Shadow Scholar Syndicate: FWM/CA/N 2019--Day Eighteen Recap

Your “Syndicate Hangover” is proudly presented by “Perrier”

Your friendly bookie remains more of a San Pellegrino man, but we’ll accord the hosts some respect for their second-rate club soda. Along with La Croix, it’s an acceptable option when the only other alternative happens to be Seltzer Water.

Day 18: Recap

Bookie’s Stats—

Spread: 30-37

Straight up: 43-17-7

We’ll go ahead and file with the two Copa America games still on tape. Grrr…fucking Swedes continue to cost the bookie money. Guess we Germans will just have to crush them again on Saturday, just like we always do. A fun one from the American girls, but the day belongs to Adama Traore. Which Adama Traore you ask?

I don’t know! They both scored! Goddamn Voltan naming practices!

From CAN 2019—Round One:

Les Aigles never field a team that doesn’t at least have two players with the exact same name. This year matters have breached the realm of “truly fucking ridiculous.” Just wait.

In previous editions we’ve differentiated between the various Keitas, Diabys and Koulibalys by listing the year of their birth. Sadly, that won’t work here.

There are two Adama Traorés on this team, both projected to start in central midfield. Both players were born in June 1995 within a couple of weeks of one another. We thus can’t differentiate based on their ages either. Both are roughly the same height, play the same position, and were even born in the same city. They even both play professionally in France, one for Monaco and the other for Metz.

To obviate confusion, we’ll henceforth refer to FC Metz midfielder Adama Traoré as “Adama Traoré-M” and AS Monaco prospect Adama Traoré “Adama Traoré-B” as he’s actually out on loan at Brugge. Phrew. Glad we got that taken care of.

All the bookie can tell you is that #21 (far right in the first picture) now goes by the name "Adama Noss". I think he's the Metz player. #7 (left in the second picture) retains "Adama Traoré" even though he's sometimes referred to as "Adama Nianne". He's likely the Brugge man.

Note that I could absolutely be wrong about this....

S.S.S. Tactical Breakdown

A solid win from the U.S. Girls today. Some describe the two penalties as “soft”. Bookie wouldn’t go that far. I’d label them “borderline”. In any event, Morgan took some nasty knocks that weren’t even called. Karmically speaking we’re all good.

As promised, we’ll also catch up with ze French. How formidable are the U.S. girls’ next opponent

Lineup—USA—Match Four (Projected) (4-3-3) (6/21/2019)

Megan Rapinoe Alex Morgan Tobin Heath

Julie Ertz

Lindsey Horan Rose Lavelle

Crystal Dunn Kelley O’Hara

Becky Sauerbrunn Abby Dahlkemper

Alyssa Naeher

Lineup—USA—Match Four (Actual) (4-1-2-3) (6/24/2019)

Megan Rapinoe Alex Morgan Tobin Heath

Sam Mewis Rose Lavelle

Julie Ertz

Crystal Dunn Kelley O’Hara

Becky Sauerbrunn Abby Dahlkemper

Alyssa Naeher

Two changes from Jill Ellis. The first was actually not all that surprising as many had expected the streaking Sam Mewis to receive the nod over Lindsey Horan in midfield. The second, a tactical tweak, came as more of a surprise. As far as I could tell, Julie Ertz’s positioning was inverted, placing her just above the defensive line.

If she was given the green light to join the attack, she certainly didn’t make use of it. Moreover, she didn’t engage in any sweeper duties. One assumes her task was to remain on that third axis, potentially drawing as much coverage from the Spanish 4-5-1 as possible. For most of the first half she immediately touched the ball back to the centerbacks whenever they passed to her, suggesting that this might have been the case.

