To elaborate on a point below, today’s loss to Nigeria gave the U.S. its earliest exit ever in a U-19/U-20 Women’s World Cup. Perhaps that’s an indictment on the relative lack of talent in the U-20 talent pool. Or maybe the U.S.’ mediocrity is a result of the rapid development of the women’s game. Other than Switzerland, every other team in this tournament has shown some real quality. Possession statistics have routinely been around the 50%-50% mark. Score lines have been close, blowouts have been avoided.

The latter point probably has a lot to do with the United States’ disappointing finish. Several other nations fielded teams that were tactically more advanced than Jill Ellis’ team.

Some of these themes will inevitably arise again in next year’s Women’s World Cup. The fast-paced, muscular, technical play of both Ghana and Nigeria are an encouraging sight from the African continent. The creative, adventurous attacking styles of Colombia and Mexico have been joyous to watch. Germany’s skillful, athletic, multi-pronged attack could signal a continuation of the team’s dominance at the international level. Brazil’s at-times spotty defense cost them a place in the knockout round and poses questions about the development of its players.

And then there’s the United States. Here are three problem areas that both the U-20′s and the senior USWNT side share:

• The over-dependence on the brilliance of one striker. As has been exhibited at this tournament, the U.S. really had no strike partner for Sydney Leroux. Alex Morgan and Leroux were key ingredients in the team’s 2008 WWC triumph but Maya Hayes and Casey Short weren’t in Leroux’s stratosphere and thus contributed little. Without Leroux’s goals, the U-20′s would be merely average. Similarily, where would the USWNT be in the past eight years without the presence of Abby Wambach? A-Rod is looking like a worthy candidate, but Wambach’s brilliance negates the need for a true strike partnership. While both Wambach and Leroux have proven that they can singularly carry a team, what happens when they’re marked out of a game? The U.S. is fortunate to have such gifted strikers that formations can be built around but it leaves the U.S. attack far too one-dimensional.

• The lack of contributions on the wings. The senior USWNT still isn’t producing enough consistent quality performances from its wingers. And other than Zakiya Bywaters who mostly had a good tournament, contributions from the flanks was virtually non-existent for the U-20′s. Both teams seem to love to send everything through centrally, either by Shannon Boxx or Kristie Mewis. The USWNT’s reliance on route one could leave the team without any fresh ideas, as was observed today.

• The obsession with straight lines. Again with the 4-4-2/4-5-1 thing. Triangles always beat straight lines. While Nairn and Brooks tracked back at times they were typically held in a straight 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formation. The lack of fluid movement in both teams is a concern when compared to the more ‘modern’ systems of other national teams. Much like on the men’s side, formations with straight lines are seemingly becoming outdated. A signature asset in South Korea’s excellent attack is the free roles its players assume. Ditto for Germany.

Perhaps it’s an important to note that there are some similarities between the men’s game as well. Germany is the most obvious by far. The 2010 WC squad dazzled as the team’s individual ingenues worked perfectly within a team collective. The team was youthful, athletic and clinical as always. England were out-thought. The U-20′s reliance on the long ball was no match for the likes of Mexico, Japan and Nigeria. The Asian countries (South Korea, North Korea, Japan) showed even more promise with the teams’ pace and technical skill. And Africa…well, who knows what happened to the men’s teams during the 2010 World Cup but the U-20′s have had a solid showing.

The good news is that tactics in international women’s soccer have gotten more sophisticated over the years. Bad news is that I support the USWNT, we haven’t won a World Cup since 1999 and these are signs that the program’s dominance on the international stage will continue to fade.

View Original Post at allwhitekit.wordpress.com

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• FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup

This post is related to the following ongoing stories:

• 2010 U-20 Women`s World Cup in Germany