TWG Live! USWNT vs. Japan with Merri Speck

0:00You're listening to the MIB Media Network, and this is the Women's Game. Hello, everybody! How's it going? Uh, welcome. This is the Women's Game. We are alive just moments after the U.S. Women's National Teams final game against Japan in this window. And I feel like everything is restored to the U.S. Women's National Team. Secured the win tonight, 3-0, thanks to goals from a pair of centerbacks, Naomi Garamon, Kennedy Wesley, plus a goal from our girl, Rose the Vel. There's so much to talk about tonight. I'm so happy to be joined by my good friend, Mary Speck-Mary. Well, come back twice in one week. You're with us here at the Women's Game. I know you guys just can't keep me away. I wouldn't want to keep you away. I'm so excited that you're here. Thanks for joining us. I know it's late over there in the East Coast, but everybody, I'm on the West Coast, so it's only eight here. I'm loving it. The night is young. The night is young. Okay. Um, everybody, I see you in the chat.

1:02Thank you for being here. We're going to react to this game with Mary. But before we dive into all the details, I'm going to explain the show tonight. This is our third show this week. So I know most of you already know this. This is a T W G live, which means you are listeners are here with us. You can ask us questions about football or life. If you want to call in and ask a question, scan the QR code on the top left of your screen. Um, you can also click on a pinned comment in the chat. That's going to take you into a zoom with our producer, Marcella. Marcella is going to get you set up to ask your question. It's just audio. Don't be afraid. You're not going to be on camera. We're going to get to those questions a little bit later in the show. Go ahead and get in line now. Make sure you get your question in there. If you don't want to ask a question, just give us a like. Give us a follow. Help us out. Comment in the chat. It really actually is so helpful. Um, okay. I see some of you in the chat already. Um, I see everybody is in a much better mood than we were on Tuesday night late. So feel looked good. Um, people having a lot of positive thoughts. That girmagol made me think Sam, you as headers. I'll read out all the comments that are nice to me. Thank you all so much for being here. First things first of this game, Mary, the talk of the town

2:05earlier today was the snow. The this game was in Denver. Um, we saw Julie Fowdy posted on her Instagram story earlier today. The field like earlier in the day was literally covered in snow and they were plowing it. The weather in Denver notoriously fickle. I know it goes up and down. We heard it was like hot there yesterday snowing today. Have you ever played in the snow? I have played in the snow. I mean, I grew up Long Island, New York. So I had had a few snow games. I was actually thinking about it. It was like youth soccer and literally I was like hiding in the locker room when I was like not in the game with like canned warmers and toe warmers being like, I hope I don't have again. Yeah, it it like kind of looks like it would be fun, but it's just like physically uncomfortable. I actually feel like my most jarring and like upsetting memories of sporting events in the snow was like watching a Patriots game and it was like 12 degrees and just being like, this isn't fun at all. Yeah, you're like, I can't even try to stay warm. It yeah, it's just like

3:08just really loses. It's luster quickly. I do want to say that I know one of the big talking points and this doesn't really have to do with the game tonight, but one of the big talking points going on right now in the women's soccer world is this talk about the end of the cell potentially voting on changing the season from being like an extended summer season from like March and November to the fall to spring season that the rest of the world is on. And I've seen literally so many people are commenting about this. We've seen so much feedback about it. The PA is talking about it. So this is going to be news that we're going to definitely get more into on good vibes next week. But I did want to say quickly, Mary, that snow in April and Denver was kind of a wild reminder of just like the unpredictability of winters in a lot of end of the cell markets. And I was wondering if you had strong thoughts on if the end of the cell should change the schedule in the calendar or not. Yeah, I mean, I think from the game perspective, I'm not sure like the weather's going to affect hot temperatures or snow would affect a cold temperature game,

4:10but I think the biggest effect that they're going to need to consider is travel. Like you don't cancel a flight for 90 degree weather, but you are going to cancel flights first snow. I mean earlier this year, my mom's flight got canceled on a Sunday and they're like the next flight we have for you is Thursday. So I think in that sense, like if the league wants to change the schedule, then hopefully they're also providing non-cancellable safe flights for all of the teams. Yeah, yeah, I know. It's a big proposal and I do get, I mean, there are pros to the proposal which would put us on the global transfer market. There are like a lot of other things to consider. Is an MLS just changing to this calendar? But I agree. I think the travel sounds like such a nightmare. I mean, look, climate change is going to impact the way sports are in the future and that is a big conversation that we will try to continue spotlighting on this show. It's probably not going to happen completely tonight. I do also want to shout out this crowd in Denver for showing

5:14up in the cold in the snow. Our producer Jen was at the game early on. She was being tough. She told us that it was bearably cold and then as the game went on, she was like, never mind. It's it's really, really cold. But a huge card in Denver and I think the thing that stuck out to me about this national team game tonight was actually like kind of in comparison to the Denver summit season opener. I think that the season opener at the NBSL game felt like such a huge event and I think it's so rare and so special to have your city show up like bigger and in a such an excited way for your NBSL team than even when the national team comes to town. I think sometimes when we played in North Carolina or in various markets, it would feel like all these people come out to see the national team playing the club team is left going, where are you all when we have like a club game? We are so happy that you're a soccer fan and we want you here every week. We're playing every week and so I actually just really wanted to compliment Denver summit fans and the