Forward momentum for much of the initial 45 came from Beck Sauerbrunn, Crystal Dunn, and Abby Dahlkemper. It appeared that, much like German manager Martina Voss-Tecklenburg in the opening stages of the second group stage match, Ellis was willing to concede the midfield. Same strategy with different execution. While the Germans ceded midfield possession to the Spaniards, the Americans bypassed the midfield entirely and sought to either chuck long upfield balls to their strikers or have the left fullback charge forward and cross. Kelley O’Hara also came forward and worked in some diagonals.

Apart from a couple of sparkling individual runs from Rose Lavelle, it seemed as if the center of the pitch wasn’t even in the game plan. Mewis looked completely lost. She couldn’t seem to figure out a way of getting into any sort of position. Alex Morgan had similar problems, though she was being very harried by a crowded pocket of Spanish midfielders, not to mention being effectively marked by Mapi Leon and Irene Paredes whenever someone sent her a hopeful ball.

The confused pair looked much more comfortable after the restart. Morgan actually dropped back at times to make room for Mewis centrally. The new addition to the lineup produced some very nice moments including an incisive run on the left near the hour mark and a fantastic effort on the turn from just outside the 18 in 65^th. Though the finishing touch was lacking, we witnessed a much more fluid performance from all the players in the second half. They grew more comfortable with each other and made use of the entire pitch. A bit more lateral play would have been nice. Unfortunately, a still swollen Spanish midfield left them short of options.

All three substitutions can be accurately described as “Time Killers”. Hence, only the original eleven earn grades.

Grades—USA (Match Four)

Crystal Dunn	A+
Kelley O’Hara	A+
Rose Lavelle	A+
Tobin Heath	A
Becky Sauerbrunn	A-
Abby Dahlkemper	A-
Sam Mewis	B+
Megan Rapinoe	B
Alex Morgan	B-
Alyssa Naeher	C+
Julie Ertz	C

Dunn goes from being the worst USWNT player on the pitch in the previous encounter to being the undisputed best today. Phenomenal stuff from her on both sides of the ball. I cannot emphasize enough what an amazing athlete she is. Rose Lavelle simply glides in possession. She’s so silky smooth one might mistake her for a figure skater. So beautiful to watch. Centerbacks Dahlkemper and Sauerbrunn had their issues, but were mostly rock solid in defense. The communication breakdown that led to the Spanish goal was more Alyssa Naeher’s fault. It was not a particularly good match for the U.S. Keeper. She got caught out on a couple of occasions and made some suspect ball-handling decisions.

Rapinoe had some very poor efforts, but obviously must receive high marks for confidently converting two penalties. She didn’t even change her spot on the second. Extremely gutsy move from the U.S. captain. Morgan barely got an offensive touch in, but bailed the team the team out with two life-saving defensive clearances at the tail end of her shift.

One hesitates to grade Ertz so harshly as she was clearly given a totally new set of instructions after sitting out the last match. In the end one simply has to. Poor touches, bad misses, and not one single idea from the talisman. Even extremely talented players have their off days. It’s doubtful we’ll see one again from her for the rest of the tournament.

Looking ahead to the match against hosts France on Friday, I don’t really identify any serious issues that may imperil the USWNT’s quest to retain their title. After getting off to a flying start, nearly all of the French star players have dipped significantly in form. In addition to this, Corinne Diacre has observably struggled to piece together an especially threatening XI.

It very well may be the case that the U.S. Women faced the more challenging opponent today. Consider the test passed, albeit not in the prettiest of fashions.

Lineup—France—Match Four (4-4-2) (6/23/2019)

Eugenie Le Sommer Valerie Gauvin

Viviane Asseyi Kadidiatou Diani

Elise Bussaglia Amandine Henry

Amel Majri Marion Torrent

Wendie Renard Griedge Mblock Bathy

Sarah Bouhaddi

Oh-la-la. This one was the worst of all! Pepe le-fucking-Pew. How can all of that talent produce so little? Why drop Cascarino? Asseyi on the flank? I agree with the decision to drop Thiney after her nebbish performances, but they don’t have a real solution in midfield. This team is loaded up with strikers, but Bussaglia, Bilbault, and Thiney are the only real options in the middle of the park. Combined age? 95 years. Not good. It won’t fly against the States.

