Mark your calendars: Coming in March

Events this month: 

Thursday, March 3 – Wednesday, March 9

This could be interesting

The United States will host the first SheBelieves Cup, featuring four of the five top-ranked teams in the world: Team USA (No. 1), Germany (2),  France (3) and England (5).

This is a level of competition that the Americans haven’t seen since last summer’s World Cup.  It’s a level of competition they’ll run into as they go for their fifth Olympic gold medal this summer in Rio de Janeiro.

“When I took this job,” U.S. coach Jill Ellis said, “one of my main objectives was to play the best teams in the world during our preparation periods, and you can’t ask for better matches.”

She added: “To get the chance to play these great teams on home soil is a treat for our fans and extremely valuable in the further evolution of our team. These are the kinds of games where you get tested all over the field and can really evaluate players.”

Games will be played in Nashville, Tampa, and Boca Raton.  (There’s a full schedule here.)

The tournament won’t have a title game. Each team will play the other three teams one time. Three points will be awarded for each win, one for a draw.  The champion will be the team with the most points.

The tie-breakers, in order: overall goal differential; total goals scored; head-to-head results; and FIFA rankings.

The three U.S. games will be broadcast on Fox Sports 1 or shown on the Web at ESPN3.

 

 

Wednesday, March 2 – Wednesday, March 9

Alex Morgan,  Lauren Holiday, and Ali Krieger in a game against Switzerland in the 2015 Algarve Cup. Someone else will celebrate this year.  (Cristina Quicler/AFP/Getty Images)

Algarve won’t be the same without Team USA 

Because of the SheBelieves Cup, the United States won’t take part in the 2016 Algarve Cup in Portugal.

The Americans have been a fixture at Algarve, playing in 20 of the 22 annual editions of the tournament since its creation in 1994.  They’ve been at every one since 1998.

And they’ve dominated, winning the Algarve Cup 10 times. (Norway is next, with four titles.)

With Team USA taking a pass this time, the field of eight is:

• Belgium
• Brazil
• Denmark
• Iceland
• Canada
• New Zealand
• Portugal
• Russia

There are some good teams in that group. Brazil is No. 7 in the world, Canada is No. 11, Denmark No. 15, New Zealand 16, Iceland 19.

But playing Iceland on the sunny southern coast of Portugal is nothing like going  against England, France and Germany in the span of a week.

 

 

 

Wednesday, March 9

Last call for Rio

Two Olympic qualifying tournaments conclude, one in Japan, the other in Europe. They will determine who gets the last three invitations to the Rio Games.

Two teams will move on from the Asian Football Confederation qualifier in Japan.

One of these four will grab the last European seat: the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, or Switzerland.

They will join the nine teams that are already in:

• The United States
• Brazil
• Canada
• Colombia
• France
• Germany
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Zimbabwe

 

 

Friday, March 25

Still No. 1?

The new world rankings come out. Whether America remains atop the heap may well depend on the SheBelieves Cup.

 

Birthdays

March 12  – Amy LePielbet  turns 34
March 17  – Mia Hamm (photo) turns 44
March 19  – Lori Lindsey turns 36

 

 

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Julie Johnston battled her way onto the World Cup roster

Close followers of the U.S. women’s team may recall that Julie Johnston — suddenly, one of the team’s bright new stars — wasn’t supposed to be heading to the World Cup.

Initially, Johnston was left off Jill Ellis’ roster for the World Cup qualifying tournament last October. She was added only when Crystal Dunn, another gifted young defender, injured a knee.

Julie Johnston vs. New Zealand, April 4, 2015. (Jeff Curry/USA Today Sports)

Now, Johnston is on her way to Canada. Dunn, along with Rachel Van Hollebeke, was left behind when Ellis had to cut two players from the 25 who’ve taken part in this year’s matches to date. (The World Cup roster is limited to 23, three of whom must be goalkeepers.)

In this interview with John D. Halloran of American Soccer Now, Johnston says that being left off the roster for last fall’s qualifying tournament gave her the motivation she needed to push her game to the next level.

