US Go "Dutch" With Netherlands

The US and Netherlands split the points equally in a tough match.  Some gems in the second round of games.  Thinking of matches like Canada's 2-1 comeback win over Ireland, Nigeria's 3-2 upset of Australia, the 2-2 draw between Argentina and South Africa and France's 2-1 classic against Brazil.

Get Mad But Make Sure You Get Even Too

For much of the US - Netherlands match, we were sure that the Dutch had one or two extra players on the pitch.  Between their technical superiority and energy, they looked to be toying with the US.  The 1-0 halftime score was more than fair.  Could the US first touch have been worse?  How many times did an attempted settle end up five feet away from the player?  Also, given the number of times US players slipped, they might want to be more careful with boot selection going forward. 

If you're only going to use one sub, Rose Lavelle is a good choice
Photo: Andrew Cornaga/Associated Press

Andonovski put on Rose Lavelle to start the second half and the difference was noticeable but the US were still down when Danielle van de Donk delivered a nasty cross check to Lindsey Horan in the 60th minute.  Frankly, I thought it was one of the dirtier fouls in the tournament but there was no yellow.    Horan was not pleased and made it clear as players got set for a corner barely seconds after the challenge.  Fingerpointing, pushing and words.  And these guys are teammates at Lyon.  (BFS Music Director Chris Z reminds us of the Dani Rojas - Van Damme dust up in Ted Lasso.)  The ref tried to get them to shake hands but no dice.  Anyway, Rose Lavelle delivered a perfect corner into the box and Lindsey Horan deftly headed it in for the equalizer.  You can see the foul and the play here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  We had fully expected Horan to get a yellow for retaliation at some point (actually, I think Lavelle took care of it later) but this was a much better response.  

The draw was probably a fair result and leaves the US in reasonably good shape for the third group stage match against Portugal.  I was glad to see them challenged here rather than face adversity for the first time at some point in the knock out rounds.  Curious that Andonovski only used one sub.  On the negative side, they certainly aren't guaranteed a place in the knockout rounds and the way the Dutch owned them in the first half other hand makes you wonder what might happen against some of the other heavies.

Second Bite at the Cherry

The first-timers all did better the second time of asking, even if the improvement is barely perceptible.

- Portugal got a 2-0 win over Vietnam 

- Philippines upset host New Zealand 1-0

- Ireland had a lead against Canada but ended up losing 1-2

- Haiti played China close, losing only by 0-1 on a PK

- Panama were close against Jamaica but lost 0-1

- Vietnam lost to Portugal 0-2 but did get off five shots, one on target

- Zambia lost to Spain 0-5 but did take 10 shots, two on target

Note that Morocco's match with South Korea ended too late for this edition of BFS.  In sum, the group was only outscored this round by 4-11 and everybody had at least one shot on target.  Progress is measured in small steps.

So That's What You Call It

I always thought that a goal scored directly from a corner was called a goal scored directly from a corner.  Turns out, it's actually called an Olimpico.  As explained here, the name comes from a goal scored in the 1924 Olympics by Argentina against Uruguay.  The most recent example on the world stage was by Ireland's Katie McCabe Tuesday versus Canada; check it out here.  Hey Dennis, how many Olimpicos did Douglas Luiz have for Aston Villa last season?

What's In A Nickname?

Well, nothing if you don't have one.  According to this article in Sportico, there are three such countries at this World Cup - Canada, Switzerland and the US.  Looking at some of the other selections, maybe no nickname is a good thing.

Ways in Which Women's Game Is Like the Men's

You know where this is going - yellow for Oshoala

First, we have the constant raising of the arms by defenders to assist the Assistant Referee in calling
offside when they should be worried about defending.  Arguably, it cost Argentina a goal against South Africa.  If I were manager, any player that did that would get a $50,000 fine.  Or as Aly Wagner said, "you can put your arm up but you better be sprinting back to goal."

Also, there is the removal of jerseys after a goal.  Okay, so it only happened once so far (Asisat Oshoala  after putting Nigeria up 3-1 versus Australia) but as the stakes rise, we may see more.  In answer to a question from Dennis, yes, you still get the yellow for removing your jersey even if the goal is subsequently disallowed by VAR.

Is It Just Me?

Or are a high percentage of goals being scored off of set pieces?  Don''t have time to do the numbers but definitely feels that way.

Scenarios

With one match to go, three (Japan, Spain and Sweden) are guaranteed advancement to the knockout stage.  Five (Ireland, Costa Rica, Zambia, Vietnam, and Panama) are out.  Note that this is prior to Group H's second round matches Sunday morning.  

As with the men's tournament, the final group stage matches kick off at the same time for members within group.  This supposedly ensures full effort from all involved.  A detailed analysis of the scenarios for advancement is provided here. We'll try to distill it down a bit and, since you can really only watch one match within a group, offer recommendations as to which looks to have the biggest implications. 