6:16people of Denver who of course show up for the national team but also show up so big for their club. Yeah and I think I mean you said it already but like also like to the front office of Denver summit because obviously I mean I have heard that there's just you know advertising all over that city and it is that I mean people like to argue that other sports are going to steal fans but they have all of the teams and they're all showing up so I think it's a really good sign for the league and I'm happy for the Denver summit girls. I know I totally agree and I know this this is exciting. This window has been so awesome. I've loved watching all three of these games but I'm excited to like pivot back to NBSL next week and start thinking more about what's coming up you know there's this next stint of games before this big long kind of break over the summer with another international window and then the break for the men's world cup so the rest of April and May are an exciting time for the NBSL so we'll pivot more back into that. Starting next week we've got a ton of content

7:18coming out. Until then I want to talk about this game. I want to start with the starting lineup very similar to the first game of this window for us I would say kind of back to our like tried and true more veterans than young players. A couple notable changes to you know David's insert at center back which I think was huge for her there was that scary moment where she fell and hit her head and was like doing the concussion testing she's up there at halftime hope she's doing okay. I think Tyrna you know just brings so much experience to this team to this backline and I'm always excited to see her out there. Plus the other big change Claire Hutton started in the midfield alongside Lindsay heaps and rose the bell which I thought was another like huge change Emma did say specifically that she wanted to see Lindsay and Claire playing together which I'm really interested in that Mary what did you make of these changes the lineup did anything surprise you. Yeah I mean I don't I was very happy to see Tyrna back I think people are constantly mentioning that she is the US's most progressive passer and I was just curious to see with the partnership

8:23of Claire being her six like how Claire handled maybe being targeted more as like Tyrna's progressive passing and what Claire does with that kind of how many touches she's getting just she feel more pressure to also play forward and how that affects like her game plan and I was wondering if you who have played that position had any insight. Yeah I mean I remember one of the big things that was would get like drilled into me when I'd play like the six or the eight when you're thinking about receiving the ball from a center back and and this is probably more like an attacking midfield or thing but you do it's so hard to receive a ball from a center back as a midfielder and not be facing your own goal because you probably in some sense are checking back like yes it would be great if you could hold your space and get your body half turned but that's like so often you're moving too much to really do that and so I'll have to like think about this more next time Tyrna and Claire

9:23played together and kind of see how Claire's body is and you know what what she might be thinking about when she is receiving it more from a center back who plays forward a lot but I think that's like a really interesting thing to note I was also interested in just that the the relationship in the midfield and I noticed a lot of times I I felt like Lindsey Claire and Rose were working really well together Sam coffee did end up subbing into the game which of course I was also happy about I think those four to me are really becoming the four that could start at any given time um I feel like it was kind of a big statement to start Claire again today and I'm excited for her she had that great shot that went off the crossbar and I think like everybody in the world wanted that to go in um but super fascinating to see those two changes specifically I was surprised to not see Michelle Cooper start I kind of thought after the first two games just knowing you know she's been pretty sharp I know she's coming back from injuries kind of still a little bit but she's been playing for Kansas City and something that I've been saying in these live show in these live

10:26reaction shows is like I feel like our crossing needs a little bit of work and I feel like Michelle Cooper is so good at crossing that I kind of wanted to see her with the chance to start and see if she could help us generate some of those chances from an attacking build up um so I was a little bit like bum to not see her start but I don't know who I would tick off I just wanted to see her too I know too many choices too many people to choose from I do think when she came in she did exactly to your point what you're saying I think she works really hard I think she's really like locked in defensively wins it back finds nearest person but then like what I actually love and appreciate about her is like there's like one specific plan thinking of where like she tracks takes the ball from the midfielder plays Emily Fox who's running forward she ends up like 10 yards behind Emily Fox who's obviously often running and she's just like busting her ass to get into the box to and I'm like but like not you like of course it's people say it's easier to run for but I'm like that is a lot of work that she's consistently doing to put herself in good spots and I hope she's

11:30like rewarded with more playing time going for yeah yeah I know I've become like a really big fan of hers um one thing you just said when you were talking was you said people say it's easier to run forward and I just wanted to help explain in case people don't know what you what you meant by that like obviously recovering on defense it's the same running like you say you have to make a 60 yard sprint back on defense like that sucks and like best case scenario you make a tackle and win the ball back but going forward say you have to make a 60 yard sprint best case scenario you're scoring a sick goal so it's easier to make those runs going forward and it's kind of like one of those soccer jokes soccer joke I'm way faster when I'm running towards a goal well I like literally yeah my back I've actually heard you say this many times yeah I think my ball and I'm like no you're trying my well yeah I mean that's definitely true the reward is just so much sweeter for me

12:30you know yeah totally yeah um okay so yeah I think that this lineup but kind of like we said kind of back to the veterans I think they looked a lot more comfortable on the ball and one thing that I feel like I didn't address enough on Tuesday because we saw so many comments in the chat about it was like did the team look hesitant on the ball did the team look like they didn't want the ball did they look indecisive and while I think look we lost on Tuesday it was a younger lineup so I think all those things are normal I'll be totally honest like there were times when I played on the national team that I was really nervous and like scared to get the ball and like scared to make a mistake and I think that I'm not going to speak for them but that was a common feeling for me especially when I was like playing against a team that I knew was really going to challenge me or when I was newer to the team and so I feel like what I want to talk about in terms of that is like there there's like two ends of the spectrum when you're moving the ball slower you could either be

