IMHO, one reason for the USWNT’s behavior is that for quite a few years, they have basically been surrounded by an environment of affirmation - a sort of rah-rah, you-go-girl atmosphere in which everything they do is adulated, they can do no wrong, and the press is firmly behind them. So when they go up against minnows like Thailand and preen and celebrate the 10th goal like it’s the 1st, the notion that this is unsportsmanlike doesn’t even occur to them - after all, they are golden girls, everything they do is wonderful and right.
(I don’t dispute that for GD purposes, there are valid reasons for running up the score. But the behavior and demeanor is another matter.)
To briefly interrupt the squabbling about whether 13-0 was justified, just a note that Germany has become the first team to officially advance to the knockout stage.
Another non-USA-Thailand thought - wow, the goalkeepers seem to be terrible all around. The Brazilian keeper just couldn’t keep even easy balls out of the net; I wouldn’t be surprised if a great many goals in this tournament end up being because of lousy GKs.
I don’t mind the ref deciding. But I do think it needs to be much more transparent. Like a countdown clock.
Now they probably will. Thanks to those 13 goals. One reason why it was the right thing to do.
It really doesn’t matter how likely they are to advance. Never count on what should happen. Until they do, they have to do everything they can to ensure this. If that means 13-0, so be it. If Jill Ellis tells them to back off, she should be fired.
Of course there was.
I though her passing was about her only saving grace. She lost nearly every dribble and her crosses were garbage. But her passing was pretty good. Still, I agree she mostly stunk.
Not “running up the score” is an American thing, no one else cares. In fact slacking off in the latter stages of a game often leaves a flat feeling despite a good win.
Agree completely- Australia/Brasil was the worst, all four of the non penalty goals, the keepers could have stopped if not for slow movement and slow reaction time, or at least came close.
And FIFA needs to change the rule for fouls in the box that probably werent going to lead to goals, to indirect free kick- France/Norway a clear kick in the knee but the ball was going away from goal, and this one with Brasil as well.
If a keeper has a goal kick and all other players are on the other side of the field except one defender in the box who raises their arms above their head and claps, and the goal kick hits that arm, thats a penalty correct?
So, there isn’t a set minute to stop… except for the last minute of stoppage… or maybe earlier? Every single minute should be played with the same effort, enthusiasm, and determination. First or last.
This is my favorite. Every one of the players on my daughter’s club team went on to play in college. They met up frequently and it was the same for many of the other players on her team. We had a game where my daughter was playing attacking mid against one of her best friends in goal. She scored two on her and celebrated each time. After the final whistle blew they hugged and laughed.
Millions? i didnt know the internet was teeming with video of the last few seconds of basketball games (confused face). I will settle for ONE video of a basketball player, team up big, ten seconds to go, shot clock off, advancing the ball the length of the court and scoring without getting major shit from the opposition, the opposition coach or his own coach. I’ll wait. Not in Kazakhstan, in the US, preferably.
And what members of the Bloomington Cutters do may not be the same as what the pros do- hint: it’s not about the other teams players, its about the other teams fans. The players are all millionaires and friends, they dont give a shit about playing or scoring for a rival- fans do, like it or not. It’s your “favorite” line because its silly they do it, or your favorite because you think they don’t? If the latter, you clearly dont know pro soccer, so I wont bother. If you think they do actually do it but its dumb, it may well be. But if in doubt, see they flak many gave Suarez v. Liverpool and Giroud v. Arsenal just last month (note, those are pro soccer players in Europe).
And every single second of a sporting event should be played the same? Tell that to the millions of football teams each week who kneel three times when up big in the final two minutes.
I don’t know why you keep bringing up football. Point differential will rarely be any kind of tie breaker, and football has a much higher probability of injury than soccer or basketball. So, if a team can win the game and get off the field without risking injury, that’s what they are going to do. They’re not going to risk injuring their quarterback, receiver, tight end, or running back on some meaningless play. It has nothing to do with sportsmanship and everything to do with avoiding injury. That’s also why they pull their starters if they are up big. However, no one tells the second string players not to try and score.
