What the USA have always had is participation and good coaching. The women's game in this country has been marginalised over the years. I recall in the 80s a couple of members of the England women's team training with us for a short time and they were not as good as most of the men. Strangely, physically they put it about quite a bit, but they lacked the general levels of ability.
That can't be said of our Women's team now. There is a strong league structure and more and more girls are playing the game. There are young girls out there that are better than the boys and I have seen a few of them play.
The question is not about whether we will catch up with the USA, but whether we already have. From what I have seen in this tournament, I think we have. Tonight we reveal where we truly are. If we win tonight, we will be favourites to lift the trophy.
We all wish our ladies the very best tonight. They have done themselves and us proud and the journey is not over yet. Come on you Lionesses.
Both Phil Neville and Lee Bowyer have utter belief in their players. TBF to Mark Sampson he took the England team forward to 3rd in the WC.
We need to overcome the semi final obstacle which has inhibited the England team over the last two tournaments. Lucy Bronze is a World class player. Steph Houghton is a world class player. Karen Bardsley is a World Class keeper (not great with feet but good hands)
Ellen White has became a clinical finisher late in her career. Jill Scott has been superb in midfield.
Walsh, Mead and Stanways are great young Talents. Everyone has played a part.
Neville got away with picking Bright in the last match, a virus where she hadn't eaten for two days meant MacManus should've been CB. So Defo Bright will play tonight and fingers cross she can replicate her Chelsea form and not her form in this tournament so far.
Moore for Walsh may be an option as she is a hard tackling midfielder where as Walsh loves the ball and may be caught out by quick closing down ? Greenwood or Stokes ? Both have had shaky moments but are decent LB at this level.
Daley, Duggan or Mead in that attacking left position. That will be decided on tactics and how we are going to approach this match.
So looking forward to this game and hoping the girls just do themselves proud, win or lose (preferably win). With so little that is positive in CAFC at the moment, I am loving the tournament. But also the high profile, skilful, and talented players on show is a constructive advert for the game. Hoping attendances at games next season will benefit from the viewing. Watched CAFC women a few times last year who were really good, so will definitely try to get to Oakwood more this coming season. Loved football all my life but for my generation, it was play in the street football with the guys or lunchtime at school, no opportunities to go further. Like many, I went down the athletics, netball and hockey route instead. So thoroughly enjoying the currrent progress made in the women's game. Come on you Lionesses! ( Sorry it sounds wrong, Come on England!)
Steph Houghton’s poise in adversity draws comparison to Bobby Moore Matt Dickinson, chief sports writer, lyons
It is not just being a fair-haired centre half, with very real and immediate ambitions of being a World Cupwinning captain for England, that has prompted observers to watch Steph Houghton over recent weeks and see glimpses of Bobby Moore.
Hopefully it is more than wishful thinking at a time when a senior England team chase World Cup glory, with a daunting, thrilling semi-final against the United States this evening that will test every player, not least their redoubtable defender, to the limits.
Tonight’s match against the favourites and champions is the acid test of England’s calibre but there is something in how Houghton goes about her game, with minimal fuss or flapping, that certainly evokes memories of that stalwart leader who had a knack of saving his best for the biggest occasions just as Phil Neville’s side will need from their captain in Lyons.
In his newspaper column, Martin Keown talked recently about seeing in Houghton a similar defensive “sixth sense” to the late, great hero of 1966. “Moore was always there in the right moments, snuffing out danger and oozing class,” the former Arsenal defender noted. “Houghton does that, too, and she never switches off.”
Houghton will need to be at her very best to keep England defensively secure against a US team with such physical relentlessness and firepower that they put a record 13 goals past Thailand en route to the semi-finals. The truth is that England have ridden their luck at times to keep four clean sheets in five matches, and lapses are likely be punished.
Temperament is not in doubt, though, when it comes to the defensive rock. The determined, understated way Houghton goes about captaincy, leading by example rather than with any extravagance or overblown rhetoric, is another Moore characteristic.
Yet this also goes deeper than her playing style to a stoicism around traumatic personal circumstances that Moore displayed in a quite extraordinary manner, and Houghton too.
When Houghton runs to the dressing room after warming up before each match in France, she glances up to the stands and waves at her husband Stephen Darby. It must be a moment full of powerful emotion given Darby has motor neurone disease, a terminal condition.
It was last September that the former Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers player revealed the awful news that he is among about 5,000 sufferers in the UK at any time and, at 30, younger than most. The disease affects the muscles that weaken, stiffen and waste, affecting walking, talking, eating and breathing. Diagnosis is only possible when those symptoms start to show.
