Dominant Matildas Start With A Win

Australia 2-1 New Zealand

By Kris Goman

Pictured above: Tameka Yallop celebrates after her stunning opening goal. Photo: Getty Images.

Australia produced an impressive performance against their Trans-Tasman rivals to claim an important three points in their opening game at the Olympic Games. However, there will be a degree of frustration at the fact that they didn’t score as many goals as their possession deserved – and at the late concession of a goal to the Football Ferns.

Both teams made an impressive stand against racism before kick-off. During the team photos, the Matildas proudly display the Aboriginal flag in a show of solidarity and New Zealand take a knee while Australia choose to stand together linking arms. 

Above: The two teams make a stand against racism pre-kick off. Top: The Matildas display the Aboriginal flag Photo: Guardian. Bottom: New Zealand take the knee. Photo: stuff.co.nz

Australia kick off and apply immediate pressure as the ball goes straight into the box. It’s cleared out to the side by NZ keeper Erin Naylor and the Ellie Carpenter throw in bounces around the box before being cleared by CJ Bott.

A long ball from Clare Polkinghorne goes right into the box and the Naylor clearance goes to Green as Simon jumps on her back from behind, AFL style, giving away a foul. Emily Van Egmond and Kyah Simon do a little passing routine through the midfield before Van Egmond sends one up to Sam Kerr but it’s a bit beyond her. Van Egmond seems to be much more attacking in this game already and is sending the ball forward. 

Olympics debutant Aivi Luik brings the ball up and sends it to Steph Catley who finds Caitlin Foord. The Arsenal star beats Meikayla Moore but can’t keep the ball in and Katie Bowen brings it back down the pitch. She’s relieved of the ball and Van Egmond takes a run and gets it back to Foord. Her cross floats in front of goal, only to be punched away by Naylor as Simon arrives. The most exciting play so far.

Hayley Raso’s first involvement comes via a run down the right after a big switch of play by Van Egmond results in a corner as her cross is deflected by Green. Catley takes the corner but Abby Erceg heads it out safely. It lands with Australia again and Van Egmond sends a great ball to Foord in the box. It once more deflects off a Kiwi for a corner as she kicks it back into play. The difference in Van Egmond from the previous five games is truly astounding. Everything is going forward and the strikers are getting the ball. 

Catley takes the corner again and Simon gets her head to it but it goes across the goal and out to the right corner where NZ picks it up. Carpenter relieves them of the ball and whips it back in. Erceg gets a leg to it and it looks like it might be an own goal but Naylor bats it safely past before being cleared by Bott. 

The next clearance by Naylor isn’t great and goes to Simon who passes it back in. It comes out to Tameka Yallop who passes to Simon who finds Kerr before the Chelsea star returns possession to Yallop. She takes a mighty shot and slams it over the head of Naylor and Australia finally score. It’s 1-0 at 20 minutes in after a period of intense pressure from the Matildas.

Above: Tameka Yallop celebrates with Hayley Raso after opening the scoring against New Zealand. Photo: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP via Getty Images.

On a NZ attack, Luik tackles and intercepts the ball before getting it away to Foord who brings it down the left. She centres to Simon who flicks on to Kerr in the box. She takes a shot but Erceg is there to save the day for the Kiwis and it’s deflected out for another corner. Catley’s taking it. She lobs to Kerr who heads it straight to Naylor. It goes over her head but she gets a hand to it which deflects it into the crossbar and behind her and into goal. It’s Sam’s first goal in six matches and the hoodoo is lifted amidst scenes of joy as the Matildas go clear by two goals. 

NZ fight back and get a bit of possession. Ria Percival sends a ball into goal but Lydia Williams has it under control and there’s no one else in the box to bother her. Foord has a lovely run down the left but is stopped by Erceg. After all that, she’s called offside and it has to go right back to nearly halfway for the free kick.

With the half reaching its climax, Catley and Kerr combine to threaten the Football Ferns goal once more with a 1-2 before Catley’s cross finds a diving Simon to head it to Naylor. Not quite enough power on it as she took it very low. 

Green sends a long ball into the box for Hannah Wilkinson which sees both her and Williams jump for it but Williams is able to grab it with few problems. With the whistle for the interval going, the Matildas are looking good with lots of attacking play and their offensive players all getting forward. As well as leading 2-0 on the scoreboard, Australia have seven shots to nil in the opening 45 minutes.  

Above: Sam Kerr celebrates after scoring. Photo: Getty Images.

The Kiwis are looking livelier in the second half. Betsy Hassett is right in front of goal but it floats right over her head to the other side of the box. 

The Matildas respond when Simon shoots but it’s headed away. Carpenter crosses straight back in but Kerr can’t connect and it goes out via Erceg, according to Kerr. Australia doesn’t get the corner though.  

Australia are now back to mounting wave after wave of attack. Kerr runs onto a ball from Foord and Naylor comes out and blocks brilliantly. Kerr is involved again when she finds Catley. Her centre reaches Foord who finds some space for a great header stopped again by Naylor who’s having a brilliant game. 

NZ regroup for a rate attack aided by a scary moment for Williams in the Matildas goal. A ball in sees the Arsenal goalkeeper come right out to the edge of the box, get wrong footed and fall over, leaving the goal wide open. Carpenter recovered in time to clear the cross. It was a big mistake from Williams that could have been disastrous.

Above: Ria Percival attempts to get past Tameka Yallop. Photo: Getty Images.

The Football Ferns make an important change by bringing Paige Satchell, who had a magnificent season with Canberra United in the W-League. She has an immediate impact bringing the ball into the box. She passes to Daisy Cleverley who gets it to Bott. Bott’s flick finds it Percival who’s bundled down by Foord who is very lucky not to give away a penalty. 

Erceg saves another cross from Catley, marking Kerr closely. Bott gets a yellow card for a late tackle that cleans up Polkinghorne. Carpenter crosses to Simon and Naylor saves yet again. Both she and Erceg have saved many goals tonight. Van Egmond takes the corner but it floats over past the far post and is eventually cleared.

Catley is then on the receiving end of a succession of tough challenges. From one, Katie Bowen takes the Arsenal star out and gets a yellow card for her efforts.  

Raso goes off and Alanna Kennedy comes on in a more defensive move. NZ get a free kick on the right and Bowen takes it again. Australia has a very high line for this kick. Williams is off her line quite a bit and has to back pedal as Bowen tries for the top corner. It just misses but that was a tactical error by Australia and was very close.

Mary Fowler comes on as a sub, and has another energetic cameo. She takes a shot that rebounds to Carpenter who crosses. Very nearly goes in but skims the far post and goes out. 

Above: Just minutes after coming on for her international debut, Gabi Rennie scored for New Zealand. Photo: NZ Football.

There’s a substitution for NZ with Gabi Rennie coming on for her international debut for the Football Ferns, and she has an big impact. 

Satchell brings the ball down the left side and passes to Wilkinson. She crosses to the far post and Percival gets a head to it and send it back across the goal to Rennie who wrong foots Williams with her header and it’s a goal for New Zealand. Rennie’s been on less than five minutes and has scored on her debut. 2-1 and Australia is still in the lead with a minute to go. 

It’s a disappointing finish for Australia as goal difference is going to be important in this competition as they will determine who goes through to the quarter-finals for the third placed teams. It’s still three points in the bag though and that puts the Matildas in second place in the group. It also puts NZ third and USA last with Sweden at the top. 

Despite the late concession, it was a good showing for Australia. They looked dominant the whole match and kept NZ out of the box for almost the whole match.

