2015 FIFA Women's World Cup

[gettlemanjack]

yesterday on FS1, the USWNT beat #25 Mexico 5-1 at the StubHub Center (home to the Los Angeles Galaxy of MLS). U.S. is 31-1-1 in the series, outscoring Mexico 139-12.

Up next, the USWNT heads to the east coast for a game vs #18 South Korea (who the US is 9-0-1 against), and then it's to Canada to the World Cup:

Sat May 30, 2015 (4:30 PM ET) - WNT vs #18 Korea Republic

Red Bull Arena (home to New York Red Bulls of MLS)

ESPN

WORLD CUP, Group D

Mon June 8, 2015 (7:30 PM ET) - WNT vs #10 Australia

Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada

FOX Sports

Fri June 12, 2015 (8 PM ET) - WNT vs #5 Sweden

Winnipeg Stadium; Winnipeg, Canada

FOX Sports

Tues June 16, 2015 (8 PM ET) - WNT vs African Champions Nigeria

BC Place; Vancouver, Canada

FOX Sports

[gettlemanjack]

USWNT's history in the World Cup:

1991 - CHAMPIONS

1995 - 3rd place

1999 - CHAMPIONS

2003 - 3rd place

2007 - 3rd place

2011 - Runners-up

2015 - ?

[gettlemanjack]

the six venues for the 2015 Women's World Cup:

Olympic Stadium (Stade Olympique)

-home (big games only) of the Montréal Impact of the MLS

-home (big games only) of the Montréal Alouettes of the CFL

-Montréal (the 2nd-largest city in Canada)

BC Place

-home of Vancouver Whitecaps FC of MLS

-home of the British Columbia Lions of the CFL

-Vancouver (the 3rd-largest city in Canada)

Lansdowne Stadium

-home of Ottawa Fury FC of the NASL

-home of the Ottawa Redblacks of the CFL

-Ottawa (the 4th-largest city in Canada and Canada's capital)

Commonwealth Stadium

-home of FC Edmonton of the NASL

-home of the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL

-Edmonton (the 6th-largest city in Canada)

Winnipeg Stadium

-home of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the CFL

-Winnipeg (the 8th-largest city in Canada)

Moncton Stadium

-home of the Université de Moncton Aigles Bleus (Blue Eagles)

-Moncton (largest city in New Brunswick and 2nd-largest city in Canada's three easternmost provinces, the Maritime Provinces)

[gettlemanjack]

The 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup runs from June 6-July 5 and all 52 games will be shown live on FOX, FOX Sports 1, FOX Sports 2 and on tablets and mobile devices through the FOX Sports GO app and FOXSportsGO.com

24 teams from 6 continents: (Listed is the current FIFA World Rankings)

-North America: #8 Canada (host nation), #2 US, #25 Mexico, #37 Costa Rica

-Europe: #1 Germany, #3 France, #5 Sweden, #6 England, #11 Norway, #12 Netherlands, #14 Spain, #19 Switzerland

-Asia: #4 Japan, #16 China, #18 South Korea, #29 Thailand

-South America: #7 Brazil, #28 Columbia, #48 Ecuador

-Australia: #10 Australia, #17 New Zealand

-Africa: #33 Nigeria, #53 Cameroon, #67 Ivory Coast

The top two teams not in the World Cup:

#9 North Korea - banned for testing postive for PEDs

#13 Italy - in UEFA qualification, lost their group to #14 Spain, then were knocked out by #12 Netherlands in the play-offs that decided the eighth and final UEFA qualifier

[gettlemanjack]

The top 6 seeds each headline a group of 4: (Listed is the current FIFA World Rankings)

#1 Germany (drew #11 Norway, #29 Thailand, #67 Ivory Coast)

#2 USA (drew #5 Sweden, #10 Australia, #33 Nigeria)

#3 France (drew #6 England, #25 Mexico, #28 Colombia)

#4 Japan (drew #19 Switzerland, #48 Ecuador, #53 Cameroon)

#7 Brazil (drew #14 Spain, #18 South Korea, #37 Costa Rica)

#8 Canada/host (drew #12 Netherlands, #16 China, #17 New Zealand)

The Round of 16 will consist of

the 6 group winners

the 6 group runners-up

4 of the 6 group 3rd place finshers

[gettlemanjack]

Last Women's World Cup (2011), Japan was the Champions, defeating the US in the final

[PandaPancake]

Did Solo ever get suspended?