Out at the tournament in the past fortnight, the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary with Houghton posting photos and a message on social media “to my amazing husband and my best friend. There are not enough words to say how special you are!”
How Houghton manages to cope with all this while keeping her mind on the job draws vast admiration from team-mates and FA staff. She has declined many offers to be treated as a special case by Neville.
Stoicism was certainly one of Moore’s defining characteristics, and not only in the entirely uncomplaining way he dealt with the cancer that took him in 1993 at the age of 51.
It was in the autumn of 1964 that Moore first felt twinges in his groin when he was training. Over the coming months, it would become a swelling that he could no longer ignore.
By November he would be in surgery to remove a testicle in what was an extremely frightening ordeal at a time when cancer survival rates were considerably worse than now and information much harder to come by. Moore never discussed the seriousness of his affliction with team-mates, despite a three-month absence from West Ham United and England. He only ever referred to a groin problem.
His first wife Tina would say that the illness was the start of Moore suffering from insomnia but outwardly he showed only focus, returning to lift the Cup Winners’ Cup for his club a few months later and, 12 months on, the World Cup. The country acclaimed him without knowing all that he had endured.
These are different times but Houghton has been similarly understated, and she has certainly not sought sympathy. She did one interview before the tournament when she touched on a “really, really tough year”, and that was it.
Baroness Campbell, head of women’s football at the FA, is one of many around the camp who grows ever more admiring of Houghton.
“I call her our Captain Marvel,” Campbell said. “I always feel you can tell a lot about an athlete by how they go about their work away from the cameras. In Steph, you could not see someone more determined or focused in training.
“She feels a responsibility as captain to set certain standards and I think that temperament makes her a special footballer and person. She must feel stress and pressure but it’s not something she shows.”
We can expect that composure to be fully tested this evening against a US side who knocked out France, the hosts, in the quarter-final with typically ruthless efficiency. They have a depth of attacking options including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, while England’s defensive record has flattered them a little.
Millie Bright is not always the most reliable of sidekicks, and Houghton had to show her quality against Norway in the quarter-final, first to reprieve her own mistake with a crucial tackle and then clear off the line after Bright’s bad error with a back-pass.
“She’s massive,” Bright said yesterday of her partner. “That game [Norway] proved that.” Bright talked of “a natural bond” with Houghton, despite playing for Chelsea and Manchester City respectively, and called her team-mate, who hails from Durham, the “ultimate professional, the ultimate leader”.
Houghton, 31, is one of only a few of Neville’s squad to have played every minute in France and with more than a century of caps since her debut in 2007, the team look to her for a steadying presence.
Of course this will need to be a brilliant collective effort from England but pull it off, and reach a World Cup final on Sunday, and those comparisons to Moore will only grow.
Thanks @SDAddick, that is a great insight, and you confirmed what I have believed for years, the big difference between the States and the UK is that American girls started playing "Soccer" in kindergarten and carried on to college. You have women from around 50 downwards who have played football and have kept an interest on that side of the pond. In the UK, very few women over 35 played football, some may of had kick arounds with brothers and dad's but few played for teams.
When in California 30 years ago, for a month I had the whole system of females playing football from a young age explained and how it would be bigger than men's soccer in the USA by two young players in their twenties.(this has come to fruition because Americans love winners)
My Daughter who is now 24, only played for three seasons from 9 to 12 because she was an athlete and county standard netball player but one game that sticks in my mind was playing a superb Girls team that were daughters of US Servicemen. The Girl that marked my daughter was at 12 built like Millie Bright and wore a gum shield ! The utter self confidence shown by those girls was amazing.
It's a good insight that you now have maybe three generations who have grown up playing footie, and that can lead to more coaches, more participation when they have kids, more interest in the national team, all of the above. And yes, our participation numbers must be very high comparatively.
In the US, it's pretty common for girls and women to play sport. Moreso than in the UK, from my experience (this is largely anecdotal though, so correct me if you think I'm off here). But I'd say a lot of girls grow up playing at least one sport. And at least some of that is down to Titles IX, X, and XI (I think it is, definitely Title IX in particular) which outlaw discrimination by gender (as best you could in the 1970s), and made it so that there have to be an equal number of girls and boys teams in every school. And that creates a lower barrier to entry for sport.
It's also worth remembering that football here is very much a middle class white sport, and then a sport of immigrants and second and third generation children of immigrants. The former means there is a lot more money and resources in the game than if things were just organized by a central association, and there is a lot (far too much) of "pay to play" that goes on. But with that money, you can attract better coaches, coaching can be a full time job, etc. Plus, there is the infrastructure of the university system, which gives you a good objective and a degree. And from that infrastructure, you get a pretty good footballing culture. It's not great, I do think football culture has drastically improved overall here in the last 10-15 years, but because of the spread of the sport amongst women and girls you can be a lot more immersed in it.