13:31like hanging on to it to wait for something to open up or you could be being hesitant so like the the scale is like you're really comfortable on the ball like Lindsey heaps who can sometimes put her foot on top of the ball and just stop and wait for something or you're being hesitant and there's like a scale of that there's also the scale of like you're either rushing and losing the ball because you're like frantic to get rid of it or you're just playing fast and the scale it's hard to always get that right and so I think I just wanted to like open up the floor to talk about it and to I guess ask like how can you tell when a player is rushing versus um playing quickly and how can you tell when a player is comfortable on the ball versus like hesitant and doesn't know what to do with it yeah I mean I that's the first one is feels a little harder for me to answer but I would maybe say the second one I think generally is like kind of determined from who they would

14:33who would be receiving the pass from that player so if I want you to play it to me and you like you have the ball and I feel like I'm open and I'm asking for it and you look at me and you wait and I ask for it and then you don't play me like I feel that that means you're hesitating because the receiving player wants the pass right where when it's more like being patient and waiting for something to open up like there isn't a person who's asking for the pass does that make sense yeah yeah or like and and and I think about Lindsey with this a lot because I think she's one of the most patient players and she will not force a pass because Lindsey like really values the ball but I would never be like Lindsey looks hesitant I'm like Lindsey's so comfortable on the ball she if it's the wrong pass and there's like a low probability of connecting it she just won't play it and she'll just swing it back around and go back the other way and I think on the other end of the scale yeah it's like you you're you can almost see their gears turning like they're picking up their

15:37foot and they're like should I play it should I play it and then maybe they play it late and like that's hesitation yeah and then with the other one the rushing versus playing fast I guess I don't know how you can tell I feel like it's more of a feeling yeah I mean I guess like pass completion is a helpful stat here maybe I have realized for watching so many games just like how stat obsessed the US in general is with sports the amount of stats that are being said during the game I'm like you were mentioned I know did you know oh I actually did not hear that I admittedly was watching the game with other people around what did it was it a compliment I hope well they were talking about the they were talking about Jizzone Alyssa and how they're catching up to you and Christy with games played oh I know five five starts together now me and Christy only had three but you never know I mean me and Christy maybe we'll just maybe we've got to get back that was

16:37joke everybody we are we are so excited for the jumps and sisters and they both started again tonight that their fifth star I believe the sisters congratulations girls as I'm threatening to make a return to the fields wow I'm scared this is so goofy okay um the other thing and you guys in the chat have been so active this week I will admit on Tuesday night it was I was on these coast it was midnight and we lost the game and I just felt like the chat was upset and like fair everybody it was upsetting we lost um but another thing I wanted to bring up that has been sticking with me from reading your comments which are just angel city I love Sam everybody I mean you guys are the best um is this conversation around possession and I actually speaking of stats I think I forgot to put the final stat in here but somebody might throw me an assist by the time I'm done talking this idea that because we outpossessed Japan by so much that we should be winning and obviously tonight we did outpossessed them it was like around 65 35 70 30 throughout the game when

17:42I was checking what I want to talk about in terms of Japan is that I feel like like 10 8 10 years ago we did all be like yeah you're gonna play Japan and they're gonna outpossess you but somewhere along the way in the past like five years that kind of expectation has changed and I all I've talked about this on here before I always think back to 2023 at the world cup when they beat Spain forward and nothing in the group stage and everybody was like I'm sorry what and it they did not outpossessed Spain they counter attacked and scored all these goals in the counter attack and I feel like for me that was kind of when Japan's reputation or the expectation of them being a really possession oriented team that's just gonna swing it around and keep it no matter what shifted to being like no they're gonna like try to press and win it back and go and so when I'm looking at like our possession from Tuesday night's game which obviously was more than Japan's and then even tonight the the difference you know isn't necessarily that we outpossessed them it's tonight it's

18:46again set pieces and attacking transition um but I think from you Mary I want to know when you think of Japan would you categorize them now differently than you would have like several you know yeah I definitely think that their like game plan has changed their strategy has changed I still do think that their ability to problem solve and break pressure in tight spaces is like certainly still there like as far as technical skill goes but I do they look comfortable without the ball um I just it's an interest it's interesting to me like no offense to and like the Japanese Federation but it's just fascinating to me to try to play in counter attack when I just don't think I don't see them having a forward a stretching forward like none of the players in the front line tonight to me like really screamed that they were going to stretch the back line um yeah so

19:48I'm curious to see like where that I think I think having the skill of feeling comfortable without the ball and being able to play in tight spaces lower on the field is like excellent to have but it doesn't make sense to me just play in counter attack if you don't have a nine who stretches hi it's Sam US of the women's game podcast if you listen to or are listening to good vibes fc right now you'll know I absolutely love allie pop after a long summer practices in the grueling heat my sister and I would always stop for a soda on our way home and cracking a lemon lime allie pop takes me back to those summer days with my sister exhausted and thirsty for something cold and refreshing today it's become a staple for both me and the good vibe squad with up to nine grams of fiber to support digestive health allie pop is made with real ingredients and has around 90% less sugar than traditional soda but it seriously tastes like the soda you grew up sipping and with 21 flavors ranging from classics to fruity varieties there's a flavor for every mood

20:53personally I always keep lemon lime and vintage cola in my fridge and you can find your flavor at drinkalliepop.com slash gvfc where you can receive a buy one get one free offer redeemable at any retailer where allie pop is available if you buy two allie pops are great friends at allie pop will Venmo or paypal you back for one of them allie pop can be found all across america in stores like walmart target Costco crogr whole foods hb and publics thank you to allie pop and all our listeners for supporting the women's game yeah I think and I feel like tonight and I'm seeing this um these comments in the chat too I'm like I do think tonight you know beating Japan three to nothing is a statement when I don't think Japan was at their best tonight I'm wondering was it the cold was it the altitude they were in Denver um was it the fact that this was the third game in a series we've talked about this a lot this week Japan is coming off of a six game tournament then all those players had to fly from Australia back to the club teams then to the US is did you