Group A

The short version is that any team in the group advances with a win in their final match (Switzerland vs New Zealand and Norway vs Philippines).  Switzerland, top of the group right now, also advance with a draw and can even squeak through with a loss and some other help.  New Zealand and Philippines could make it with a draw and helpful results.  Norway have no such hope; they must win or go home.

Tough call but we're going with Switzerland - New Zealand (3 am Sunday morning - yes, astute readers will point out that this was six hours before the edition of BFS was available)

Group B

Nigeria and Canada are sitting pretty and advance with wins or draws versus Ireland and Australia respectively.  Australia advance with a win over Canada; a draw would require the right set of numbers in the Nigeria - Ireland contest.  Ireland will look forward to the next World Cup.

We'll go with Canada Australia (6 am Tuesday morning)

Group Baklava C

Spain and Japan each feasted on Zambia and Costa Rica and they'll play for first.  Spain take first in the group with a win or draw against Japan but even with a loss, they get second.  Lose and first goes to Japan.  Zambia and Costa Rica are out.  Easy peasy.

We recommend Japan - Spain (3 am Tuesday morning)

Group D

England only need a draw against China to advance; they can even advance with a loss and helpful results elsewhere.  Denmark (who play Haiti) and China are tied on points, goal differential and goals scored.  So the story is that the one that does better in the final match finishes ahead of the other.  If they end up even on goal differential and goals scored, Denmark have a huge advantage in that they beat China.  Both are in the unfortunate situation in which a win may not be enough.  Actually, so is Haiti but they need even more things to go right.  

All four matches in this group have ended 1-0; hedging here but I'll go with Denmark-Haiti (7 am Tuesday morning)

Group E

The US have done enough that a win or draw versus Portugal is enough for them to advance.  There's even a scenario in which they could lose and still advance (Netherlands lose to Vietnam by the right amount).  Netherlands face the same scenario; the difference is that they start two goals behind the US on goal differential.  Portugal are fortunate enough that they can advance with a win over the US; there's even a scenario in which a draw is enough.  Vietnam are out.

Easy choice for us - US vs Portugal (3 am Tuesday morning)

Group F

Almost like Group A in that three of four control their destinies, with only Panama out.  France are in best shape and advance with win or draw versus Panama; there are even some scenarios in which they advance with a loss.  Jamaica are also in with a win or draw against Brazil but a loss eliminates them.  Brazil make it with a win over Jamaica and could advance under certain circumstances with a draw.

We go with Jamaica - Brazil (6 am Wednesday morning)

Group G

Sweden are in.  Italy are in with a win over South Africa and have a chance with a draw if things break right.  South Africa and Argentina (who play Sweden) are both in the tough spot where a win does not guarantee advancement but know that they are out with losses or draws.

Eesh, this is tough but going with South Africa - Italy (3 am Wednesday morning)

Group H

Don't know but going to guess Germany - South Korea (6 am Thursday morning)

And In Other News

Though it didn't happen right away, the Union took a 3-0 half time lead against Queretaro in their second Leagues Cup match.  They cruised from there to a 5-1 win.  Next up is a Round of 32 match versus DC United.  That will be at Subaru Park on Thursday but time is TBD.

A Bunch of Transfer News (not necessarily new and certainly not complete)

Declan Rice is headed to Arsenal.  Fulham got Raul Jiminez.  Aston Villa added Diaby.  Recent exits at Chelsea include Loftus-Cheek and Aubameyang.  The latest defection to Saudi Arabia is Jordan Henderson, where he will play for Steven Gerard.  Zaha is gone from Crystal Palace.

We'll be back Friday morning with a post to set up the Round of 16, which starts on Saturday.  

Fun and Games

So much stuff, we'll resort to our old habit of mostly short observations.

Good Enough

Sophia Smith got a brace against Vietnam
Photo:Carmen Mandato/USSF / Getty Images

The USWNT effort against Vietnam would fall into the business-like category.  They certainly didn't overwhelm Vietnam in the 3-0 win but also were never threatened.  Sophia Smith's goal at 14 minutes took the pressure off and her second in first half stoppage time pretty much put the issue to bed. Hard to say we know much more about the team at this point.  The Netherlands will be a better test on Wednesday.  Certtainly there are any number of teams that look dangerous at this point, including Spain, Japan and Germany.

A Lot of Clean Sheets

There have been fifteen in sixteen matches, including two 0-0s.  In fact, in only one match - Sweden vs South Africa - did both teams score.  The 2-1 comeback win for Sweden was a pretty good watch.

Looks Farther Than 12 Yards

There have been eight PKs so far and the conversion rate is just 50%.  Normally we assume something in the 80% range.  Actually two more were stopped but retaken due to keeper encroachment.  The good folks at Optus offer some explanations here.  In short, they suggest it's the pressure of converting the kicks on a big stage as well as a deeper pool of goalkeeping talent in the game today.  