I was out at a pub quiz last night with friends who I grew up with in LA. Two of the women there played for pretty elite club teams in west LA, one of whom could definitely have played Division 1 at uni if she'd wanted to. We were talking about the World Cup (and I'm going to try to duck out of work for a couple hours to watch the match with them) largely, and their playing experience some as well. And something I realized, particularly as it related to this conversation, is that we're old now, all in our 30s. So it is worth keeping in mind that it's been 15 years since we were a part of "youth" soccer (a little less because all three of us have done some coaching). I say this just as a caveat that things might have changed since I was growing up. I don't think they have that much on the women's side, I do think they have on the men's side. And of course none of this is scientific, and a lot of this is anecdotal.
What the USA have always had is participation and good coaching. The women's game in this country has been marginalised over the years. I recall in the 80s a couple of members of the England women's team training with us for a short time and they were not as good as most of the men. Strangely, physically they put it about quite a bit, but they lacked the general levels of ability.
That can't be said of our Women's team now. There is a strong league structure and more and more girls are playing the game. There are young girls out there that are better than the boys and I have seen a few of them play.
The question is not about whether we will catch up with the USA, but whether we already have. From what I have seen in this tournament, I think we have. Tonight we reveal where we truly are. If we win tonight, we will be favourites to lift the trophy.
We all wish our ladies the very best tonight. They have done themselves and us proud and the journey is not over yet. Come on you Lionesses.
I think at the national team level there is a very good case to be made. But at the grassroots level, I think you're still a ways behind. Again, don't want to be the arrogant American here or patronizing. It's just that we have such a head start and an infrastructure I laid out in my previous post.
That said, because of the grassroots infrastructure (flawed though it may be) in the men's game, if you should tap into that, which looks like it's really starting to happen, then things could change. But because of the prominence of the men's game in England, I think there will always be a competition for resources. I will absolutely say that in my experience, just in the last 10 years since I lived in England, I get the impression that the women's game has grown tremendously. But I do think there are cultural and historical factors here in the States that give us an advantage. And having 23 strong players isn't quite the same as having tremendous quality in depth. It is sometimes a reflection of it, but not always.
I think you are right to an extent, but it is already being tapped into and has been for a while. My son trained until very recently at the football development centre in the University of Hertfordshire, where Arsenal Ladies also train. That includes the youth teams and the set up is very impressive and I have seen it close up. The development centre identifies local talent and provides professional standard coaching. The was one girl there, a few years younger than my son, who was excellent and I understand she has been spotted and signed up by Arsenal Ladies. That is just from my experience but if the US have more talented girls than her they are going to rule the world for some time to come. This is going on up and around the country and the real question should be whether any of the US teams are better than the top English teams.
All we needed to do was change our culture a bit. The best girls can get a lot out of playing with boys and that can happen now up to an appropriate age. And our boys are better than the US boys. I think there is still room for improvement, I'd like to see the best girls train with boys more even at more advanced ages if they are good enough and many are. I think we will overtake the US very soon if we haven't done so already.
Interesting breakdown on the BBC website of where the England players come from. No London born players at all. Nor any from the south west (rubgy union country I suppose). Nearly all from Midlands and the North with probably our best player Lucy Bronze the most northern, harking from Berwick and so very nearly a Scot.
The College infrastructure in the US is a massive factor. The womens game receives as much money, time and attention as the mens. Therefore, they produce much more talent on a consistent basis compared us. Cant see that changing anytime soon.
Whatever the result and how the match goes, if I can get away from work and watch the match live I'll try and be on here and get involved in the banter. If not I'll have to wait until the evening to watch. It's been good fun talking about this with all of you.
The College infrastructure in the US is a massive factor. The womens game receives as much money, time and attention as the mens. Therefore, they produce much more talent on a consistent basis compared us. Cant see that changing anytime soon.
If men's football in England got as much money spent on it as women's football, our men's team would only be about as good as the US team too.
Interesting breakdown on the BBC website of where the England players come from. No London born players at all. Nor any from the south west (rubgy union country I suppose). Nearly all from Midlands and the North with probably our best player Lucy Bronze the most northern, harking from Berwick and so very nearly a Scot.
Only Fran Kirby from Reading and Ellen White from Aylesbury, are from the South. A real North, South divide.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
How big is this World Cup in the US SD?
Good question. I think it's pretty big. Americans like winning at sport, so they'll support their country in most things they win at. And more broadly, women's soccer is pretty big here, both because of the history of success but also because a lot of girls and women grow up playing the game.
