Football has come home

So, football has finally come home.

England’s Lionesses beat Germany 2-1 in the Women’s Euro 2022 final, becoming champions of Europe, and winning England’s first major trophy since the men’s team won the World Cup in 1996.

Not quite 30 years of hurt, try 56 years.

This is the third major women’s international tournament I’ve been to, but this has been the most special, one hundred per cent.

I’ll never forget this Euros. I’ll always try to pocket the memory of this Euros, time will tell if that’s even possible.

It’s the utter euphoria and delirium of the crowd when England scores.

The cacophany of cheers, boos, screaming…the shouts of “SHOOT!”, the huffing out of “TOOOOOOOOOOOOONE!”, the derisive and sneering “eyyy” when opponents make a mistake, the indignant waving of imaginary yellow cards at the final, the sweet singing of “SWEET CAROLINE, BUM BUM BUM, GOOD TIMES NEVER SEEMED SO GOOD, SO GOOD! SO GOOD! SO GOOD!” and of course, the tentative, then confident bellowing of “IT’S COMING HOME!”

It’s the disbelief when England rolled over Sweden 4-0, when the second, third, and forth goals came.

It’s the initial confusion when Russo scored, people around me shouting “WAS THAT A BACKHEEL?”, followed by the collective gasp when replays showed her backheel nutmeg goal.

The groans and confusion every single time VAR came on the screen.

The appreciative applause and cheers when team line-ups are announced, and the standing ovation players got when they left the field.

The excitement and confidence that flooded the crowds every time Alessia Russo and Ella Toone are introduced in the match – the anticipation, the knowing, that they’re going to make a difference.

The cheers for the Ukrainian referee Kateryna Monzul at the beginning of the match, then the quick turn to boos and jeers when she started to make absolutely nonsensical decisions once the match started.

The crowd standing up when Toone rushed on to collect Keira Walsh’s pass, the collective hush and dread that fell across the stadium when the ball kept rising, then the sudden burst of elation and roars when the ball finally dinked in.

The fan in front of us who dramatically bowed to the crossbar in thanks when it deflected Magull’s shot shortly after Toone’s goal.

The dead silence and deflation among the partisan crowd (minus the Germans) when Lina Magull equalized.

The absolute scenes when Chloe Kelly scored.

The glorious and impressive time-wasting displayed by the Lionesses, specifically Lucy Bronze, Ella Toone, Alessia Russo, Chloe Kelly, and Lauren Hemp during the last 10 minutes or so of the match.

The jolly mood of the crowd leaving the stadium, so much so that I didn’t mind being stuck on Olympic Way due to crowd control on the way to the tube.

Being serenaded by Johnny Clapper, who as per crowd request, sang Sweet Caroline. But not before being berated by a fan who shouted for him to “hurry up” before the signs flicked to “Go”, and we’d miss the song – yet another chance to belt out Sweet Caroline.

Knowing that I was part of a record breaking crowd of 87,192 that night – the record attendance for the Euros (men’s or women’s). We smashed the previous record of 79,115 at the 1964 final (men’s.)

There have been some memorable moments throughout the Euros, and here are some of mine:

Alexandra Popp, or rather, Alexander Bopp, and her fake moustache at a press conference after a German newspaper jokingly suggested she would be called up for the 2022 Men’s World Cup in Qatar.

Alessia Russo and Ella Toone trying to peek over the Germans’ shoulders to read the note with tactical instructions on them. Cheeky.

Chloe Kelly ditching her BBC interview mid-way, taking the microphone with her, to sing the chorus of Sweet Caroline with her team and crowd.

An enthused England fan shouting “the mandem couldn’t, so the gyaldem did” after England won the Euros.

Jill Scott being caught on BBC’s cameras in slow-motion shouting at Germany’s Sydney Lohmann the eternal words of “fuck off, you fucking prick”. A real legend, and a hoot – do check out her hilarious podcast Jill Scott’s Coffee Club, where she interviews other female footballers.

Being trapped in the food car with standing room only on the crammed train to Sheffield, and speaking to a woman on the train who asked where the semifinals of the Euros were, and concluded (rightfully so) “Milton Keynes, that’s really random.” Yes, it was.

Standing at the WHSmith in Heathrow the morning after the final, and being absolutely delighted to gaze upon the newspaper rack, only to be greeted the Lionesses blasted all over the front pages. Dreamy.

Some final thoughts post-tournament…

I still feel heartbroken for Alexandra Popp. Having never played a Euros tournament before due to previous injuries, having the form of her life during the tournament, and having the worst of luck and needing to pull out of the final after aggravating an injury during the warm-up. I’m almost sure that if she had played, Germany would have won the final. I do hope the 2023 Women’s World Cup is her revenge tour (we’ve already seen Beth Mead’s Revenge Tour 2022), and I hope she lights the tournament on fire. She’d deserve that.

We have to talk about viewership figures for this tournament, both in person and on TV / online. Beyond the final’s attendance record, the entire tournament as a whole in England saw an attendance of 574,875, beating the previous record in the 2019 Women’s Euros hosted by the Netherlands, which stood at 240,055.

This final had a peak TV audience of 17.4 million on BBC One, and 5.9 million on streams online. It is the most watched women’s football on UK TV of all time, and the most watched program in 2022 thus far.

So once again, we see that there is a market for women’s sports. If you make it available, affordable, and actually put in the effort to market it properly, people will come. The product is already there, and it’s improving every year with real investment.

I feel so emotional just thinking about it. I’ve been following women’s football since 2014, and I started going to WSL and Lionesses’ matches in 2015 when the season restarted. I remember being in Wembley for the Lionesses’ first friendly in new Wembley against Germany in 2015, and they were smacked 0-3, with a crowd of less than 40,000. Wembley felt empty then, and the gulf between Germany and England was huge.

To be in a packed, sold-out Wembley for the final, to see the whole stadium rocking out, to have England defeat Germany, and win in front of a home crowd? Goodness. The feeling was incredible.

I can only hope that the momentum from this summer’s Euros is carried on into the upcoming WSL season, into the Women’s World Cup next year (how I wish England will win it and dethrone the USA), and beyond. There’s so much more that can be done, and England’s Lionesses sure are up to the challenge.

2019 Women’s World Cup: Post-Mortem

Just like that, after a glorious month of non-stop football, the 2019 Women’s World Cup is over. The 4 year clock restarts itself and the countdown begins.

And I am finally able to sit down and sort through my thoughts on the tournament and my experience in France.

Best Moments

Sam Kerr celebrating her first World Cup goal by sprinting to the corner flag and punching it in a homage to Tim Cahill, another Australian football hero.

The Miracle of Montepellier, where Australia defeated Brazil 3-2. With the Matildas down 0-2 just before half-time, I was ready to give up, go to bed and wake up hoping for a miraculous comeback. But when Caitlin Foord scored just before the break to make it 1-2, I freaked out and stayed up til 2am for the whole match. It didn’t matter that I was delirious at work the next day after 3 hours of sleep, it was WONDERFUL.

Marta breaking the World Cup record for goals scored (17), beating out Miroslav Klose’s 16

That record-breaking goal however was not Marta’s finest contribution this tournament, it was her passionate speech to the next generation of female Brazilian footballers.

“There’s not going to be a Formiga forever. There’s not going to be a Marta forever. There’s not going to be a Cristiane…the women’s game depends on you to survive. So think about that. Value it more. Cry in the beginning so you can smile in the end“. 

Her speech hurt though. She said it knowing this was likely the last World Cup for many veterans, such as Marta (5-time Ballon D’Or winner), Cristiane, Formiga and Barbara. The Brazilian team is and has been incredibly talented for the last decade or so, and have been failed by their federation time and again in terms of investment.

While Thailand getting smashed by the USA 13-0 wasn’t fun, I stan this tweet.

The reactions of Thailand’s coach Nuengrutai Srathongvian and general manager / benefactor Nualphan Lamsam after captain Kanjana Sungngoen scored against Sweden. A magnificent answer to the carnage of their match against USA.

Vivianne Miedema breaking the Netherlands’ record (men and women) with her 60th goal, at the age of 22 years old, and celebrating it with a roly-poly that she had promised her brother she would do.

Erin Cuthbert scoring her maiden World Cup goal and her celebration thereafter. After scoring in Scotland’s final group game against Argentina, Chelsea striker Cuthbert celebrated by kissing the back of a photo of her younger self. Her father had given her the photo before the tournament, and wrote on the back “Do it for this wee girl who had a dream and practised and practised until it came true.”

This BBC montage released before the England v USA semifinal was brilliant and heartbreaking at the same time. I watched it after the match ended, and I nearly bawled.

Viewership was amazing, with records being broken all around the world again and again, starting from the opening match to the final.

France’s opening match against Korea attracted a record 9.83 million viewers in France, peaking at 10.9 million, obliterating the previous record of 4.12 million in France for a women’s football match. That’s 44.3% of French TV sets at the time. This record was then broken in France’s next match against Norway, with 10.302 million viewers. Their subsequent Round of 16 match against Brazil then attracted 12 million viewers (18% of the French population).

