from that cloth.
14:36
And I think Sonnet and Lavelle, there's just something about
14:38
those two that I think they've kind of worked themselves into.
14:43
We kind of have to have them because they are capable of like
14:48
just creation, you know, like that is is needed when things
14:52
kind of start to stall out a bit.
14:54
I totally agree. And Sonic not only gives you
14:58
that or gives any team that she plays for gives them that, but
15:02
also like when you could tell how frustrated they were after
15:06
the first half of this match. And then the difference that I
15:13
would say like just a different level of aggression that they
15:17
played with in the second-half. Like Emily Sonnet was a
15:21
significant part of that. Like she can play physical when
15:25
she needs to. I mean, you know, even if she
15:27
doesn't look, she doesn't look like too big out there on the
15:30
field, but she's 5 foot 7. And she can, you know, with the
15:33
competition, she, you know, she can really kind of put her
15:36
shoulder into people and they and, you know, impose her
15:40
physicality. And I think that not only can
15:44
she can she calm things down when she needs to, but then she
15:47
can ramp up the intensity. And we've already talked about
15:49
how all of her team mates love her, how everybody see how
15:52
everybody has such respect for her.
15:55
She can kind of drive them in multiple ways, whether it's like
15:58
culturally or physically on the field.
16:01
Yeah, yeah. And I think at that back line
16:05
specifically, you know, some some movement, obviously we get
16:09
the Germa sub today. Tara red comes in Rudd looks, I
16:15
mean, you know, crisp and really, really effective too.
16:21
And you don't really want to make any, you know, snap kind of
16:24
judgments. But I'm sort of starting to get
16:28
to the point where, you know, we might be putting the Sharpie
16:31
away for a little bit for Germa and I think maybe that center
16:35
back spot sort of like that now, now, now we're now we're in
16:39
competition there. Yeah, that's.
16:41
Spicy man no. No, dude, it it is, but like and
16:46
it's not, you know, obviously Germans.
16:48
They they mentioned the CAF stream.
16:49
She comes off at halftime has, you know, like just has not been
16:54
at peak form. And like Tara Rudd looks off,
16:57
you know, like she came on and looked awesome, you know, like,
17:00
and Sonnet looked off, you know, like every minute she was on at
17:05
no point it was like, oh, so how the fuck that, you know, like,
17:07
oh damn, when, when when can we replace Sonic?
17:10
Like, no, she was she was rock fucking solid.
17:13
So it's like, I don't know, like that.
17:17
It's like setting, setting the bar a little bit higher, you
17:20
know, and I think Garma has definitely been there, has been
17:22
higher than that, but is not there right now.
17:27
Not, not at this exact moment. I, I'm, I'm with you there.
17:32
I, I will not go as far anybody, you know, any, any of our
17:37
peoples watching this, pardon me, any of our pals watching
17:40
this direct your direct your ire toward Dino on this.
17:44
I think germy still or Germa is still a sharpie player, but I I
17:50
see where you're coming from Like it.
17:52
It did feel like, you know, when Rudd comes on at halftime, it
17:56
was almost like Emma Hayes was saying, OK, Columbia, you want
18:00
to play physical with us now? Now deal with Sonnet and Rudd
18:04
back there and we'll we'll show you like how we can kind of play
18:07
physical too. So I'm with you there.
18:10
I just think like, you know, when, when Japan comes over here
18:14
to play the national team three times, I would be very surprised
18:19
if in that first match it's not Sonnet and Germa or who knows,
18:24
maybe dear Davidson in Germa like like we saw in the 2024
18:27
Olympics or or maybe it's maybe it's right in Germa.
18:30
But I would be I would be shocked if Germa is not in there
18:34
in Sharpie in the first match. First, wow, I'm shocked.
18:37
I would be, yeah. I mean, but do you feel like
18:41
that's off of performance or reputation or like 5050 or?
18:48
Probably 646040 right now, 60 reputation, 40 performance.
18:53
I think she's still making her way back.
18:55
Yeah, and and the performance haven't been bad, but it's like,
18:58
yeah, you know, you did kind of with the naked eye see a little
19:02
bit of a difference in, you know, maybe a little bit of the
19:05
the dynamism rod versus skirm in this one.
19:07
It's like, you know, and then and then I'm replaying what
19:11
will, you know, like the last couple matches and thinking
19:14
about all these Sonic moments and you know, Gurman is there
19:17
and the defenses is awesome. Obviously no goals allowed three
19:20
matches against real teams. So that's something to get
19:25
excited about. But I don't know, I think I
19:26
think it's all I'm saying is I think that spot is open for some
19:30
competition. I think there's some players
19:31
there that could make it interesting.