None of this is quantifiable. TV ratings would be interesting, but given the games are on in the middle of the day and with streaming and all that I don't know how good a predictor they'd be. I'd say it's a pretty big sporting event, especially at this point in the tournament. It would be bigger if it weren't for the fact that most matches have been on in the middle of the day on a workday.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
This is getting a lot of publicity in England. Megan Rapinoe is making the back and front of the British press. She is very feisty and is playing well so far in this tournament.
2-2 in the she believe cup between USA and England but the US team always peak for Olympics and WC. Not sure how fitness will pan out between the two sides. My heart goes with England, My head with USA. Score prediction @SDAddick ?
Mate, I am notoriously awful at predictions.
SheBelieves was an interesting one, a more open match than I expect tomorrow. I don't think there's a lot in it. I think there's something to be said for how pedestrian the US made France look. France are not perfect, and have tended to wilt at exactly this stage of tournament with that golden generation, but they're not a bad side by any stretch.
I don't know how England will handle the intense pressing the US are capable of. And I don't know how the US would handle it if England sat deep and had the US try to break them down as they did in the SheBelieves cup (in 2018 I think it was). Also, you can bully the US, and you can certainly rustle their feathers, as Spain did so well (and Sweden did in the Olympics).
I'm going 2-2 AET and then pens. I know it's a cop out, I just think it will be a very close run thing. I think both teams have flaws, I think both teams can be excellent.
Lastly, I have to say Phil Neville has done much better in the job than I predicted. Didn't think he was qualified to take it on, but he seems to have done good things with them, and I feel his tactical acumen has improved in the last...18 months is it? But yeah, tip of the cap there, I was wrong on that one.
Predicted US team (one change, Horan for Mewis. Mewis has been workmanlike but not brilliant. Horan is less consistent but on her day she's one of the best footballers in the world).
Look out for Mal Pugh coming off the bench. She's largely been a bit part player, but he pace and trickery and directness can cause teams tremendous problems. Personally, I'd probably start her over Heath at least some of the time.
No idea who the other countries have managing them but surely given his level of experience in football, he's one of the most over qualified womens mangers there is?
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
How big is this World Cup in the US SD?
Good question. I think it's pretty big. Americans like winning at sport, so they'll support their country in most things they win at. And more broadly, women's soccer is pretty big here, both because of the history of success but also because a lot of girls and women grow up playing the game.
None of this is quantifiable. TV ratings would be interesting, but given the games are on in the middle of the day and with streaming and all that I don't know how good a predictor they'd be. I'd say it's a pretty big sporting event, especially at this point in the tournament. It would be bigger if it weren't for the fact that most matches have been on in the middle of the day on a workday.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
This is getting a lot of publicity in England. Megan Rapinoe is making the back and front of the British press. She is very feisty and is playing well so far in this tournament.
2-2 in the she believe cup between USA and England but the US team always peak for Olympics and WC. Not sure how fitness will pan out between the two sides. My heart goes with England, My head with USA. Score prediction @SDAddick ?
Mate, I am notoriously awful at predictions.
SheBelieves was an interesting one, a more open match than I expect tomorrow. I don't think there's a lot in it. I think there's something to be said for how pedestrian the US made France look. France are not perfect, and have tended to wilt at exactly this stage of tournament with that golden generation, but they're not a bad side by any stretch.
I don't know how England will handle the intense pressing the US are capable of. And I don't know how the US would handle it if England sat deep and had the US try to break them down as they did in the SheBelieves cup (in 2018 I think it was). Also, you can bully the US, and you can certainly rustle their feathers, as Spain did so well (and Sweden did in the Olympics).
I'm going 2-2 AET and then pens. I know it's a cop out, I just think it will be a very close run thing. I think both teams have flaws, I think both teams can be excellent.
Lastly, I have to say Phil Neville has done much better in the job than I predicted. Didn't think he was qualified to take it on, but he seems to have done good things with them, and I feel his tactical acumen has improved in the last...18 months is it? But yeah, tip of the cap there, I was wrong on that one.
Predicted US team (one change, Horan for Mewis. Mewis has been workmanlike but not brilliant. Horan is less consistent but on her day she's one of the best footballers in the world).
Look out for Mal Pugh coming off the bench. She's largely been a bit part player, but he pace and trickery and directness can cause teams tremendous problems. Personally, I'd probably start her over Heath at least some of the time.
No idea who the other countries have managing them but surely given his level of experience in football, he's one of the most over qualified womens mangers there is?
To me, experience playing doesn't necessarily translate to coaching. There's the famous saying from Arrigo Sachi "I didn't know you had to have been a horse to be a jockey."