Brazil also smashed records, as all matches were available on national television for free. 19.7 million in Brazil watched their country beat Jamaica, that’s almost 50% of TV viewers at the time. An average of 22.4 million viewers then tuned in for Brazil’s match against Italy. Their Round of 16 loss to France was watched by a record 35.2 million on TV (that’s double the US audience for the NBA Finals). Despite getting knocked out at the Round of 16, Brazil provided the biggest viewership numbers for the USA v Netherlands final – with almost 20 million viewers. This was 41.7% of TV sets at the time, beating out Fox’s 27% in the USA.

For the Italy v Brazil match, Italy attracted a record 7.3 million viewers (6.53 million viewers on RAI 1 accounting for 29.3% of TV sets and 0.78 million across Sky Sport).

England also saw records being broken, as matches were broadcasted on the BBC. The peak audience of 6.9 million viewers (40% of market share) for England v Cameroon beat the previous record of 6.1 million when England beat Scotland in their opening game. This record was then beat by the 7.6 million who tuned in for England’s quarterfinal against Norway. This record was then toppled by the 11.7 million who watched England’s semifinal match against the USA (50.8% share of audience). For comparison, 11.3 million watched the men’s Champions League final on BT.

Netherlands also broke records, with 1.97 million (39.2% of market share) watching the England v USA semifinal. This was a record for a women’s football match not involving the Dutch team. For the Netherlands’ semifinal against Sweden, a record 5 million viewers tuned in (78.5% of market share, almost 1/3 of the population). More amazingly, 2.46 million viewers continued to watch the post-match analysis at the late hour of 11.45pm. For the final against the USA, 5.48 million viewers watched the match (88% of market share at the time, 34.5% of TV sets). This made it the most-watched Dutch television program since the 2014 Men’s World Cup final between the Netherlands and Argentina with 9.058 million viewers.

Eventual champions USA had records of their own broken as well. Over 7 million watched USA v England on FOX, making it the most-watched match in any sport played during a work/school day in the last 5 years. The audience of 15.277 million viewers on FOX and Telemundo for the final beat the channels’ audience of 11.3 million for the 2018 Men’s World Cup.

USA fans chanting “Fuck Trump” during a live taping of a FOX News segment in a bar in Lyon after the final. Sorry Donald.

The super cute graphics released before each match that featured players from both teams. I absolutely loved them.

The USWNT’s drunken bender in the hours and days following their victory, and Ashlyn Harris’ Instastories were the star of the show, especially as she says “you’re fucking welcome for this content, bitch!” She’s right. It is rare that we see female athletes let loose, and it’s brilliant when they finally do. Regarding Megan Rapinoe declaring “I deserve this. I deserve everything”, while propping a bottle of champagne against her leg during the parade, journalist Lindsay Gibbs wrote that it was “a pointed rebuttal to everyone who has ever told women that their worth was tied directly to humility and modesty…to tone down their happiness to make others more comfortable, to turn down compliments or brush-off accolades.”

Worst Moments

Australia crashing out at the Round of 16 at the hands of Norway. I hated that they played poorly, that Alanna Kennedy got sent off and that it went to a penalty shootout. As if the penalty shootout loss to Brazil in 2016 wasn’t enough. Poor Kennedy missed the decisive penalty then, and got sent off this time. No luck. For all the hype over the Matildas being a favourite (at best) or dark horse (at worst) to win the World Cup, this 2019 campaign was a disappointment.

Ellen White’s disallowed goals. Ellen White went from being a top contender for Golden Boot to being relegated to Bronze Boot when 2 of her goals were disallowed (against USA in the semifinals, against Sweden in the bronze medal match). Her tearful interview right after the semifinal was heartbreaking and it took me a week before I could bring myself to watch it.

Anything related to VAR was almost always a tragedy. 90% of referees’ decisions were overturned by VAR, and it became frustrating in certain matches where the referee relied too heavily on VAR (i.e. England v Cameroon). In almost every case, VAR ruined the tempo of the matches with the long pauses and reviews, and fans were left confused in the stadium with no replays being shown.

Let’s talk offside. There have been several VAR decisions on the offside positioning of players, and leading therefore to the overturning of goals. And in the worst cases, the players had maybe a toe offside.

Example 1. Ellen White’s second goal against the USA in the semifinal that would have been the equalizer to make it 2-2.

Example 2. Cameroonian Ajara Nchout’s goal against England was disallowed because there Gabrielle Onguene was in an offside position in the lead-up to the goal. Arguably in the new rules introduced by FIFA (a week before the tournament started – I will get more into this later), goals stand if a player is in an offside position but have not interfered with play (see Sam Kerr’s role in the decisive and controversial Monica own goal in Brazil v Australia). In this case, Onguene was not interfering with play while in this offside position, she was walking away from the goal. Yet, goal disallowed.

The inconsistent application of the new rules was also awful.  A new rule on penalties states “The goalkeeper must have at least part of one foot on/in line with the goal line when the kick is taken; cannot stand behind the line.” Goalkeepers who fail to do this will receive a yellow card, and the penalty will need to be retaken.

In an ideal world, this new law seems okay, it would stop goalkeepers from coming way off their lines when saving penalties.

However, this turned out to be one of the most controversial new laws, when combined with the oversight of VAR. It reared its ugly head in a couple of critical moments in the early stage of the tournament that affected teams in a huge way.

Nigeria v France in their final group match: to me, it made zero sense for the referee to order the penalty to be re-taken when Nigeria’s goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was adjudged to have one foot slightly off her line, when Wendie Renard’s penalty had struck the post to begin with. Renard scored on the retake to give France the 1-0 victory which nearly cost Nigeria a place in the Round of 16.

You’d have to zoom in really hard to see that the keeper’s foot is a little bit off the line

Scotland v Argentina in their final group match: this was the worst, because Scottish goalkeeper Lee Alexander’s initial save would have sent Scotland to their first ever Round of 16. The subsequent retake saw Argentina score to tie the match 3-3, and deprive both countries of a Round of 16 spot. Heartbreak for Scotland. I was not ready for Erin Cuthbert’s tears at the end of the match.

England manager Phil Neville was a blemish on this World Cup.  After England’s rather ugly victory over Cameroon, he lambasted the opposition instead of admitting that his own team hadn’t played very well. Beyond suggesting that Cameroon’s coach Alain Djeumfa needed to “get his ship in order”, his following comments were awful: “I sat through 90 minutes today and felt ashamed. I’m completely and utterly ashamed of the opposition and their behaviour…I think that kind of behaviour is pretty sad. Think of all those young girls and boys watching.”

Firstly, if he thinks Cameroon’s behaviour is “shameful” for football, has he even stopped to consider what truly constitutes as shameful in football? How about the corruption in FIFA, how about the failure of federations to compensate their players (i.e. Nigeria), how about the sexual abuse suffered by the Afghanistan women’s football team at the hands of the president of their football federation?

Secondly, why should Cameroon care about the young girls and boys watching? Women’s football isn’t inspiration-porn. Zidane headbutted Materazzi, and a statue was built in France to commemorate it. Suarez bit Chiellini. Terry was a racist to Ferdinand. Drogba slapped Vidic. No one asked if these male players ruined football for little boys. Double standards.

Thirdly, Neville’s comments were patronising, arrogant, racist and reeked of colonialism. For someone who has very little managerial experience in football (men’s or women’s), who was offered the job of England manager without even asking for it, he was extremely full of himself. I’m not sure how much of his inexperience has led to his poorly worded and unnecessary comments to the media this tournament. He accused the USA team for spying on the England camp and sounded like a sore loser when he dismissed the bronze medal match as “nonsense” after losing to Sweden. For this, he was rightly criticized by former England players Eniola Aluko and Siobhan Chamberlain, as it was an insult to the England squad who proudly won the bronze medal in 2015.

As a complete aside, Sweden certainly did not treat the 3rd-4th match as a nonsense match. Look at how they celebrated at home with 30,000 fans in Gothenburg.

For further readings on Neville’s shortcomings as a manager, journalist Sophie Lawson summed it up perfectly in her criticism of Phil Neville’s tactics in her piece here. 

The heat wave in Lyon was killer. Being crammed in with other sweaty commuters in the aircon-less metro and trams made me feel like I’d entered a sauna everytime I stepped in. Staying in an Airbnb without aircon also means opening the windows, but then suffering the incessant noise from the road below and not being able to sleep for hours on end. Also stuffy cafes with no aircon, fans or functioning ice-machines.

Best Goals

Lucy Bronze’s goal against Norway was spectacular. How fitting that she scores yet another belter against Norway this World Cup just as she did against them in 2015.

Cristiane’s free-kick against Jamaica in their opening match. That smirk on her face as she watched the ball’s trajectory…she knew it was going in. Such a baller.