 

Be Gentle, This Is My First Time

The 2023 World Cup is the first with 32 rather than 24 teams participating.  Coincidentally, there are exactly eight countries for whom this is their first World Cup final.  The list includes, Haiti, Ireland, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, Portugal, Vietnam and Zambia.  So how'd they do in their debuts?

Hmm, the full list is presented in the table below but I think for this group, we're gonna have to grade on a curve.  Collectively, they were 0-0-8, losing by a combined score of 0-23.  They were outshot 33 to 164 and shots on target were 10 to 61.  None scored and Vietnam and Zambia didn't take a shot.  

On the other hand, Ireland played Australia very tough and lost 1-0 on a PK.  Same for Haiti against England (and England got a second chance on the PK - the first one was stopped except the keeper encroached and the kick was retaken).  The Netherlands didn't run roughshod over Portugal either.  Vietnam did a great job woman-marking the US and the 3-0 final is perhaps a bit unflattering for them.  And hey, none of them allowed 46 shots on target, as Costa Rica did against Spain (hysterically, one of the shots stopped was a PK).

Danish Finish

On paper, Denmark - China looked to be one of the toughest group stage match-ups, pitting the 13th ranked Danes against No. 14 China.  It certainly played out that way too - an even, tight match throughout.  But Denmark ended up taking all three points on a 89th minute header from Amalie Vangsgaard, seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment.  This is a tough loss for China, probably putting them in the position of needing to beat England.  

Game Most Like A Men's Game

And I mean that in the worst way.  Italy-Argentina featured 36 fouls and six yellows, despite a rather lenient referee.  Much rolling on the ground, clutching shins, referee swarming, etc.  At least Italy's winning goal, a clutch header in the 87th minute from Cristiana Girelli seen here, was pretty good.

What Did We Learn?

BFS Director of Project Development Bob K sent along a pithy, deadly accurate summary of the Union's 3-1 win over Tijuana in their first Leagues Cup match.  From the MLS's Sam Jones:

What happened?: Xolos picked up a red card in the 19th minute and from there, it was classic Union. A penalty from Gazdag, a brace from Carranza, some saves from Blake, y'all should know how this works at this point.

So, did we learn anything?: We did not and that's as nice a compliment I think I can give the Union here.

Actually, he's being kind.  Up a man and 2-0, the U surrendered a goal a minute into the second half and shortly thereafter were whistled for a PK.  Were it not for Blake's heroics, the match would have been level at 2-2 and who knows what happens from there.  Not much later, Tijuana picked up a second red and Carranza got us the insurance goal.

I was not impressed with the Fox crew for this one.  Both red cards were for DOGSO.  Both were called on the field and survived VAR.  They both questioned whether the contact was even a foul, let alone DOGSO.  I would not want to play in a match with either of them reffing.

Drunken, Chaotic Fun

And he wasn't even talking about the pre-game tailgate.  No, that was The Athletic's George Caulkin discussing the Newcastle - Aston Villa friendly at the Linc.  Here's the direct quote:

That was all a bit drunken, but 3-3, good fun, a debut for Harvey Barnes and a load of chaos.

6911-related crew was well-represented at the Linc

Pretty good summary actually.  Aston Villa's 21 year-old Jaden Philogene-Bidace made hash of the left side of Newcastle's defense while Villa jumped out to a 2-0 lead.  He didn't get POM honors, which went to Buendia (two goals), but for our money, he was the most entertaining player out there.  The Magpies rallied with two goals, the second in first half stoppage time, possibly (definitely?) aided by a generous no call on Anderson (?).  The teams traded second half goals and the final was 3-3, which looked about right to us.  Honestly, the refereeing crew must have been told to be extremely liberal about letting offside go as maybe three of the goals would not have survived VAR in the regular season.  All in good fun, as Dennis pointed out, there was no change in the live table.

Just Keep Watching

Lots of great choices for the second set of games.  Though by the time you read this the match will have already been played, we recommend Switzerland - Norway.  The Grasshoppers (that's the nickname for the Norwegian women's team - don't look at me, I didn't choose it) really need a result here after the upset loss to New Zealand.

Wednesday has Canada vs Ireland; the Irish were tough but got no points against Australia while Canada need points in the Group of Death.  Also, US - Netherlands at 9 pm; winner probably gets first in the group.

I can cite reasons to catch all three matches on Thursday.  Newbies Portugal and Vietnam square off so one or both WC debutantes is going to get some points.  Note that doesn't mean there will be a goal or even necessarily a shot on target.  Then you have other two Group of Death contestants Australia - Nigeria.  Round it off with Argentina - South Africa; neither got points in their first and a second loss would likely end their hopes of advancing.

Friday I'd go with England - Denmark as the winner there probably takes first in the group.  Saturday has the powerhouses Sweden (vs Italy) and Brazil vs France.  The latter match is No. 8 vs No. 5.  The second set of matches finishes Sunday.