They were far more attacking than previous matches and the formation seemed to work well against the Football Ferns. Still, Kerr was kept largely out of the match, particularly in the second half, thanks to very tight marking by Erceg. The Matildas looked much better in the midfield and the defence looked very strong.

Carpenter and Catley were free to come up and attack and they did it well and were able to connect with Raso and Foord. Kerr had a bit more involvement and was able to score finally. 

For NZ, Erceg and Naylor really stood out. Bott had a great game too and Bowen was able to serve in some critical balls from free kicks. They were pretty solid in defence but really didn’t make many inroads in attack until right at the end when Satchell and Rennie came on. Wilkinson just couldn’t do it all by herself. 

Next match for Australia is against Sweden who beat the USA in their opening match in a stunning upset. Sweden looked very strong in that match and Australia will need to step up to win that game. It’s not beyond them but one shouldn’t put too much faith in the last result where the teams drew 0-0 as Sweden had a few of their key players missing. The game is on Saturday 24th July at 9:30am GMT/6.30pm AEST. New Zealand will play the USWNT at 12:30pm GMT/9.30pm AEST and the US will be desperate for a win. The group of death is looking very interesting.

Speaking after the game, Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson said: “One of the headlines we had in the attacking game today was movements off the ball.

“We knew playing New Zealand is very physical if you play static and they like to get into those duels. You need to move a lot off the ball and play fast, and I think we did that today.”

Gustavsson had plenty of words of praise for his team’s two goalscorers:

“If you look at that technical action that Sam did with the assist to Meeks, with a brilliant finish, nice combination play straight from the training park that we’ve worked on as well.

“That flick that Sam did and the finishing from Meeks is a beautiful goal, and then the corner with Sam’s technique with her head.

“We’ve said from day one, it needs to be a collective attack, and it was the collective attack that won us this game, but obviously it’s good that Sam gets more involved in a game and that’s something that we’ve worked very hard on as well, to get her more on the ball.

“She’s a multi-dimensional forward but I don’t think she gets enough credit for her pressing game. I think she’s one of the best defensive forwards in the world.

“That first goal has come from our pressing game as well, and that’s one reason why I brought Meeks into the central midfield in this game with her presence when it comes to our pressing game but also her runs from deep, and you saw that in that 1-0 goal.”

Teams: AUSTRALIA: Williams, Polkinghorne, Catley, Luik, Carpenter, Van Egmond, Foord, Yallop, Raso, Kerr, Simon. Substitutes: Cooney-Cross, Logarzo, Fowler, Kennedy, Gielnik,  Micah, Brock.

Scorers: Yallop 20, Kerr 33.

NEW ZEALAND: Naylor, Percival, Green, Bott, Moore, Riley, Erceg, Chance, Hassett, Bowen, Wilkinson. Substitutes: Bunge, Rennie, Longo, Satchell, Cleverley, Leat, van der Meer.

Scorer: Rennie 90.

Referee: Lucila Venegas (MEX)

Olympics Preview: Netherlands

The Netherlands (pictured above via @oranjevrouwen) have reached their last two major finals and many suspect they pose the biggest threat to the USA at the Olympics. Abi Ticehurst previews the Dutch side.

Squad News:

This squad is unlikely to have raised too many eyebrows with selection. Danielle Van de Donk often goes under the radar because she’s not a prolific scorer or a flair player, but any opportunity to talk about her and those cheeky nutmegs, count us in. The front three, Vivianne Miedema, Lieke Martens and Shanice van de Sanden are menaces in front of goal, 141 goals between with Miedema counting for more than half with 73.

A driving force midfield with all five selected players capable of getting on the scoresheet. However, a devastating blow hit the team just the day before the tournament is due to kick off as captain Sherida Spitse, is ruled out due to an injury, she will be replaced by ​Joelle Smits.

Keepers: Sari van Veenendaal, Lize Kop, Loes Geurts

Defenders: Lynn Wilms, Stefanie van der Gragt, Aniek Nouwen, Merel van Dongen, Sisca Folkertsma, Kika van Es, Dominique Janssen, Annouk Dekker

Midfielders: Danielle van de Donk, Victoria Pelova, Jackie Groenen, Inessa Kaagman, Joelle Smits.

Forwards: Jill Roord, Shanice van de Sanden, Vivianne Miedema, Lieke Martens, Lineth Beerensteyn, Renate Jansen

Coach:

Above: Dutch head coach Sarina Wiegman. Photo: @oranjevrouwen

Sarina Wiegman – She is arguably Dutch football royalty, a central midfielder come defender, she made her international debut at 17 and was the first Dutch footballer to win 100 caps.

She spent her youth career at various Dutch teams ESDO, Celeritas and KFC ’71 before being spotted by Ansen Dorrance and recruited for North Carolina Tar Heels where she would play alongside Mia Hamm and Kristine Lilly for a year. She returned to the Netherlands to play for Ter Leede for 10 years. She won the Dutch Cup twice and the KNVB Cup once during her tenure, before retiring.

Wiegman has gone from stride to stride in terms of her managerial career, initially taking over at Ter Leede and then ADO Den Haag before making her way through the ranks of the national team. She was awarded The Best FIFA Women’s Coach title in 2017, in the same week she was accepted as a Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau as a result of winning the Netherlands Women’s first European Championship title and first ever major honour within women’s football.

In 2019 a statue of Wiegman was erected in the garden of the Dutch Football Association, KNVB, for her contributions to Dutch football. She was the first woman to receive this honour. She is consistently praised by fellow football managers for the style of play she has developed with the squad. Finally, unless you’ve been living under a rock for at least the last year, she is of course, the next England manager, officially replacing Phil Neville with her tenure beginning in November of this year.

Olympics History:

It may be surprising to know that the Netherlands Olympic History is fairly short in chronology. The Netherlands failed to qualify for the World Cups between 1996 and 2012, therefore failing to make it to the Olympics.

In 2016, they qualified for the World Cup and competed in a mini-tournament for an Olympics place, however Sweden won the tournament and the Dutch were unfortunately eliminated. A change in fortunes saw them make it to the World Cup Final and and as a result made it to the Olympics for the first time to compete at Tokyo 2020.

Qualifying:

As above, they made it to the World Cup Final in 2019 and therefore qualified for the first time to compete at Tokyo.

Strengths:

Positional awareness, the team are able to hold their shape well despite consistently pacey attacks. Sari van Veenendaal, the powerhouse between the sticks.

Development Areas:

Potentially their lack of high level international experience, though not new to world football, their limited ability to qualify until recently may prove a challenge on the big stage. Losing their captain, it will take a big personality to fill the boots of Spitse.

Above: Lieke Martens. Photo: @oranjevrouwen

Key Players:

Viv Miedema, the all-time leading scorer in the FAWSL and for the Netherlands. Need we say more? Fresh from the Champions League winning Barcelona squad, Lieke Martens is a terror in front of goal, the link up between her and Miedema will undoubtedly be a satisfying display of talent. Jill Roord was prolific for Arsenal during the 2020/21 season and takes that cool calmness on the ball with her to the international stage, she’s capable of commanding the midfield and confident to strike at goal.

One to watch:

Aniek Nouwen, she’s a defender with 15 goals in 69 appearances to her name with Dutch side PSV. Impressive. She’s played internationally at every level from U17’s before making her senior debut in 2019 and scored her first goal in October of 2020, one of seven which saw the Dutch side qualify for Euro 2022. She signed a three year contract with Chelsea in May and will make her first appearance for the club in the 2021/22 season.

Prediction:

They should find qualification out of the group stages fairly straightforward, Brazil is their main competition in Group F. They’re on a trajectory of international success though so don’t rule them out of the latter stages of the competition.