Aurora Galli‘s goal against Jamaica taken from just outside the box. 

Total Surprises

Italy! Le Azzurre announced themselves with a bang when they beat Australia 3-2 (I am still deeply upset about this result for the Matildas). They’ve been absent from the tournament for 20 years, and have rejoined the ranks, due in part to the expansion of the tournament to 24 teams, and the significant investment the Italian federation and clubs have made in their women’s programs. I absolutely did not expect them to top their group, let alone make it to the quarterfinals, but wow it was hard to root against them. The coverage and love they were getting back home was amazing.

Front page of multiple newspapers

JOY

Feeling like I was in the US at times in Lyon, particularly in the cafes in the city center. There were an estimated 20,000 Americans in Lyon, which was hosting the semifinals and final. How typically American for them to have been sure that their team would make it into the final. It was overwhelming at times and a bit of a mind-fuck to be surrounded by so many Americans while in France.

Kelley O’Hara casually coming out after the final by kissing her girlfriend in the stands. Yes she was probably concussed at the time (that head-on collision with Lieke Martens in the first half looked awful), but she knew that there were cameras everywhere, and she made a decision.

Australia bombing out so early. I had wishfully predicted Australia to make it to the final before the tournament started. Ironically, I had predicted a R16 involving Australia v Norway, but the circumstances were very different – Australia topping their group and Norway being the 3rd place team in their group. In the end, both came in 2nd in their groups. I feel so stupid now. I never got to wear my Sam Kerr jersey at the World Cup.

Megan Rapinoe v Donald Trump was a storyline I did not see coming at all. While I had expected some backlash when non-regular woso viewers who tune in to USA matches and see Rapinoe not singing the anthem, no one expected the video of her saying “I’m not going to the fucking White House” going viral. For context, this video was filmed in January, and Rapinoe herself was surprised when it was publicized before the France v USA quarterfinal. An ally for the Black Lives Matter movement, Rapinoe was the first white athlete to kneel for the anthem (in 2016) in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick, and is an activist for the LGBT+ community. To the surprise of everyone (or no one), Trump raged out on Twitter. I don’t know why he mentioned “black unemployment”. Maybe he thought Rapinoe was African-American?!

Perhaps in response to Trump’s suggestion that she should “WIN first before she TALK”, she went ahead and won the World Cup, Golden Boot and Golden Ball. *shrugs*

In various press conferences and interviews since the video went viral, Rapinoe has been using her platform and growing fame to speak eloquently and with nuance about controversial issues (i.e. equal pay, racism, homophobia, American politics etc.). Her speech at the USWNT’s victory parade in New York was brilliant. What’s more brilliant is that she was probably drunk and/or hungover while making this speech.  Here is an excerpt:

“This is my charge to everyone. We have to be better. We have to love more. Hate less. We got to listen more and talk less. We got to know that this is everybody’s responsibility…It’s our responsibility to make this world a better place.”

Her recent appearance on the Late Night with Seth Meyer has fully convinced me that we all need an episode of Seth and Megan Go Day Drinking. Now.

Final Thoughts

While it’s going to be an awfully long 4 years waiting for the next World Cup, wherever it may be, there’s still plenty of women’s football to watch in the meantime.

For international tournaments, Tokyo 2020 is coming up (I hope to get tickets) and the Women’s Euros 2021 in England.

However, the most important part of driving the growth of women’s football is supporting the domestic leagues, whether it’s in terms of going to the matches or watching it when it’s on TV. Boosting match-day attendances and TV ratings is crucial to convincing the big corporations that women’s football is a product that is popular, valued and worth investing in. The players gracing the international stage are playing day-in-day-out in these domestic leagues. It’s cheap to attend their matches, and you get to see the players up close, not like in the men’s games (at least not within forking out 3 or 4 figures). When I attended WSL matches in England, I have to say, it was quite surreal seeing BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year Asisat Oshoala standing a few feet away from me. Get out to the matches people!

Whether it’s the NWSL (USA), WSL (England), Division 1 Feminine (France), Frauen Bundesliga (Germany), Damallsvenskan (Sweden), Primera Divisione (Spain), Serie A (Italy), Nadeshiko League (Japan), Chinese Women’s Super League (China)… go out there and support the players. I know I need to be better about attending the Women’s Premier League in Singapore.

I hope federations and corporate companies continue to invest in women’s football, and invest more than they are at the moment. Some good news has come out since the World Cup ended: Budweiser announced a multi-year deal to be the NWSL’s first beer sponsor and Alibaba pledged US$145 million in Chinese women’s football.

Another storyline to look for in the upcoming weeks and months is the USWNT’s lawsuit against US Soccer. As back-to-back champions, the USWNT have more leverage now than they ever had before, and are riding on the back of popular support across the country. It will be interesting to see if that will affect the legal outcome.

What a month it has been, I can’t wait for the 2023. Here’s to hoping for a solid 4 years of women’s football development meanwhile.

 

 

10 Reasons to Get Excited about the 2019 Women’s World Cup (Part 4)

In Part 3, I had speculated about whether the traditional ageing giants of USA and Germany would still be able to perform at this World Cup, and whether the rising teams such as England, Australia and Netherlands that have oft been talked about would be able to have their breakthrough and a chance at victory.

In this Part 4, I will be writing about 2 further reasons to be amped about the Women’s World Cup this summer: the countries making their debuts at the World Cup, and analysing the host nation France – will they rise to the occasion or fall (as they usually do) at major tournaments?

#7: How will the debutantes fare this tournament?

As this World Cup has seen an expansion of the number of participating teams from 16 to 24, it has opened the door to new countries to have a shot at the World Cup. Chile, Jamaica, Scotland and South Africa will be making their debuts.

Chile defeated Argentina 4-0 in the Copa America in front of 18,000 fans to qualify for their first Women’s World Cup, joining the likes of Brazil and Argentina. Las Chicas de Rojo are ranked 39th, and several of their top players ply their trade overseas. Goalkeeper Christiane Endler plays for Paris Saint Germain, while midfielders Karen Araya and Francisca Lara play for Sevilla, and defender Carla Guerrero for Rayo Vallecano Femenino in the first division in Spain. Fullback Fernanda Pinilla and forward Yanara Aedo play for second division side Cordoba in Spain. Players are forced to go overseas because Chile does not have the professional women’s league – it is run on an amateur basis where players are not full-time. Chile is an interesting team to watch out for, with varied results in the past year. Although they got smashed by the USA 4-0 and 3-0 in friendlies in the 2018, they also beat Australia 3-2, before getting thumped 3 days later 5-0. More recently, they lost narrowly to Italy 2-1, drew with Scotland 1-1, lost to Jamaica 2-3, and got wrecked by Netherlands 0-7. Will the real Chile please stand up at the World Cup? Tough group for them, getting roped in with Sweden and USA. I think they will stand a chance against Thailand though. If they can nick 3 points off Thailand, and have a good goal difference (i.e. not get smashed by Sweden and the USA), there might be a chance Chile can make it to the Round of 16. What is inspiring about the Chile team though is not their results per se, but the players’ work to improve their work situation for themselves. In 2015-2016, the players collectively started a players’ union  when the team fell apart during the FIFA scandals. The union managed to get a TV station in Chile to cover the entire Copa America tournament that Chile was hosting in 2018 for the first time. Through the collective effort by the union to drive coverage of their sport, the Copa America tournament saw impressive attendances, with approximately 200,000 people watching the tournament (an average of ~7,700 per game). I hope their run through the tournament will be covered back home, and inspire a new generation of players at home.

Chile celebrating their win over Peru in the Copa America Feminina

Jamaica defeated Panama in a penalty shootout (4-2) in the CONCACAF qualifiers to earn their first-ever World Cup spot. That match was tough one to watch, because both Jamaica and Panama have never participated in a World Cup, so stakes were high. As with several Caribbean nations such Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago, many of Jamaica’s players grew up in the USA, and chose to play for their parents’ home country. What is particularly interesting about Jamaica is the fact that they are funded to a large extent by Cedella Marley, daughter of the Bob Marley. That is perhaps what truly separates Jamaica from the other Caribbean teams such as Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago who struggle to be competitive due to the lack of federation funding. In 2010, the Jamaican women’s national team had been disbanded after the federation cut its funding, and the team was only revived in 2014 when Marley stepped in as an ambassador and sponsor with the Bob Marley Foundation. This has paid off, with the Reggae Girlz qualifying for the World Cup, ranked 53rd, and ready to show off their dancing skills in the tournament, celebrating goals and victories (hopefully). Ok maybe victories is a tough one, because they are in the same group as Australia, Italy and Brazil.