Not sure why they did this but Group A will also play their third match on Sunday as well.  This confounds my posting schedule since the scenarios for last group won't be known since they won't have played their second match yet.  I think I'll go with a Sunday morning post because, depending on the second games of course, there could be some interesting scenarios for Group A.

The Union have their second Leagues Cup match on Wednesday at 7:30 versus Queretaro.  That's behind the Rotten Apple paywall so maybe we'll listen on WPEN.

A Side Note

This marks the 500th post of Booked For Simulation.  I had no idea how this would work out when we started in December 2013.  I knew some people were interested but mostly I was doing this as an outlet for me to write.  I certainly wasn't going to quit my day job, although as it turns out, I did.  Anyway, this ad from AllState perfectly describes the site's volume.  Just for fun, we include links to the first post, the most viewed post and a personal favorite selected by the editor.

First official post: December 27th 2013

Most viewed post (119): December 16, 2016 (during the trip to England - technically there are posts with more hits but Dennis noticed they were from Malaysia or something like that and we got spammed)

A personal favorite: June 26, 2020 (from the restart after COVID)

Planning to be back Sunday morning with group stage scenarios.

 

Brain Freeze Warning

After many weeks of lean fare, we are likely to dive in much too quickly to the ice cream sundae of the next month.  Women's World Cup, Leagues Cup (MLS vs Liga MX) and the EPL Summer Series.  Okay, maybe exaggerating a little on the last two but there will be plenty to watch.

Union Continue To Be Lucky?

The match I saw (live at Subaru Park) felt like a draw.  The stats say draw or maybe even NY win; shots were 5/11, shots on goal were 3/3, possession was 44/56 and xG was 1.1/1.3.  The scoreboard says Union 2 NYCFC 1.  Philadelphia were a bit better than in recent outings but not great against a mediocre side.

Looking at the expected goals, we could go with another interpretation - that the Union had better finishing and better goalkeeping.  Those are possible - and legitimate - explanations for variation from the real score and xG.  For the first goal, Quinn Sullivan delivered a great cross to Jose Martinez, who volleyed it like a £100 million striker.  Easily this week's YouTubeableMoment. The second was created by a nifty pass from Gazdag to Donovan, who was first denied but saw the ball come back into his path and he put it away.  The stat sheet says Blake had two saves but it felt like more.  Not saying there hasn't been some good fortune in recent weeks, but for this one, it may be more than dumb luck.  

Constructive Criticism

Quinn Sullivan did just fine in place of Julian Carranza
Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Quinn Sullivan had an excellent game, replacing the suspended Julian Carranza up top on the right.  As noted above he had the assist on the first goal but was generally creating opportunities down the right side.  He did however have a bad moment in the second half.  After working the ball into NYCFC's final third, in all kinds of space, with all kinds of time, he calmly delivered the pass directly to a NYCFC defender.  Oh well.  Reactions in our section varied:

Unknown Sullivan relative (the family has seats in the row behind us): Quinn really s*** the bed on that last pass

Laura: Maybe he confused the NYCFC jersey for the Union road colors

Steve: He did so well until the final pass

All three work, one is more "colorful."  The relative noted that it will never be said that they don't call 'em as they see 'em, family member or not.  

Leagues Cup

So now the regular season grinds to a halt while clubs participate in the Leagues Cup.  Details (and some hype) can be had here.  Fifteen groups of three play two group stage matches, with the bottom team dropping out at that point.  Note that there are no ties in group stage play; if level after 90 minutes they go to a penalty shootout.  Win in regulation you get three, winner in a shootout gets two while the loser in the shoot out gets one.  Thirty advance from group stage and are joined by LAFC and CF Pachuca for a knockout field of 32.  Play proceeds from there until the final on August 19.  The Union are in a group with Tijuana and Queretaro with matches on 7/22 and 7/26.  

There is a "not useless" reward for doing well in the competition.  The winner gets automatic entry to final 16 in CONCACAF Champions League.  The other finalist gets automatic entry to the Champions League, as does the winner of the Consolation match between the two semi-final losers.  

I am resistant to the hype so far.  It is an interesting idea and could be fun to watch.  But why do we shut down the MLS for five weeks to make it happen?  Every other country knows how to fold in multiple competitions without interrupting the regular season.  Or, if you were going to shut the regular season down, why didn't they do it during the CONCACAF Gold Cup?  That way teams missing key players (cough, cough, like the Union, cough cough) for the Gold Cup wouldn't have seen their regular season matches jeopardized.  Yes, they'd be undermanned for the Leagues Cup matches but what manager wouldn't have made that trade.

I feel like this league keeps shooting itself in the foot...

MLeSsi

So he is finally here.  The good news is that Lionel will likely improve his teammates' performance and put fans in the seats.  The bad news is that it's more evidence of what we already knew - the MLS is a second tier league as this is the place aging stars come to extend their careers.  Here's an interesting take on the risks of this move by Chris Gibbons at The Philly Soccer Page. Definite downside possibilities.  