“It was a wake-up call that I needed to see how much I needed to improve and see how much I wanted to be a part of this team,” she says. “I really kicked it into gear and trained harder than I ever trained before.”

Johnston credits Carli Lloyd and Lloyd’s longtime coach James Galanis with helping her rebound from the setback.

“I was kind of lost. … Carli kind of took me under her wing,” she says.

In March, when injuries kept Christie Rampone off the field during the Algarve Cup, Johnston stepped into the starting lineup, and she was superb, scoring the game-winning goal against France in the final.

Before the Algarve Cup, the 22-year-old Arizona native had only started one game for the United States.

Julie Johnston’s first international goal, on a header in the seventh minute of the Algarve Cup final against France on March 11, 2015. The United States won 2-0. (Francisco Seco/AP)

 

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USA is still No. 2, but closes in on Germany

The Americans’ triumph in the Algarve Cup, together with a loss by Germany, leave the two teams’ rankings within a whisper of each other. (hopesolo.com)

The new FIFA world rankings are out.

There is no change in the order of the top five: Germany, the United States, France, Japan, Sweden.

However, the United States did narrow Germany’s lead to just 10 ranking points (out of more than 2,100 for each team).

The previous rankings, issued on Dec. 14, were the first in seven years in which the U.S. women were not No. 1.

The  American picked up ground on Germany by winning the Algarve Cup, beating No. 3. France in the title game.

Germany, meanwhile, stumbled at Algarve, finishing third overall after losing to Sweden in the opening round.

For German fans, the manner of that loss to Sweden may have been more unnerving than the outcome itself. Germany scored twice in the first three minutes and appeared to be cruising to victory. But the Germans then allowed Sweden to register four unanswered goals — and with Nadine Angerer, one of the world’s best keepers, in goal, no less.

The next rankings won’t be issued until July 10 — after the conclusion of the World Cup in Canada.

So the focus for the U.S. team remains unchanged: Take care of business in Canada, and the rankings will take care of themselves.

 

 

 

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Photo of the day: Megan Rapinoe in Portugal

Instagram

New Zealand training roster identical to Algarve Cup’s

Then 2015 Algarve Cup champions, March 11, 2015. (Francisco Seco/AP)

In what may be a sign that Jill Ellis is zeroing in on the players she will take to Canada for the World Cup, the U.S. coach announced the training roster for an April 4 friendly against New Zealand (see below), and it’s identical to the roster for the recently completed Algarve Cup.

Beginning Monday (March 23), the 25 players selected by Ellis will convene at the U.S. Soccer National Training Center in Carson, Calif.

After eight days, the team will head to St. Louis, where the April 4 match against New Zealand will take place at Busch Stadium. The game, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff, will be shown on Fox Sports 1.

Eighteen players from the 25-member training roster will suit up for the game.

The World Cup roster will consist of 23 players, three of whom must be goalkeepers. That’s two more roster spots than in the 2011 World Cup, and the same number as for men’s World Cups.

Ellis must submit the U.S. World Cup roster no later than 10 working days before the start of the tournament. If I’m counting correctly, and if “working days” means Monday through Friday, that means she has to have the roster finalized by May 25.

That she’s bringing in no one new for the New Zealand match — making no changes to the team that won the Algarve Cup 10 days ago — suggests that Ellis is done experimenting. By now, it would seem, she has at least a fairly clear idea (and maybe a very clear idea) of who will represent the United States on the world stage in Canada.

There will still be some paring to do — 23 is two less than 25. And a serious injury, or more late-night shenanigans by Hope Solo, could still alter the picture.

But right now, anyone who’s name is not among the following 25 probably isn’t going to the World Cup — not unless she buys a ticket.

GOALKEEPERS: Ashlyn Harris, Alyssa Naeher, Hope Solo

DEFENDERS: Lori Chalupny, Crystal Dunn, Whitney Engen, Julie Johnston, Meghan Klingenberg, Ali Krieger, Kelley O’Hara, Christie Rampone, Becky Sauerbrunn, Rachel Van Hollebeke

MIDFIELDERS: Shannon Boxx, Morgan Brian, Tobin Heath, Lauren Holiday, Carli Lloyd, Heather O’Reilly, Megan Rapinoe

FORWARDS: Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Christen Press, Amy Rodriguez, Abby Wambach

Video: Young Tobin Heath discusses her first goal

In this video from U.S. Soccer, 19-year-old Tobin Heath discusses her first-ever goal for the U.S. women’s team.