19:33
Davidson's a great call out there.
19:35
Who somebody who could, you know, who knows?
19:37
I mean, I think right back in the mix potentially.
19:41
Jordan Bug wasn't isn't on this roster.
19:43
She'll have she'll have something to say about it.
19:46
Yeah, you know, there there is competition, but we are, we are
19:51
not far removed now. We're, you know, we're the
19:56
injury removed from the 2024 Olympic gold medal where Derma
20:00
was often times the best player on the field.
20:04
And so, like, I think maybe that's just looming so large in
20:07
my in my thought process. Yep.
20:10
Yeah, I think 23 World Cup too. You could.
20:13
She was definitely the best player for the USA, yeah.
20:18
Yeah, so we'll see. I mean, I think it didn't feel
20:21
like it was so different too though, like that that style of
20:23
play. So could be, you know, a style
20:27
thing as well. But definitely hoping for for
20:30
Grimm to get all the way pee pee peek back to the mountain top
20:34
and then really grab that spot back.
20:37
Columbia out shoots the US eight to six in this one.
20:40
I think shots on target US has the advantage.
20:42
Obviously Alyssa Thompson smashes in that goal that was on
20:45
target. That 1 was definitely on target.
20:51
Anything to be more concerned with their were you concerned
20:54
with like EU s s ability to produce shots, produce chances?
21:01
What you think it was a lineup thing or because I mean, I think
21:04
it was tough to kind of see, you know, not really like the full
21:10
utilization of the whole the whole pitch, right?
21:13
Like I think it kind of felt like we were knocking on the
21:17
same doors a little bit to to not so much success, but it.
21:22
But Columbia played super tough too, but still a little jarring
21:25
to see the US outshot in a match where they kind of they kind of
21:29
needed to to get a result, which they end up getting anyway.
21:32
Yeah, and Columbia line, you know, they set their line up as
21:35
a 4231. There were a lot of times where
21:38
they had five players back there, six players back there to
21:41
kind of clogged up the shooting lanes, clogged up the passing
21:43
lanes. You know, Karabali is always
21:46
going to give you good minutes. Orias is always going to give
21:49
you some good minutes. Venegas, you know, has her
21:52
moments. She could be a little
21:53
inconsistent I I think, but you know, she'll, she'll muck things
21:56
up back there too. I almost scored.
22:00
Yeah, almost scored just a ridiculous goal.
22:04
I mean crazy. If it was, if it was more
22:07
directed toward the far post, it it drops in in just in a
22:11
complete bonkers goal. But yeah, I think, you know, I
22:16
mean, Columbia made it tough. There were those moments where
22:19
like the only pass available was kind of like the player, the
22:24
attacking player in front of you is making a cut and it's away
22:29
from the goal. Like even inside the 18 and
22:32
you're kind of like drifting away.
22:33
That's the only available pass. And we would make the pass USA
22:36
was would make the pass and it would, they would we're
22:39
producing some good through balls.
22:41
But then it was like, OK, now where, where am I?
22:43
Who's available? Where's my momentum taking me?
22:45
Where's the ball going? Yeah, and I think some of those
22:48
through balls were making all the way through.
22:50
And I think we're used to seeing runners, you know, there to do
22:53
stuff and you know, but I mean, I still kind of would like the
23:01
US to utilize things a little bit more like be a little bit
23:05
more dangerous centrally, because it does feel like so
23:09
much of it is that wide. And and it's and it's wild
23:11
because in this one specifically, I can't do some of
23:15
the gum there just throws me off because I'm like, am I watching
23:18
the different? Like is it's so it's so
23:20
different what gets mentioned. But I thought Lily Johannes in
23:24
this one was really good at just moving the moving the ball and
23:29
thus moving where we were attacking from very quickly in a
23:34
way that was extremely efficient.
23:37
And I remember seeing like, I'm like Lily's getting to a rhythm
23:39
here into the first half. And then at one point a ball
23:43
gets played to Rodman over the top, you know, right hand side
23:47
kind of to you to what you're saying, but not it wasn't it
23:49
wasn't outright. It was up, you know, like out
23:52
wide to the right and she kind of runs on to it.
23:55
She's faster, but by the time she gets there and collects it,
23:58
you know, it's like Columbia's kind of ready for that.