The Tricolor Get Gold

As expected, Mexico defeated Panama in the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final.  However, El Tri did not dominate here and the winning goal came in the 88th minute of an enjoyable back-and-forth contest.  It wasn't all beautiful though, with 41 fouls and eight yellow cards.  The game winner by Santiago Gimenez, seen here, was a great individual effort.

Two Down, 61 To Go

Hannah Wilkinson celebrates the game winner for New
Zealand over NorwayPhoto by Phil Walter/Getty Images

Great start to the Women's World Cup, with co-host New Zealand knocking off Norway  in a tight 1-0 match.  This was the first win in World Cup history for New Zealand - men or women - and was played in front of the largest crowd ever New Zealand - men or women.  The Kiwis celebrated like they'd won the Cup at the final whistle. 

Australia vs Ireland was a tight, if choppy, contest as well.  That one went to Australia 1-0 on a PK.  The host side might have been in a bit of shock after realizing they'll be missing star Sam Kerr for the first two group stage matches.

A few initial observations (I realize they're based on a sample of two)

1) The women's game seem much less inclined to s***housery than the men's.  Much less writhing on the ground after a foul and no where near the same level of referee-swarming.  Game management (read:time wasting) is still practiced though.

2) Looks like the referees have the same instructions that were given in Qatar with respect to stoppage time; get used to seeing some big numbers.

3) The women may be as "tatted up" as the men.

24/7

We'll probably end up "watching" all the WWC matches, either live, on DVR or on "modified DVR" (which means judicious use of the fast forward button).   Hard for me to pick out which ones to focus on if you have more normal viewing habits.  USWMNT are 9 pm Friday vs Vietnam and 9 pm Wednesday vs Netherlands.  Group B (Australia, Ireland, Canada and Nigeria) looks like the Group of Death so any of those matches should be good.  With Norway's loss today to New Zealand, they need a result in their match with Switzerland on Tuesday.   

Layer into this the EPL Summer Series which brings Newcastle and Aston Villa to the Linc on Sunday.  Sure, it's a friendly, but it's still a BFS derby and we wouldn't miss it.  Dennis and I will be there with our respective colors for .  Plus we get Brentford vs Fulham as part of the ticket.  

And we told you about the Union in the Leagues Cup on Saturday and Wednesday.

Check your local listing as they say.  Well, more accurately, check Fox, FS1 and FS2 as that network has every WWC match and many of the League Cup fixtures as well.  

Not sure about posting schedule.  Might wait until the first two games of the group stage are done so we can discuss the third game scenarios.  On the other hand, might be too much to remember if I wait that long.

Wait, the British Open is this weekend too?  Now, you're just messin' with me... 

Playing With Fire

 And I mean that in the bad way.  USMNT advanced out of the quarters on kicks from the spot but failed to make the final, falling to Panama on...kicks from the spot.  Somehow the Union come home from the two-game road trip with three points.

Canadian Standoff

We are somewhat bemused how the US-Canada rivalry has become nasty.  For 88 minutes in their quarterfinal match, all we got was mostly fouls and yellow cards (the match ended with 33 fouls and six yellows).  Arguably, the US were simply too conservative, though they did clearly have the run of play in the second half.  Yet, late in the match it was still 0-0 and extra time was looming.  To the rescue were DeJuan Jones and Brandon Vazquez; Jones put a great cross onto the run of Vazquez, who calmly put the header past St. Clair; seen here, it should have been the game winner.  Except, then the US got called for handling in the box and Vittoria (with their regular PK taker on the bench) leveled the match in stoppage time.  

The first 15 of extra time yielded nothing but when Shaffelburg slipped one past Turner (probably was slightly deflected) just four minutes into the second half of extra time, things didn't look so good.  Fortunately, Ogee Scott Kennedy put one into the net to level things for the US.  On to kicks-from-the-spot.  Well not right away because neither team's players would move into the center circle.  The US made it clear they would not move until the Canadians did.  As Dennis noted, "this is the dumbest s***."  Finally, Canada retreated so the US did too and the kicks began.  Turner stopped two and one hit off the crossbar and the US advanced 3-2.  Statistically, the US were all over this match; shots were 21-5, shots on target 8-2, possession 68-32 and xG 2.85-.95 (note that the .95 includes a PK worth about .8 so it tells you they didn't generate much offense).  

Burnt the Second Time

Kind of the same script for the semi-final against Panama.   Except, this time you can't say the US were the better side.  First half was mostly Panama, although US did hit the post early.  Some second half adjustments (more wide play?) made it feel a little more even.  And indeed, regulation time ended at 0-0.  As in the quarters with Canada, the US fell behind in extra time.  Ferreira with a great volley from a Jordan Morris header (seen here as this week's YouTubeableMoment) leveled things near the end of the first half of extra time.  So we were on to PKs again.  This time Panama eventually won 5-4.

