Fútnotes, Volume 28

The Women’s World Cup has captivated so much of the attention lately, and rightfully so. The group stages were fun, and part of that fun was teams and players that those who have been paying attention to women’s soccer for the past few years finally getting a moment on the world’s stage to show what they’re capable of. The Round of 16 matches that have happened have also largely been entertaining, the sufferball tactics of the United States not withstanding.

This tournament has also been a bit of an awakening for a lot of people, even for some of those steeped in women’s fútbol around the globe. The old guard of teams are largely out of the tournament, with teams like Germany, China, Canada, and Brazil not making it out of the group stages and Norway and the United States getting bounced after limping in to the knockout rounds. It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the “talent gap” that seemingly kept teams from poorer nations has largely closed, and a new gap is opening: the coaching gap.

We’ve seen coaches with good teams full of talent being undone by teams with good coaches who know tactics, not only formations and lineups but when and how to make adjustments. Brazil was a shining example of this, as Pia Sundhage had that team at her disposal and instead of trying to harness Brazil’s offensive prowess, she tried to play conservative, defensive soccer (stodgy football, as Flo Lloyd-Hughes of Counter Pressed rightfully called it). and got burned by Jamaica’s ability to make in-game adjustments to get the draw they needed to advance.

The United States was another example, with their wealth of talent played out of position in Vlatko Andonovski’s system that seemed almost designed to highlight their flaws and stifle their talent. In their knockout round game, they played for penalties starting around the 30th minute and unfortunately for them, they got their wish. Bev Priestman’s Canada was a similar story, with players often being asked to play in roles they were unfamiliar with in a system that seemed destined to have the Canadians on an early flight home.

Japan on the other hand has come into the World Cup and absolutely destroyed everyone not because they’re miles ahead athletically or talent-wise, but because while they’re good on those aspects, they’re tactically adept. They’ve done their homework on their opponents, designed schemes that not only neutralize what their opponents are going to try to do but also highlight some of the things they’re good at.

With the gap in talent being as negligible as ever, there needs to be more focus on the other gaps that do exist. The coaching gap is one, and the investment gap is also one that kind of goes hand-in-hand with the coaching gap. Federations can invest money in hiring good coaches, and we’re seeing that pay dividends immediately. They can also invest in infrastructure like improving domestic leagues, which of course improves the player pool but also the coaching and refereeing pools as well. These pay dividends on a longer term, but they’re also crucial for the long-term successes of these national programs.

Let’s see more of this, and less of talented players out of positions playing sufferball.

México

Mia Fishel’s long-awaited transfer to Chelsea is complete. Fishel said it’s the club she grew up supporting and has always wanted to move there, and I’m happy for her but gutted for Tigres and the league. (Chelsea FC)

Club América and Tigres will be hosting Real Madrid Femenino in friendlies at the end of the month. (Liga BBVA Femenil)

After five seasons with Juárez, Miah Zuazua signed with Club América. (Récord)

Andrea Sánchez suffered a grade one injury to her adductor muscle. No timetable was given for her return. (FC Juárez)

Thank you for reading Golazo del Gringo! If you enjoyed reading this post, please share it with anyone who enjoys women’s soccer.

Rest of the World

In case you hadn’t heard, the United States WNT is out of the World Cup. (The Athletic)

The memes were fantastic, too.

Diana Moskovitz makes a great argument for watching the World Cup in Spanish - even if you don’t speak a word of it. (Defector)

Portland Thorns sale on track to finish by end of year, multiple prospective buyers advance in process (The Oregonian)

Speaking of the NWSL, Tamerra Griffin wrote a great article about the influx of Brazilian players into the league (The Equalizer)

Griffin also wrote this article about Nigeria for The Athletic, detailing just why they’re not underdogs by any stretch at the World Cup.

Statistics demonstrate the growth of the World Cup, including records in tickets sold and viewership numbers. (FIFA.com)

Don’t ever let them tell you no one pays attention to women’s soccer.

If you have something that should be included in this segment, please reach out to me via twitter or email me at [email protected].