24:01
It's Trudy Rodman. You know what's going to happen,
24:02
Like you know you better get out.
24:03
There, she wants that, yeah. Yeah, and it's, and it's, it's a
24:07
little bit easier to defend than, you know, a player like
24:11
Lily cashing, kind of pivoting, seeing, you know, and not not
24:14
going to the obvious one, but going to the second one or the
24:16
third one. And like now everybody's kind of
24:19
off bounce a little bit. I would just love to see more
24:23
stuff happening centrally like that and less all right, let's
24:27
pound on the outside and, you know, kind of see what happens
24:30
and you could go to it, but it it just seemed like it didn't
24:33
really work at all almost this entire cup.
24:36
Yeah, I think that's fair. And I think that's what Avery
24:38
Patterson was bringing on the other side.
24:40
Like, you know, we talked about that, that move like she can,
24:43
she can cut in with the ball, see the available players and
24:47
then, you know, when she starts, when they almost start playing
24:51
Tiki Taka like themselves of like, you know, Patterson to
24:55
coffee to Thompson to Johannes to Fox to Rodman.
24:58
Rodman plays it back to Fox. Like I like that's the kind of
25:01
football. And you know, we've been accused
25:03
of European bias in the past. I'll raise my hand guilty.
25:07
I I do prefer the European style football more.
25:11
I mean, that's just is what it is, but it's not to say a very
25:14
direct style doesn't work also. And the best teams, they they
25:19
mix in both that you do like. And I felt that's what USA did.
25:23
Like they were able to they they were able to string together
25:26
more passes in the second-half. But then they took some shots
25:30
over the top, like, not not actual like shots on goal, but
25:33
like, you know, took some, some deep shots, to use American
25:36
football parlance, over the top. And they were trying to keep
25:39
Columbia off balance that way. But I think it's a good point by
25:42
you. Columbia was ready for those.
25:44
OK, They're going to try to really stretch us out wide and
25:47
we'll just make sure that there aren't dangerous passes
25:50
available. And I thought they did a good
25:52
job of that. Yeah, yeah.
25:54
And I think seeing where the goal comes from, like heaps to
25:59
Thompson, you know, to Shaw to Thompson, like really also
26:02
utilizing, you know, like that central channel and also, you
26:06
know, shifting the defense left to right back.
26:08
So, you know, like just side to side is huge, You know, and I
26:12
think it it, it takes a little bit more craft, but also I feel
26:17
like it's, it's a bet that you have to make right, because
26:20
philosophically you have to kind of do like a little bit of a
26:23
mini pivot pivot to kind of go that route.
26:25
But also, if you're Emma Hayes, you're probably thinking like, I
26:27
have the players like we can we can sort of take this step and
26:31
be like go be able to go to this move in addition to our our core
26:35
stuff that, you know, is, is like part of like whatever US
26:38
from the national team DNA. Yeah, and I mean, they
26:41
definitely have the players. I mean, Rosa Lavelle fits in
26:43
there too. Like she's she's a smart passer.
26:46
And like you said, when she gets in attack mode and she gets
26:48
going downhill like that, that helps move the defense and she's
26:53
never afraid to lay it off before she makes that second
26:55
move to get back into like an attacking position.
26:59
So, you know, I, I, I want to shout out Emma Sears again.
27:05
I know we talked about her last episode, but like, I feel like
27:09
every minute she's on the field, she's dangerous.
27:11
Like her strength and size. I like the, I mean, Jimmy's
27:16
Joseph came in at the end of the match, but she, you know, played
27:20
across in that was pretty dangerous toward the end, like
27:23
in just like her five plus minutes of action where she can.
27:26
Can I add a little color to that?
27:28
Go ahead. Because she did.
27:30
She put it across the Olivia Moultrie who flat out costs
27:34
Jimmy's Josephine assist. Yes.
27:36
Why, you know? Like that was a real buddy.
27:39
Yeah, yeah, She should have scored that.
27:41
Now, I can't remember who it was, but there was another
27:44
player running onto the ball and it looked like, it kind of like,
27:47
I don't know, startled is the right word, but almost like
27:51
screened Moultrie when she took the shot.
27:53
It's a it's I'm sure Olivia Moultrie would tell us.
27:57
Nah, I should bury that. But like I I will give her a
28:01
little bit of grace because there was like somebody in in
28:04
your own jersey kind of running up on you.
28:06
At the same time when you're trying to do something
28:08
athletically, you're just like what?