Statistically this one was much closer than the match with Canada; shots were 14-12, shots on target 3-5, possession 44-56 and xG 1.55-1.45.  As in, it's not like they outplayed Panama and were unlucky not to advance.  They played with fire twice and got burnt the second time.  

I haven't read any post mortems yet but you start from the view that not making it at least to the Gold Cup final is a bad thing.  Perhaps that position can be softened a touch when you consider the squad that they used.  If it turns out that we've identified key personnel for the next World Cup cycle, maybe it will have proved useful.  

Mexico handled Jamaica relatively easily in the second semi, 3-0 so it will be Panama - Mexico in the final.  The good news for Union fans is that this means Blake should be back in goal Saturday night versus NYCFC.

What's In A Name?

I never really focused on this but Panama's nickname is Los Canaleros, or The Canal Men.  So they go by a manmade feature that arguably was forced on them.  I guess The Isthmus Men would be too hard to say. 

Talking Union

Two more road matches without much improvement but somehow the Union are coming home with three points.

On Saturday, LAFC got the better of the Union 3-1; the score matches pretty well what I saw and what the stats say.  What it also says is how much the Union miss Blake.  The first goal was a howler from Bendik that really should be saved by most professional keepers.  The second was an own goal off Mbaizo that, while well-delivered, should be taken care of, either by a defender or the keeper.  The last was a fine shot that Bendik could not reach but Blake, with his experience, positioning, reactions and leaping ability, might have gotten to.  With just two shots on goal, allowing three goals pretty much guarantees getting no points.

Tannenwald at The Inquirer gets this right - it was only the second consecutive loss but it felt like a lot more.  Probably because it's three losses in last five, the draw was snatched on an improbable last minute screamer from Jose Martinez and their play in the 4-1 win over Miami wasn't all that great.  

For Wednesday's match versus Nashville, I followed the first half by phone, then listened to the second half on WPEN 97.5 FM.  This was clearly a case of it's better to be lucky than good.  The final says 2-0 Union and both goals came courtesy of PKs by Daniel Gazdag, who is now 16-16 in his time with the Union and 8-8 this season.  Both calls looked legit to me, both by Germantown Academy product Daniel Lovitz; Philly Soccer Now's Matthew Ralph suggested "the Union's best player Wednesday was arguably a guy from Wyndmoor wearing a yellow jersey."  Ouch.

Besides Gazdag's PK, there was also
 this clearance off the line by Jack Elliott

Otherwise, this was Nashville's match, as they hit woodwork several times, saw the ball cleared off the line several times, were stymied by Joe Bednik a few times, and to be fair, also skyed a few over the crossbar.  Late in the second half, with the score still 1-0, McGlynn was whistled for handling in the box but thankfully, VAR intervened, showing that the ball hit his arm while it was at his side.  Shortly thereafter, Lovitz gave up the second PK and the Union had their insurance goal.  They still had to endure 14+ minutes of stoppage time and a wrestling match between Julian Carranza and Shaquell Moore that earned both red cards.  Stats show how much Nashville dominated.  Possession was 57/43, shots were 18/9,  shots on target were 3/5 (but remember two of those were PKs) and xG was 2.16-1.78 (but remember about 1.6 of that is PKs).  Presumably they come home happy with three points but with no illusions about how they are playing right now.

The win lifts the Union back into fourth, just one point behind Nashville with a game in hand.  I haven't seen confirmation at press time but with Jamaica's departure from the Gold Cup, we should see Andre Blake back in goal Saturday night.  On the other hand, Carranza is out due to his red card.  Also, Olivier Mbaizo has requested a transfer because, the US has again denied his family a visa so they can be with him during the season.  Wonderful.

A Threepeat for the USWNT?

So our lean times are just about over as the 2023 Women's World Cup starts next Thursday.  Bottom line - I count 15 straight days with at least two group stage matches.  Never mind that they start at times like 12:30 am, 3 am, 6 am or 7 am.  This is why some genius invented DVR.  The knockout stages play out from 8/5 to the final on 8/20.  Every match is available on Fox or FS1.

The start times give you a hint that this one is not being held in the Western Hemisphere.  Host sites are spread over Australia and New Zealand.  With the expanded tournament, the format is basically what we see in the men's World Cup.  There are 8 groups of 4 teams each.  They'll play each other once and the top two teams will advance to the knockout rounds.  Key tiebreakers in the group stage are goal differential and number of goals scored.