Neville is almost certainly the most experienced as a footballer amongst coaches (we won't talk about Euro 2000). But there are a lot of good, experienced coaches in this tournament.
The College infrastructure in the US is a massive factor. The womens game receives as much money, time and attention as the mens. Therefore, they produce much more talent on a consistent basis compared us. Cant see that changing anytime soon.
If men's football in England got as much money spent on it as women's football, our men's team would only be about as good as the US team too.
I would argue that at this stage, money isn't really the obstacle in US men's football. It's now more a lack of infrastructure and coaching and footballing culture. All are improving, but there is still a lot of room to improve at every level. At the top of the game there is a lot of money, but how to diffuse that into better grassroots coaching and infrastructure and access to facilities and footballing culture remains elusive, in part because it's a massive country, and in part because of the traditional indifference to the sport.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
How big is this World Cup in the US SD?
Good question. I think it's pretty big. Americans like winning at sport, so they'll support their country in most things they win at. And more broadly, women's soccer is pretty big here, both because of the history of success but also because a lot of girls and women grow up playing the game.
None of this is quantifiable. TV ratings would be interesting, but given the games are on in the middle of the day and with streaming and all that I don't know how good a predictor they'd be. I'd say it's a pretty big sporting event, especially at this point in the tournament. It would be bigger if it weren't for the fact that most matches have been on in the middle of the day on a workday.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
This is getting a lot of publicity in England. Megan Rapinoe is making the back and front of the British press. She is very feisty and is playing well so far in this tournament.
2-2 in the she believe cup between USA and England but the US team always peak for Olympics and WC. Not sure how fitness will pan out between the two sides. My heart goes with England, My head with USA. Score prediction @SDAddick ?
Mate, I am notoriously awful at predictions.
SheBelieves was an interesting one, a more open match than I expect tomorrow. I don't think there's a lot in it. I think there's something to be said for how pedestrian the US made France look. France are not perfect, and have tended to wilt at exactly this stage of tournament with that golden generation, but they're not a bad side by any stretch.
I don't know how England will handle the intense pressing the US are capable of. And I don't know how the US would handle it if England sat deep and had the US try to break them down as they did in the SheBelieves cup (in 2018 I think it was). Also, you can bully the US, and you can certainly rustle their feathers, as Spain did so well (and Sweden did in the Olympics).
I'm going 2-2 AET and then pens. I know it's a cop out, I just think it will be a very close run thing. I think both teams have flaws, I think both teams can be excellent.
Lastly, I have to say Phil Neville has done much better in the job than I predicted. Didn't think he was qualified to take it on, but he seems to have done good things with them, and I feel his tactical acumen has improved in the last...18 months is it? But yeah, tip of the cap there, I was wrong on that one.
Predicted US team (one change, Horan for Mewis. Mewis has been workmanlike but not brilliant. Horan is less consistent but on her day she's one of the best footballers in the world).
Look out for Mal Pugh coming off the bench. She's largely been a bit part player, but he pace and trickery and directness can cause teams tremendous problems. Personally, I'd probably start her over Heath at least some of the time.
No idea who the other countries have managing them but surely given his level of experience in football, he's one of the most over qualified womens mangers there is?
To me, experience playing doesn't necessarily translate to coaching. There's the famous saying from Arrigo Sachi "I didn't know you had to have been a horse to be a jockey."
Neville is almost certainly the most experienced as a footballer amongst coaches (we won't talk about Euro 2000). But there are a lot of good, experienced coaches in this tournament.
Wasn't just referring to his playing career, he had some coaching roles for 4-5 years prior to taking the England womens job. Also let's not forget he played under Fergie for most of his career, so must've picked up some tips.
May I be the first of the Scottish CL contingent to say good luck ladies. Will be watching and willing you on.
That's how it should be. BTW, I think Scotland have some excellent players, they just can't defend for toffee. I think it is one of the most regrettable things in the tournament that their manager didn't seem to get this. I think they would have definitely qualified had the tactics been a bit more positive and less reactive.
I reckon two or three will be there or there abouts around the Olympic Squad/Team.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
How big is this World Cup in the US SD?
Good question. I think it's pretty big. Americans like winning at sport, so they'll support their country in most things they win at. And more broadly, women's soccer is pretty big here, both because of the history of success but also because a lot of girls and women grow up playing the game.
None of this is quantifiable. TV ratings would be interesting, but given the games are on in the middle of the day and with streaming and all that I don't know how good a predictor they'd be. I'd say it's a pretty big sporting event, especially at this point in the tournament. It would be bigger if it weren't for the fact that most matches have been on in the middle of the day on a workday.