Above: Vivianne Miedema and Jill Roord. Photo: @oranjevrouwen

Group Fixtures inc KO times (local/UK)

21st July v Zambia (Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, 12:00pm UK)

24th July v Brazil (Miyagi Stadium, Rifu, 12:00pm UK)

27th July v China (International Stadium, Yokohoma, 12:30pm UK)

Top Level Experience The Difference

Chile 0-2 Great Britain

by Jean-Pierre Thiesset

Shown above, Ellen White celebrating (Photo via iNews).

It was not easy for Chile against a strong Team GB side. However, the South Americans tried to play when they had the ball, and they did not sit back and defend.

La Roja Femenina’s undoing often came on high balls, in the midfield and on crosses into their box. This was notably reflected in Great Britain’s opening goal on 18 minutes when the hugely impressive Lauren Hemp, picked out by Impetus’ Darrell Allen as Team GB’s one to watch, played in Ellen White to poke home.

Great Britain dominated the first half with 62% possession and Chile players had only two shots, one of which was on target. Christiane Endler was, as usual, at her best and ensured that Team GB only led 1-0 at half time by saving three potential further goals.

In this first half Chile midfielder Francisca Lara did a rather good job (more than 20 balls played, 17 passes with 16 successful), but it was not enough to put the danger in front of the Great Britain goal.

Above: Caroline Weir (11) in possession for Team GB with Lauren Hemp (left) and Chile’s Maria Jose Urrutia. Photo: The News Motion

Chile tried to start the second half by playing quicker but it lasted only a few minutes and Team GB took charge again, mustering virtually identical possession stats.

During this second half, Chile had no shot at all, while, Great Britain had eight and doubled their lead after 73 minutes when Lucy Bronze’s ball in was met by White’s acrobatics for 2-0.

The last fifteen minutes were a real challenge of the game were a real challenge for Chile as Great Britain pushed to increase their advantage – ultimately to no avail.

Despite the defeat, this Chilean team are pleasant to watch and showed that they can play good football but the difference in experience and higher level exposure between themselves and Team GB was too big a gulf to bridge.

Teams: CHILE: Endler, Guerrero, Lara, Lopez Opazo, Araya, Urrutia, Aedo, Lopez Pardo, Zamora, Saez. Substitutes: Ramirez, Acuna, Campos, Balmaceda, Toro, Gres, Mardones.

GREAT BRITAIN: Roebuck, Bronze, Houghton, Bright, Daly, Walsh, Weir, Stanway, Little, Hemp, White. Substitutes: Stokes, Ingle, Parris, Telford, Williamson, Scott, Toone.

Scorers: White 18, 73.

Referee: Salima Mukansanga

Scottish Women’s Football Launches Championship Tier

Impetus‘ new coverage of Scottish Women’s Football continues with all the news about the launch of the new Championship level which sits at the third tier of the game.

The fixtures for the first full Scottish Women’s Football (SWF) Championship season have been announced. SWF Championship North & South sit under the Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) as part of the performance pathway.

Seventeen teams will enter the SWF Championship South and 10 teams will enter the SWF Championship North. In Championship North, teams will face each other three times to complete a 27-match league calendar. In Championship South, teams will face other once before the league will be split into a top nine and bottom eight. Teams will then play each other once more based on their league position after the first 16 games.

The opening round of fixtures in Championship South takes place on Sunday 8th August whilst Championship North kick-off their season on Sunday 15th August.

It has also been confirmed that for the 2022/23 season, the Championship will become a ten team national league. The new league will be made up of the SWPL 2 side that finished bottom from the 2021/22 season along with five teams from Championship South and four teams from Championship North who were not promoted.

The remaining Championship teams who don’t finish within the relevant positions to enter the National Championship will go into a new division, League One. This new level will allow for new teams to enter the performance pathway in a sustainable manner and provide growth opportunity for the performance pathway as a whole.

Scottish Women’s Football Chair, Vivienne MacLaren, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to confirm the fixtures for the upcoming 2021/22 Championship North and Championship South seasons. Due to COVID-19, this will be the first full Championship seasons and we’re excited to see this new league come to fruition.

Above: Inverness Caledonian Thistle, one of the teams who will compete in the Championship North. Photo: Gary Anthony.

“The Championship is set to be extremely competitive. Three of these teams will be promoted to SWPL 2 with one runner-up earning their place through a play-off final. There’s a lot to look forward to in the 2021/22 season.

Speaking about the new format for the 2022/23 season, MacLaren added: “The creation of a National Championship is positive for the performance pathway and the game as a whole. Both SWF and the clubs involved agree that a National Championship will better prepare teams for the potential of entering the SWPL. The new League One division will also offer new teams wishing to enter the performance arm a more sustainable entry point.

“With teams knowing a place in the National Championship is up for grabs based on their finishing position in 2021/22, every game is going to be competitive and there’s a lot to play for in each round of fixtures.”

The opening round of matches are as follows:

CHAMPIONSHIP SOUTH (Sunday 8th August)

Ayr UnitedVHutchison Vale
BSC GlasgowVAirdrie
ClydeVEdinburgh City
FalkirkVRenfrew
LivingstonVEdinburgh Caledonia
MortonVSt Mirren
RossvaleVStenhousemuir
United GlasgowVGartcairn

CHAMPIONSHIP NORTH (Sunday 15th August)

Dryburgh AthleticVBuchan
Dundee WestVDunfermline Athletic
East FifeVInverness Caledonian Thistle
MontroseVStonehaven
WestdykeVGrampian

Irish Women’s National League Round-Up

Abi Ticehurst brings us up to date with all the week’s action in the FAI WNL with a big game near the bottom and a controversial ending to the top four battle between DLR Waves and Shelbourne.

Pictured above, Éabha O’Mahony fires one home for Cork City for the first equaliser. Photo supplied to Impetus by @PhotosSalem

In the Spotlight: Cork and Athlone share the spoils in bottom of the table clash

Ahead of the game, Impetus caught up with people from both clubs to set the scene for this important clash. Cork City defender Shaunagh McCarthy told me: “I felt confident going into the game at the weekend. We prepared well during the week as a team and we set out to get all 3 points. The spirit around the team has been really high which has helped us to feel confident going into recent games.”

Prior to kick-off, Athlone Town Assistant Manager Anthony Fay told us: “We knew travelling down to Cork it was always going to be a hard game,  we know Cork are a good team with match winners all over the park. But within the camp were quietly confident of getting all 3 points, we had a game plan that nearly work. Also, we know we have a quality squad with some very young exciting players”

This was a bottom of the table clash that didn’t disappoint! A pacey start to the game from both sides as it began end to end but ultimately Athlone kicked things off with a strike at goal early on, however Abby McCarthy made light work of the save and the game continued.

McCarthy was in action again in the 12th minute but proved her shot stopping worth once more. That said, just moments later McCarthy was off her line and a defensive nightmare ensued as the Cork defenders struggled to clear the ball which meant that Melissa O’Kane was able to take a chance to put Athlone ahead to open the scoring for the afternoon.

Though both settled in the game relatively quickly, Athlone certainly dominated more of the play, calling McCarthy into action on several occasions. However, Cork’s Sophie Liston was able to dance her way through the midfield and defence in a run down the right wing, but for all her efforts no-one in the box was able to capitalise.

Fear not, shortly after a loose ball on the edge of the box was caught by Éabha O’Mahony and Cork nabbed an equaliser. Cork captain Becky Cassin had a dangerous free kick just outside the box, but much like Liston’s attempt, there was no-one able to make the most of the soaring ball. Shortly after, Cassin was involved in a foul and the ref saw fit to blow for half time as she was receiving treatment.