21:53think Japan tired did you think we just capitalized and played better what do you think was kind of the X factor tonight yeah I think that they're I mean if I'm Japan I know that the US is coming in after a loss on US soil to write their wrongs so you if you're on the Japan team you know that you're gonna have to like you're in for a real game tonight I think they arrived in Denver were shocked by the snow were not shocked but like you know it's altitude and I think yeah they're probably like we would have been good but just going home with like one one win and one loss yeah yeah no I I know I get that I feel like a three game window like is also just a lot for any team like it's three games in a week it's a lot and you traveled to three cities at least when you play three games in a week with your club team you're probably at home for at least one of them yeah and they're most of the players I mean what is it five NWSO players

22:58on Japan right now I think it might be four but don't quote so everyone yeah but everyone else is coming from Europe so like you know it's just like travel on travel and then I really just think that the snow was probably just like the cherry on top of like why are we here yeah yeah also and the US showed up like they looked good they looked confident the second half obviously we haven't really got there yet but I do think that they came out and were like we're ending this game and we're ending their hopes well so we're actually almost there I do want to like touch on the first half I think we all played Japan possession wise shots wise I want to talk about Sevilla Wilson for a minute I felt like she was really active I felt like she wanted to score she had like one of those really good chances where she kind of like had that half volley on the turn that eventually you know Naomi Gurma foreshadowing here headed and it went over she had a great turn where she just kind of like you know turned two defenders squeaked her way through that looked like

24:04you know such vintage sov so I felt like she had a positive game I felt like she just really wants to score I really want her to score but she was like just super active and I think did a lot of things right tonight yeah I think that the more she can get on the ball the more that she can just like get a feel for the things that she's used to doing and then I think at like any good forward you just have to keep trying and I think that her mentality is you know she clearly has mentality of that she's just going to keep trying and it's gonna feel more and more comfortable and she's gonna have success as she continues to just try yeah yeah I know I think she was involved in some good sequences we did generate some chances out of that just you know our build up play we had that one just before half time Claire Hutton when she hit the crossbar such a great combination play rose with like this great pass to Alyssa who played it to Claire and she just hits that that's like one of them I'm like so mad for Claire that it didn't go in because it was so well set up

25:10and like it feels so good coming off your foot and for it to just be like two inches basically too high is just like so annoying yeah and like what are you even supposed like what are you even supposed to do it's like what should I really have like aimed at two inches lower like I don't know if I like believe in that no I don't believe in that either I also think she did a really good job she like was patient she let it come across her body like she actually honestly did everything in my opinion she did everything right right she's that I just don't know if that I don't know if that goal was regulation I don't either I actually heard that you know maybe it got hit by the plow in the snow and the crossbar got a little lowered I don't know I'm being goofy okay what else going into halftime 00 but again I think a theme for this team has been coming out at halftime strong the we saw it in the first game we saw it in this game and at whatever is going on at halftime you know whatever Emma is saying whatever the the team is saying to like get back together

26:10I think really is working we did see one sub Tierna came off Kennedy Wesley came on but remember a few minutes ago when I said so fed that great chance and then Naomi had it over that actually happened to Naomi one other time where there were some ricochets in the box and she was high up it was a set piece maybe a corner kick and Naomi I think hit the second one right at the goalkeeper so she must have gone on at halftime been like if I get this chance again look at the mirror and said if I get this chance again it has to go in she gets that she gets the chance again and I can't help I want to talk about Japan in a second great for Naomi so pumped to see a center back score goal obviously I'm thrilled for her she you know I think she like learned from the reps before but I I Japan repeatedly had these balls offset pieces just bouncing around their box and players free to get them on target and that's where I'm a little bit like I think Japan needs to like button that up yeah it was actually I mean watching it back like I was a little bit surprised that the lack of

27:11different like discipline and tracking the player because it wasn't even like it was wasn't like it was a scramble that like got cleared and then the line had to drop again like it was a pretty two pass sequence where you see the player with Naomi and then you see her just stop and Naomi just like runs passer and is free at the back post which is not going to win Japan any major tournaments no I know and I just again thinking back to the first game we just had another you know rose scored off that corner kick so I guess I'm just curious but that I know it wasn't there you know regular shredding goalkeeper tonight and I wonder if that impacted their organization in the box but I am psyched that we are you know being effective on our set pieces it's like such a staple on such a backbone of this team the second goal was another like really beautiful sequence it again it's it's more attacking transition than I would say attacking organized but I think it was Lindsay

28:11played it straight to Trinity who turned in like Meg the Japanese defender as it went through on to Rose Level who was running onto it who was able to finish far post like low great finish such a quick and in like awesome moment to choose to go forward one of my I guess I'll say pet peeps is when it is on to transition forward and somebody makes like the mature decision to like keep it and go back and I'm I literally I'm just like not wired that way I'm like if you can go score goal like you have to try so I loved this decision to just go and I thought the run from Rose that's like why you have for there in the 10 is to kind of sometimes make that run in behind and be act like a nine and go score goal um and such a great pass from Trinity I thought you know we're not seeing the Trinity that we necessarily saw at the 2024 Olympics but the fact that she's getting these assists I think is like an evolution and so I was really happy to see her with this turn and assist to Rose's goal yeah and I think like this was kind of an example of like she didn't hesitate like she saw Rose's run and she was like I'm gonna try to make this happen