Do you know anything about sports? This thread has become bizarre.
I was replying specifically to poster Spud, whose knowledge of soccer clearly is limited to USWNT World Cup exploits and Indiana womens club matters, said every second should be played the same- surely Spud , when inventing this maxim as he typed, didnt mean one sport only- soccer you play hard to the final whistle, but only soccer?
Response was for Spud, The person who actually compared a player for IUPUI scoring on a friend from Purdue to Suarez for Barcelona scoring and celebrating v. Liverpool, that font of soccer wisdom? the person who claimed millions of video exists of something that in reality never happens in basketball?
This is my last response to this hijack. If you want to continue this discussion about whether professional athletes play hard, please start a new thread.
Every athlete plays hard to the end in a game where the final score matters, and often even if it doesn’t. Did Michigan relent when they were beating Rutgers by more than 50 points? No, they went on to win 78-0, and I doubt that point difference even mattered. New Zealand beat the US 74-6 in a rugby match, and I think that was a friendly. Here’s a good women’s hockey one:
In American football, the ONLY reason they dial it back is to avoid injury, since it’s such a big part of the game. If they can run out the clock safely, they’ll do it. Tennis players don’t relax when they’re up 5-0 in the winning set. Baseball runners don’t slow down when their team is up 12-0. I don’t know where you get this idea.
Anyway, I’m rooting for Scotland over Japan since I have two kids going to school there. Go Scotland!!
Come again? I have moved on an have directed my recent posts in this thread to other matters than US v. Thailand, until know nothings like you and Spud respond to old posts with lame jabs. You did excellent work in finding three examples across the history of sport with high scores, or whatever that was, ESPN should hire you as a researcher.
US Thailand is dead, I’m not the one reviving it, i’ve moved on to the other matches, because I actually watch all, not just USA USA!
No, the restart would be a re-take of the goal kick. The ball is not in play until it leaves the penalty area, so the contact happened with a dead ball, thus a re-kick (and probably an earful from the Ref for the hapless defender).
Now, if the kick left the area and was blown back in by the wind and the defender grabbed the ball, that would be a penalty.
Thanks for the info, I have always wondered about that:)
But without a doubt, if a striker is surrounded in the top of the box 1 v. 3 and turns his back to goal and tries to pass to his nearest teammate 30 yards behind him, and the ball hits the outstretched arm of a defender in the box, even though the ball was going far away from goal, it is a penalty and that seems not cool.
Or, if in my example above with the outstretched arm, not a goal kick but a live ball the other players have accepted is the keepers’ and all went to the other end of the field- penalty, yes?
While looking that one up, as amazing as 82-0 is, South Korea did ten better vs Thailand in the 1998 Asia-Oceania Junior Championships (men’s hockey, under 18), winning 92-0. One player scored 31 of the goals.
Oh snap… have I been dissed. I’ll just concede to your vastly greater knowledge of women’s soccer.
The saddest part is my daughter appears to be a know nothing as well since we have discussed this and we agree with each other. I will hang my head in shame whenever I walk past her three All American 1st Team awards.
Millions of people saw the game, and probably all have an opinion, say roughly 50/50 on each side- all opinions equally valid, all opinions equally worthless. You gave your opinion, I gave mine, others gave theirs- the point of a board like this I guess. No one changed anyone’s mind, so life goes on. I ended this two days ago, excepting the posts with personal jabs. I have made other posts about other games, you keep coming back to USA Thailand.
I made some recent posts about keeper play, FIFA rules on penalties, etc- why not comment on those? Oh, because those don’t offer you the chance to show off your rapier wit?
I’ll be the bigger person and do an O’Reilly and will give you the last word you so desperately need, so make any post you like after this and I will ignore and we can move on to different topics.
The real saddest part? That you feel compelled to boast about the accomplishments of a relative to an anonymous poster on a message board.