Jamaica celebrating their penalty shootout win against Panama

Scotland is a team that I am particularly excited about. Although they are ranked 20th, they are team full of great players that has been unfortunate to not have been able to qualify for the World Cup thus far, due to the hugely competitive European federation they fall under and the limited number of spots previously. This will be Scotland’s second major international tournament, having participated in their first Euros in 2017. A good number of their players ply their trade in the FAWSL such as Erin Cuthbert (Chelsea), Kim Little (Arsenal), Jennifer Beattie (Manchester City) and Lisa Evans (Arsenal). Meanwhile, captain Rachel Corsie (Utah Royals) plays in the NWS. For me, Kim Little is the Scottish player to watch. She is a midfield engine with impeccable vision and touch, and she can be a goal machine. She won the NWSL MVP and Golden Boot in 2014 when playing for the Seattle Reign (now Reign FC). She unfortunately missed the Euro 2017 due to an ACL injury, but I am hopeful for her to make a great impact for her team in the World Cup. Erin Cuthbert has also been on fire for Chelsea, scoring 11 goals in 33 games this 2018/2019 season so far (including a wonderful volley against Lyon in the Champions League semifinals) and is nominated for the PFA Women’s Player of the Year shortlist. Scotland is a team to look out for, and it seems quite apt that their first match in the tournament will be against neighbours England.

Scotland celebrating their qualification after a 2-1 win over Albania

South Africa is ranked 49th, and defeated Mali 2-0 in the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations to earn their spot in the tournament. They are led by coach Desiree Ellis and captain Janine van Wyk who plays for the Houston Dash in the NWSL. Banyana Banyana will have to count on their international experience in the Olympics to hold their own in the World Cup. The team will have to work hard to find their form, as they have been without a win in their last 7 matches in their pre-World Cup preparations. Their upcoming friendly against the USA should be interesting, which will no doubt be a tough challenge for the South Africans. Without a regular league in South Africa for the majority of the team to hone their craft, and the fact that they are in a group together with Germany, China and Spain, South Africa is going to find it tough to make it into the knockout stages.

Banyana Banyana celebrating their qualification with a victory over Mali

With the exception of Scotland, it is unlikely that any of the teams making their debuts will make it out of the group stage. As with Thailand who made their debut in 2015, I had a sinking feeling of dread when they were drawn into the same group as Germany, and had expected a rout when they played Germany. However, Thailand surpassed my (and I think many people’s) expectations when they only conceded 2 goals to Germany, and earn their first World Cup victory against Ivory Coast. I hope that the teams making their debuts this time will have that similar euphoria, because everything is going to be a first for them.

#8: France, will they sink or will they rise?

France is facing quite a momentous challenge this summer, for multiple reasons. Firstly, as hosts, they need to contend with the pressure of performing well for the home crowd. Assuming they make it into the semifinals and/or finals, the stadiums should be rocking with support for the hosts, since the final has already been sold out. The opening match of France versus South Korea in Parc de Princes in Paris has also already been sold out, and overall 720,000 tickets have already been sold for the tournament, The home support no doubt galvanised Netherlands in the Euros 2017, with all their matches being sold out, so the question is whether performing in front of a home crowd will buoy France, or backfires spectacularly and causes them to choke. This leads us to the second reason.

The reality is, France has a terrible habit of choking in every major tournament, despite having an impressive squad. Just look at the Euros 2017 where they crashed out surprisingly against England in the quarterfinals (losing to England for the first time in 43 years), or in the 2015 World Cup when they fell to Germany in a quarterfinal penalty shootout, or in the 2012 Olympics when they lost to Canada in the bronze medal game.

The third reason may well perhaps be the most painful challenge, as the women now face the expectation to match the achievement of the men who won the 2018 World Cup., and the 1998 men’s team who won the World Cup on home soil. The sports media has already been rife with speculation of whether the women can do it. France’s coach Corinne Diacre even stated her wish to “copy what the men did in 1998“, and also cited the success of France’s women’s handball team who won the European championship in France in 2018.

With the talent of the French squad, winning the tournament is absolutely an achievable task. Their players have good chemistry, and are regular first team players in top tier French clubs such as Olympique Lyon, Paris St Germain and Montpellier. The team is strong across the board, and there are few things for them to get right to win their matches:

1. Goalkeeper Sarah Bouhaddi needs to be on her A-Game, and nothing less. She is a great goalkeeper and can score penalties if she wants…but is also capable of incredible howlers. France’s performance will surely depend on which version of Bouhaddi appears the day of the match
2. Wendie Renard has to be the steady rock at defence that she has been for so long. Despite her impressive height (187cm), Renard is surprisingly quick and she showcased her speed and positioning when she shut down the speedy Fran Kirby in the recent UEFA Champions’ League semifinal first leg tie against Chelsea. She is also one to look out for at set pieces, when it comes to both defence and scoring. She is a key part of France’s fairly young yet experienced defence, which boasts players such as Sakina Karchaoui (23), Griedge Mbock Bathy (24) and Eve Perisset (24).
3. Make sure captain Amandine Henry controls the midfield. At her best, she is magnificent, and besides having the vision to direct the perfect passes, has a mean goal-scoring ability too, whether it’s poaching or a crazy rocket of a shot
4. Utilize their speed along the wings to provide service to the forwards. Amel Majri and Delphine Carascino can surely be relied on to carry the ball foward, and let the forwards go nuts. I’ll never forget this flying Le Sommer goal in the 2015 World Cup. At only 29 years old, Le Sommer is the 8th all-time goal scorer (39 goals) in the Women’s Champions League, and only 12 goals away from all-time leader Anja Mittag.

I believe this France team can make it far in this tournament. The only downside is in my bracket (which albeit was very wrong 4 years ago) has them meeting the USA as early as the quarterfinals (assuming they both top of their groups and make it past the Round of 16)…and I don’t like this scenario! Although France did beat the USA 3-1 in a friendly earlier this year, the USA does have a habit of peaking at the right time for major tournaments, and France has an ugly habit of choking during major tournaments.

France I hope you surprise me, and make it all the way to the finals, because heaven’s knows, what a magical event the Final in Lyon will be if you were in it.

 

 

 

Spectacular Euro 2017 – also the one where I predicted everything all wrong

What a breathtaking tournament the UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 was.

From start to finish, it was unpredictable, fun, and in the final between Netherlands and Denmark, I could barely breath.

There’s so much to talk about, I’m just going to smash this in no particular order.

An amazing final

This was the best final of any football tournament I’ve watched in ages. Men or women’s. It was not the typical cagey final affair where players are tentative and goals don’t start coming in until extra time or (goodness forbid) penalties. The Women’s World Cup final in 2015 was bizarre and ultimately anti-climatic. The last 2 men’s World Cups have also been fairly dreary and drawn out.

4 goals in 30 minutes in the 1st half? Did I expect that? Nah.

Denmark scoring a penalty in the 6th minute, Miedema levelling a few minutes later. Martens giving the hosts the lead, and Harder levelling for Denmark?! Nah.

The first half of frenetic and insane. When the first half ended at 2-2, I felt relieved to be able to take a breather.

Underdogs ruined predictions

I think most  had predicted another Germany triumph – after all, they have won the last 5 editions of the tournament since 1997. As written in my previous post, I had predicted a final between France and Germany. In fact, I predicted that Netherlands wouldn’t make it past the quarterfinals, assuming they would be beaten by Germany. Yes, I had a Germany v Netherlands match quarterfinal, which didn’t happen, because A) Netherlands topped their group and I thought Norway would win the group (let’s get that into that later), B) Germany failed to top their group.

As far as underdogs go, I did not expect Austria for one to make it as far as they went.

But boy oh boy, Denmark! What a delightful surprise, but so well-deserved with the hard work and talent of their forward line of Nadia Nadim, Pernille Harder and Katrine Veje.

Oranje Leeuwinnen

Netherlands you surprised the hell out of me.

Not only did they win the whole damn tournament, they played the most attractive  football I’ve seen in the women’s game…ever (more enjoyable than France, since they have something to show for it at the end of the match).

Having seen the Netherlands play against Canada in the 2015 Women’s World Cup and seeing this rejuvenated team (which has retained most of the starting players are the from 2015)… I was amazed.

Their coach Sarina Wiegman has brought a tremendous change to this team since she came on board. Hell, let’s not even talk about t 2015. As recent as the Netherlands’ friendly against USA last September where they got whopped 1-3, the changes were staggering. If Netherlands were to play USA right now, I’m 100% Netherlands would run rampant over the USA.

It all boils down to the Dutch midfield and forwards: the combination of Jackie Groenen, Lieke Martens, Shanice van de Sanden and Vivianne Miedema were nothing short of amazing. They were full of confidence, flair, speed and never seemed to let the viewer down. Everytime van de Sanden went sprinting down the right side, I expected something to happen. Everytime Sherida Spitse lined up for a free kick, I expected something to happen. Seldom was there a sense of disappointment (i.e. Steph Houghton lining up for free kicks and smashing them wide).