28:10
Don't don't like, like I don't want to smash into my own
28:13
player. I would I would say less, less.
28:15
Olivia Moltrie, criticism and more.
28:17
All right now, Jamice Joseph. That's one goal to assist in the
28:20
ITC personal record. Book, there you go.
28:22
That's a great point. And then if if that happened,
28:25
she's then the player of the of she believes that she believes
28:30
cup or I'm just going to call it a cup because it's not really
28:32
like a tournament at this point. It's called the She Believes
28:35
cup. We call it a cup.
28:36
Yeah, yeah, that's what yeah, I'll go with cup Alyssa
28:40
Thompson, player of the cup, obviously scores the goal, ices
28:46
it. You know, they were they was
28:48
pretty much a guarantee unless they lost three nil or 4 to 1 to
28:53
Columbia today. They were taking it home after
28:54
the the Canada Argentina draw. Well, goes to PKS.
29:01
If I if I may, is that is that right?
29:05
Like do like, I know we're not going to go back, you know, and
29:09
tell our children 20 years from now who, who was the player of
29:13
the She believes Cup 2026. But like, I, I guess Alyssa
29:18
Thompson's fine for it, but I, I wasn't really even sure who,
29:22
honestly. Bro who?
29:23
Do you give it to? Sonic to me, I think it's fair.
29:27
It's like, I, I mean, that's the player that whatever, that's the
29:31
player I'm going to think about. And how about this Sonnet with
29:34
the dummy versus Canada? You know, I talked about the
29:37
Ford McCabe, you know, Lavelle sonnet, you know, Corollary
29:42
against Canada, Lavelle puts in the corner a very important
29:46
sonnet dummy there. Like that's what opens up the
29:49
whole thing. And it's like, again, those two
29:51
players, I thought sonnet was huge.
29:53
And when the US doesn't give up a goal, you know, like, never
29:56
really in doubt. And, and it reminded me, we're
29:59
talking about Tara Rudd earlier. He reminded me that moment when
30:02
we were at the NWSL final. And it's like, no, no, it's like
30:05
the 60th minute. We're looking at each other.
30:07
Like, who do you have for MVP? Like, I don't know who you have.
30:09
Like, we're like Mckeno. Like, OK, but his prenuptials
30:12
were like Mckeno. I think he's been good.
30:15
It was, you know, like, so I don't know.
30:18
I think for me, Sonic, I'm gonna remember Sonic's performance.
30:21
I like it. She was on she was on my list
30:23
too. I think I think you can get away
30:24
with giving. They could have gotten away with
30:27
giving her the award. Tell me if I'm too outside the
30:31
box here. I think I loved every minute
30:34
that Emily Fox was on the field. I thought she was excellent.
30:37
I think she was good against Canada and I think there she had
30:40
a case too as US as best player here.
30:43
But I'm I'm I hear you on son. And again, like, I don't think
30:47
it's it's not like bad that Thompson got it.
30:50
She scores the goal and like the clinching game.
30:53
I think that's totally fine. But I did think it was
30:55
interesting that I was like, I really kind of had to sit back
30:58
and be like, well, who who should I, you know, get who, who
31:03
should get this. So we're worthy a few worthy
31:08
contenders. You can't even with three clean
31:10
sheets. Well, two clean sheets for
31:13
Fallon, Telus, Joyce. She just didn't.
31:16
She just wasn't forced into enough action, so I didn't
31:18
really consider. Her yeah, I know.
31:20
I mean, yeah, Sana had so much more to do defensively than than
31:24
Fallon did. But I thought, yeah, I mean
31:29
we're going to see, I think those three matches versus Japan
31:31
coming up here are going to be very telling.
31:35
And I think what we won't have that pre season, you know, we'll
31:38
see a perfect season 4. We're going to learn some stuff
31:42
and I think we got lucky. You know, one of those matches
31:44
is in your backyard, one of them's in my backyard.
31:47
We can do what we can to get out and be in the building and do
31:50
some reporting for you. But is there anything that
31:54
you're you're going to want to see from this team like is, you
31:58
know, we talked about 27 right around the corner.
32:01
I mean, there's some stuff for me, for me, the finishing.
32:05
I got to see more better finishing and I don't really
32:10
have a, you know, like a final, you know, decision on where I
32:15
stand on Ali Setnor obviously like capable of spectacular.
32:19
Could she do? Could she carry the whole load?
