This is going to be very long, so I apologize, but..
Well, of course, better coaching. But not just at the top level. If US Soccer is going to be putting the money in at the youth international levels, which I've heard some users posting against, basically all other countries have youth national teams. It's a part of their development. The national stage is too much of a jump in talent especially on the women's side. But back to that, they need to focus more on development and creating a good style of play that they want at the full international level. They need to teach those girls patient soccer, but also tactical (i.e start playing more direct in the last 5 minutes of a nil-nil game, possess more toward the end of a 1-0 game). The Girls DA for crying out loud prides itself on less games with more meaningful competition and for scouting for the YNT. Yet, why to the youth national teams play games that end in 15-0, 12-0?? Even though they shouldn't have been playing that game anyway, since they where, why weren't the girls working on playing out of the back as much as possible after IDK 5-0. For these girls, it's not like in the Blowout thread where they could focus more on individual development, but rather team development. Those girls are good passes, try playing some Tiki-Taka, try possession, try new formations. But instead they went in to score as many goals as possible and completely humiliate their opponent. Was it the U16 YNT that went the UEFA development tournament where all players had to play 80 minutes? Do more of those!!
The whole point of the YNT's (like how I said that all other countries have them and use them to develop) is to hopefully prepare these kids to play for the full national team and to prepare them for that level and to teach them what is expected. Also, I think the ECNL has made a major role in the incoming talent lately. While the ECNL has been around for a while, the play has really evolved and forces these girls to play at another level. I would even argue that there are teams in the ECNL who play better than youth national teams 9-10 years ago. So, even with GDA, I think the ECNL will be a major role over the next 5 years and that almost all of the talent will be coming from there. Whether in U-20 call ups, U-23, or the full national team (anything post high school). Like I mentioned before, I firmly believe that soccer, and especially women's soccer for it's relatively young age, is a game that is continually changing and evolving. But that's also from consistency. ECNL has the consistency and the play in it gets better every year. GDA is a brand new league that's supposed to be just as good? Leagues don't just form and put restrictions so that on;y whatever the best clubs are deemed as can play in it and then suddenly it's elite. It doesn't work like that. Has anyone heard of that happening? Not just in soccer, but in anything? Quite honestly I think that it was a poor decision on US Soccer and a representation of someone up there's misunderstanding of the game.
In a nutshell, it starts at the bottom. With the youth. Has anyone noticed that the youth coming in to the YNT are young, creative minds that thrived in the ECNL? It's not even the ECNL part that's important (well it is but I already see some of the posters going against what I said just because of that) but they come from the next generation that formed in an elite environment that forces good soccer. That has good coaches that don't just want to win, but enjoy the game and want their players to play good soccer. It'll take time, especially once GDA gets going because all it does it take promising players from a league that has already proven itself to make good players. Please don't get me wrong, I genuinely hope that the GDA is everything it is supposed to be from Day 1, but it's not realistic.
At the full national team level, I m honestly a fan of calling more players in from the NWSL. I do not agree with the tactics and the decisions she has made with and about those players. For ex, she has given Short more than enough chances to be a player on that team, though I have seen nothing of her to even say she should be playing at the international level. Something I just thought of,
@NoGoal , giving Ellis the benefit of the doubt, maybe she is giving Short an extended run because she knows that there will be time needed for some players to adjust to the international level? With that being said, I would take note that it is also the one position of her call up ees from the NWSL that doesn't really affect goal scoring, literally. Short doesn't help in the attack. I think at all. But anyways, why call up a forward and then have an open position at forward AND NOT PLAY THE FORWARD?!?! LOL. IM SORRY IM JUST SO CONFUSED. If Ellis is going to be spending the next half year, year or whatever experimenting, experiment with the players like she said she was going to. Let players prove themselves and a position on the team.
Okay last of all. Look at the first part of this video. It looks like Ellis hasn't learned at all. She literally just said direct is our identity. They need to stop identifying as strong fast and powerful and just start playing good soccer. It's good to be fast and strong and powerful, but if you can't use those abilities correctly with technical skill we will get nowhere. Seriously, all elite nations are strong fast and powerful. Once again France killed us in all those aspects, but also in the aspect that they were more technical. Much more technical and much better vision and creativity as a whole. More connection. Of course, that's what Ellis tries to stress in the video,
however I feel as though she is relying more and more on the players coming in and being individually good and it sounds like she's trying to bring in the style of play rather than develop it.
I love discussion so if anyone wants to reply to a certain part or has a better idea I'd love to hear it. That's the whole point of the board after all, isn't it?
Also, I'm sorry for any typos
http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...-australia-tournament-of-nations-lineup-notes