All cylinders firing from both sides as the second half kicked off with a cute little link up between Liston and O’Mahony, but not enough pace on the shot saw it roll just wide of the post. Quick to counter, Athlone chase the ball to the other half and are awarded a corner and it’s in the back of the net, Roisin Molloy with the goal after what looked like a foul on McCarthy.

McKevitt makes a surging run forward, having been a real nuisance to Athlone all game, but to no avail for Cork. At the 60 minute mark at this point and it’s evident the sun is taking it’s toll as much of the game’s previous pace is reduced from here on out. Some slick last ditch defending from Ciara McNamara to deny a third game for Athlone, which would’ve likely put the game to bed.

Cork once again on the counter as a lovely bit of switch play from Eve Mangan and Sophie Listor drives the play forward, a cross swinging in but again no-one able to get on the end of it. A Cork freekick results, but the ball floats beyond the players and Athlone immediately counter, Katelyn Keogh races forward and is able to bypass several Cork players before she cuts inside in the box and shoots at goal, however the attempt flashes wide.

Athlone continue to look dangerous in the final ten when Emily Corbett catches a loose ball at the back, but she can’t convert the shot despite McCarthy being dangerously far out the box. It looked as though Athlone were set to take all three points at Turner’s Cross, but a quick pass and play routine from Lauren Egbuloniu, O’Mahony and Cassin replacement, Christina Dring meant they were able to pinch a point in the 90th minute. City evidently finding some pace and power in the final minutes of an exciting game.

Talking after the match, Cork City defender Shaunagh McCarthy told Impetus: “I thought the sun played a huge factor on the game. It was hard to keep up the intensity with the heat but I felt that we all put in a massive shift as a team to grind out the point. We know it wasn’t our best performance of the season but we worked together to help each other out and get through the 90 minutes. We all felt that we could have done better but we will only improve on that performance going into the Wexford game this weekend.”

Athlone’s assistant manager Anthony Fay told me, “When we look back on the game we feel we dropped two points, no disrespect to Cork and all credit goes to them for the way they fought till the final whistle. On the balance of play we had the majority of the clear cut chances – if we are to climb up the table then we need to start finishing out game. That is our last two games we conceded two late goals to leave the four points behind us.

“The team overall played well. We have a very young team and we are always learning ever game. I thought Roisin Molly, Muireann Devaney, Chloe Fylnn and Laurie Ryan were the stand out players for us. We will dust ourselves down and go again next week against a very talented experienced Peamount side.”

I admire Cork’s confidence to play out from the back with Abby McCarthy proving herself as a shot stopper and comfortable with her feet. Though I’m not sure such a tactic will be as safe to play during the likes of the top of the table. Athlone certainly used it to their advantage on occasion to put the pressure on Cork. Also mentions for Fiona Owens who terrorised the Cork midfield consistently throughout. Sara McKevitt was here, there and everywhere, trojan work rate to push the game on for Becky Cassin proving just why she captains the side as she battled on tirelessly despite two huge knocks.

FT Cork City 2-2 Athlone Town

Wexford sit quietly and comfortably in third spot as they continue to build on their return from the break. A first half goal from Edel Kennedy was enough to secure the three points for the side despite them having numerous chances, including one for Aisling Frawley. Galway will be disappointed not to have at least got on the scoresheet in this one. However, Wexford’s pace proved too much for the home side and their title race march.

FT Galway 0-1 Wexford Youths

A welcome victory for Peamount here as they race with Shelbourne for the top spot. These five goals will have put them in good stead as the sides are neck and neck on point with just goal difference the defining factor. A solid performance by the Peas with goals from Sadhbh Doyle, two from Eleanor Ryan-Doyle, Alannah McEvoy and Karen Duggan rounding things off. Aoife Cronin spoiling the clean sheet for Niamh Reid-Burke to score what would be a consolatory goal for Treaty.

FT Peamount United 5-1 Treaty United

Above: Jetta Berrill with pinpoint accuracy to equalise for DLR Waves. Photo supplied to Impetus by: Peter Minogue Photography

The ‘clean sheet race leaders’ faced one another in this match up with Amanda Budden on top with eight for Shelbourne and Eve Badana with six for DLR Waves heading into the fixture. Saoirse Noonan was all fired up for this encounter which included an overhead kick in the first half but to no avail as Badana swiped the strike away. But a determined Noonan notched goal number seven shortly after the break to put the Shels ahead. Jetta Berrill got in the action for DLR to scatter the title racers chances with a fantastic goal.

Super sub Rebecca Cooke would steal the glory but not without a degree of controversy. The move started with what appeared to be a foul throw which, staggeringly the officials all missed and ended with Cook’s silky left-footed strike to secure the win for Shels, who find themselves level on points with Peamount.

Table

PositionTeamPldPtsGD +/-GFW
1Peamount United1231+273610
2Shelbourne1231+243110
3Wexford Youths1330+25359
4DLR Waves1222+6177
5Galway1312-12193
6Treaty United139-29182
7Bohemians128-12162
8Cork City137-12151
9Athlone Town127-17161

Next Fixtures

Saturday 24th July

Shelbourne v Treaty United (14:00)

Bohemians v DLR Waves (14:00)

Wexford Youths v Cork City (18:30)

Athlone Town v Peamount United (19:00)



Olympics Preview: New Zealand

Kris Goman casts her eye over the Football Ferns (pictured above via Football Ferns Instagram), who go into the Tokyo Games on the back of an exceptionally challenging last sixteen months.

Squad news

The Football Ferns have arguably faced more challenges than any other Olympic football team in their preparations for this tournament. New Zealand’s strict pandemic regulations combined with Australia’s has prevented this team getting together to train or play since March 2020.

To make matters worse, the NWSL did not release key US-Based players Ali Riley from Orlando Pride or Abby Erceg from North Carolina Courage until the international window which saw them both play in the NWSL last weekend. American, Canadian and Brazilian players had all been released up to two weeks earlier. Nordic based players have also only recently arrived as they are also in season.

Despite only 15 players being able to train together since late June with the rest joining in the last week or so, New Zealand lost fairly respectably 3-0 to Great Britain in a friendly last week.

Regular senior team members Rebekah Stott and Rosie White are both not available due to illness and their experience will be sorely missed.

This opens the team to a few youngsters to earn their first caps. Gabbie Rennie, Michaela Robertson and Marissa van der Meer will all be looking to make their debut for the Football Ferns. Claudia Bunge, Emma Rolston, Elizabeth Anton, Victoria Esson and Anna Leat have five or less caps and will be looking to solidify their positions on the team as they build to the Women’s World Cup in 2023 that will be jointly hosted by New Zealand and Australia.

To complement the youth, there is plenty of experience with Ali Riley, Abby Erceg, Betsy Hassett, Annalie Longo and Ria Percival all having well in excess of 100 caps. Hannah Wilkinson should get her 100th cap during the tournament.

Full squad is as follows:

Keepers: Erin Naylor, Anna Leat, Victoria Esson

Defenders: CJ Bott, Meikayla Moore, Claudia Bunge, Ali Riley (Captain), Abby Erceg, Anna Green, Elizabeth Anton, Marissa van der Meer

Midfielders: Katie Bowen, Daisy Cleverley, Olivia Chance, Betsy Hassett, Annalie Longo, Ria Percival, Emma Rolston.