32:21
That's a lot. I don't know, you know, I'm not
32:23
there. I'm not, you know, maybe we'll
32:25
see, but it is the question mark, you know, and I think we
32:29
we've got these three versus Japan coming up.
32:31
What are you going to be looking for in terms of like a step
32:35
forward? Yeah, I'm with you on on
32:40
finishing in the final third. I think just some general
32:43
connectivity in the final third also of just like, you know,
32:48
maybe maybe the keeper, the opposing keepers making saves or
32:51
maybe maybe you know, defenders are getting some crucial blocks
32:55
in there. But like, can, can the can the
32:59
passes just get to where they're going?
33:01
Or, or can we get more of those crosses that come through when
33:05
somebody gets on the end of 1? I think I want to see more of
33:09
that. But what I'm most looking
33:13
forward to seeing is that when Japan comes to play anybody,
33:18
they're looking to kick your ass.
33:21
They're like, it's not like AI. I've never seen a a match where
33:26
Japan is is out there. And I'm just like, oh, OK,
33:29
they're going to kind of they're going to put it into cruise
33:31
control for a little while. Like, I mean, in that 23 World
33:35
Cup. And obviously Spain goes on to
33:37
win. Japan beat them four to nothing
33:39
and. Threaded them.
33:41
Broke them over their knee within like the first 35 minutes
33:45
and you're just like oh Spain has no shot here.
33:47
Remember how that game looked in last year's She Believes Cup
33:50
when they came out Swing I what they scored in the 1st 2 minutes
33:53
against USA last year. Yeah, yeah.
33:56
I mean they're I I just keep thinking that I I'm picturing
33:59
got that going in that in that world going to be like, what is
34:02
that like, you know, like just the confusion of like, how is
34:04
this happening? They're they're a real team.
34:07
They're going to pose some problems and I think, you know,
34:11
in the final third, that's going to be they're going to be tough
34:15
really to defend. And I think I'm going to be
34:18
really interested to see what defenders Emma Hayes puts out
34:22
there for these matches. I really hope that you got to
34:24
treat them as like, you know, I, I, I loved that versus Canada.
34:29
We got essentially the A-Team, I think minus I sent Norris at the
34:34
9 and, and Giselle was in for Avery Patterson.
34:37
Every pretty pretty much everybody else was like, you
34:39
know, the 1A team. I was a little taken aback that
34:41
we didn't, we couldn't be more successful against Canada
34:45
because that was a Canada side without Olivia Smith.
34:48
And I think in that match specifically, the chances they
34:51
got, you know, in the final, you know, are on their half of the
34:55
field. I think if Smith is out there, I
34:58
think Smith specifically could have posed a real, real problem
35:01
for US. But you know, you have Vienna
35:02
out there, Haitama, it's a little, you know, not the same.
35:07
But versus Japan, I'm going to, I'm going to be really
35:09
interested to see who's out there, you know, because it's
35:13
going to take some smart defenders to be able to keep up
35:15
with that, that Japan attack. Yeah, I think so.
35:19
And I, and I think I like the Patterson, Sonic, Germa Fox back
35:25
four. And then if you're playing
35:27
coffee is some combination of coffee, Hutton, Johannes in the
35:32
midfield. I think you're you should be in
35:34
pretty good shape. But yeah, I mean, these three
35:40
matches, I, I, I think we're going to get a lot of good
35:44
information out of those, Yeah. Do you think it's interesting
35:49
because when I think about coffee Hutton and Johannes, I
35:54
feel like those are three players for two spots because I
35:57
don't think either of those players take that number 10
36:00
spot. I think for what, you know, I
36:03
think today Lavelle is is there. We'll see what, what, where that
36:08
is next year. But it does feel like 3 for two
36:11
and and and and I don't know how you do you think between those 3
36:15
for those two players because I mean, yeah, that that's really
36:19
splitting hairs and the most, the most extreme of ways.
36:24
Yeah, because I mean, because I I want to see more and more and
36:30
who I mean, I would imagine I had Sophie Wilson played in a
36:32
preseason match for for Portland.
36:36
So I think then that moves Centinor out.
36:39
So what I think we will see is Thompson, Wilson, Rodman up top
36:47
as as your front 3. And so you know, if you if you
36:52
are going to look at your midfield, I would probably then
36:56
do the but. But Macario has to start.
37:01
Macario has to be. You cannot not play Cat Macario
37:05
if she's if she's healthy because of because you need
37:08
goals. And it's like, I don't know.
37:12
Yeah. Could you do?
