This week we review CONMEBOL, CONCACAF and CAF regarding key 2019 Women's World Cup Finals takeaways by Confederation. Later this month we will update fans on the state of the 2019 NWSL season, which ran concurrent with the World Cup after a short break in early June, and review some recent books on the women's game.
CONMEBOL
Argentina, despite not making the Round of 16, was one of the star attractions of the 2019 WWC First Round, finishing with two points and three goals scored with four allowed (they scored more goals against Scotland than they did in their six games in the 2003 and 2007 finals, when combined they scored two goals and surrendered 33), and beginning their tournament with an excellent draw against Asian power Japan 0-0 in their opener. Though they did allow three goals to Scotland in their last game, their fightback to tie the game in the last 16 minutes was superb to watch and the team members treated it as a win, while Scotland's players and coaching staff were shocked and devastated at letting go of a sure ticket to the knockout stage. Argentina's players delivered results after making complaints of late in the media on their late expense payments ($8 per day per person) and now their Federation must continually support their women's national teams program and improve the local league.
Brazil probably overachieved during this WWC, with wins over Italy 1-0 and Jamaica 3-0 while falling to Australia 3-2, after leading early by two goals. Their unfortunate third place finish in Group C meant that they faced France in the Round of 16 and that was a hill too tall to climb, but ultimately they only lost to the host nation by one goal.
Chile was in a tough group with the U.S. and Sweden, and though they defeated only Thailand, they showed promise. CONMEBOL in general led the way in showing the improvement in goalkeepers with Vanina Correa of Rosario Central in Argentina—who deserves to be picked up by a club abroad—Claudia Endler of Chile and Paris St. Germain of France and Brazil's Barbara (De Monte Barbosa) of Kindermann of Brazil doing quite well in their matches, as well as Hedvig Lindahl of Sweden (Chelsea—England), and Chiamaka Nnadozie of Rivers Angels at home in Nigeria. This is a really positive sign as goalkeeping has let down teams in the past, particularly those with developing infrastructures at home. We have seen this in the men's game as well as in the 1990's and 2000's, goalkeepers from smaller Caribbean nations and AFC teams outside the top 5 traditional powers frequently looked more like seals popping up randomly, with little understanding of how to control their boxes. This is definitely something to build upon over the next four years and we should see more stars emerge at that position at the next Women's World Cup.
CAF
African's three qualifiers had vastly differing fortunes. Nigeria looked solid under former Swedish women's national team head coach Thomas Dennerby, particularly in a narrow 1-0 loss to host France in the Group stage. Their 2-0 win over South Korea gave them a berth in the Round of 16 for the second time in 8 tournament appearances, but Nigeria were overwhelmed against Germany 3-0. Overall, they showed improvement over 2015 and 2011. Dennerby provided a structure but the players also seemed more settled and you didn't see the arguments over past-due compensation and poor training facilities that have dogged the side at past international tournaments.
South Africa (0-0-3 with 1 goal for with 8 against) took lessons away from their first WWC appearance (after qualifying for the last two Olympic Games). They need to continue to send more players overseas, with some currently in Australia, China, Lithuania and Sweden, after a trio played in the NWSL with the Houston Dash last season. Desiree Ellis, a former player in South Africa's first national team in 1993 and who played over 300 club games with Spurs Ladies at home, should definitely be retained and she brings a style and class to the program that will help to gain more attention and support at home.
In the case of Cameroon—Goodness me! This squad definitely regressed since 2015 and one could even argue 'bottomed out' since their Round of 16 appearance in 2015 in Canada. They only qualified for the knockout stage this time after a 97th minute tally through Ajara Nchout's (Valerenga IF of Norway) second goal of the game as she shredded past a NZ defense who were pressing for a winner of their own to advance—the Football Ferns backline fell apart like a cheap wet paper towel in a game that will go down in infamy as possibly one of the worst WWC games ever, a game that neither team seemingly—with so much at stake—couldn't or wouldn't win. New Zealand's only goal in the tournament came through a terrible own goal by Cameroon's Aurelle Awona (who plays in France's top tier with Dijon).