Forwards: Paige Satchell, Hannah Wilkinson, Gabi Rennie, Michaela Robertson

Coach

Above: New Zealand manager Tom Sermanni (centre) with two of his Football Ferns Claudia Bunge (left) and Annalie Longo (right) after their W-League Grand Final success in April. Photo: Football Ferns Instagram

Tom Sermanni is the Football Ferns manager and is one of the most experienced coaches in the women’s game. The 67 year old hails from Glasgow, Scotland and the bulk of his playing career as a midfielder was spent with Albion Rovers and Torquay United. In 1983 he moved to Australia and played for Canberra City. He made the move to manager with Canberra Croatia simultaneously coaching Australian Schoolboys.

Stints at the Australian Institute of Sport, Westfields Sports High School and Sydney Olympic preceded his first national team role with the Matildas from 1994-97. Time in Japan, USA and back to Westfields Sports High School kept him busy before, once again, managing the Matildas from 2005 to 2012. This is the time many of the current Matildas kicked off their international careers.

Post the Australian position, he led the USA, then Canada, before landing the job as the first coach of Orlando Pride before taking the role with the Football Ferns in late 2018. He will finish with New Zealand once the Olympics are over.

To say that Sermanni understands Australian football is an understatement. Very few people know the Matildas better. He spent the last W-League at every match the Kiwis played in and got a good look at the current talent pool in Australia as well as keeping a close eye on his Aussie based charges during the worst of the pandemic. His in-depth knowledge of the Matildas has the potential to cause an upset in their first match of the Olympics. Lack of time with the international-based players is of more concern and no camps have been run since the Pandemic started.

Olympics History

This will be the Football Ferns’ fourth consecutive Olympics. Ria Percival, Abby Erceg, Anna Green and Ali Riley will have attended all four Olympics which is impressive in anyone’s books.

At Beijing, they did not leave the group stage, recording one draw and two losses. London saw them reach the quarter finals in their best result to date with one win, beating Cameroon and three losses bowing out to the United States, the eventual winner. Rio saw them stall at the group stage again with a win and two losses.

Qualifying

NZ qualified for the Olympics through the 2018 Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) Nations Cup which was held in New Caledonia for eight Pacific Ocean nations. New Zealand won that tournament convincingly with Fiji runners up.

Strengths

New Zealand is very strong defensively and through the midfield. They have plenty of experience in these areas and are solid here. It is possible they could just sit back and stop their opponents from scoring and it could be an effective tactic.

Development areas

Their key weakness is in attack but mostly due to experience. Wilkinson is by far and away their most experienced forward. Two of their four forwards are yet to earn a cap. They could well make up for inexperience at the international level with enthusiasm though.

Key Players

Ali Riley and Abby Erceg will be controlling things from the back and are integral to the tight defence. Meikayla Moore was part of the Liverpool second division team that beat Manchester United in the Continental Cup and is not short of talent or match fitness.

Ria Percival is plying her trade at Tottenham Hotspur and Annalie Longo is coming off a premiership winning W-League Season with Melbourne Victory although may lack some match fitness as that season finished a while ago.

Above: Paige Satchell (right) had a stellar season with Canberra United in the W-League this year. Photo: Kris Goman.

One to watch

There are two players to keep an eye on during this tournament. Paige Satchell had a fantastic run with Canberra United in the W-League this season. Every time she took the pitch she caused havoc with the defence. She’s very fast, very physical and technically gifted. If she’s firing and works well with Wilkinson, there could be a few goals.

The other player is Emma Rolston. She only has 5 caps but has scored 6 goals for the senior team in those appearances and 32 goals for the under 20 team with only 8 caps. As a midfielder, this is rather extraordinary. She hasn’t played much lately due to injury but if she’s back in top form, she’s a big threat.

Prediction

New Zealand is in the so-called group of death and given their lack of match and training time, it’s hard to see them winning a game under the circumstances. They won’t be a walkover but they haven’t beaten Australia since 1994 and both Sweden and the USA are in top form and looking to medal. Stranger things have happened but it’s difficult to see how they would in this tournament. New Zealand should be using this experience to blood some of their younger players and build to the World Cup.

Group Fixtures inc KO Times (Aus/UK)

21st July 2021 New Zealand V Australia – Tokyo Stadium, 9.30pm AUS / 12.30pm UK / 11.30pm NZ

24th July 2021 New Zealand v USA – Saitama Stadium, 9.30pm AUS / 12.30pm UK / 11.30pm NZ

27th July 2021 New Zealand V Sweden – Miyagi Stadium, 6pm AUS / 9amUK / 8pm NZ

Ellie Carpenter: Cowra Born Superstar Smashing It In Lyon

Ahead of the Olympics which start tomorrow, Impetus’ Ben Gilby profiles Australia’s young star Ellie Carpenter (pictured above via Football Australia) who was raised in the small town of Cowra, with a population of less than 10,000 and is now part of Olympique Lyonnais’ superstar team. With additional reporting from Impetus’ French editor Jean-Pierre Thiesset who reviews her debut campaign in the D1 Arkema.

“We need to be building OL around youngsters like Ellie Carpenter. They are our future.”

The above was posted on a thread on @OLFeminin – the official Twitter feed of Olympique Lyonnais’ women’s team towards the end of 2020. It showed how, already after just a handful of games for the side who are generally acknowledged to be one of the top women’s football teams in the world, a 21 year-old defender from the tiny New South Wales town of Cowra, almost 200 miles south-west of Sydney, was absolutely smashing it.

Carpenter has been the jewel in the crown of the next generation of Australian women footballers for a long time now. In fact it’s a shock that she really is just 21 years-old. After all, she made her international debut for the Matildas on 2nd March 2016 at the age of just fifteen against Vietnam in an Olympic Games Qualifier played in Osaka.

Ellie makes no secret of the fact that she dreamed of being a Matilda as a child. “The journey has been crazy!” she said last year. “It’s just amazing. The biggest challenge I had was coming into the team at the age of fifteen and needing to mature and get the experience I’ve now had.”

Above: Ellie’s home town of Cowra. Photo: Visit NSW

It is that footballing journey and her family’s role in it that she greatly appreciates. Living in such a small town hours from the major cities meant that big sacrifices had to be made as Ellie’s ability developed. “My family have made a lot of sacrifices for me, moving to Sydney and my mum quitting her job to support me and help me to get to where I am today.” That move came when Carpenter was 12 years-old and enabled her to attend Westfields Sports High School.

Ellie then moved in to W-League soccer with Western Sydney Wanderers, aged fifteen with that international debut coming only seven months later. Two years later she transferred to Canberra United where she played twenty-one games and scored five goals – not bad at all for a defender.

In 2018 there was another huge milestone in Carpenter’s career when she moved to the National Women’s Soccer League with Portland Thorns, becoming both the youngest ever player in the competition and the youngest goal scorer. Two years with the Thorns included a loan spell with Melbourne City for the 2019/20 W-League which saw her lift the championship trophy following their 1-0 win over Sydney FC in the Grand Final.

Then came the big move to France. Despite the huge step for one so young, Ellie explained in the European Autumn just how positive the experience has been for her: “When the opportunity came about, I thought it was the right time for me to make the move to Europe. I wanted to be out of my comfort zone. I’ve felt uncomfortable here a lot of times already. When you are out of your comfort zone, that’s when you’re pushed and that’s what I wanted to be.”

Life in France is very different from small town Cowra, or even Portland in the USA, but Carpenter is taking it all in her stride: “I’m really loving it. I’m doing everything I can to learn the language and get among the culture. I’m settling into my apartment and training and have got a few games under my belt. I live on the east side of the river in Lyon where lots of the other girls live, so it’s quite central.

Above: Ellie Carpenter has had a magnificent first season with Olympique Lyonnais. Photo: Jean-Pierre Thiesset.

