The immigration laws in Europe and the child labor laws in the US are both obstacles, however. It's no accident a lot of the U18 players in Europe like Pulisic have double citizenships. African and Latin American players have the same issue.
Spain Women and thoughts on ECNL
- Thread starter Highlander
- Start date
Only 1 player playing in Europe hmm, Interesting article here from UK ESPN https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/page/uswntreport0809/uswnt-soccer-dominance-world-cup-2023-exit
Colombia has 8 and Morocco has 13. In my opinion Colombia had a great showing and they showed they can play with any of the top dogs. Taking out Germany in the process and giving England a very competitive game. They touch and move the ball way better than the USA and they do not have the athletes the US has. I was very impressed with their team.
Colombia's Roster 8 players that play in Europe 7 in Spain and 1 in Germany
Morocco's Roster only 2 in Spain
WatchthemPlay
SILVER
By and large, the system doesn’t support or promote possession-based soccer or give players the freedom to develop confidence to play this way. There are exceptions (Surf in ECNL and City in GA), but it’s rare. Girls are told (from direct personal and other parent/player experience at high ranked ECNL clubs/teams) to boot it up and don’t risk losing it by maintaining possession to make a good pass. Get it up to the fast forwards, win it back when the lose it, boot it up again, bully it into the goal. This is what is being taught and encouraged by 80% of the top clubs. 100% agree that being able to play both ways is very important, but what I saw the USWNT do at the World Cup very much matches the kick it up and chase it/battle it/use your body to get it into the goal.
aong cangkol
SILVER
USWNT used to dominate and now that it starts losing, I hope US Soccer will finally admit they have to change youth development system.
We know things never work with USMNT (half of starting players are developed outside US) due to the same youth development issue but previously the argument is talent competition with football, basketball and baseball.
Hopefully a losing USWNT will finally put an end to 10k/year youth soccer experience.
Highlander
SILVER ELITE
This caught my eye so I googled it, here is the story.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it but seems weird that she didn't mention more senior members of the team helping her. Hope she is doing ok.
Yes, we do. I watch them all the time. But they are not being considered. They go overlooked and undervalued by US Soccer and college coaches. For example my two DD have played in a possession based system since day 1 and a few years ago literally before Covid their team played in Spain against the academy teams of Valencia, Osasuna, Athletico Madrid, Osasuna, Seville, and Lyon. We won playing the same way they do. I will point out a college player to watch at UCLA. She’s a defender and plays the 3. Quincy McMahon and she reminds me Olga from Spain. If US Soccer does not bring someone in like her…I just don’t know. None the less a system that works to develop players must be put in place to develop players. The current methods are inadequate and not cohesive.
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AT needed to start or be first off the bench. Give her a shot now or bring in a veteran to sit. The #1 pick in our league did not play much and that was stupid, and coach should be fired for that move alone. Seriously, I watched AT play for 11 years and I never saw her sit on the bench, never! AT is also one the most confident players I know at her age and no reason she only got 17 minutes at the WC.
whatithink
GOLD
Its not easy to compare. The NWSL is run by the owners and setup for parity with salary caps, draft etc.
The Euro leagues run like any of their leagues, i.e. pro/rel, you spend your money etc., so there can be a gulf in quality within the league.
I think that Barca, Lyon, Chelsea, Wolfsburg would be better than the best NWSL teams ... but the NWSL teams would comfortably compete with most of the teams in the corresponding leagues.
Looking forward, I think, with the top (men's) pro clubs fully engaged, the NWSL will find it hard to compete. The Euro soccer leagues know how to make money with the EPL leading the way. They (EPL) are spending millions annually at this point on their WSL teams. That's only increasing, and the England team is mirroring that progression, i.e. as the WSL has grown, the national team has gotten better and better.
My 0.02.
Desert Hound
DA
THIS ^^^^
The mens clubs are now starting to back their women's side of the coin at the same club. They are and will get better.
I think the path will be like we are seeing in the USL/MSL. Now there are local opportunities to train and play. These leagues have gotten better. As they have gotten better it give a chance for our best to then move up to the EURO leagues and play against the best.
I think this is likely what we will on the US womens side with the NWSL. Until NWSL really figures it out...you will start seeing the top talent moving overseas to play against and learn with the best.
Most NWSL womens are drafted from college. In Europe those ladies are joining the clubs and doing full time training far earlier.
THIS^^^^
This speaks a lot to the lack of team chemistry with this USWNT. This team was a collection of players , not really a “team”. Lacked some true veteran leadership that many of the previous teams had
Good experience for AT, she will learn from it. At these levels the mental part of the game becomes so important
Reminds me of the Earl Woods talking about mentality
whatithink
GOLD
I agree, but with a caveat. By the time US players come out of college, the Euro path is probably long gone, with the exception of phenoms. The academy model used in Europe has players committing at 16/17 having been in their programs for years before that.