37:15
I think you could because like Johannes has so many skills that
37:18
like she can kind of play that number 8, like box to box type
37:21
midfield where she can give you defense and offense.
37:24
So if you have coffee as your defensive midfielder kind of
37:27
specialist, Johannes says like you're 8, Macario as you're 10,
37:33
Thompson and Rodman on the wings and then Wilson, Tib, the Tib of
37:37
the spear. Yeah, but then you got Claire
37:40
hunting on the bench. Yeah.
37:43
And Lavelle. Yeah, Jesus.
37:45
Yeah. So it's like, you know, we could
37:48
it could I, I would love for this to be where the sport goes
37:52
because to me it's way more interesting when you have 1718
37:58
players and like it just really is dependent on the matchup,
38:02
the, you know, the form, the trend where things are going.
38:05
But like I I kind of don't like when the first team is like, I
38:09
never made a change to the first, you know, and it's like,
38:11
all right, Serena Vickman, it's hard to argue it was working.
38:15
Yeah, scoreboard, you know, but you know, like.
38:17
A jewelry. I think there's something of two
38:20
like, you know, I don't know, man, playing Spain is different
38:24
than playing Germany is different than playing Colombia,
38:27
playing Brazil, right? You know, So it's like, how
38:29
could it be that the the best 11 is the same 11 for those four
38:33
matches? It doesn't.
38:33
It doesn't compute in my head. I mean, you're, you're preaching
38:36
to the choir on that. I mean, I'm a, I'm a Pep
38:39
Guardiola guy. You're like, sometimes you got
38:41
to move around the formation. You, you move around the players
38:44
that you have out there. You, you change the plan.
38:46
Even if you have a similar starting 11, then the last game,
38:49
maybe you just completely just play a different way.
38:52
I think that's fair. So obviously we're, you know,
38:55
we're totally guessing on like who's available and all that.
38:58
I I'm just trying to think of like.
39:00
Oh, I have to mention Jaden Shaw.
39:02
Like, yeah, she's got to play. I cannot be on record just as
39:09
likely to start in a in the biggest of matches as any of the
39:13
player previously mentioned. I was like in my head as we were
39:15
going, I'm like, I'm missing somebody, somebody massive and
39:19
obviously shot involved in, you know, I think it's the the the
39:22
assistant Elissa Thompson, you know, coming off an end episode
39:25
championship and having figured out, you know, being such a such
39:29
a bright superstar, young superstar player to have gone
39:33
down the roller coaster, to have now come back up the other side,
39:36
you know, and now it's like, Oh my God, what is going to be
39:38
possible with this player that might be I mean, Shaw this time
39:43
next year might be a player is like, yeah, of course that's
39:45
that's a starting. But you know, it's like there's
39:47
might be Sharpie, Sharpie territory for a player of that
39:50
caliber. It could be and we talked about
39:52
her earlier too and if and obviously we know she is
39:55
watching. We know all all footballers are
39:57
huge fans of this podcast, just like everybody watching.
40:00
But like Olivia Moultrie is probably standing there like
40:02
whoa, so I'm not in the starting eleven.
40:04
Oh my God. Well, why wouldn't I be in the
40:06
starting 11? Oh my God, I hate.
40:09
I hate all. Those tough choices.
40:12
I mean, look, Emma, Emma Hayes makes a fair salary, I'm
40:16
guessing from, I think there was some of the reporting.
40:18
So yeah, it's up to her. She's she's got some difficult
40:22
choices to make. Speaking of Emma Hayes, you
40:25
could really feel, you know, the level of importance of of this
40:31
cup right just by the sheer level of drippiness of the
40:36
jacket that Emma Hayes was. Very outstanding jacket.
40:38
I mean, come on. That's quite.
40:42
That's great. Every time she loves it.
40:43
I couldn't take my eyes off it. I mean that it was like.
40:46
All the, all the all the logos down the sleeves, like the
40:49
historic logos that was. That was a really nice touch.
40:53
Yeah, I mean, if there is somebody helping, you know,
40:58
Coach Hayes get to this level, props to that person.
41:01
But either way, Emma Hayes is driving this bus and she's she's
41:06
like, like she does not miss. She very, very, very rarely
41:09
misses, you know, when she when she suits up and then rolls out
41:12
there in terms of, you know, dressing the part, you know,
41:15
it's very important from what I've heard.
41:18
But that that really sent the message for me.
41:20
I'm like, look, this is an important match just just from,
41:23
just from her setup. You know, obviously they honor
41:26
Tobin Heath and her incredible career.