“With the language, it’s a massive barrier. In training, it’s all in French so you have to learn quickly. If you miss something, that might be such an important detail, so you really have to be switched on. We have a teacher at the club so I have French lessons three times a week so it’s pretty full on, but you need it! I can have a conversation here and there and order something at a café which is the most important thing!”

The world class nature of the players that Ellie is surrounded by at Olympique Lyonnais – the likes of Ada Hegerberg, Wendie Renard, Delphine Cascarino, Amel Majri, Saki Kumagai and Dzsenifer Marozsan – is certainly adding to the Australian’s game: “Training is so intense. It’s another level up from what I’m used to. You have to push yourself which is important because you want to win every game. Everyone is so competitive and you can feel that on the pitch. It’s so enjoyable! I’ve learned new things and I know I’ve improved as a player already.”

Talking about her first game for Olympique Lyonnais, a friendly against PSV Eindhoven, the side that fellow Matilda Kyah Simon played for at the time, Carpenter said: “I didn’t feel nervous, I just played my normal game. I felt like I’d played before (for the team) if that makes sense. It feels like I’ve been playing with them forever.” Her performance that day in setting up England star Nikita Parris for one of Lyon’s four goals that afternoon confirms that she settled in perfectly from the very start.

Carpenter’s fine start with her new club was highlighted by the fact that she was nominated for the French First Division’s player of the month in September – no mean feat in a period she played her first games in the competition. Her first goal came in the third league game of the season, a 2-1 win over Bordeaux.

Later in the season, Ellie stood out in the club’s Champions League campaign and was one of their few positives in Olympique Lyonnais failed attempt for an unprecedented sixth successive title. It was the European campaign that excited her the most: “I remember watching Lyon play in a Champions League Final when I was playing in America and sat there thinking ‘Oh, it would be so sick to play in the Champions League!’ so it’s crazy that it actually happened. It’s so exciting!”

Above: Ellie Carpenter has been loving life in Lyon. Photo: Jean-Pierre Thiesset.

The accolades for Carpenter continued when she was voted as Olympique Lyonnais’ best signing of 2020 and also won the Asian Football Confederation Player of the Year Award.

It is not surprising that the Australian has become a firm favourite with the Lyon fans. Impetus’ French editor Jean-Pierre Thiesset said:

“A lot of fans were disappointed and worried when Lucy Bronze announced that she was going back to England. After a few games in the current season, nobody was speaking of Lucy anymore as Ellie Carpenter, who replaced her, was showing all her talents and skills, and had brought brightness in the right defensive position.

“Since the beginning of this season, she has started almost in all games (eighteen games in D1 Arkema and five games in UWCL), she scored one goal in D1 Arkema.

“Ellie is a great young player and probably one of the future’s best right backs in the world. We are so lucky to have her in Lyon.”

Ben Gilby writes for Beyond90, Australia’s leading independent women’s football platform. Visit https://beyond90.com.au/

Scottish Premier Women’s Fixtures Unveiled

Yesterday, Impetus announced on social media that we will be launching detailed regular coverage of the Scottish women’s game for the new season. In our first Scottish piece, we provide all the details as the new season’s Scottish Women’s Premier League fixtures were unveiled.

Above: Glasgow City celebrated an incredible fourteenth straight SWPL title on the final day of last season. Photo: Daily Record.

The fixtures for the 2021/22 Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) season have been announced with the first round on Sunday 5th September.

In a newly expanded SWPL 1, ten teams will play each other three times to complete the 27-match league calendar. SWPL 2 will feature eight teams in 2021/22 but will be expanded to ten teams in 2022/23 with two teams promoted from the Championship.

The opening round of SWPL 1 fixtures will see reigning champions Glasgow City at home to Motherwell. Both teams will be under new management with Grant Scott the interim Head Coach at Glasgow City and Paul Brownlie having been appointed Head Coach of Motherwell in May. It will also see Leanne Crichton, who left Glasgow City to take up a player/coach role at Motherwell, potentially play her first league match in claret and amber against her former side.

One of the biggest ties of the first round will see SWPL 2 champions, Aberdeen, welcome SWPL 1 runners-up, Celtic. Aberdeen comfortably picked up the SWPL 2 title last season, securing back-to-back promotions in their return to the top flight of women’s football. However, they welcome a Celtic side who will be hoping to go one step further in 2021/22 as they look to build on the success of last season under Fran Alonso.

Promoted alongside Aberdeen was Hamilton Academical, who face a trip to Edinburgh to take on Heart of Midlothian. Hamilton earned promotion on the final day of the season to return to the top flight after relegation in 2018. They meet a Hearts team that will be under the new management of Eva Olid after the departure of Andy Kirk. The Jambos finished bottom of the table last season, so this will be an early test for both sides.

There will also be a test for new Forfar Farmington manager, Eddie Wolecki Black. The former Glasgow City, Celtic, and Motherwell boss will take his side to face Rangers where Forfar lost 11-0 in their last match there. Rangers have strengthened their side as they look to push for the title after they finished third last season. In one of the biggest moves of the summer they’ve signed Scotland Women’s National Team forward, Jane Ross after six years playing in England.

The final match in SWPL 1 is an Edinburgh derby as Hibernian are at home to Spartans. After a disappointing season compared to previous years, Hibs welcome a number of new players to the club including Finnish forward, Emma Heikkilä, and Americans Alexa Coyle, Toni Malone, and Gabby English. They’ve also signed midfielder, Michaela McAlonie, who could make her league debut for Hibs against her former side. At Spartans, they have announced their first ever semi-professional players in the form of Alana Marshall, Rachel Harrison, and Robyn McCafferty. Head Coach, Debbi McCulloch, stated this was the direction the club was moving in and is a significant step in their quest to compete with the top clubs.

Above: Partick Thistle came agonisingly close to promotion to the top flight last season. They will be going all out to make sure they make it at the end of this coming season. Photo: Partick Thistle FC

In SWPL 2, it’s set to be an even more competitive 2021/22 season. The league winners will gain promotion to SWPL 1 while the runners-up will face the side finishing ninth in SWPL 1 in a one-legged play-off match for promotion. The side finishing bottom in SWPL 2 will be relegated this season and be replaced by the winner of the promotion play-off match between the runners-up in Championship North and South.

In the opening round of fixtures there’s a Glasgow derby as Partick Thistle host Queen’s Park. Thistle finished third last season as they narrowly missed out on promotion to SWPL 1 on the final day. Brian Graham’s side will hope to go one further in 2021/22. In contrast, Queen’s Park struggled with injuries when the season restarted in June and slumped down the table to finish ninth. They are also looking for a new Head Coach after the departure of Mark Kirk.

The other side who went into the final day of the season with a chance of promotion was Dundee United, who eventually finished fourth. They are already looking to push on after strengthening their side with the signings of Erin Cattanach and Cassie Cowper from Forfar Farmington. They are at home to Stirling University on the opening day who finished bottom of the table. Under Head Coach Tim Jones, Stirling University were much improved when the season restarted and picked up seven points after only having two from their previous 10 games.

Separated by just two points last season was sixth placed Kilmarnock and seventh placed Glasgow Women who meet on the opening day. The Glasgow side are at home and will look to build on their final day 3-2 victory against Queen’s Park. While Kilmarnock lost 3-0 in their last game against Hamilton Academical, they were much improved in the restart. They picked up 13 points from eight games from a season total of 22 points and will hope to continue that form.

The final game in SWPL 2 is Boroughmuir Thistle at home to St Johnstone. The away side finished fifth last season, 10 points clear of Boroughmuir in eighth but 13 points away from promotion with eight wins, one draw, and nine losses. Boroughmuir will be hoping to cement their place within the SWPL after completing their first full season and finishing six points clear of bottom.