Bookie had Grace Geyoro as Amandine Henry’s partner in his original projection. It made perfect sense! She did well enough in a right central defensive midfield role in FEM 2017, particularly when it came to winning balls. That’s precisely what this team needs in midfield. They keep getting outmuscled in that area and Sam Mewis will surely punch them in the throat.

It’s too late to introduce the 21-year-old now. Diacre’s best bet is to keep Henry in that position and give either Bussaglia or Thiney another shot. We saw them re-format to a 4-3-3 in extra time against the Brazilians with Le Sommer center, Cascarino left and Diani right. This actually worked out rather well for Diani, but the other two were twisted out of place.

While reserving the right to change his mind before completing the quarterfinal lines, bookie will attempt to build in anticipation of the U.S.

Lineup—France—Match Five (Projected) (4-3-3) (6/24/2019)

Eugenie Le Sommer Delphine Cascarino

Kadidiatou Diani

Elise Bussaglia Amandine Henry

Amel Majri Gaëthine Thiney Marion Torrent

Wendie Renard Griedge Mblock Bathy

Sarah Bouhaddi

A return to the false-9 seems the best bet, even if it didn’t exactly work out for Hermoso and the Spaniards today. Maybe they can poach a goal too. Essentially the lineup from the first match, but I’m flipping Thiney and Bussaglia. Geyoro is just too green. She’s played all of eight minutes or so in this competition.

They’re going to have to win some set pieces if they hope to prevail. That’s all that Renard and Mblock Bathy have left to contribute on. Not only have they both been awful since that first match, they’re surely exhausted after logging maximum minutes…plus extra time…plus a tight turnaround.

Love my French girls, but this sputtering Peugot is playing chicken with a Mack Truck. I can’t believe some American commentators are picking the French; some are even spewing crap about how the U.S. should have deliberately lost to Sweden to avoid the French side of the bracket. What tourney are you cats watching?

Hate to bring up Claire Lavogez, but it’s waterworks time.

“Riffs of the Day”—Day Eighteen

Reader: You should have titled this chapter “Syndicate: Cerberus”

Vicey: I actually thought about it, 37-M. In the end it was too E. Nomine for the bookie’s tastes.

Reader: I’m a USA fan, but I’m not an outlaw.

Vicey: Good for you, 11-M. Let’s bring back “Sam’s Army”. Presumably the guys who came up with the whole “American Outlaw” thing are okay dudes, but is it really fans of countries that live in abject poverty?

A hypothetical: Say the U.S. is playing a friendly against Brazil in Rio. A bunch of slum kids from a favela, i.e. kids that are in actual danger of becoming actual “Outlaws”, get some comped tickets at the Maracana. They’ve never witnessed such opulence. It’s an entirely new experience for them. It may fundamentally alter their trajectory in life.

Then they meet a bunch of Abercrombie-clad rich white guys from the U.S. Suburbs traveling on their parents’ money and drinking craft beer. These men fancy themselves “Outlaws” and chant things like “USA a’int nothing to fuck with!”

Something’s very wrong with this picture.

Reader: To answer your question, Jorge Perez Navarro is calling the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Vicey: Well…that “super-dooper sucks”

Reader: Why is Marta yelling at me?

Vicey: I thought she was yelling at me, 37-M. Still not a fan of the lipstick. In point of fact, I don’t really think women need cosmetics at all. If it makes you feel better about yourself that’s cool, but I love you just the way you are ; )

Reader: More Hope Solo shots in the stands…

Vicey: I know, I know. Why can’t we just move on? We’ve quite literally seen all there is to be seen. I mean, LITERALLY. I want to “unsee” what I’ve seen. Nothing more to see.

DAY NINETEEN—PREVIEW

Italy vs. China PR