Cameroon then self-destructed against England 3-0 in a match full of chaos—at one point it seemed like Cameroon would walk off the field after a goal was disallowed late in the first half. Cameroon Head Coach Alain Djeumfa seems like an affable fellow and earned a UEFA coaching license in Germany years ago but seemingly had no control over his team (taking charge of his first women's side only in January) and was quite Pollyannaish in his assessment of the game, when Nchout threw one of the biggest fits ever and yet somehow avoided a red card. Djeumfa felt that the officials wanted England to win and that his team played fairly, though after VAR ruled out their first goal, they went after the English players and Toni Duggan (Barcelona) was even spat on. Djeumfa said after the game: "Occasionally, when you are in this state of shock, you can lose your cool, but I don't think the players ever refused to play the game. Yes, we might have had the moment to walk off, but thanks to God I was able to remain calm. I was ultimately able to keep my cool. [He might have kept his cool but his players did not.] Ultimately there was a lot of passion out there…Occasionally referees make mistakes, but ultimately the referee made a lot of mistakes tonight. Unfortunately we had a goal disallowed and if we had halved the deficit, I really believe there would have been a different result come the end of the game if that goal had been allowed….I think we need to take our hat off to the girls, despite the refereeing mistake, for their performance….Of course I'm frustrated. But as I said, football is all about fair play. We showed fair play. It's football."
English coach Phil Neville felt that the behavior of the Cameroon players was reprehensible: "I am completely and utterly ashamed of the opposition. When I started in management, I think it was Arsene Wenger [former Arsenal men's head coach] that told me: 'The team mirror the manager.' If that was my team—and it will never be any of my players—they would never play for England again, with that kind of behaviour. At times, we probably didn't know whether the game would continue. It didn't feel like football. It was a good win but that wasn't a World Cup last-16 tie in terms of behaviour that I want to see from footballers. This is going out worldwide. I didn't enjoy it, the players didn't enjoy it. My players kept their concentration fantastically, but those images are going out worldwide about how to act, the young girls playing all over the world that are seeing that behaviour. For me, it's not right. My daughter wants to be a footballer and if she watches that she will think: 'No, I want to play netball.'"
Cameroon was angered about a number of calls, particularly that two goals which were disallowed but they were quite clearly below England in class—both in playing style and decorum. Phil Neville was right and something needs to be done here—having more games and perhaps an experienced international coach like Nigeria had with Dennerby with help Cameroon, which is such a stellar name in the world of football. With so many of their players with clubs abroad, an experienced international coach will provide the structure and discipline that was clearly lacking in France.
Note: It was great to see Sky Blue FC defender Estelle Johnson in defense for Cameroon. The daughter of missionaries, Johnson (30) was actually born in Cameroon and was brought in late for a camp just ahead of the World Cup. She had taken time off from the NWSL to finish her MBA in 2014 and played in the previous league, the WPS with Paul Riley's Philadelphia Independence in 2010 and 2011. She is currently with Sky Blue FC, after being traded in January from the Washington Spirit, where she played for 3 seasons. Another player on the squad with American roots was former Sky Blue FC forward and American-born Michaela Abam (ex-West Virginia University), who was the number 4 selection in the NWSL College Draft in 2018 but only played in four matches and then joined Paris FC in France; she was also a late addition to the Cameroon national team.
CONCACAF
The U.S. took an experienced team with very few younger players (with a dozen age 30 or above) and though they had a few challenges at times against four European sides in the knockout stage (Spain, France, England and the Netherlands) they made their third consecutive final and fifth in 8 tournaments; they were worthy winners of their fourth World Cup star. They scored 26 goals, one more than the previous record held by the U.S. in 1991 and Germany in 2003. They remain the standard in terms of resources, planning and development depth compared with other nations.
