The stage is massive, the storylines clear as the U.S. women get set for kickoff this afternoon in the World Cup final (ESPN, Galavision, ESPN3.com, 2:45). I can’t even begin to link to all the places you could go to digest all that there is to digest prior to the match.
But I can offer some of what U.S. head coach Pia Sundhage and goalkeeper Hope Solo told reporters on a conference call a few days ago when it comes to how the match itself will unfold:
Sundhage on Japan this weekend vs. the Japan that the U.S. beat in consecutive friendlies before the tournament: “They are much better than what we played then, and by saying that, they are more sophisticated going into the attacking third. They are still very good on the ball between boxes, but now they are a little bit more dangerous.”
Solo on Japan: “They are the sentimental favorites in this tournament, and it is pretty clear to us that we’re not going to see the same Japan team that we saw in the friendlies. They’re playing for something bigger and better than the game. When you’re playing with so much emotion and so much heart, that’s hard to play against. They’re already a brilliant team in the attack. They put numbers forward, they pass the ball around. They’re starting to take more outside shots than they have in the past.”
Sundhage, on how the U.S. needs to play: “At times we control the game by the defense. Now, hopefully, and that will be the message to the team, that we need to keep possession a little bit better. We need to be more patient, and if we do that, they have to work on their defending and defend a little bit more. Then I think we’ll create more energy, and we will run and create chances… The key is transition. When we win the ball, sometimes we are too eager to play that big ball because they have so much space. In the final we need to be smarter than that. We need to include players and add numbers in the attack and be a little bit more unpredictable because they are organized. They get numbers behind the ball, and when they do that, we need to be patient in the attacking third. We need to have players coming from behind and add numbers.”
Sundhage, answering a great question from Sporting News’ Brian Straus on her philosophy of coaching: “If you have high expectations, if you have positive expectations, very often it happens. I try to coach what is healthy instead of trying to fix the mistakes. It is okay to make a mistake, and I think that was important as a statement that the biggest mistake you can make is if you don’t try. You need relaxed players out there that try hard but again, if it doesn’t work, that’s okay because you have teammates. The thing is, if one player makes something that’s not good, you have teammates around you. My glass is half full, so everything we’ll watch video, for instance, I try to show them what works. I coach the healthy instead of saying, ‘This is not good enough,’ or point out certain situations or players. I do the opposite because that feedback, I hope, will make them stronger, gain some confidence and I’m also telling them two things: this is good, try to do it again. It’s fun for me to coach like that, and you have happy people around you.”