Recall the last time we saw the USWNT in big time play was the 2021 Olympics where they looked a bit old and overmatched, though they still came home with the bronze medal.  The team has been substantially overhauled but is also beset by some key injuries.  CHYSC alum Henry Bushnell provides a great overview of the team and their chances at this World Cup here.  We also turn to Henry for the broader perspective on the tournament here.  For those who want to get a head start programming their DVR here's the full TV schedule.  The US schedule is listed below:

• Friday, July 21 vs. Vietnam (9 p.m. ET, Fox)
• Wednesday, July 26 vs. Netherlands (9 p.m. ET, Fox)
• Tuesday, Aug. 1 vs. Portugal (3 a.m. ET, Fox)

The more cynical among us might note how two of those matches happen to be prime time on the US East Coast.  Wonder how that happened?

An American in Milan

The exodus at Chelsea continues, as Christian Pulisic is heading to AC Milan for what some would argue is a very modest $22 million.  I would happily have seen Newcastle take him at that price.  Hopefully this is a new start for him after he been featuring less and less at Stamford Bridge.

On paper anyway, this looks like a big upgrade for Aston Villa

We note that Aston Villa have added Pau Torres, center back from Villareal and a Spanish international.  The fee was £31.5 million, which seems like a reasonable price these days.  He looks good on my version of Genie Scout.  I've also just found a new site, DataMB, which allows one to compare players of similar positions.  Dennis will likely be very happy with the data and plot shown on the right.  Except for aerial percentage, Torres looks equal or better across the board.  For those with time to waste, you can check out the site here and do endless comparisons yourself.

Really Light Weekend

We'll be at Subaru Park to see the Union take on NYCFC.  Those without tickets will need their rotten Apple MLS Season Pass or can listen on WPEN.  The U are serious favorites here, especially playing at home, so maybe this is a chance to start moving in the right direction.  Of course, after that match, they then start play in the Leagues Cup, which means no more MLS games until August 20th.  On the other hand, maybe the Leagues Cup will provide a chance to make the necessary tweaks to get ready for the final third of the season.

With the US departure, the Gold Cup final has lost much of its attraction but we will still watch.  That's Sunday night at 7:30 on Fox.  

And then Thursday we have the WWC tripleheader featuring:

3:00 am	New Zealand – Norway Auckland, NZL	FOX
6:00 am	Australia – Ireland Sydney, AUS	FOX
10:30p	Nigeria – Canada Melbourne, AUS	FOX

Friday, July 21 

Time ET	Game	TV
1:00 am	Philippines – Switzerland Dunedin, NZL	FS1
3:30 am	Spain – Costa Rica Wellington, NZL	FS1
9:00p	United States – Vietnam Auckland, NZL	FOX

I've listed the Friday schedule as well, as those early games will be before the next version of BFS is available.  While none of these scream marquee matchup, it is a chance to see some of the favorites, including Australia, Canada, Spain and the US.  

I'll probably watch way too many of them...

The Dog Days of Summer?

When it's hot and steamy outside and not much football to watch.

Not 'Lanta

As we feared, Atlanta was a tougher opponent than Miami.  Trouble started early.  The Union had appeared to dodge a bullet when a foul initially identified as taking place in the box, was moved to a yard outside the penalty area.  Almada fired the free kick right into the wall but the rebound came back to him and he rifled a volley into the left side of the net.  Bullet not dodged.  You can see why here.  I did watch the whole thing (Fox not Apple!) but don't remember much except thinking the Union didn't look like they had any idea how to score.  A 79th minute goal that Bendik should really have stopped put away any doubts that Atlanta were going to take all three points here.  Though we had 15 shots, just one was on goal.  Currently, 538 is not providing xG (summer vacation?) but another source said it was 1.47 - .93 favor Atlanta.  It didn't seem that close to me.  

Already missing Blake and Lowe,  Kai Wagner was also out with a hamstring injury .  They started with a 5-2-1-2 with Flach and Mbaizo as wingbacks and Glesnes, Harriel and Elliott as the three center backs.  At some point, after falling behind, they moved Flach up to make it a 4-3-1-2 but other than a few crosses, there still wasn't much offense.   They have three matches before MLS takes a five week break for the League Cup.  Hope they find some answers.

Who's This Jesus Guy?

It's good to have Jesus on your side
Getty Images

Ho hum, another 6-0 rout for the USMNT, this time against Trinidad and Tobago.  And, a second straight hat trick for Jesus Ferreira.  Sure, maybe not the toughest opposition but I will note that five of his six goals have come in the first half, i.e. not garbage time.  So after a mediocre opener against Jamaica, the US were able to win their group based on goal differential over Jamaica.   They'll take on Canada in the quarters.

Phaeton Torpedoes?

Guadaloupe had some fun against Cuba.  Matthais Phaeton had two blasts in the first half seen here and here.  But he was outdone by teammate Antony Baron, seen here in this week's YouTubeableMoment; filthy indeed.  The 4-1 win over Cuba put Guadaloupe in prime position to advance.

Things looked even more promising when, only needing a draw against Guatemala in the final group stage match, they went up 1-0 early.  They also had a 2-1 lead well into the second half before Guatemala scored at 70 and 75 minutes.  But Guadaloupe were extended a lifeline with a PK in the 88th minute that would have levelled the match and sent them on.  Ironically, it was Phaeton whose attempt was stopped and it was Guatemala who advanced.  A highly entertaining match with plenty of drama.