29:15even though like the opening wasn't like the most clear like I think some people would have looked at the run and been like I see it but I can't really get this here and I do like that Trinity was just like the risk like the reward is worth the risk um I also think it was a super classy finish by Rose she I felt like she was one V1 for so long the defender was closing and she just looked so composed slots it in far post I was just like good for her because this is just like uh someone to your point like you would you love a 10 who's that comfortable in front of goal and Rose like very clearly in those situations does not get rattled yeah I I was really impressed with it and Rose is just goal contributions in her last several games with the national team um with you know just I think she's just playing really consistently for the national team um and I just love seeing her name on the score sheet with goals and assists we started making some subs we're like moving more into the

30:16second half now Jaden shall Avery Patterson and Sam coffee come in off the bench and obviously Kennedy Wesley had subbed it at halftime for Tierna but I'm excluding that for a second because Jaden Avery and Sam coffee you know to me that felt like the next kind of really strongest like where I was like these could be I mean especially Jaden could be first sub off the bench vibe as we start to move forward and think more about who are the eleven but really who are the 14 who may be playing really in every game those first three subs Jaden feels like she could become one of those um did you think what did you make of the subs in the timing and the order in which they came in yeah I mean I think right excluding um Kennedy I think it's tough for me with um the subs because they have so much talent and I do think to your point like anyone you could really start to like interchange I do think Avery Patterson she got to play

31:16on the right in the second game um to me she just looks a little bit more comfortable obviously Emily Fox has in my opinion I know Emily Fox walked up even even though you were upset about the ponytail situation um from our goal against in the first game and maybe and you know what Mary rightly so um I think she heard me and her bun looked super secure and locked in um Fox we don't talk about Foxy enough because I think we all are just like yeah she's got it and she's so good it's not that there's nothing to say it's that I just think everybody agrees so it's almost like one of those things that it's just like Foxy like check yeah we all I mean so good so talented just very decisive but yeah I think for Avery like I do think she's very talented and I think she's good I I don't like him in I think one of her first plays I was like she just did like laterally so many moves she rolled the ball I saw that I saw that I know I I liked it and that

32:26to me it's that's giving like confidence totally like I I'm not rolling the ball under my foot twice in a row if I'm not feeling like I can and then did a step over I think and then cross I know I know I'm I'm here for that um I also I was excited to see Sam coffee come in um you know I don't know what conversations are had with these players about the midfield and the selection but not seeing Sam coffee start was like a an eye opener to me um I think that she is a starter um and it was interesting to see a different combination in the midfield and as I said before I think there are several combinations of this midfield that could start as we move through a tournament and so um happy to see her come in I think she's just like you know always kind of a solid secure player in the midfield um can we Wesley then scores another goal off of a corner get goal in the cisper center back tonight um I'm really excited to talk to Becky Sauer Brun on good vibes next week about the center backs and their goal contributions because I think

33:29she's gonna probably have a lot to say um and yeah just another example of our you know our set feasibility I think this one was really good just more and a more intentional um you know she's she's running in and finishing it straight it's like a actually a really hard finish um so I thought that was incredible yeah I thought it was a great ball by Jay puts in an dangerous spot and it was just like who wants more I mean it kind of was to me a little bit similar to Rose's goal in the first game which is just like yeah eating your defender to a ball in the box and like wanting it more yeah yeah I would like to sort of get it on frame totally and she got it on frame I would like to go back to something I'm gonna have a maybe a little bit of a hot take here but like hear me out Sam coffee this game she goes in whatever three zero but let's say that it is the world cup and it's the semi-final and maybe the US is winning one zero or it's tied it's like you coming in at that time in a six or a field position is a lot of pressure and so to be

34:35able to have someone that you're confident would be like composed and when balls and close out a game that's the skill too and I think of the three of them whoever ends up maybe playing that role it's going to be really important and so I think that that's a skill that they should be proud to have as well well Mary I that I really appreciate that coming from you and I think we talked about this Mary was with us on good vibes earlier this week and we got a great question at the end of the episode about well maybe this was actually on your episode a couple weeks ago but um to your point it's like the role of a sub is not and shouldn't be just like you know either go in and be selfish and prove yourself to the coach in a world cup the role of a sub is whatever the team needs you to do and having veterans coming in as subs is such a weapon like and that's where sometimes I think when we look at some previous world cup rosters coaches take more veterans than

35:36you'd maybe think when you see like a late addition or um like at my world cup in 2019 Ali Krieger ended up making the team unless she hadn't been in every camp leading up to it and it really and then she ended up subbing in in the final and it's like who do you want subbing in in this moment somebody who's scared and this is their first big moment or somebody who's like done this before and that's where I love the youth and I'm all for it and Emma always talks about how she's not developing us just for 27 27 but also for the future but there does come a time when you have to kind of be like if we're subbing somebody into a world cup final they need to be able to handle that and obviously your example being Sam coffee yeah I think Sam coffee will be starting a real cup final but those subs are it's crucial that they're not like scared and so maybe aging the roster or experiencing the roster towards you know those more experienced players is something to consider yeah and I just think and like maybe to your point like Emma saying that she want to see

