yeah Japan always plays tough (as does Colombia which is up 1-0 on Spain at the half as I type this). Would rather face cheatin’ canada than germany next round especially assuming another start from Sonnet at CB if Davidson’s still out + the general concerns about the starters having now played 90+ every game and have to be back at it on Tuesday. Will be good to have Coffee back, that still leaves Hayes having to figure out if/how to get Nighswonger in the mix and who to play at CB next to Girma, and ofc that front three has been worked real hard
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yeah kind of a crazy schedule for the players even without subbing thats relatively little time to rest between matches.
also re: colombia spain crazy game!! go colombia 
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silver lining for the USWNT that germany will be equally exhausted going into the next round. Sad for Colombia. Happy for Brazil although that extra time was real goofy. Good to see Kerolin back from injury
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im so happy for her :)
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im not going to be able to handle tomorrows game DR vs Brasil in women’s volleyball 
brasil looked extremely strong versus poland yesterday, they have not lost a single set this tournament!
I watched the Olympic women’s road cycling event twice yesterday. Kristen Faulkner catching up to the leaders and then just fwoom blasting ahead in the final kilometers to win was impressive.
The three other leaders (Marianne Vos, Blanka Vas, Lotte Kopecky) tried to keep up for a bit, but when Faulkner got sufficient headway, they backed off. I suspect they weren’t completely gassed, but they were worried about tiring out in a futile chase and losing silver and bronze to each other. So it looked (to my uncycling eyes) like they were saving up for a sprint between the three rather than trying to push more speed out.
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Good for USWNT 
now that a move to chicago is in the cards for me i might just become a Swanson stan
I hope Brazil wins this next match but that means the final will have me torn!!
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she’s at least a little bit into qanon shit apparently. Heck of a player though
nooooo :(
QAnon and antivaxx iirc. Rodman is also antivaxx and hangs with some groomer makeup influencer. Amazing players though, this is a great frontline.
Midfield looks kinda doodoo ass at times though. If Spain gets through they’ll be a big problem.
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i rescind my earlier statements, gotta do my research before i yap away next time. just tryina shop around for what player(s) to follow as i’m trying to get into watching the NWSL
Swanson is married to Dansby Swanson who plays for the Cubs, who is definitely a conspiracy antivax guy too.
In related news, the other Chicago baseball team (White Sox) has lost 21 games in a row which ties the AL record. The overall record is 23 from the Phillies in 1961. Furthermore, they are well within range to set the overall loss record. It currently stands at 120 (162 games in the season) and their current record is 27-88.
My own team is unbearable to watch so this is all I have left to enjoy this season
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I mean I think it’s probably a combination of being young, having your life revolve entirely around sports (swanson and rodman both skipped college entirely, which obviously doesnt make one a good person automatically, but it helps with critical thinking and horizon broadening etc), and possibly I hate to say it but maybe being a little dumb combined with social media habits. Idk how actually political either are or invested in anything other than soccer. They’re not like loud about that stuff, just put foots in mouths here and there. Not really sure if I’m being too charitable though
As for the midfield - yeah it would look a lot better with Macario out there instead of overextended Horan and Lavelle. I think the whole reason Albert’s on the team is because at the very least she covers a lot of ground and hasn’t made any major (soccer) fuckups despite not adding much forward passing - Smith, Swanson, Rodman being able to carry the ball as well as they do papers over some of that deficiency. That and the US system isn’t overflowing with more central midfielders means they may be building behind Albert in the absence of other options. Maybe Moultrie or Hershfelt maybe they recycle some of the older players that didn’t stick before like Howell, Demelo, Sanchez, Flint, etc.
As far as current national team players are concerned, I don’t think Smith, Williams, or Girma are weird in any way.
How good has Girma been btw. Best player on the team
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@Bonsai You should check out multiple teams! My team, Bay FC, is in their inaugural expansion season and personally I think we have some interesting players! Asisat Oshoala and Rachael Kundananji are both Olympians and very cool players. They’re sometimes frustrating to watch because they’re new and not constructed as well as the best teams, which is expected for now, but good time to get in on the ground floor! SD Wave are also a popular choice to follow for people who don’t have a geographically local team because they have Alex Morgan, Girma, and Shaw. Gotham similarly because they have a ton of national team players.
@yeso
I definitely think for Rodman it’s a case of being a bit young and dumb and I hope she grows into a more robust person in time. Swanson I feel a bit less charitable toward, she’s a bit older and chose to marry a mental freak so idk what’s going on with her.
Horan shouldn’t play any more after this year imo. I hope Bethune’s kinda incredible NWSL season translates to the national team in the future because she’s absolutely killer. If she continues to improve could easily be one of the better midfielders in the world. I really like Hershfelt too and hope she gets more looks on the team. And yeah Girma is just exceptional, it’s really really really incredible to see her play.
Not looking good for Spain right now. Totally lacking finishing and edge atm. Brazil doing good to capitalize on their chances and finish them off.
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wow Spain is so cooked, this is wild
The script writers getting ready to have Marta score the GWG against the US for the gold
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my brazilian family is going wild right now! good for them, will be quite happy if they get gold. women’s volleyball semifinal is USA v Brazil lol
I’m not from there but its always good to be able to count on them being the remaining LATAM team in tournaments like these :)
edit: 
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Maybe but I think the dilemma is that Macario, Shaw, Bethune et al aren’t a like-for-like replacement for Horan. She’s a nice player to have as long as she’s not overburdened which is I think the issue - Japan and Germany both seemed to pick on her in particular
With the NWSL - I’m with Alex in that I just kind of like the league and hanging out with the games. The Red Stars have sordid history of weirdly mistreating their players (just about every team has had similar issues unfortunately) but this is generally getting better. Still, I didn’t really connect with the team as like a hometown fan for that reason. However, if you’re looking for a rooting interest then maybe the Caribbean solidarity angle with their widely beloved Jamaican head coach, who led them on their underdog WC run in 2023.
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on the subject of which USWNT players might be assholes: I really don’t know if or how to judge qanon or antivax or trump people who are just dumb/gullible/confused. It’s such an idiosyncratic view of the world with varying levels of material commitment so what can you really infer? Maybe I’m being naive idk. But I think the albert situation is a way to see where people might actually stand so I looked up the voting members for player’s association (union) that issued the actual clear statement well beyond what the federation has said
So the players that issued said statement are:
Cook
Morgan
Naeher
Alyssa Thompson
Sullivan
Hatch
Ashley Sanchez
Kingsbury
Sauerbrunn (President)
Krueger
Casey Murphy
Dunn
Fox
Sonnett
Kristie Mewis
Horan
Lynn Williams
Swanson
Purce
Girma
Lavelle
Coffey
Demelo
Huerta
Sophia Smith
Davidson
Rodman
Maybe this is some more tangiable reassurance
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Brazil time wasting and diving is so elite, hope the US is ready for the antics.
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