The team turned up for their fans, who were wildly cheering them on judging from social media and the broadcasts. Making a country fall in love with you… that’s a box ticked for the Lionesses. The team couldn’t have picked a better occasion to TURN UP. Says a lot when many Dutch players were chosen for Best XI:

• Goalkeeper Sari van Veenandaal
• Defender Anouk Dekker
• Midfielders Jackie Groenen, Sherida Spitse, Lieke Martens (also Player of the Tournament)

Look at these photos of the celebrations! Who said no one was interested in women’s football?!

England & Mark Sampson’s uncertain future

I was willing England on in this tournament. So imagine my disappointment when England squared off against the Netherlands in the semifinal. Torn between wanting England to make it to the finals, and the host nations to continue riding this wave of support.

England had a good run. This is possibly the best team they will have in a while and their best chance of winning a major tournament while traditional giants like Germany and France are struggling.

Unfortunately, England’s performances relied too heavily on grit and determination. While some players  had great tournaments, like Lucy Bronze, Jodie Taylor and Millie Bright, the team as a whole  weren’t good enough against the hosts.

Did the 3-0 scoreline reflect the game? Not entirely. Until Fara Williams’ horrendous header gifted Danielle van de Donk the 2nd goal, I always felt that England could level the game. After the 2nd goal, the team looked increasingly desperate.

England were too predictable and there were questionable tactics:

• Hitting long balls all the time, which were easily shut down by the Dutch defence
• Swinging every free kick towards Millie Bright. Yes, Millie is damn tall target. But damn it Nobbs, not every time!
• Fara Williams shouldn’t have started the game
• Karen Carney and Toni Duggan should have been brought on earlier

Sampson’s tactics were lacking. Recent comments by England and Chelsea Ladies forward Eni Aluko, who has accused him of favoritism and bullying, also put him in a new (and bad) light. Sampson has been vague about this future, and Ian Wright has commented that his ambiguity over his future may be down to him wanting players to ask him to stay. But will they is the question.

New records!

For every major women’s tournament now, I find myself brimming with excitement for new records. This one did not let me down:

• New attendance record for Dutch womens’ football: 28,182
• New attendance record for the women’s Euros: 240,045 (beat 2013 record of 216,888)
• First Euro tournament where the hosts sold out all their games
• The final was the highest sports program audience of 2017 so far in Netherlands – average 4.1 MILLION VIEWERS, that’s 83% of market share
• Final saw global audience of over 13 MILLION
• Netherlands winning the Euro for the first time ever
• Most watched Women’s Euros in TV history
• Live match audience exceeded 2013 total by a whopping 50 MILLION
• Channel 4 in England had a record audience in the UK for a women’s football match with a peak audience of 4 million
• 20 million social media interactions

So. Absurdly. Happy.

Final thoughts

I really wish I was still living in the UK right now to make it to the FAWSL games to see more of these players. Loads of the Dutch players are plying their trade in the FAWSL – Miedema, van de Donk, van Veenendaal and Janssen are in Arsenal Ladies, and van de Sanden is in Liverpool. What I wouldn’t give to see van de Sanden kick ass in the FAWSl right now!

Hope countries can build on the successes of their teams at home, to translate national success and popularity into the local leagues to drum up support and attendance (FAWSL, Frauen Bundesliga, BeNe league etc.). Encourage more girls to pick up the sport, encourage sponsors to back the teams. More investment from national federations.

As a matter of fact, the  FA  announced today that they will be bidding to host the 2021 Women’s Euros. This is one hell of a way to boost the popularity of the sport in England.

I’m  excited for the 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. New faces to watch out for, new teams to love, new heights to be reached for the women’s game.

 

 

Euros 2017

It’s that time again. Major women’s football tournament time, and I start throwing around my two-cents. 2 years on from the Women’s World Cup in Canada, and a year on from the Rio Olympics, women’s football finally has the international spotlight again, as the Euros in the Netherlands start on July 16th.

I had contemplated saving money and leave to go to the Netherlands to watch some matches but decided to save it for the Winter Olympics in Korea next year instead. Boohoo. Guess I’ll be watching it on a lousy stream at home since it’s unlikely any TV channel will be airing it in Singapore.

Getting on with it…the promos for the tournament have been ramping up, and I’m getting really excited. Little Mix released an absolutely fabulous promo for the England Lionesses.

This time for than ever (and this will be the trend), the tournament is becoming more competitive, as smaller teams have had more exposure, send more players to top clubs, and are catching up with the bigger teams (i.e. the Germanys and Frances of the world).

Alright, let’s get onto some of the main topics.

Teams I’m looking forward to watch:

• Scotland: having been placed in the same group as England, their match is going to be a firecracker. A shame that Kim Little is injured – she makes such a difference
• Norway: the surprise finalists for the previous 2013 Euro, they have some very good players on the team, and as a whole are a solid talented machine
• France (duh): classic France who plays pretty football and also cause unnecessary stress and agony when they can’t convert chances. A blow for France as Amel Majri was recently announced to be out of the tournament due to an injury. Anything less than a final for France will be considered a disappointment
• England: I have a soft spot for the Lionesses, having watched tons of the players in the FAWSL, and their heroics at the 2015 World Cup. Expecting them to at least make it to the semifinals
• Germany: the first major tournament they’ll be at since the retirement of head coach Silvia Neid after Rio. Team is as talented ever, and hasn’t suffered too much from major retirements
• Sweden: coming off surprising (and controversial) success at the Rio Olympics by playing the most boring defensive football ever, it will be interesting to see what tactics they decide to go with this time

Players to watch:

• Ada Hegerberg (Norway): utter no-brainer, the recent BBC Player of the Year has been on fire for her club team Lyon, and is bound to light up this tournament. Will be especially fun to see her play on the field together with older sister Adrine
• Pernille Harder (Denmark): only 24 years old, and transferred to Wolfsburg after helping her old team Linkoping to the Swedish Damallsvanksen title and being the leading goal-scorer. Fun, energetic, I’m expecting GOALS from her
• Dzsenifer Marozsan (Germany): I feel like, every tournament I say that she’s one to look out for, but the nagging feeling is that she never quite performs to her full potential. Here’s to hoping that this Euros is the time she decides to go full throttle
• Stina Blackstenius (Sweden): the 21 year old burst onto the scene and announced herself with much aplomb at the Rio Olympics by scoring against the USA. As the leading goal-scorer during the U20 Women’s World Cup in 2015, she is an ever-rising star, and I hope she lights up this tournament for Sweden (goodness knows Lotta Schelin may have another crappy tournament again)
• Ramona Bachmann (Switzerland): this may be my bias manifesting, but I got to talk about a Chelsea Ladies player at some point. I remember watching her in the World Cup too, where every moment she gets a ball and speeds away with it being something like this “ah….ooh…ah..AH…AHHH. AHHHH. ohhhh……oh. damn.” Wild emotions fluctuating, from excitement to wild excitement, to disappointment. With Bachmann, so much could happen, with the emphasis on could
• Lucy Bronze (England): definitely England’s standout player during the 2015 World Cup, and has been a solid fixture for Manchester City Women’s throughout recent campaigns. My opinion: she’s the best right-back in the whole tournament, if not across the entire women’s game. Also, she’s 100% capable of scoring crackers when she wants. So…yeah. The BEST.

Realizing I’m listing alot of players right now. I’m going to stop.

This is now the part where I complain about stuff:

• Where is Vero Boquete and why was she left off the Spain squad?
• Still weeping over Kim Little. This was going to be her moment to SHINE.
• High likelihood of having to watch the tournament on a shitty stream
• Time difference. Oh gosh.

Now. Predictions:

Quarter-finals:

• Germany v Netherlands
• Norway v Sweden
• France v Spain
• England v Switzerland

Semi-finals:

• Norway v France
• Germany v England

Finals

• France v Germany (so says the brain, the heart would really like England v Germany)

Winner: France 

Chances are, I’m completely wrong and England wins (I do hope).

Let’s see. July 16th opening match: Netherlands v Norway. 2300 Singapore time.

If anyone is keen on reading more, the folks at Women’s Soccer Zone have written a wonderful and detailed guide to the tournament – it’s available on their website for free download. Definitely worth the read for the analysis, predictions and player interviews.

 

 

 

Quarter Final Upsets & Heartbreak

Heartbroken doesn’t even cut it. The quarterfinals of the Rio 2016 Olympics Football tournament has gone beyond breaking my heart. It’s grabbed it, stomped on it, and stuffed it in a microwave with aluminium foil. It just hurts. This hurts.

Brazil v Australia

Straight into it then, the final quarterfinal was between host nation Brazil and Australia. Brazil had topped their group and cruised into the QF, while Australia had struggled in their first game against Canada and gave up a 2 goal lead against Germany to draw. This was billed as the grudge match, since Australia had beaten Brazil 1-0 in the quarterfinals of the World Cup last year, via a late Kyah Simon goal (even after Brazil had dominated the match). In last night’s match, Brazil dominated, but it was honestly a chippy and tense match. There wasn’t much rhythm to the game due to the sheer amount of fouls. Marta was fairly quiet throughout the game, and Fabiana, arguably one of Brazil’s best players was stretchered off with an injury. By the time the match had reached the last quarter, there was a feeling that a goal wasn’t coming.