The quarterfinal line up is set, with all matches live on FS1:

July 8 at 7 pm- Panama vs Qatar

July 8 at 9:30 pm - Mexico vs Costa Rica

July 9 at 5 pm - Guatemala vs Jamaica

July 9 at 7:30 pm - USA vs Canada

The Geography of Money

Sharp-eyed readers will ask when exactly did Qatar move to North America and become part of CONCACAF?  This is actually the second consecutive Gold Cup in which Qatar was an invited guest.  The flowery answer (per Goal.com) is something like: 

In fact, it was declared back in 2020 that Qatar would be part of the 2021 and 2023 Gold Cups as part of a major collaboration between CONCACAF and Qatari Football Association...the initiative was aimed at the growth of the beautiful game at a grassroots level in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Maybe.  Back in 2021 the Sporting News noted:

It won't hurt that Qatar's invitation has also led to Qatar Airways joining on as a multi-year tournament sponsor.

Well, there is that.

Sharper-eyed readers might ask how is it that Qatar has made it to the quarterfinals for the second straight time?  The sad answer is that CONCACAF is not that good and definitely not deep.  Based on FIFA rankings, Qatar would be the 6th country in CONCACAF.  As in, it should be no surprise they made it out of the group stage.  

Newcastle Get Tonali

Tonali will change his stripes to black and white

It took a while but Newcastle finally landed their main summer target - midfielder Sandro Tonali.  This looks to be a smart and not outrageously expensive move.  Certainly the fee was not cheap at £52m but it wasn't that much more than Maddison would have cost and Tonali may be a better fit.  For what it's worth, my version of Genie Scout (which is from 2020) suggests that Tonali is already a better player than Maddison and has some potential for improvement while Maddison is close to prime.  He'll play more of defensive midfielder and will allow Guimaraes to be more of an attacking midfielder.

This will probably sound defensive coming from a Magpie fan but for me the signing shows that while the PIF ownership is willing to spend money, they aren't throwing it around indiscriminantly like, say, the LIV Golf Tour.  There's a good article in The Athletic (behind a paywall) about the process involved in signing Tonali.  The writer - George Caulkin - notes that while Newcastle management loves them some Declan Rice, at a £100m+ transfer fee and £200,000 weekly salary, that just was not going to happen.  It would simply not leave them options to fill other positions, given the financial fair play regulations.  The takeaway was that while the new ownership will spend money, they will do so carefully.

In other transfer news, the exodus from Stamford Bridge continues.  Mason Mount is off to Man United and Acipdculta Azpiculotta Aspcicula Dave is going to Atletico Madrid.  Last guy to leave remember to turn out the lights.  I didn't notice any new defections to the Saudi Pro League.  Still plenty of rumors to chase down if you're into that kind of thing.  Still a long way to go until the window closes on 9/1.

 Forest Green Hire Interim Womanager

Sometimes the best man for the job is a woman
 Photograph: Wayne Tuckwell/ProSports/Shutterstock

When we last left the real Forest Green, they had finished dead last in League One, 17 points behind the the next closest competitor.  On July 4th, manager Duncan Ferguson left the club, citing differences over the club's direction.  Given that he had one win, three draws and 14 defeats in his 18 matches there, I'm surprised that Independence Day didn't come much sooner for him and at the club's choosing.  Anyway, he left but the club had a friendly scheduled with Melksham Town on Wednesday (7/5).  So Dale Vince appointed Hannah Dingley as the interim manager (details here).  She is the first female to manage an English Football League squad.  No word on whether she will apply for the permanent position.  

Quarters and Semis and Union Matches

Our cup does not runneth over but it's not a totally lost week.  The CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinal schedule for Saturday and Sunday was listed above.  The semis are Wednesday at 7:30 and 10:00.  If the US beat Canada on Sunday, they will be in the 10 pm match vs the Panama/Qatar winner.  

The Union have two matches this week.  Saturday they travel to LA to face the Galaxy at 10:30; this one is free on Apple.  LA are next-to-last in the Western Conference and despite being a road game, I'd be thinking of three points here; 538 says not so fast and has the match looking more like a draw (39% Union, 36% LA, 25% draw).  The Galaxy may be still basking in the glow of the win in the latest edition of El Traffico in which they knocked off LAFC 2-1.

The second match is Wednesday in Nashville at 8:30 pm on not-free Apple.  Maybe I'll put it on the radio while I watch the first Gold Cup semi.  This is a serious test for the Union.  Nashville are second in the Eastern Conference; 538 has it 43/29/28.  I'd be thrilled with a point out of this one.

Cheer up, things are going to get busy again soon.  Women's World Cup starts 7/20 with matches almost every day well into August and the EPL kicks off Friday 8/11.