Scottish Women’s Football Chair, Vivienne MacLaren, said: “We’re delighted to confirm the fixtures for the SWPL season ahead. Both leagues came down to the wire last season and everyone is excited for league football to return.

“It’s hard to imagine SWPL being more competitive but the move to expand both leagues to 10 teams is very positive. Both Aberdeen and Hamilton Academical were deservingly promoted and will add new dynamics to SWPL 1. While SWPL 2 will feature eight teams this season, I have no doubt it will remain one of the most competitive leagues in Scottish football and will look forward to welcoming at least two new Championship teams in 2022/23.

2021/22 will also likely see fans return to matches across the board after some clubs being able to open their doors to spectators last season.

“I’m sure players, teams, clubs, and club officials will be excited by the return of fans to SWPL matches. Throughout the last 18 months, the priority for SWF has been the safety of those involved in our game whilst also working to ensure the visibility of our game grows. We feel we’ve accomplished this and want to continue that in 2021/22 whilst also welcoming fans back to matches.”

The Scottish Women’s Championship fixtures for the new season and information on the make up of the divisions will appear on Impetus later this week.

Olympics Preview: USA

Impetus’ North American women’s football expert Catherine Paquette details the United States (pictured above by USA Soccer), who are one of the red hot favourites to take the gold medal in Tokyo.

Squad News: 

The final US Olympic roster was largely unsurprising.  Nearly all players brought to Tokyo were those who had seen the most game time in the 2021 build-up.  The exclusion of Margaret Purce and Andi Sullivan did stir debate, due to their recent form, as did the inclusion of Tobin Heath and Julie Ertz, due to their recent injuries.  

Since the squad was announced in June, Tobin Heath has returned to play against Mexico and showed that she is back to full health.  In the latest team pictures though Julie Ertz still had a knee brace on.  They, alongside the other twenty players on the team, are part of a squad made up of seasoned veterans with a few Olympic debutants.

Jane Campbell, Abby Dahlkemper, Tierna Davidson, Adrianna Franch, Casey Krueger, Catarina Macario, Emily Sonnett, Lynn Williams, Rose Lavelle, and sisters Kristie and Samantha Mewis will all be playing in their first Olympic Games.   However, more than half those debutants were part of the last Women’s World Cup team and therefore have major tournament experience. 

Alyssa Naeher, Crystal Dunn, Julie Ertz, Lindsey Horan and Christen Press will be at their second Games, although technically it is a third for Press if you consider the fact she travelled to the London Olympics as an alternate.  Kelley O’Hara, Becky Sauerbrunn, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe will be at their third Olympics. Finally, Tobin Heath and Carli Lloyd will be attending their fourth Olympics. 

The team is on the older side, with an average age just a touch under thirty years of age.  In total they have two thousand one hundred and nineteen caps between them, with only Catarina Macario and goalkeepers Adrianna Franch and Jane Campbell having less than ten caps. At twenty-one years of age Macario is the youngest player in the team.

Eight players have over one hundred caps while Carli Lloyd has three-hundred and six caps and is the highest goal scorer on the team with one hundred and twenty six international goals.  At thirty-nine years of age she is the oldest player on the team.

Coach:

Vlatko Andonovski took over as head coach of the United States women’s national team after Jill Ellis stepped away from the position in October 2019.  Prior to his time in charge of the US, Andonovski had had a seven year NWSL head coaching career in which he won the NWSL Championship twice.

Since taking over as US manager his team has won twenty-two matches and had only one draw, which came against Sweden earlier this year. This is the best start record of any US women’s team head coach ever.

Olympic History:

The United States have participated in every Olympic women’s football tournament since it was introduced in 1996.  They won silver at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and gold at 1996 Atlanta, 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing and the 2012 London Games.

The only games where the US did not medal was the most recent, the 2016 Rio Olympics.  They were eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Sweden.  It was their worst major tournament result ever.

Above: The USA showing what they are capable of with a stunning team goal against Mexico.

Qualifying:

The Americans qualified for the Tokyo games through the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying championship held in February 2020.  The US, alongside Mexico and Canada, received automatic entry into the championship.

The eight team tournament started with a four team group stage phase.  The top two teams from each group then progressed to the semi-finals, with the first placed teams playing the second placed teams of the opposite group.  The winners of each semi-final were the CONCACAF’s entrants for the Tokyo Olympics.

The United States topped Group A, winning all their matches against Costa Rica, Haiti and Panama with an eighteen goal difference.  They then beat Mexico in the semi-final stage 4-0 to qualify for the Tokyo games.  

The Americans did not concede a single goal during the whole of the qualifying championship.

Strengths:

The Americans arguably have many strengths.  An important one is their squad depth.  There really is no change that Andonovsky could make from the starters to the bench that would result in a marked drop in performance of the team. They have twenty-two players who are each highly talented, experienced and capable of dealing with any opponents. 

Their physical fitness is also a strength.  The American program has always prized fitness as a key part of their game, playing a heavily physical and fast style of football.  While the team may be older than its Olympic counterparts, that will not affect the US’s ability to field players who can play ninety-minutes every three days. 

Development Areas: 

To find development areas in the US side is to nit-pick.  This is because the squad is very strong in nearly every position.  There have been issues raised about the possible speed of the outside backs, with the notable exception of Crystal Dunn, and whether they could be tripped up by some of the fast wingers they could face.  However, they are all experienced and have shown the capabilities of defending well out wide.

With Julie Ertz currently injured, the team has no other six.  While Lindsey Horan has played the position in recent games, she is better suited up the field. The American midfield should be able to deal with its opponents in the group stage, but they will hope that Ertz is back to full health should they meet a more technical team like the Netherlands or Japan later on.

Goalkeeping is also an area that could trip up the US.  Alyssa Naeher is expected to be the starter.  While she has at times been the best goalkeeper in the NWSL, she has shown that she can be prone to mistakes.  However, those have been less and less in recent years. This tournament could be the one where she finally silences her critics.

Key Players:

Captain Becky Sauerbrunn will continue her reign of calm, collected and controlled play in the back line. While there are players who could come on and replace her skill-wise at centre back, should she get injured or be subbed off, the leadership Sauerbrunn brings to the US side cannot be understated. 

The midfield duo of Lindsey Horan and Rose Lavelle are important for chance creation. Lavelle had an amazing 2019 Women’s World Cup, where she showed her skill to the world.  Horan could equally do this alongside her in midfield at these Tokyo games. 

The American forward line-up is frightening, if you are an opposition. Christen Press, Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe have been in incredible shape this year for both club and country. Even an older Carli Lloyd and a returned injured Tobin Heath have shown how deadly they still are.  When the ball makes it up front, opposition defenders will have a lot to contend with.

One to watch:

Above: Sam Mewis scoring from the spot for the USA against Sweden recently. Photo: The Guardian

Samantha Mewis has had a terrific FAWSL season with Manchester City. The 2020 US Soccer female player of the year continued this form upon her return to America with the North Carolina Courage.

While Mewis does not get on the scoreboard as often as some of her more famous American teammates, she has been vital to the transition and offensive development capabilities of the US for a few years now.  The Tokyo Olympics have the capacity of highlighting this in the same way the 2019 Women’s World Cup highlighted her former Manchester City teammate Rose Lavelle’s skill and vision. 

If you want to see where the US’s goals end, watch the strikers.  If you want to see where the US’s goals begin, watch Samantha Mewis.