General politeness and respect suggests you don't do that though. I suppose these are qualities something many Americans don't possess in large quantities.
Shut up! I will fight you!
Is that Trump’s interpretation of “Speak softly and carry a big stick”?
He is currently in a Twitter spout with the joint top scorer in the tournament and look just writing that made my brain hurt.
This is getting a lot of publicity in England. Megan Rapinoe is making the back and front of the British press. She is very feisty and is playing well so far in this tournament.
2-2 in the she believe cup between USA and England but the US team always peak for Olympics and WC. Not sure how fitness will pan out between the two sides. My heart goes with England, My head with USA. Score prediction @SDAddick ?
Mate, I am notoriously awful at predictions.
SheBelieves was an interesting one, a more open match than I expect tomorrow. I don't think there's a lot in it. I think there's something to be said for how pedestrian the US made France look. France are not perfect, and have tended to wilt at exactly this stage of tournament with that golden generation, but they're not a bad side by any stretch.
I don't know how England will handle the intense pressing the US are capable of. And I don't know how the US would handle it if England sat deep and had the US try to break them down as they did in the SheBelieves cup (in 2018 I think it was). Also, you can bully the US, and you can certainly rustle their feathers, as Spain did so well (and Sweden did in the Olympics).
I'm going 2-2 AET and then pens. I know it's a cop out, I just think it will be a very close run thing. I think both teams have flaws, I think both teams can be excellent.
Lastly, I have to say Phil Neville has done much better in the job than I predicted. Didn't think he was qualified to take it on, but he seems to have done good things with them, and I feel his tactical acumen has improved in the last...18 months is it? But yeah, tip of the cap there, I was wrong on that one.
Predicted US team (one change, Horan for Mewis. Mewis has been workmanlike but not brilliant. Horan is less consistent but on her day she's one of the best footballers in the world).
Look out for Mal Pugh coming off the bench. She's largely been a bit part player, but he pace and trickery and directness can cause teams tremendous problems. Personally, I'd probably start her over Heath at least some of the time.
No idea who the other countries have managing them but surely given his level of experience in football, he's one of the most over qualified womens mangers there is?
To me, experience playing doesn't necessarily translate to coaching. There's the famous saying from Arrigo Sachi "I didn't know you had to have been a horse to be a jockey."
Neville is almost certainly the most experienced as a footballer amongst coaches (we won't talk about Euro 2000). But there are a lot of good, experienced coaches in this tournament.
Wasn't just referring to his playing career, he had some coaching roles for 4-5 years prior to taking the England womens job. Also let's not forget he played under Fergie for most of his career, so must've picked up some tips.
He'd done a year as an assistant at Valencia, who are owned by his mate. From a coaching perspective, one of the least experienced coaches I would think.
As for playing under Fergie, this is really for another thread but has someone who played under Fergie regularly gone on to become a successful coach? Keane, Robson, Giggs, Solksjaer, the Neville brothers (a decent case being made here for Phil). I'm not saying working under Fergie doesn't have its advantages, but I find it interesting that I can't think of anyone who played under him at United who has gone on to become a decent manager. I have some theories as to why, but I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole.
The odds seem to suggest England have about a 33% chance of getting through (if I've done my sums right), which feels quite attractive from a betting point of view. I certainly think it will be a close run thing, and likely tense and interesting.
Regardless of how tonight unfolds it's been a great success for the English women's game the mainstream interest it has generated. Surely can only build and grow on the back of this tournament with lots more girls and women getting involved and bigger viewing figures to attract more money into the game.
Looking forward to the game and it's been a great tournament. Hope the England ladies are getting lots of support from back home - this tournament has really raised the profile of women's football in Spain and hopefully it's done the same in the UK.
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That can't be said of our Women's team now. There is a strong league structure and more and more girls are playing the game. There are young girls out there that are better than the boys and I have seen a few of them play.
The question is not about whether we will catch up with the USA, but whether we already have. From what I have seen in this tournament, I think we have. Tonight we reveal where we truly are. If we win tonight, we will be favourites to lift the trophy.
We all wish our ladies the very best tonight. They have done themselves and us proud and the journey is not over yet. Come on you Lionesses.
We need to overcome the semi final obstacle which has inhibited the England team over the last two tournaments.
Lucy Bronze is a World class player.
Steph Houghton is a world class player.
Karen Bardsley is a World Class keeper (not great with feet but good hands)
Ellen White has became a clinical finisher late in her career.
Jill Scott has been superb in midfield.
Walsh, Mead and Stanways are great young Talents.
Everyone has played a part.