The Australian defence stood strong for all of regular and extra time, and their offence had a few good looks at goal, notably Chloe Logarzo’s shot that rattled off the cross-bar. To me, the center-back pairing of Laura Alleway and Alanna Kennedy was spectacular, with Alleway in particular a defensive machine-beast. And that’s not even mentioning the spectacular wall that was Lydia Williams, who overcame a major brain fart against Canada in the 1st match.

Brazil was sloppy in front of goal with Andressa Alves, Debinha and Marta missing golden chances.

30 minutes of extra-time passed by, with neither side ever really threatening, as tired legs won out. The Australian players looked gassed: with players tumbling to the ground easily, making sloppy challenges, and passes going nowhere.

I was surprised with the energy of the Brazilian players even in extra-time. While the Australian players were winded from the defending, the Brazilians who are not known for the fitness seemed to have found another gear, still running at the exhausted Australian defence. Either they found their Brazilian Dawn Scott, or they just really really really wanted the win in front of 50,000 Brazilian fans.

I’m so stinking glad that the Brazilians fans have finally embraced their women’s team and showered them with the love and passion they deserve. 50,000 screaming fans who never stopped cheering all night and who were hysterical by the time it was the penalties shootout.

The Penalties…. They were all spectacularly taken. Especially so soon after the debacle of the Italy v Germany shootout in the men’s Euros this year, my expectations were tempered. But man, Brazil and Australia were not playing around. When Marta stepped up and Lydia Williams blocked it, I just about died inside. But even hoping against hope, for some weird reason I had a feeling Katrina Gorry wouldn’t win it for Australia. When Kennedy stepped up, I had a sinking feeling, this wasn’t Australia’s night. I was right, so damn unfortunately. I wish I was wrong.

With the insane home support, and the way Brazil was playing,  it felt like there was no way Brazil would be crashing out of the tournament at the time. The stars seemed aligned. It didn’t seem probable that Lydia Williams, as much of a brick wall she is, could stop another Brazil penalty.

Still. Such is sport and I wish it didn’t fall onto the shoulders of a 21 year old to take the penalty for Australia then. Still, Kennedy had been spectacular all night. All the Australian players were amazing last night. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out.

I went to bed at around 5am last night after the match. I was too tired to be sad. It wasn’t until halfway though the day today that it sunk in. Cue the melancholy. It’s only truly sinking in now as I’m writing this. Still, I’m optimistic that Australia will come back swinging and winning in 2019 World Cup. Just you watch. This team is so damn young. They will be back.

 I’m crying I really am. Cristiane embracing Lydia Williams, her former club teammate. What a wonderful moment, with true sportsmanship.

 

And now onto the other QF: let’s tackle the huge stunner of ….

USA v Sweden

Defending World Cup and Olympic champs USA fell in penalties to Sweden. Sweden parked the bus. USA couldn’t break them down and got beat on the counter. USA had shit tactics – looking at you Jill Ellis. Why put a non-match-fit Megan Rapinoe in? Why take out Kelley O’Hara and move Tobin Heath, your best attacking player, into the right back position instead of putting Ali Krieger – a pure right back in? Why was Carli Lloyd not rested for the game against Colombia? – She is coming back from injury as well. Why put Christen Press as the 5th penalty taker despite only coming on recently and with very few minutes in recent games, despite knowing she’s a confidence player? Why were Ellis’ tactics not working against Sweden despite knowing exactly what they would do? – i.e. park the bus.

Pathetic coaching with crap tactics, or lack of it.

Let’s not even get into the Hope Solo debacle. It you want to know about it, here’s the link. If Solo is being the sore loser she is, then I’m not surprised but this is the Olympics don’t you know the values of grace?! On the other hand, if she was saying these things to take the spotlight off Alex Morgan and Christen Press for missing their penalties- then kudos for taking the ultimate fall for the team, because it worked. Who knows. Hope Solo gonna Hope Solo.

USA has a lot of thinking to do. 34 year old Carli Lloyd and 35 year old Hope Solo claim they want to play in 2019-20. If they are fit by then sure, but somehow….it seems over-ambitious. Hope the program decides to focus on the long-term future. Unless Lloyd can be a Formiga, then sure. Go ahead. Either way, the future is with players like Mallory Pugh, Crystal Dunn, Morgan Brian and Lindsay Horan.

France v Canada

Just a giant sigh over France. France gonna France, i.e. go in as favourites and still screw it all up. No words. Except that Canada has rediscovered their Olympic magic they first found in 2012. Janine Beckie is one to watch. What a touch on the assist to Sophie Schmidt. Kadeisha Buchanan needs to be careful though honestly if she wants to avoid more yellows, or worse case red. France…this was Louisa Necib (Cadamuro’s) last tournament, she’s retiring from football after this. A blow to the women’s game, truly. For many of France’s players, who knows if they will be back for 2019: e.g. Camile Abily, Elise Bussaglia and Elodie Thomas. These are the players pushing on the wrong side of 30 by the time 2019 World Cup on home soil happens. I’m still bitter over this. I wanted a France v Germany semifinal.

Germany v China

Not much to say about this, I only caught the last 30 minutes. China still a young squad, fairly untested. Germany did well to win on another Behringer goal, but they need to be better against a super on-form Canadian side. Felt like Marozsan was missing throughout the game and Alexandra Popp barely had an impact.

Looking ahead

Germany v Canada

Rematch of the group stage game where Canada surprisingly beat Germany 2-1 with 2 goals from the ageing and slowing Melissa Tancredi (that was the most surprising part). With Melissa Tancredi rediscovering her 2012 form, and Canada as a whole finding the magic 2012 Olympic potion to revive themselves after a lackluster 2015 World Cup campaign at home, I have real hopes for Canada to win the Gold. Germany haven’t been so convincing recently, oddly enough. Predicting a 2-1 win for Canada, with goals from Janine Beckie who has been absolutely on fire, Christine Sinclair, and from Germany – Melanie Behringer. The Olympics is where Canada will thrive, and has thrived before.

Sweden v Brazil

Yet another group stage rematch, where Brazil had humiliated Sweden 5-1. This was the most goals Sweden had ever conceded in a match. Still, if Sweden can dig deep and Pia Sundhage can get her tactics right, maybe Sweden will put up a better fight. But my gut feeling is that momentum is on Brazil’s side. They know the nation is behind them, this is their chance to force their way into the gold medal match. Afterall, no Brazil team has ever won a gold medal in the Olympics for football. And to be honest, I want Marta to light up the world stage. I want Brazilian fans to see how amazing their women’s team is and give them the honour and RESPECT they deserve. Predicting 2-0 to Brazil, with goals from Marta and Cristiane (if she’s fit), if not, Andressa Alves.

 

 

 

 

 

1 game in & Australia already giving me heartburn

Today was the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics, although football already started 2 days ago.

The Opening Ceremony was pretty great. With the limited budget in place it obviously couldn’t reach the grandeur of Beijing 2008 and it couldn’t exceed the creativeness and British-ness of London 2012 (the Industrial Revolution bit was awesome). Gisele Bundchen continues to be a Queen sashaying down the longest catwalk ever (500 ft / 120+ metres). I’m glad they removed the rumoured mugging segment: where Gisele gets mugged by a young black boy. That would have been awkward, not sure what message that’s sending out.

But best part of the ceremony will always be the parade and the cheery athletes. Though granted there were a few sulky ones (why even). Convinced no one had more fun than the American Samoa and Kiribati. And Marta got to be one of the bearers of the Olympic flag!

Just some thoughts on the opening ceremony:

I’m glad Singapore’s Mediacorp finally sorted their life out and secured a last minute deal (though really it’s actually late considering there was already 2 days of football played) for live telecast of Olympics. Would have been super embarrassing to be one of the few countries NOT showing live Olympics.

Though NBC should also be ashamed of not showing the Opening Ceremony live, and their reasons were even worse. It’s actually ridiculously nonsensical and sexist.

Eh?!

Leaving it there. Now to backtrack to the football….

The first round of Olympic football group games have finished, and some of my (hopeful) predictions are already out of whack.

Alright, I exaggerate, the only surprise that came from the first round was the one that was most disappointing: Australia’s loss to Canada. But let’s elaborate on that heartbreak / frustration later, let’s go group by group.

*disclaimer: I only watched Canada v Australia and France v Colombia.

Scores

Group E:

Brazil v China: 3-0

Goals by Monica (Orlando Pride), Andressa Alves (Barcelona), Cristiane (PSG). Notably, this was Cristiane’s 13th goal in the Olympics, a record total.

Sweden v South Africa: 1-0

By all accounts, the opening game of the Olympics was a chippy and tense affair, but Sweden rightfully had the win, with the goal coming from captain Nilla Fischer (Wolfsburg).