It came in the 47th minute of a game on March 5, 2008, against China in the Algarve Cup.

Heath, playing in just her third game for the national team, stripped the ball from an opponent near the penalty circle in front of the Chinese goal, dribbled to the left, then chipped in a little doinker past the  lunging goalkeeper.

You can see the play beginning at the 1:37 mark.

(P.S. — She still talks that way.)

Quote of the day: Shannon Boxx

Becky Sauerbrunn and Shannon Boxx (right) defending against Iceland on March 9, 2015. (Jose Manuel Ribeiro/AFP/Getty Images)

“It felt amazing! It’s been a long road, but it’s been a fun road. … The support of my teammates has been amazing, so I felt like when I got on the field, everyone was super excited for me. The adrenaline was going! I was only in there for like 10 minutes but, I was like, ‘Whoo!’” 

– Shannon Boxx, on returning to international competition after a hiatus of nearly two years. Boxx, a holding midfielder, came on as a late sub in three of Team USA’s four Algarve Cup matches.

 

United States is the World Cup favorite in ESPN survey of ‘experts’

ESPN’s ‘experts’ say Marta is one of the favorites to win top scorer, but Brazil was a distant third as the team most likely to win the World Cup. (Eraldo Peres/AP)

This ESPN  “poll” is about as scientific as those election predictions based on whether 7-Eleven customers buy their coffee in a red or a blue cup.

7-Eleven

ESPN asked 19 unidentified “experts” (which probably means ESPN writers) for their World Cup predictions. You can read details at the bottom of this ESPNW story looking ahead to the World Cup.

It’s safe to assume that most if not all of these “experts” are American. If so, that would explain why the results seem heavily skewed in favor of the United States.

And even if the “experts” are legitimate, 19 is a very small sample from which to draw statistical conclusions.

And the “poll” was taken some time in February, which means it was before the just-completed Algarve Cup.

So take the findings with a large grain of salt.

If nothing else, they gave me a chance to work on my chart-creating skills.

Who’s going to win?

Only three teams in the 24-team field received votes: the United States was the favorite at 47 percent, followed closely by Germany (42 percent), with Brazil at 11 percent.

 

Who’s going to the final four?

The predictions for the semifinalists were much more competitive, with seven teams getting at least 32 percent.

The United States led with 94 percent — meaning one of ESPN’s 19 “experts” didn’t think the Americans would last until the round of four. Team USA was followed by France (74 percent), Germany (58), Canada (42), Brazil (37), and Japan and Sweden (tied at 32 percent).

 

Who might surprise everyone?

Twenty-one percent said France is most likely to emerge as a dark horse. Sixteen percent chose Canada, followed by China, the Netherlands, Nigeria and Sweden at 11 percent each.

 

Will plastic turf affect play?

When asked how much artificial turf will affect the quality of play, 53 percent said it will be a small factor, 32 percent said it will be a major factor, and 15 percent said it will affect only those teams unaccustomed to the unnatural surface.

Not one of ESPN’s 19 panelists said the turf will not be a factor.

 

Who will be the top scorer?

Abby Wambach, Marta of Brazil and France’s Eugenie Le Sommer each got 21 percent of the vote as the player most likely to win the Golden Boot. Alex Morgan was next at 18 percent.

France’s Gaetane Thiney and American Amy Rodriguez each received one vote.

 

 

Photo of the day: Julie Johnston

Julie Johnston’s first international goal, a header into the net in the seventh minute of the Algarve Cup final against France on March 11, 2015. The United States won 2-0. (Francisco Seco/AP)

Video: USA vs. France

The Americans really dominated this game, against a fast-rising opponent regarded by many — Tony DiCicco, for one — as the best team in the world right now.