Brenda asked some good questions today. What will the USA do without Abby? What formation will they use and what sort of strategies should they look to use? This brings me to the...................
Question of the day: How will the USA win without their top scorer, Abby Wambach?
-My answer is POSSESSION. If anyone watched the World Cup last year the USA relied on sending balls forward to Abby and letting her score. She was their main target and was really their only option in the offense. Pia Sundhage, the new head coach, has brought a new idea to this team, which has allowed many more players the opportunity to score. I think the only way for the USA to score goals with out Abby is to hold the ball and be patient. They have to take their time and wait for the right time to send the ball forward. We know that these forwards can score. Natasha Kai has 11 goals this year and Amy Rodriguez (also known as A-Rod in the soccer world) has 5. They must be patient with the ball and also use their flanks. Heather O'Reilly is very speedy on the right side and Lindsay Tarpley is also very good on the left. She has 10 goals this year. In order for the USA to not only win, but get gold, they need to be patient and wait for their chances.
I also think that they will play a 4-4-2. I'm guessing that the starting line-up for their first game will look like this:
Natasha Kai Amy Rodriguez (forwards)
Lindsay Tarpley Carli Lloyd Shannon Boxx Heather O'Reilly (midfielders)
Lori Chalupny Christie Rampone Kate Markgraf Heather Mitts (defenders)
Hope Solo (goalkeeper)
It will also be interesting to see if Pia will put Heather or Lindsay up top, who both played forward during the World Cup last year. Heather had 2 goals in the 07 World Cup.
It will be hard for the USA to score in the air without Abby, as we know she is a huge target for them on corner kicks and free kicks. They are going to need to be careful when they defend free kicks and make sure to mark up tightly. The scores will definitely not be as high as they have been, but the US will score goals.This is also a chance for some new players to step up and show that they can play without Abby by their side.
I think that the defense will do fine. They are going to have to stay strong and keep the ball when they win it, instead of kicking it up field. All the players are going to need to play to feet unless they are giving a cross. Kate Markgraf and Christie Rampone, the veterans on the team, (christie is also the captain), or going to have to be leaders on the field. They are going to have to play strong and be examples for the younger players.
If any of you guys have ideas of how the USA will play w/out her please tell me!!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Your ideas are all solid. Good work!
Kai holds the record for high jump in Hawaii so I think they will give her some high balls in front of the goal. Who do you predict they will hit as play maker up top and who do you think they will use as scorer?
Post a Comment