36:42Claire and Lindsay maybe it's because she's like okay this is a relationship that will be later in the game if Sam's for sure starting so it's just like blocking in those later in the game partnerships are also important especially in important major tournaments and games for sure now you have my gears turning and I'm now I'm just thinking I'm thinking this through thinking it all through um okay we saw several more subs come in Michelle Cooper Ali set in our Olivia Moultry eventually Lily Johannes Lily Reel came in as well I think I want to start to summarize and then we're gonna get to all of our callers who I'm so excited to hear from um we've talked a lot about Claire Hutton thought she had a great game I wish her shot went in thought Claudia Dickie had another great game she had you know a handful of saves one of them I remember was like a really hard shot saved with both hands looked very solid who else do you think is leaving this camp maybe feeling better than they came into it or just like feeling more solid more confident well I have to assume after tonight's game Kenny Wesley is like having the time of her

37:44life dream come true literally couldn't get into that I think Avery Patterson I feel like had a good camp um Claire probably we talked about that but yeah I don't I think that there's no one that's like really was like supers as prize besides Kenny Kenny Wesley's game tonight yeah and here and I know getting her first start again I know I know we we didn't celebrate that enough that's a really good and that's a really good point um okay chat let us know who you think made a big impression in a good way which is El Talmson great suggestion ju ju wo so thank you um yeah let's see what else we got Johannes is definitely in for the world cup love that um okay Mary we beat Japan twice we lost once I think when I think about how much like emphasis we put on this window and this opportunity to play Japan three times it was really unique because Japan is so

38:48good we got tested in multiple different ways but I think also kind of like this is like maybe exactly what I would have predicted had I predicted how the week would go we'll start our regular starters we'll play great but it'll be a tough game we'll win it'll be close we'll change some things up I did kind of I didn't you know know the order but I did figure that Japan would get a win I have so much respect for Japan you it's tough to play the same team three times in a row and I think Japan getting a win in this window makes sense and then I think again like kind of us feeling fueled from that and kind of resurfacing our more of our regular starting group and feeling like well we're definitely not losing again this team hates to lose we don't lose um we had more of like a celebratory win tonight three to nothing the girls looked like they were having fun it's so fun to see Naomi German Sophie Wilson jumping around together um so huge like opportunity in growth for us this window what are you really taking away from that like what does it mean to you

39:50to see our results against a team like Japan and what do you think this window is teaching us in time for next summer yeah well I mean I think that they obviously are from like they just finish these you've got they finished first in their confeder what is that called confederation yeah confederation yeah nailed it um and so I think just like getting you should have just said it I know because if it was wrong but I think getting to compare yourself to a top team from a different confederation is always important I think that I appreciate that I feel like Emma values playing tough games and really testing the team and seeing who can handle that kind of pressure I appreciate that about her and I think also just like getting three games in the window like shorts unconventional but I think especially with like people being a little bit more spread

40:51not being on the same schedule if you can get three real games in that people are like locked in and focused for rather than just training why not maximize your time together yeah yeah yeah totally I think it was such a great test for us I guess where do you think taking in that Japan won the Asian Cup and then played like this against us where do you think Japan is in terms of like comparing them to the rest of the world right now is this a team we could see in a world cup final is this a team we could see in a world cup semi final like how do you think they are going to match up next summer well Sam you're asking some difficult questions I think there's a lot of talent on Japan I am interested to see who they bring in as the new coach and what that person values and if that person values yeah big question a different type of player then I think it's like even really too soon to say I know that they're going to be good they're

41:56always going to be good but yeah I think there's a few things that if I were coach I would try to tweak a little bit and maybe I give them a semi final at the world cup that's what that is what I was going to say I'm not just jumping on the same bandwagon you're so obsessed with me they they do they feel um and they have a year but they do feel like maybe they are missing maybe something in that final third piece and I'll honestly also want defensive set pieces I don't really know what's going on there um so they also they feel like a semi finalist to me um did you watch any of that England spit that obviously now that we're talking about the world cup semi finals and imagine what they are there was that England Spain game on earlier in the week um Lauren hemp scored that goal that was just barely over the line and literally marry when I saw that um the VAR like review of that of that goal I googled the a listen there penalty kick that was like over the

42:58and I like it was like such a flashback of like a traumatic moment of like realizing that we lost um so I just wanted to bring that one up and see if anybody else felt the same way and was like I don't want to ever see this image again I actually didn't I thought about the same thing and I was like it's just so controversial like goal line technology and the shape of the ball and that the line is straight in the ball it's curved it's all that say that well I don't I don't I don't understand the physics of all of that so that's none of my business honestly personally this year experience the NHL playoffs your way when I watch a single do or die game seven a full week of heavy hitting back and forth series then check out slings one three and seven day passes watch the chase for the cup on ESPN and TNT starting as low as 499 no long-term contracts are overpaying just live hockey at home or when you want it sling lets you do that visit sling.com

44:02to learn more okay everybody I hope we got you riled up because it's time for you to call in um we want to hear from you so if you want to join us scan the QR code uh you're going to go into zoom with our producer Marcella Marcella is going to have your question lined up we're going to call on you and we would love for you to take yourself off mute tell us where you're from and then ask your question um if you don't want to ask a question give us a like follow subscribe love you guys um okay up first Avery you're back I'm so happy that you're back awesome me hi hi Avery we missed you on Tuesday but it it was really late well I tried to stay up and then like I sort of fell asleep and then woke up two minutes after it ended so it's it's so understandable it was really hard to stay up um but I'm so glad that you're here tonight uh what questions you have for us so my question is if the USM national team were to

45:04play the World Cup tomorrow what would your starting lesson be also aren't going to be in rolly before I go to the beach for vacation for a concert and a soccer camp clinic and I want some food racks I don't I already have an ice cream recommendation from Mary from good vibes on Tuesday but I want some food oh my gosh Avery such a great question um that would be the howling moon the howling cow howling cow the howling cow Mary what else do you have for Avery Avery do you like burgers yes okay you should go to the standard for a burger and then in the same parking lot is two roosters which is actually maybe even better ice cream okay I'll write this down to make sure I remember perfect okay Avery we we do have to go back to Avery's first question