But what now? Head Coach Jill Ellis will probably keep a core together for next year's Olympics which they should qualify easily for from their region, but then will she stay for a third WWC? Before the tournament, I felt that she would leave (if the team made the semifinals in France—then after the Olympics) before serious preparation starts for the next World Cup cycle. This team was very well prepared and didn't have the slow start that the 2015 Winners had in Canada. She is a very strong, tactical coach but there are a few areas that another coach could bring some different strengths:
- Developing younger players—Rose Lavelle (24) won the Bronze Ball in France and was dynamic throughout the tournament—not a surprise to NWSL fans of the Washington Spirit. However, 12 of the players were 30 or over and why take Jess McDonald (31)—much as she is a role model to so many for her long journey as a pro—when she could have taken a Ashley Hatch (Washington Spirit and 24), Kaelia Ohai (Houston Dash and 27) or McDonald's linemate at North Carolina Lynn Williams (26).
- Giving Players a Second Chance—This has never been Ellis' strong suit and once she has an opinion, she is pretty well set in cement on it, leaving players out in the wilderness after a camp, a few games or even a quick informal evaluation.
- Developing Goalkeepers—Alyssa Naeher backstopped a World Cup winner, but many held their breaths as she has let in some howlers in the past in national team and Chicago Red Star colors. The best path here is to develop Portland Thorns' Adrianna Franch as the future goalkeeper, but that's not a Jill forte in terms of goalkeeper work.
Now, turning to the U.S. league, I suspect that we will see some turnover, with several players going abroad like Alex Morgan did to Lyon in 2017, and 2015 WWC star Carli Lloyd did to Manchester City in 2017. I just don't see Megan Rapinoe helping the league playing in a baseball stadium in Tacoma, while Rose Lavelle has a bigger stage in D.C. but if the team doesn't make the playoffs, she could look abroad. Will they be replaced in the NWSL by top tier international stars or will the bigger names stay in Europe where they can make more from some clubs (as well as endorsement opportunities)? Part of the development effort for many nations (including Canada and the U.S. but also teams in other regions) is through American colleges and if more top NWSL stars leave, that opens spots for American college players as well as imports who played here in college, like England's Rachel Daly, who is now with the Houston Dash.
On the penalty call via VAR when Alex Morgan sustained a high kick from Stefanie van der Gragt (Barcelona) in the second half of the Final against the Netherlands (that saw Megan Rapinoe fire the ball into the goal for the ultimate winner in the 2-0 win), Morgan said: "I was very happy because I felt that there were a couple of times in the box that they were pretty reckless in their challenges and with the high kick, I have a massive bruise on my arm and she got pretty high up there." Rose Lavelle's second goal sealed the match and was a thing of beauty, slaloming through the Dutch defense and firing a shot that was pinpoint in its precision.
For Canada, I have one question: why was Christine Sinclair not selected to take the penalty kick late against Sweden, rather than Janine Beckie, though the save that Sweden's goalkeeper Hedvig Lindval (Chelsea) made was superb in the lower right hand corner? We hope Christine Sinclair will return in 4 years—but either way, we look forward to her scoring a few more goals and surpassing Abby Wambach for the all-time lead in international football. Overall Canada was a very fluent with the ball, something that would never have been said even 8 years ago. Their failure to advance out of the Round of 16 was hard luck and probably a round short of general expectations. They have won Bronze Medals in the last two Olympic Games and they should be watched for a possible three-peat for medals next summer.
Jamaica—we have discussed Jamaica previously (https://www.tribalfootball.com/articles/the-week-in-women-s-football-exclusive-interview-with-jamaica-head-coach-hue-menzies-4273328)--and they need to continue to support head coachHue Menzies and his team, while desperately trying to build a league at home. Their match against Australia (4-1 defeat) was closer than it looked and Havana Solaun's goal is a triumph for the game. Jamaica was always going to be judged on what happens next, rather than results in France.
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women's football. Get your copy today.
Follow Tim on Twitter: @TimGrainey