Neville got away with picking Bright in the last match, a virus where she hadn't eaten for two days meant MacManus should've been CB. So Defo Bright will play tonight and fingers cross she can replicate her Chelsea form and not her form in this tournament so far.
Moore for Walsh may be an option as she is a hard tackling midfielder where as Walsh loves the ball and may be caught out by quick closing down ? Greenwood or Stokes ? Both have had shaky moments but are decent LB at this level.
Daley, Duggan or Mead in that attacking left position. That will be decided on tactics and how we are going to approach this match.
Third time lucky for the girls ?
Why not.
Watched CAFC women a few times last year who were really good, so will definitely try to get to Oakwood more this coming season. Loved football all my life but for my generation, it was play in the street football with the guys or lunchtime at school, no opportunities to go further. Like many, I went down the athletics, netball and hockey route instead. So thoroughly enjoying the currrent progress made in the women's game.
Come on you Lionesses! ( Sorry it sounds wrong, Come on England!)
Steph Houghton’s poise in adversity draws comparison to Bobby Moore
Matt Dickinson, chief sports writer, lyons
It is not just being a fair-haired centre half, with very real and immediate ambitions of being a World Cupwinning captain for England, that has prompted observers to watch Steph Houghton over recent weeks and see glimpses of Bobby Moore.
Hopefully it is more than wishful thinking at a time when a senior England team chase World Cup glory, with a daunting, thrilling semi-final against the United States this evening that will test every player, not least their redoubtable defender, to the limits.
Tonight’s match against the favourites and champions is the acid test of England’s calibre but there is something in how Houghton goes about her game, with minimal fuss or flapping, that certainly evokes memories of that stalwart leader who had a knack of saving his best for the biggest occasions just as Phil Neville’s side will need from their captain in Lyons.
In his newspaper column, Martin Keown talked recently about seeing in Houghton a similar defensive “sixth sense” to the late, great hero of 1966. “Moore was always there in the right moments, snuffing out danger and oozing class,” the former Arsenal defender noted. “Houghton does that, too, and she never switches off.”
Houghton will need to be at her very best to keep England defensively secure against a US team with such physical relentlessness and firepower that they put a record 13 goals past Thailand en route to the semi-finals. The truth is that England have ridden their luck at times to keep four clean sheets in five matches, and lapses are likely be punished.
Temperament is not in doubt, though, when it comes to the defensive rock. The determined, understated way Houghton goes about captaincy, leading by example rather than with any extravagance or overblown rhetoric, is another Moore characteristic.
Yet this also goes deeper than her playing style to a stoicism around traumatic personal circumstances that Moore displayed in a quite extraordinary manner, and Houghton too.
When Houghton runs to the dressing room after warming up before each match in France, she glances up to the stands and waves at her husband Stephen Darby. It must be a moment full of powerful emotion given Darby has motor neurone disease, a terminal condition.
It was last September that the former Liverpool and Bolton Wanderers player revealed the awful news that he is among about 5,000 sufferers in the UK at any time and, at 30, younger than most. The disease affects the muscles that weaken, stiffen and waste, affecting walking, talking, eating and breathing. Diagnosis is only possible when those symptoms start to show.
Out at the tournament in the past fortnight, the couple celebrated their first wedding anniversary with Houghton posting photos and a message on social media “to my amazing husband and my best friend. There are not enough words to say how special you are!”
How Houghton manages to cope with all this while keeping her mind on the job draws vast admiration from team-mates and FA staff. She has declined many offers to be treated as a special case by Neville.
Stoicism was certainly one of Moore’s defining characteristics, and not only in the entirely uncomplaining way he dealt with the cancer that took him in 1993 at the age of 51.
It was in the autumn of 1964 that Moore first felt twinges in his groin when he was training. Over the coming months, it would become a swelling that he could no longer ignore.
By November he would be in surgery to remove a testicle in what was an extremely frightening ordeal at a time when cancer survival rates were considerably worse than now and information much harder to come by. Moore never discussed the seriousness of his affliction with team-mates, despite a three-month absence from West Ham United and England. He only ever referred to a groin problem.
His first wife Tina would say that the illness was the start of Moore suffering from insomnia but outwardly he showed only focus, returning to lift the Cup Winners’ Cup for his club a few months later and, 12 months on, the World Cup. The country acclaimed him without knowing all that he had endured.
These are different times but Houghton has been similarly understated, and she has certainly not sought sympathy. She did one interview before the tournament when she touched on a “really, really tough year”, and that was it.
Baroness Campbell, head of women’s football at the FA, is one of many around the camp who grows ever more admiring of Houghton.