46:08which is tough I'm gonna just I know I know I know I know we're put on this spot I'm gonna answer it I'm gonna answer it to the very best that I can um with the with you know who I think is available to select from okay uh Claudi Dicking goal I know me I agree left back is hard I'm gonna go jazel Thompson based on what we saw this week are you I agree I and then I okay midfield I would go Sam coffee Rosalind Zheeps I thought lindy heaps had such a great camp and really is just like I was just really impressed with it this week and I think you know she was coming off of not starting all the games that she believes and I think I feel like we need I feel like we play better with lindy heaps on the field so that's what I'm gonna say about that up top is also tough but I think you go Sophie Wilson Trinity Rodman of the Thompson I mean I think

47:12what we saw tonight was a solid selection I again Kamikara becoming back now swanson could be coming back a lot there are a lot of like moving parts in the forward department I am interested in Michelle Cooper so a lot remains to be seen but if I was you know picking based on what is available and what we saw um without throwing too many wrenches into the mix that's what I'd pick Meredith I agree I would I would maybe I would maybe a year from now say like tearna and sonnet might be my centerbacks but I don't know that's the only thing that I could maybe make an argument for fascinating I'm also gonna go out there and be like Lindy and Dolor a year from now Lindy and Dolor's you know she's my um okay everybody Avery great question you really challenged us there in more ways than one but

48:14we so appreciate you calling in and have a have a good vacation at the beach okay thank you okay all right bye Avery um up next we have Julia Julia can you take yourself off mute and tell us where you're from I'm Sam and Mary I'm Julia from Des Moines Iowa Des Moines okay welcome to the show Julia what's your question thank you so much um my question is inspired by Emma's metaphor about food all week I don't know if you've seen it but oh yeah always talking about these Michelin chefs and the players as ingredients which I love and I have this question I know go ahead sorry Julia no no I was just gonna say I like love the analogy but like I keep getting lost in it when I try to like repeat it back so I'm gonna have to study it a little bit more but Julia please keep going yeah no I agree completely um so I have this question that I famously

49:16love to ask people so I want to ask it to both of you which is if you were an appetizer what would you be and why together you know what the first thing that comes to my mind is are those buffalo chicken blasts from the cheesecake factory because I think I had them with you one time still delicious I think they're called buffalo blasts and why I was gonna say I was gonna say oh and why okay give us your why Mary for nachos yeah they're like a little spicy they're a little cheesy I'm spicy you're cheesy okay just kidding no but it's like a nice yeah this is a jab at Sam that's a tough question I do think nachos I think because it's like there's like a little bit of every type of seasoning but when you can't have one without the other and it's a nice complete

50:20bite when you get the perfect bite okay that was way better than my why my why I was just like because I like them and we had them together one time I didn't cheesecake factory and I feel like I just I feel like people from the east coast like appreciate buffalo chicken like a lot more than anybody totally and if you're you're getting it with blue cheese right obviously oh my god now I'm like nervous that we're gonna have like a lot of ranch people here and I just I do just have to tell well I do want to be in the chat I'm nervous I'm actually nervous but I am like if you're from California like do you think you like buffalo chicken as much as me like that like I need I've yet to like meet a west coast person that's like yeah buffalo chicken is my life there's no way I don't know I don't know if people are gonna um feel strongly I'm interested I'm interested to see I know if there's people from Boston on here that they will feel strongly um Julia this

51:24question took me down a crazy path I will say Julia and then you have an answer you do love buffalo chicken so you east coasters might have a run for your money with us here in the Midwest I don't know I think you have an answer to this question yeah um what am I or do we remind you of oh up of you guys oh gosh I think you gave perfect answers so I'll just stick with you said oh thank you well I'm saying okay Julia thank you so much for calling in shout out shout out Mary I don't know if you know about this yet but we have a we call the fans the listeners the hot dogs so it was uh Julia's on the inside get see in the yoke have to explain to Mary um Julia thank you so much for calling you're welcome to call anytime with questions about appetizers um this post game live has gone off through it a little

52:24bit but perfect for a Friday night I agree I'm seeing a lot of people who like ranch in here and I'm just like I mean I don't not like ranch but it's just got nothing on blue cheese I digress we need to take one to two more callers Gina um Gina take yourself off mute tell us where you're from hey can you hear me sure we sure can okay good this is my first time calling in first time call a long time list oh my gosh welcome thank you um I'm actually I'm I'm intended to see but I'm originally from Colorado and the weather out there um I was totally not surprised by it um actually March and April are the snowiest months in Colorado and it's a really heavy wet snow which is is probably why the ground was extra wet and extra fast tonight when it's uh in the winter it's a really light uh powdery snow so it doesn't melt as quickly

53:29so uh and plus the temperature was you know in the low 30s so it didn't have a chance to to really freeze up but anyway I want to thank you miss muis for turning me on to ollie pop oh oh my god Gina I know I have I have my root beer I have my orange squeeze my crisp apple and my ginger ale are we twins oh my god those are four of my top favorite flavors have you tried cream soda yet yes and uh I went what when I was younger I used to love cream soda and now I'm like okay I think I'd taste of change a little bit I still like it but not as much as I still um she's like yeah I've tried it not for me well no no I do like it but I it didn't it didn't grab on to