The NWSL doesn't have the same goals as US soccer. That direct link is broken. The owners are looking to monetize their investment as a cartel, just like the MLS. There's no real impact to failing at a club level, if you are a co-owner, and the league should balance out over time without you (owner) having to work hard to excel. You can "outsource" player development etc. and just concentrate on mediocracy while benefiting from the commercials of the league as a whole.
[edit add], just look at the Messi add for the MLS. He's being paid for by all the clubs. In what league in Europe would all the clubs come together to buy a single player, to add to a single club, so that the lucky club gets to benefit to the detriment of everyone else. The league benefits, i.e. the MLS owners, by increasing the value of their investment. Its the reason there will never be pro/rel - no $ gain in that as an owner.
Its not a serious league.
whatithink
GOLD
That's a bit spooky!!
"But when Spain beat England in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday, no NWSL players were on either team’s roster. Only three NWSL players – Sweden’s Sofia Jakobsson and Australia’s Emily van Egmond and Alex Chidiac – were in the semi-finals. Only five NWSL players – the three who advanced to the semis, plus Japan’s Jun Endo and Hina Sugita – were in the quarter-finals."
Europe’s leagues are overtaking the NWSL. That’s a win for women’s soccer | Women's football | The Guardian
"But when Spain beat England in the Women’s World Cup final on Sunday, no NWSL players were on either team’s roster. Only three NWSL players – Sweden’s Sofia Jakobsson and Australia’s Emily van Egmond and Alex Chidiac – were in the semi-finals. Only five NWSL players – the three who advanced to the semis, plus Japan’s Jun Endo and Hina Sugita – were in the quarter-finals."
Europe’s leagues are overtaking the NWSL. That’s a win for women’s soccer | Women's football | The Guardian
No wonder Barca signed her. We need more players like that playing simple, smart and fast. That one little feint she did setup that whole sequence of passes as the defense was scrambling
I think one of the main issues the US Youth national teams face is not so much the offense but their defensive principles, fundamentals and tactics are poor. I've seen them make poor choices trying to play the ball out the back and things like making tackles in the box instead of containing players. Also poor directional first touch. We have some talented offensive players and if they can continue to touch and move the ball like that in the attacking 1/3 then they will be fine. I don't see the Big USA Women's team making those kinds of plays.
Then explain Alyssa Thompson……
Personally for women I think you need to mix some WWE (the wrestlers) style entertainment into the league to generate drama + interest. NWSL will soon be considered a subpar league to the ones in Europe, maybe even the women's leagues in Central + South America.
Things that can up the drama...
- Partner with MLS + do doubleheader games
- Publicize + televise cattle call Talent ID camps
- Friendlies in Europe
- Partner with the NFL + do doubleheader games
- More Famous Owners
- Do crazy things like NWSL Futsal friendlies + televise it.
- Maybe get crazy + Partner with the Bookmakers (advertising only)
Point is that there's lots that could be done + none of it is happening now.
Things that can up the drama...
- Partner with MLS + do doubleheader games
- Publicize + televise cattle call Talent ID camps
- Friendlies in Europe
- Partner with the NFL + do doubleheader games
- More Famous Owners
- Do crazy things like NWSL Futsal friendlies + televise it.
- Maybe get crazy + Partner with the Bookmakers (advertising only)
Point is that there's lots that could be done + none of it is happening now.
Alyssa Thompson is freakish fast with explosive acceleration. .She has to be hitting the 30m sprint time <4 seconds. She has good dribbling ability and is not afraid to take on any player 1v1 with a very high success rate. What I think the US will continue to do is pick players that are big, fast and strong in key areas of the field but that also have decent technical ability. Why not have the best of both worlds. Forwards don’t have to be big maybe strong enough. In fact being too big as a forward may work against you and diminish your mobility and agility. Average height is best for forwards. With the pool of selection of players US soccer has I wouldn’t be choosing non athletic players that have great technical skills. While they may shine in lower leve games, they won’t make it at the higher levels. If I were US soccer I’d be looking fast, strong athletic technical players that are coachable
and that have the ability to understand and apply tactics. There is a minimum threshold needed for speed, stamina and strength required to play at the highest level. You just gotta make sure that these athletes have good technique and a brain to play the game.let’s be honest athleticism matters but it better come with technique and a brain. We don’t need track stars. Just fast enough and strong enough. US soccer seems to be only looking at track stars.