“I call her our Captain Marvel,” Campbell said. “I always feel you can tell a lot about an athlete by how they go about their work away from the cameras. In Steph, you could not see someone more determined or focused in training.
“She feels a responsibility as captain to set certain standards and I think that temperament makes her a special footballer and person. She must feel stress and pressure but it’s not something she shows.”
We can expect that composure to be fully tested this evening against a US side who knocked out France, the hosts, in the quarter-final with typically ruthless efficiency. They have a depth of attacking options including Megan Rapinoe and Alex Morgan, while England’s defensive record has flattered them a little.
Millie Bright is not always the most reliable of sidekicks, and Houghton had to show her quality against Norway in the quarter-final, first to reprieve her own mistake with a crucial tackle and then clear off the line after Bright’s bad error with a back-pass.
“She’s massive,” Bright said yesterday of her partner. “That game [Norway] proved that.” Bright talked of “a natural bond” with Houghton, despite playing for Chelsea and Manchester City respectively, and called her team-mate, who hails from Durham, the “ultimate professional, the ultimate leader”.
Houghton, 31, is one of only a few of Neville’s squad to have played every minute in France and with more than a century of caps since her debut in 2007, the team look to her for a steadying presence.
Of course this will need to be a brilliant collective effort from England but pull it off, and reach a World Cup final on Sunday, and those comparisons to Moore will only grow.
In the US, it's pretty common for girls and women to play sport. Moreso than in the UK, from my experience (this is largely anecdotal though, so correct me if you think I'm off here). But I'd say a lot of girls grow up playing at least one sport. And at least some of that is down to Titles IX, X, and XI (I think it is, definitely Title IX in particular) which outlaw discrimination by gender (as best you could in the 1970s), and made it so that there have to be an equal number of girls and boys teams in every school. And that creates a lower barrier to entry for sport.
It's also worth remembering that football here is very much a middle class white sport, and then a sport of immigrants and second and third generation children of immigrants. The former means there is a lot more money and resources in the game than if things were just organized by a central association, and there is a lot (far too much) of "pay to play" that goes on. But with that money, you can attract better coaches, coaching can be a full time job, etc. Plus, there is the infrastructure of the university system, which gives you a good objective and a degree. And from that infrastructure, you get a pretty good footballing culture. It's not great, I do think football culture has drastically improved overall here in the last 10-15 years, but because of the spread of the sport amongst women and girls you can be a lot more immersed in it.
I was out at a pub quiz last night with friends who I grew up with in LA. Two of the women there played for pretty elite club teams in west LA, one of whom could definitely have played Division 1 at uni if she'd wanted to. We were talking about the World Cup (and I'm going to try to duck out of work for a couple hours to watch the match with them) largely, and their playing experience some as well. And something I realized, particularly as it related to this conversation, is that we're old now, all in our 30s. So it is worth keeping in mind that it's been 15 years since we were a part of "youth" soccer (a little less because all three of us have done some coaching). I say this just as a caveat that things might have changed since I was growing up. I don't think they have that much on the women's side, I do think they have on the men's side. And of course none of this is scientific, and a lot of this is anecdotal.
That said, because of the grassroots infrastructure (flawed though it may be) in the men's game, if you should tap into that, which looks like it's really starting to happen, then things could change. But because of the prominence of the men's game in England, I think there will always be a competition for resources. I will absolutely say that in my experience, just in the last 10 years since I lived in England, I get the impression that the women's game has grown tremendously. But I do think there are cultural and historical factors here in the States that give us an advantage. And having 23 strong players isn't quite the same as having tremendous quality in depth. It is sometimes a reflection of it, but not always.
All we needed to do was change our culture a bit. The best girls can get a lot out of playing with boys and that can happen now up to an appropriate age. And our boys are better than the US boys. I think there is still room for improvement, I'd like to see the best girls train with boys more even at more advanced ages if they are good enough and many are. I think we will overtake the US very soon if we haven't done so already.
A real North, South divide.
Neville is almost certainly the most experienced as a footballer amongst coaches (we won't talk about Euro 2000). But there are a lot of good, experienced coaches in this tournament.
I reckon two or three will be there or there abouts around the Olympic Squad/Team.
As for playing under Fergie, this is really for another thread but has someone who played under Fergie regularly gone on to become a successful coach? Keane, Robson, Giggs, Solksjaer, the Neville brothers (a decent case being made here for Phil). I'm not saying working under Fergie doesn't have its advantages, but I find it interesting that I can't think of anyone who played under him at United who has gone on to become a decent manager. I have some theories as to why, but I don't want to go too far down that rabbit hole.
Daly and Mead start.
Kirby and Duggan on the bench.