41:29
Before the match, a bunch of the 90 Niners were in the building.
41:32
It was, it was one of those things Emma Hayes had that
41:36
jacket laid out on her bed like the, the, the, the night before
41:40
the first day of school. Just like, yeah, I'll be killing
41:44
them tomorrow when I, when I throw that jacket on.
41:47
And she was correct. Yeah.
41:49
And she was, Yeah. I mean that just absolutely
41:52
fantastic. That was my last thing.
41:55
That was my last little bit to cover.
41:57
That was my last little bullet point here.
41:58
Is there anything else to go from your end?
42:01
Couple couple other football matches we were played.
42:02
I just want to do some some notes that we missed.
42:04
I mean, obviously we're talking about Columbia, we're talking
42:07
about them. You know, you know, pairing
42:11
another player to help Linda Kaiseido.
42:14
There is a massive gigantic Mira Ramirez sized hole at the number
42:19
9 on that squad. I mean, you know, unfortunately
42:22
she I think the last reporting was in February.
42:26
She re aggravated the hamstring injury.
42:28
So she's not out there. Everything's different if if
42:31
Ramirez plays for Colombia, right?
42:33
Like I mean no, no question. For those that that are
42:37
uninitiated, Ramirez is like the perfect counterbalance to
42:42
Qaiseto A. 100%. She's big, she's strong, she has
42:46
great ball skills, her nose for goal is like unmatched in the
42:50
sport. She's tough and she loves to
42:52
run. So it's like Kaiseto run, Myra
42:55
run. And it's like here we go.
42:57
We really kind of got robbed of, you know, just what could have
43:00
been a much, much more competitive, you know, round
43:02
Robin, you know, kind of all the way around for sure.
43:05
But you know, get well soon. Myra hope, hopefully we see you
43:07
next, next, next summer in the Women's World Cup.
43:11
No doubt. And yeah, hopefully she gets
43:13
over the hamstring injury and we can, you know, see her, see her
43:17
very soon. Other matches that were played,
43:20
the Lionesses who were briefly mentioned, they defeated Iceland
43:22
2 nil. Serbia drew Sweden, nil, nil.
43:26
Didn't have the opportunity to watch that.
43:27
I'm going to try to find some highlights and see what exactly
43:29
what the heck was going on. Spain beat, yeah, Spain beat
43:36
Ukraine 31. Netherlands beat Ireland 2 to
43:41
one. France beat Poland 4 to one.
43:43
Guess who scored Poland's goal? That's right, it was Evapai, or
43:46
who would have guessed? Let me see here in Japan, that
43:49
team that we were talking about who who's going to play the
43:52
Stars and Stripes here for? For three matches they played
43:55
India. Japan defeated I11 to nothing.
44:00
Going back to what I was saying now you know India, they are
44:05
ranked 67th in the FIFA rankings.
44:06
I'm not going to pretend like they are power, but Japan's
44:09
coming to kick everybody's ass every match they play.
44:12
Damn. So they got they got the field
44:14
goal and they got the two point conversion after after the pick
44:17
6 here we go 11 nothing. Not a Miyazawa hat trick.
44:23
Let's go. Rico Uecki.
44:27
Yeah, I just want to make sure I had that right.
44:30
Yeah. Rico Uecki of West Ham, hat
44:33
trick. She came on in the second-half
44:35
to get the hat trick. She got the hat trick in a she
44:38
she scored her first goal in the 47th minute, scored the third
44:41
goal in the 65th. So in a cool 18 minutes.
44:45
Miyazawa There's something going on.
44:48
I mean, I, I'm, I'm glad we're doing this.
44:50
You know, bear with this Berry at the very end of the podcast,
44:52
but Manchester United, Miyazawa, Jess Park, Semi Wujo, who all of
44:59
a sudden in the center of the park looks like a freaking
45:01
giant. Just.
45:03
Could do whatever. I mean that that's a, that's a
45:06
player that is a, a absolute handful and has grown physically
45:13
and from a maturity standpoint and an effectiveness standpoint.
45:17
It's like, I feel like when we, when we saw Abuja, it was like,
45:19
it didn't even feel like it was like 2 years ago.
45:21
And it was like, oh, this is a raw player.
45:24
We'll see What, And now we're like, oh, this is a real, like a
45:26
real player today. That's, that's killing.
45:29
That's, you know, just at a different level.