54:31we like the orange squeeze I hear yeah but yeah I just whoo I love that stuff I anyway I totally hear you Gina yeah ollie pop is literally the best um yeah I'm so excited to hear from you thank you so much for calling in what is your question my question is and I'm glad you guys have been touched on this tonight is the set pieces yeah um after you know if you remember in 2015 um Carly scored a first goal off a set piece off a corner and the the the way that set piece was constructed was just sheer brilliance and when the camera went to Jill Ellis's face when um she scored it she had this those look like yep exactly how we planned it and then I think uh Carly's next goal was a set piece and that was just brilliantly constructed and then in 2019 um

55:42um Megan Rapinoe's uh free kick against France that had we had everybody rushing into the box which uh blocked um I think but I but I the the the French goalkeeper blocker view which which enabled you know the ball to kind of skip through into the goal because she had so many monitors in front where she couldn't see it yep and I know I know I know I I feel like I know you know where you're going I know I was there I feel like I know where you're going with this to where in a world cup the set piece can be the difference between winning and not winning like I think we saw that especially in 2019 knowing we scored so many goals off of penalty kicks off of set pieces and the set pieces are such a detailed fine tuned thing um some of ours tonight like wet perfectly you know scoring the one I'm really liking that I

56:44do think is planned is we saw in the first game sam coffees free kick to Trinity at the far post who headed it back across for rose and then even tonight Kennedy Wesley did the same kind of plan I know that tonight was a corner kick but that feels to me like one of those intentional what's on against the opponent is playing it to the back post and heading it back across for that second phase finish and to me that's that's like such a good sign if this the staff and this team are executing on planned set pieces it's such an amazing feeling when you plan and practice a set piece and it actually comes off because when you do it in training you kind of feel like there's no way this is going to work like this is like we're just hoping that this is going to work and then when it actually works in a game it's such a unifying moment because the whole team and the whole staff feel like they collaborated together on something um so I love that you're bringing this up because I just think set pieces really can be the difference not just in a game like tonight but in an entire tournament you look at the importance of set pieces across seven

57:46games and it becomes so much bigger than just one you know what I mean yeah the the the thing with the real concern that I have the set pieces is right now we have virtually no aerial attack except for heaps you know when when we had like in 2015-2019 we had earths we had Lloyd we had Morgan we had Abby in 15 and so we I mean we terrified our opponents with our set pieces they literally did not know what they were going to get and we had so many targets in the box and then we we also have this we also have this tower power chick I can't remember her name yeah I mean I hear that I see that yeah I do hear that I think some players you know maybe

58:48if they're like a little bit less tall or maybe just a little bit less known for their aerial presence we'll have to step up like I think we should try to continue to be a threat in that way and there are some players out there who can continue to to work on that and maybe we'll just continue to see more from them I mean I think an interesting thing like tonight when seeing two center back scoring sometimes when you when you think about those aerial presence is in the box it is a center back yeah so I think it's an interesting one and something that we should definitely keep an eye on Gina so thank you so much for calling in for bringing it up for bringing us through so many great memories and for complimenting all the pop which you know we love thank you so much love by all right all right thank you so much Gina all right um an update because I know everybody's on the edge of their seats about this ranch is winning in the T w g poll in the chat 62 to 38 percent over blue cheese so that's how I know you're all from from from the west coast you know and I love that I'm out here I'm out here we just but we just disagree we just disagree um thank you

59:50all so much for calling in incredible questions uh this evening you are all actually in the best you are seventy seventy five rigged and I'm like yeah I don't know uh the YouTube team is definitely ranch people and they're uh they're doing this whole thing um okay thank you all so much for calling in Mary last question for you and then we're going to let you go you have played on the courage with so many international players Brazilians players from this Japanese team so Sullivan from Ireland they haven't qualified yet but hopefully they will and we're starting to see these slots for the tournament fill up as teams are qualifying who do you think you'll be the most excited to watch in 2027 besides the US oh um that's a tough question I mean I'll say I mean right now based off of who is like at an international window with their country I will say Japan I you know I'm excited for Manaka I think her future is so bright she cares so much she's an

1:00:50extraordinary little person and I just would love for her to get to like experience a major tournament and have fun at it I know I know I think my answer is Australia to watch my sister in law Sam Kerr shocking crush it and also I'm gonna say Brazil like hosting a world cup is a huge deal I feel like Brazil have come so close like they got still like they're they've just come so close they're hosting I'm like hoping Marta's playing like I don't know if that has been a blast yet it would be so sick and so I'm excited to see Brazil like really represent and you know I think that they are poised to have a great tournament as well so lots of exciting teams that are qualified lots more to come um okay everybody it's time to go we're gonna see you all for teaming up on Monday good vibes on Tuesday we also have the unique opportunity to react to this camp with US women's national team captain Lindsey heaps next week with an all-new episode of the captain so please make sure that you're following along across all of our social media Instagram Threats Blue Sky

1:01:54TikTok at women's game MIB uh subscribe to the podcast feed you'll get alerts when the new episodes drop um you can send us an email anytime with questions compliments uh women's game MIB at menemblazers.com also we do have some new ish twg merch out which is very cool I wear the blue sweatshirt all the time the hats are amazing the t-shirts are really high quality um perfect for an international window or just whatever you're doing there's new color ways you can cheer on the team so head to the store via the link in our show notes that's it everybody thank you again so much to all of our collars to the entire team at the women's game men and blazers and thank you into marry my good friend thanks for having me and vermont soon I cannot wait okay everybody I'm again thank you for being here and I'll see you soon bye you

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