Group F:

Canada v Australia: 2-0

Goals by Janine Beckie (Houston Dash) and Christine Sinclair (Portland Thorns).

I love both teams, I root for both teams on a normal basis. But in this case, I was definitely Team Australia, and it was the most intensely frustrating 90 minutes of football I’ve watched in a long time.

That match started at 2am, so I set my alarm for 1.55. Actually I set 6 alarms in case I wouldn’t wake up (I went to bed early at 11pm to take a quick nap before the game). I woke up automatically and switched on my laptop only to realize it was 1.18am and I was way too keen for this.

Then the stream takes too long to load, the ads take too long to go away, and when the match comes on, I see Canada celebrating and the commentator saying “nightmare start” before realizing Canada had already scored in the 1st minute. Specifically, 19 seconds. The fastest goal in Olympic history. But the wrong side of history for Australia, anyway. Turns out Australia’s defence had a massive brain fart and the Canadian NWSL rookie took full advantage of it.

Annoying, because Australia’s rock-solid defence, the center pairing of Alanna Kennedy and Laura Alleway was what kept Australia going in the World Cup last year. But hey, plenty of time left I told myself. Besides, Sam Kerr and Caitlin Foord was playing crazy well.

19th minute: Canada’s Shelina Zadorsky (in her maiden Olympics) is sent off for hauling Michelle Heyman down by the neck and Elise Kellond-Knight (KK) hits the post with her free kick. I was confident because Australia looked confident. But for the next 20+ minutes, Australia still couldn’t find the equalizer. Dafuq.

1st half is over. Kerr is subbed off and Catley comes in. I was disappointed that Kerr was subbed off because she was a live-wire during the 1st half, but fair enough considering she’s still not 100% match fit after coming back from a long injury. But having Catley in was also great – I think she’s one of the best left backs right now. Question though: where is Lisa de Vanna (LDV)?

By this point Canada have parked the big red and white bus in front of goal, and Australia still couldn’t sort it out. Midway through the half LDV finally comes on. I had some hope.

Then in the last 20 minutes Canada finally comes alive and THREATENS to score on Australia again. Dear me if that 2nd goal comes for Canada we’re all screwed.

Instances where I had heartburn:

• Australian defence clears a ball off the line
• Referee makes a shitty call and awards Canada a penalty, having judged Caitlin Foord to have had a handball. Queen Lydia Williams makes the save. I thought we were off the hook

But no.

Australia committed too much to chasing the equalizer and Sinclair suddenly gets the ball around the halfway line, and Lydia Williams (now no longer quite the Queen), had the biggest brain fart of all time, and rushed out to attempt to sweeper keeper wing it.

She flunked it.

LDV tried to chase Sinclair, who clearly smelt blood.

Sinclair scored. And I switched off my laptop in a fit of rage and tried to coax myself back to sleep. “Nicole you have now 4 hours of sleep remaining before work”. Took me ages to fall asleep I think. Seething in rage and frustration would do that to you.

Lessons learnt:

• Australia had zero composure. Yes it’s their 1st Olympics in 12 years, of all these players I think LDV was the only one who was at 2004 in Sydney. For all the other players it’s their first time. But still. You can’t score against a team down 1 player?! Lydia Williams who has been so steady for club and country, messed up massively. If she stayed on her line, LDV would have caught up to Sinclair and cleared it. LDV is the fastest player out there. Come on. She runs on jet fuel – former Socceroos Craig Foster said it, not me. Also, they need their crucial players back at 100% fitness: LDV, Catley and Kerr. I prefer Catley at LB to Polkinghorne, she gives more speed and attacking flair compared to Polkinghorne’s most defence-minded play. And Australia’s strength lies in its speed on the flanks as demonstrated by Foord and Kerr in the 1st half.
• Canada still has that Olympic Magic. No matter how badly they do in the previous World Cups (2011, 2015), they still pull out the magic and grit when it comes to the Olympics (2012, possibly 2016?). Sinc you the real MVP.

Germany v Zimbabwe: 6-1

Goals from Sarah Dabritz (Bayern Munich), Alexandra Popp (Wolfsburg), Melanie Leupolz (Bayern Munich), a brace from Melanie Behringer (Bayern Munich), Kudakwashe Basopo, and a Zimbabwe own goal.

More surprised that Zimbabwe actually scored against Germany. Gives me hope for Australia v Germany.

On an ugly note, Zimbabwe made the game way too physical, even dirty. Late crushing tackles on the German players looked horrible, and Simone Laudehr now has torn ankle ligaments, and Silva Neid has said that they’re keeping an eye on it, and decide whether or not to replace her with an alternate before the next game.

Group G:

USA v New Zealand: 2-0

Goals from Carli Lloyd (Houston Dash) and Alex Morgan (Orlando Pride).

Completely expected USA to win, and sounds like it was a relatively standard game. USA dominated, and I was super pleased that favourite player Tobin Heath dominated the left side, even served up the assist on Lloyd’s goal. Only worry for USA coach Jill Ellis will be the ankle knock to 17 year old sensation Mallory Pugh (who granted had an underwhelming debut in the Olympics).

France v Colombia: 4-0

Goals from Camile Abily (Lyon), Amel Majri (Lyon), Eugenie Le Sommer (Lyon), and own goal by  Carolina Arias.

Utterly dominating performance by France. Colombia definitely missing their best players, they don’t look like the same side they were last year, unfortunately. Definitely case of 1 step forward 2 steps back. I really do blame the coach who’s apparently stopped calling in players who spoke out against him.

Next Round:

I’m raging that I won’t be able to watch the best matches this Saturday night – will be on a plane unfortunately. But damn these matches are mouth-watering, with so much riding on them.

 

These are the matches I think will be most interesting:

Australia v Germany

Now that Germany and Canada are both sitting on 3 points, Australia needs to try their best to get 1 point against Germany, or at least keep the GD low. Most likely case is Australia getting into the next round as 1 of the best 2 3rd place teams – assuming Canada rightfully beats Zimbabwe and loses to Germany.

Realistic prediction: 3-1 to Germany

Hopeful prediction: 1-1

USA v France

#1 team vs #3 team in the world. On any given day either team is capable of beating the other one. This will determine who tops the group. This is crucial because the loser is likely to play Germany in the quarterfinal. And I for one do not want a rehash of Germany v France again this early in a tournament. And I do think USA has a better chance of beating Germany than France does. Will be interesting to see how the USA midfield of Lloyd, Long and Brian do against Amandine Henry.

Prediction: 2-2

Let’s see how wildly wrong I’ll be. I’ll know when I get wifi when I land.

 

Protect the Players.

Okay, I get that I’ve been posting about the Matildas’ current CBA (collective bargaining agreement) negotiations with FFA (Football Federation Australia) and strike action incessantly on social media, I wanted to delve a bit more into the maternity leave issue, and how it compares to other national teams.

Just to recap on what’s been happening, the CBA that the Matildas (the nickname for Australian’s national women’s football team) had with FFA expired prior to the start of the Women’s World Cup in June. They were offered an interim agreement for the duration of the World Cup. Although the Matildas returned to Australia from Canada, having achieved Australian football history by being the first Australian senior side, male or female, to win a World Cup knockout game, they returned to their homeland as uncontracted players. Negotiations with the FFA as part of the PFA (Professional Footballers Australia), which also represents the Socceroos and A-League players, has been going on for some time, and has reached a boiling point in the last few weeks. The Matildas pulled out of a training camp in Sydney, which was meant to prepare them for 2 upcoming friendlies against the USA in Detroit and Alabama later this month. But because of the negotiating impasse, the USA tour has been cancelled.

The FFA had rejected the PFA proposal to introduce the Matildas’ first paid maternity policy, bringing football’s parental management policy in line with that of other sports such as netball, which gives financial assistance to mothers and expectant players. The FFA rejected this proposal as “luxurious” and insisted that childcare is “not for an employer to fund”.

Under the previous CBA agreement, and the one that the FFA currently offers, pregnant players risk having their contracts with the FFA cancelled, and mothers must pay out of their own pocket to have their babies travel and stay with them during national team camps. In 2013, Melissa Barbieri, who captained the Matildas to the 2011 World Cup and the 2010 Asian Football Cup (which Australia won), gave birth to her first child Holly. 6 weeks after Holly was born, Barbieri’s contract with the FFA was annulled. She was forced to sell Matildas memorabilia for $8000 to support herself financially.

This ongoing debacle in Australia prompted me to look into the maternity policies in other top 10 national teams. England’s FA introduced a new maternity policy for players on FA central contracts after 2010, which remains in force during the period of the player’s pregnancy and maternity leave. the FA also accommodates players’ family members at the team hotel during tournaments. This policy was implemented after Katie Chapman’s central contract was cancelled in 2010 hours after she asked then-coach Hope Powell for a break in international football to take care of the 3 children. Chapman had been out of the England team from 2011 until she was recalled for the World Cup this year. However, the FA does not pay for the flights of the players’ family or children, only paying for players and staff. As such, many England players, including former Captain Casey Stoney were unable to fly their family members out for matches in this year’s World Cup. Fortunately for England’s players, at least there is a policy in place that protects pregnant players, and does not discourage players from having children.