45:32
And I don't know if it's a united thing, but means I was
45:35
another one. I mean, obviously you know, the
45:36
pedigree, but now it's like, oh wow, another level.
45:40
Or maybe it's more like hitting the the the international, kind
45:45
of like form at her club at United.
45:48
That is what we're seeing. Yeah, I think that's I think
45:52
that's totally fair. I mean, Micah Himano came on in
45:56
the 63rd minute of that match. She didn't, she didn't, she
45:58
didn't score. But I mean, Fujino didn't even
46:01
play. Matsukubo didn't even play
46:03
against India. They put up 11 goals.
46:09
There was there was one other thing I wanted to get to about
46:13
the Oh yeah. Yu Yasagawa, Manchester City
46:15
Football Club. She also added a goal in that
46:17
eleven. No victory.
46:19
I think that's all Germany played.
46:21
Norway. What was the score of that game?
46:23
None of your business. It doesn't matter.
46:24
Who cares? Norway's great.
46:26
I won't hear anything. Everything's fine.
46:27
We're we're not going to talk about Germany versus Norway.
46:31
That's fine. No, So people can sort it out.
46:33
They want to get to the bottom of that and Google it.
46:35
All right, man, I think we I think we crushed it is.
46:38
I already asked you this, but is there anything else we want to
46:40
hit before we get out of here? Last chance.
46:42
I think that's it. We're we're going to get back
46:44
to, you know, all the great league football around.
46:48
I'm looking forward to it. And then we'll we'll circle back
46:50
to an international window. Then we get to see real hoops,
46:54
USA versus Japan. I think that's going to be
46:56
awesome. Before we get there though, how
46:59
about the end of the cell? Back in action next Friday,
47:02
March 13th and we're going to have a special guest to help us
47:07
usher in the season. Cannot wait.
47:09
A return guest. Maybe you could piece together
47:14
who that might be. And our beloved UEFA Women's
47:17
Champions League returns March 24th.
47:19
March 25th. You already know what time it
47:21
is. Your boys going to be here to
47:22
cover all of the action. We're down to 8 teams.
47:25
So you know now, now it's like every single bit I feel like
47:29
every single minute I'm going to have notes on.
47:30
I am very excited for that. Make sure you're subscribed and
47:33
follow your boys on all the socials.
47:35
I cannot wait to get into it. I'm not going to ask you if
47:38
there's anything else you want to get out of here.
47:41
I'm going to go straight to the outro, please.
47:43
This has been the episode of this channel.
47:45
Thank you, thank you, thank you for watching.
47:46
Listen to hanging out if you enjoy the show.
47:48
We do this every single week, sometimes twice a week,
47:50
sometimes three times a week if you're lucky or unlucky,
47:53
depending on where you're sitting.
47:54
YouTube, Spotify, have a podcast wherever like to watch or
47:56
listen. Please, if you can like,
47:58
subscribe, follow, comment, leave us a review, drop some
48:01
knowledge. We always appreciate the
48:02
knowledge helps us kind of upskill ourselves and get us
48:06
ready for these big tournamentspatreon.com session
48:08
to the channel great way to support the show and to the
48:10
channel merch even greater way to sports show links all the
48:13
above much much more in the description of this episode.
48:15
And a big thank you to my coach as well, Mr. Grant Angle, for he
48:21
always believes in me and for that you know, my cup
48:25
overfloweth with appreciation for my guy.
48:28
Likewise, buddy, I, you know, we, we believe in the process.
48:32
We trust the process we believe in, you know, and what we're
48:35
doing here and we appreciate all of you for believing in US
48:38
hanging out like Dino said, dropping knowledge in the
48:40
comments. Let us let us know what did we
48:41
miss? Were we overlooking somebody?
48:43
Who do you think the player of the tournament or the the player
48:46
of the cup should have been? We're always grateful for the
48:50
wisdom that you guys bestow on us so.
48:52
And, and, and I want to hear the anxieties, you know, there's
48:56
always anxieties after these from, from USA, you know, I, I
48:59
got, I brought a few, you know, my guy brought a few.
49:01
We kind of aired out, you know, like I, I feel like we did some
49:04
vintage, there was some healing here.
49:06
But you know, if you need to heal, if you're worried about
49:09
some stuff the US possession team related, drop it in the
49:11
comment section. Exactly.
49:13
We're a learning podcast. We're a healing podcast.
49:16
We're a great many things and we appreciate all of you Rocky with
49:19
us throughout all of it, and we will see you all next time.