[Ja Rhule]

This would have been a good thread but Gettlemanjack will account for 99.5% of all posts.

[gettlemanjack]

Did Solo ever get suspended?

On January 13, 2015, the judge dismissed the charges against Solo

On January 21, 2015, Solo was suspended by the national team for thirty days.

She's back now

[gettlemanjack]

Associated Press Sports Writer for women's soccer

Anne M. Peterson @AnnieMPeterson

May 10

Hope Solo with her grandma

grandma not quite as cute

[gettlemanjack]

NBC:

-This will be the first World Cup – men’s or women’s – played on artificial turf [all six stadiums will have artificial turf)

-Toronto is not one of the host cities, since the city is hosting the Pan-American Games a few days after the World Cup ends (i was wondering why Toronto wasn't one of them)

-the official poster of this World Cup is a simple but artistic display that incorporates the six host cities:

http://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/womens-soccer/womens-world-cup-100-things-know

[gettlemanjack]

PEOPLE Magazine staff writer Johnny Dodd @ Johnny_Dodd

May 5

Just spent some quality time with Hope Solo, our planet's greatest female goal keeper, and her poultry!

[gettlemanjack]

Hope Solo

[gettlemanjack]

NBC:

-A record 128 nations participated in World Cup qualifying, including 46 from Europe.

-USA has never finished worse than third at a Women’s World Cup, the only nation to have ever reached the semifinals all six times. That streak looks to be in danger now more than in any previous buildup to a World Cup.

-Expect to hear a lot about how ‘the world is catching up’ and that ‘the world has caught up.’ It’s the short-hand way of explaining the United States’ fall from the top of the world hierarchy.

-France (ranked #3 by FIFA) is the best team in the world on current form, beating Germany, Brazil and the United States over the past four months. ... France is the neutrals’ favorite team right now ... France, the best team in the world right now, is better off finishing second in Group F. Winning Group F almost certainly means facing Germany in the quarterfinals after a relatively easy Round of 16 game. ... When Germany and France – the two best teams in the world right now – have to play in a quarterfinal, you can thank FIFA [for a poor decision is rhe way the tournament was seeded]

-Switzerland tied France for the most dominant qualifying triumph, winning its group by nine points and conceding only one goal [and Switzerland had #15 Denmark and #20 Iceland in their group...while France had #24 Finland and #26 Iceland. Germany and England won their groups by eight points]

-The past two years in German soccer have included: two FIFA World Player of the Year awards (goalkeeper Nadine Angerer in 2013 and midfielder Nadine Kessler in 2014), two FIFA World Coaches of the Year (Germany national team coach Silvia Neid in 2013 and VfL Wolfsburg coach Ralf Kellerman in 2014), a UEFA Champions League repeat by Wolfsburg in 2013 and 2014 and a European Championship crown for Germany in 2013. The Germans also moved up to No. 1 in the world rankings in December, ending a nearly seven-year reign for the United States.

http://www.nbcsports.com/soccer/womens-soccer/womens-world-cup-100-things-know

update: Nadine Kessler is now out for the World Cup...

Sam Ficarro @ samfic96

24h

WOW. MASSIVE news out of Germany as they officially

announce that FIFA World Player of the Year Nadine Kessler is

OUT of WWC. HUGE loss.

CanIKeepThisPen @ CanIKeepThisPen

24h

FIFA player of the year Nadine Keßler out with a knee injury.

Wow. Huge blow for Germany.

Ria @ RiaElinor

24h

So sad to hear Nadine Kessler won't be playing in the WWC.. the

German team will be down

My name is Huy @ sharoned94

May 17

It's such a huge loss not to see Nadine Kessler on the pitch in

the upcoming WWC

Coach Litz @ CoachLitz

14h

Wow Nadine Kessler out for the world cup. I always feel bad for

injured players at the world cup. Good for the USA.

Nadine Kessler of Germany: out for WC