Prediction:

The United States is in the so-called group of death.  While they should beat the Kiwis, and a victory against the recently out of form Australians is easily within their reach, Sweden will not be an easy game for them. The Swedes are the only team in the last eighteen months to hold the US to a draw.  Despite this, the US should be able to finish in the top two of their group and is arguably expected to top it.

As the 2016 Rio Olympics showed us, knock-out phases of tournaments can be unpredictable.  Still, it would be a second rare shock indeed should the Americans be eliminated again at this stage.

However, with the team the US has they should reach the podium, with gold being a goal they could realistically achieve.

Group Fixtures including KO times (local/UK):

DateMatchTime
Wed, July 21Sweden vs. USA9:30 BST
Sat, July 24New Zealand vs. USA12:30 am BST
Tues, July 27USA vs. Australia9 am BST

Olympics Preview: Canada

Catherine Paquette provides an in-depth preview of the Canadian national side ahead of the Olympic Games. The squad are pictured above after receiving their bronze medals at Rio 2016 (Picture: Canada Soccer).

Squad News: 

Canada’s squad announcement did not have many surprises, both in its exclusions or inclusions.  As it has for many years, the Canadians decided to field a team composed of a mixture of veteran players with a number of younger debutants.

The oldest player on the squad is goalkeeper Erin McLeod, who is 38.  The youngest is Jordyn Huitema, who is 20. Only three players in the squad have ten caps or less with Évelyne Viens being the one with the least amount at seven.  Two players have more than two-hundred caps, two other players more than one-hundred caps.  In total the Canadian squad has one thousand seven hundred and fifty one caps between them.  

Of the twenty-two players selected, Vanessa Gilles, Jordyn Huitema, Jayde Riviere, Julia Grosso, Adriana Leon and Evelyne Viens are making their Olympic debuts. Kailen Sheridan and Gabrielle Carle are making their first team appearance after having gone to Rio as alternates.

This means that the other fourteen players on the team are going to Tokyo as defending bronze medalists. Four of them, Erin McLeod, Desiree Scott, Sophie Schmidt and Christine Sinclair are double-defending bronze medalists, having also been part of the 2012 London Olympic squad.

This year’s squad is only composed of only four players playing their football at the American collegiate level.  The other eighteen are full time professionals who play in the NWSL, the Division 1, the FAWSL and the Damallsvenskan. 

The other players not mentioned going to Tokyo are: Stephanie Labbé, Allysha Chapman, Kadeisha Buchanan, Shelina Zadorsky, Quinn, Deanne Rose, Ashley Lawrence, Nichelle Prince, Janine Beckie and Jessie Fleming.

Coach:

The Canadian national team coach Bev Priesman will not be foreign to any Canada or England fans. Prior to being named to the top Canadian job in October 2020 she served as assistant coach for the English women’s national team, as part of the Phil Neville’s set up.  She had joined England from John Herdman’s Canadian national set up, where she was also an assistant coach for the team.

Priestman also coached the Canadian U-17 and U-20 teams from 2013-16 and 2017-18 respectively.  Despite her short reign entering the Tokyo Olympics, she is extremely familiar to both veteran and rookie Canadian national team players.

Since taking over as coach Priestman’s side has lost twice, to the US and Brazil, won three times, to Argentina, Wales and England, and drawn three times, to the Czech Republic, Brazil and the Netherlands.

Above: Canada Head Coach Bev Priestman. Photo: Boris Streubel FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images)

Olympic History:

This will be the fourth Olympics for Canada, having qualified for every games since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.  At the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics the team won back-to-back bronze medals.  

In the process they became the first Canadian summer Olympic sports team to win back to back medals.

Qualifying:

The Canadians qualified for the Tokyo games through the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying championship held in February 2020.  Canada, alongside Mexico and the United States, received automatic entry into the championship.

The eight team tournament started with a four team group stage phase.  The top two teams from each group then progressed to the semi-finals, with the first placed teams playing the second placed teams of the opposite group.  The winners of each semi-final were the CONCACAF’s entrants for the Tokyo Olympics.

Canada topped Group B, winning all its matches against Mexico, Jamaica and St. Kitts & Nevis by a margin of twenty-two goals for to zero goals against.  They then won their semi-final against Costa Rica to qualify.

Strengths: 

Canada is a seasoned team with a wealth of both World Cup and Olympic experience.  That experience extends through nearly the entirety of the squad.  They are lead by a coach who has known them for years, and who also intimately knows one of their biggest group stage opponents, Team GB.  

Canada experimented at times with their line-ups this year, however whatever formation or changes were made the team’s defence continued to shine.  In total they have conceded six goals in their eight 2021 games, registering five clean sheets. 

Development Areas:

While the Canadians have managed to outshoot their opponents in most matches this year, their offence has at times shown to be lacking.  The Canadians have a lot of talent in midfield but the talent up front has not always matched it of late.  Over the last few years finding the back of the net has at times been difficult with the Canadian transition from midfield into the final third being lacklustre.

This tendency continued to raise its nose in 2021. The one positive offensively that Canada can look too though is that when they have scored this year they have not been dependent on a single player to find the back of the net. The nine 2021 Canadian goals have come from six different individuals who play in both midfield and as strikers. All but one will be present in Tokyo.

Key Players:

To start the entire back line of PSG’s Ashley Lawrence, Lyon’s Kadeisha Buchanan, Tottenham’s Shelina Zadorsky and the Houston Dash’s Allysha Chapman.  For Canada to succeed this year they will need their defensive structure to stay strong and mitigate goals.  The Canadians will be lucky, all four players are back to full health ahead of the group stage.

In midfield the quartet of Houston’s Desiree Scott, OL Reign’s Quinn, Chelsea’s Jessie Fleming and Manchester City’s Janine Beckie can be game changers for Canada.  Scott and Quinn play more in defensive positions giving cover and allowing for  Fleming and Beckie to move forward into attacking positions.  All are seasoned club and international players with the capacity to change games.  

One to watch:

Above: Christine Sinclair. Photo: The Canadian Press/AP Andy Jacobsohn.

No mention of the Canadian national women’s soccer team can be made without referring to Christine Sinclair.  Sinclair is the highest international goal scorer ever, male or female, for any nation.  In her two hundred and ninety nine Canadian appearances she has scored one hundred and eighty six times.  To put it bluntly, every time she scores from now on she makes a new record.

Sinclair has been pulled back in recent years for both her club the Portland Thorns and for Canada from a striker to a false nine position. While this has reduced her goal scoring rate slightly, it has translated into more service and opportunity creation on her part for her team.  This is not to say her scoring has stopped.  Only last month she became the third NWSL player to reach the 50 regular-season goal milestone.

Despite having turned 38 years old this past week, Sinclair seems to have gotten sharper with age without losing her first step, her deadly shot or her endurance.  When Canada are playing, fans should look at number 12, the record breaker.

Prediction: 

Like every group, Canada’s is not an easy one.  In Group E they open the tournament against hosts Japan, followed by Chile and finish with Team GB.  They are capable of beating all these teams, if their defence remains strong and they find the back of the net.  If not it is also possible for them to get beaten by all these teams except arguably Chile. 

Canada do have the talent and experience to at a minimum repeat their bronze medal performance, maybe even go for silver or gold.  However, their progression past the quarter-final phase will be dependent on how well they do in the group stage, and who their first knock out opponents are.

Group Fixtures including KO times (local/UK)

Japan v Canada, 21 July, Sapporo Dome, 19:30 local/11:30 BST

Chile v Canada, 24 July, Sapporo Dome, 16:30 local/8:30 BST

Canada v Great Britain, 27 July, Kashima Stadium, 20:00 local/12:00 BST