The USA, ranked number 1 in the world and current World Cup champions, have perhaps one of the best maternity policies for national teamers. On the World Cup roster, there were 3 mothers, Christie Rampone (with 2 daughters), Boxx and Rodriguez with one child each. US Soccer provides nannies and offers as much support as possible to mothers during camps and tournaments. Rampone often brings one of her children along with her to training camps. However, this was not always the case, and the breakthrough came in 1994, where the culture of mother being a taboo in the team changed. Joy Fawcett was the first player to have kids midway in her football career. She continued to play for another 10 years after having her first child, and was the only player to play all the minutes of the 1995, 1999 and 2004 Women’s World Cup. This trend was continued by other players in the 1990s and early 2000s such as Carla Overbeck and Kate Markgraf, to name a few.

This is significant, because it does not force players to consider starting a family and a football career as mutually exclusive. The FFA’s refusal to consider a maternity policy for the Matildas leaves players without a safety-net, and may force players into early retirement, if they wish to have children. Laura Alleway, a starting center-half for the Matildas in the World Cup, claimed that she would have to consider early retirement if this continued. Players around the world have proven that despite pregnancy, it is entirely possible to return to the game, and play at a high level. Katie Chapman, despite having 3 children, had an excellent World Cup in 2015, returned to England to win the FA Cup with Chelsea Ladies, and is very much on course to captain her club team to their maiden league title in the FA Women’s Super League (FAWSL). Amy Rodriguez returned from pregnancy to score the second-most goals in the 2014 NWSL (National Women’s Soccer League) season, even scoring a goal in the final.

For all the arguments of whether or not the Matildas are better off negotiating as a lone entity rather than with the A-League and Socceroos, one thing is certain: the players need to be taken care of by their federation, who has been disrespecting them from the start of the CBA negotiations. And I haven’t even delved into the fact that the Matildas are being paid below national minimum wage. It’s a long struggle ahead, if the FFA doesn’t yield to reason and respect.

Build the Momentum

That’s it then. This World Cup North America tour has come to an end. I’m writing this while sitting in Incheon Airport on a layover, for the final leg, a 6 hour-ish flight to Singapore, where it all truly ends.

And here I am, re-watching this closing montage by BBC

 and I’m getting real emotional. I can’t believe the past month has gone so quickly, or even, how quickly the past 6 months of getting excited for this tournament has passed just like that. This montage is so beautiful, and wonderfully encapsulates the highs and lows of the tournament, from the footage of players to the fans.

The fans.

Let no one ever say again that no one cares about women’s sports, because that is an absolute ignorant lie. Having been at the games and seeing the passion that fans have for the women’s game, for the players, for their country, I think it’s safe to say that people CARE about women’s football. Sure, the footage from the BBC montage shows the best of the crowd and people may be skeptic about that, so how about some statistics?

The WWC final, where the USA beat Japan 5-2, was the most viewed football game in American television’s history (men’s or women’s), with an average of 26.7 million viewers. This beat the previous mark of 26.5 million during last year’s World Cup final between Germany and Argentina.

More astonishing: viewership for the WWC final on Fox peaked at 30.9 million from 2030-2045 towards the end of the match. And get this, 43.2 million tuned into the match at some point.

In America at least, interest in the WWC Final trumped interest in the 2014 World Series, the NBA Final, and the Stanley Cup Final (Game 6).

An average audience of 3.2 million was recorded for the Canada v England quarterfinal, which was a record for a WWC match on Canadian TV.

For the France v Germany quarterfinal, French TV channel W9 drew an average of 4.1 million viewers. German broadcaster ZDF recorded an average of 7.5 million viewers for the same match. These stats are impressive considering the time difference, that means most of the matches in Europe are late at night (at best in the evening), depending on whether the games are played in Pacific or Eastern time. It was cool to hear about people getting excited about this game, because of the quality of the football. Through the 90 minutes, then extra-time, and the nail-biting penalties, I kept in contact with people stressing the hell out during this game. Football is football at the end of the day.

Japan’s semi-final game against England drew twice the number of audience figures than in 2011, with 9.3 million.

Canada 2015 set a new total attendance record for the WWC. Once again, this is an incredible feat, considering Canada isn’t a traditional football powerhouse, and football isn’t in their culture (it’s more so amongst the immigrant population), unlike in Europe or South America. Granted, the vicinity of the USA fans bumped up attendance figures, but this doesn’t discount the incredible turnout that Canada garnered for their games.

Women’s football is growing. This is a fact, not an opinion.

The important question now is how to sustain this momentum and growth. Canada 2015 has shown that mainstreaming women’s football, having it accessible on major television channels (i.e BBC, Fox Sports, CTV, TSN etc) with quality production and pundits, makes it attractive to viewers and draws them in.

For a long time, there has been the chicken and egg argument surrounding the media exposure of women’s football. Do you pour in money into the women’s game, investing in it and hope you, as the tv companies, reap the rewards? Or do you wait for the game to succeed, then you jump aboard the bandwagon? But success cannot belong to everyone in the strictest sense. Not every country can win the World Cup, so what quantifies as success?

The success of the Matildas has been rewarded in the form of a new TV contract. Last year, it was announced that ABC would no longer be airing W League matches due to budget cuts. But ever since the Matildas have romped through the WWC, winning games and winning hearts, how can anyone in Australia not reward them? They made it through the Group of Death, exceeding expectations by emerging second in the group, when I looked back in many predictions pre-WWC by pundits, ex-players, current players and fans, many pegged Australia as coming in third or dead-last in their group. The Matildas class of 2015 then went on to become record-setting, becoming the first Australian football team (men’s or women’s) to win a knockout game in a World Cup (I still get emotional every time I think of Fabio Grosso, Francesco Totti and Lucas Neill in 2006), and not just beating any team, but BRAZIL. Fox Sports announced on 14 July that they will be airing W-League games which precede A-League matches in the same stadiums on Sundays. I’m so happy that this is happening, I can’t wait to watch the matches on TV. While on the topic of the Matilda’s rise to fame at home in Australia, I’m glad that Steph Catley is going to be featured on the cover of the Australian edition of FIFA 15, alongside Lionel Messi. The 3 nominations were Steph Catley, Katrina Gorry and Kyah Simon, but I’m biased, I voted Catley (Thorns Thorns Thorns).

My hope is that more FAWSL games will be aired on BT Sports. It’s been encouraging to see the pictures and stories coming out of the first FAWSL games since the return of the England national team players. Chelsea Ladies saw 1,233 spectators for their game against Bristol Academy, and Manchester City had a FAWSL record crowd of 2102 at Academy Stadium when they played against Birmingham City Ladies. The previous record of 2057 was at a Liverpool v Notts County game in May.  People are getting increasingly interested, and having the WWC games broadcasted on BBC have made them accessible for people who may only have been marginally interested, and would otherwise have not bothered to search for illegal streams to watch the match, let alone travel to a stadium to watch the games.

In the USA, the WNT were honoured with a ticker-tape parade in New York City. This was massive, because they are the first female sports team to ever be honoured as such, and no female athlete has had a ticker-tape parade dedicated to just her since 1960, when Queen’s hometown Carol Heiss Jenkins got her own parade for being a figure-skating champion. The players were presented with keys to the city, and over 200,000 people turned up for the parade on a WEEKDAY. Then, some of the players casually turned up at Taylor Swift’s concert in New Jersey the same night, walking down the catwalk waving the WWC trophy. Yes, Tay-tay!!! Mainstream women’s football and female athletes. Thank you Tswizzle I love you so much. Taylor Swift, the USWNT, Haim, and Heidi Klum all in one building, my mind has exploded. The NWSL also saw a corresponding increase in sales, piggybacking off the WWC-fever. Seattle Reign saw a record for tickets sold in a 24 hour period. 3,014 turned up for Sky Blue’s game against Portland Thorns, which is an improvement for the club, which has been seeing fairly poor attendance pre-WWC. Houston Dash saw a record attendance of 13,025 for their game against Chicago Red Stars. In all of these NWSL games, the USWNT players did not play, but did turn up to be honoured before the game. Hopefully they’ll be back soon to train with the team to play, because it will be important to build on the momentum and popularity of these players to boost the league. Jill Scott acknowledged that it was important for the England national team players to return to play in the FAWSL even though they were tired, because of the need to build momentum.

The time window is so short, because if teams do not capitalise on the WWC momentum, the Olympics may lose steam, and after the Olympics, there’s the awkward 2 years before world interest in the women’s game may build up again. Build now, and make it lasting.

I’ll be keen on watching Euro 2017 anyways, but we’ll see if the rest of the football fandom follows too. For now, I’m excited to see how women’s football is going to continue growing. There’s no other option than to go up. Anything else is unimaginable.