USWNT vs Japan Preview

This one is on at… 2am! Too bad the NBCOlympics website locks everyone out of their videos unless we are running *ahem* certain operating systems and browsers. Apparently NBC did this is for licensing purposes? Just a fyi, NBC legal team, you can get a lot of information off an IP address and requiring users to install extra software is not a pleasing experience. Big pet peeve of mine.

Speaking of pet peeves, another one is the torrents I find for the games. From what I understand, people are recording the video using a new format for camcorders that, I think, is on the XBox (not sure about that). Anyways, the files are around 5gigs. Downloading 5gigs off the internet, torrent or not, takes a pretty effin’ long time. I totally appreciate people going out of their way to post this stuff, but if I can offer a suggestion: use compression.

Right - end rant, Onward to the game! This is a must win, not only to ensure we advance out of our group, but also to boost our confidence a bit. I’ve been reading the blogs over at the WPS FanZone, and I think we fans could use a little dose of happy right about now. And the team is fired up and ready to provide. Carli Lloyd says: “We all need to come out mentally strong and focused because we have to win. We feel every game in an Olympic is a must win, but this one more than ever.” Yeah! Amy Rodriguez says: “I think we need be more dangerous in the attacking third in this next game, really push numbers forward, get into the box and challenge their goalkeeper to make some saves or make plays on crosses.” Right on! If I were to make a prediction, I’d say, we will win! But to put it all in a bit more perspective, Graham Hays wrote up a pretty good preview at the FanZone.

Japan’s not a pushover opponent, but it is an opponent against which the United States should be able to string together possession and generate some goals. That could be a recipe for sticking with the same lineup in hopes of better results, and pending news on Lori Chalupny’s availability, but it’s also an opportunity for change. As was the case throughout the World Cup, the United States needs to connect more through the midfield instead of gambling on long balls. And as was the case last fall, that means it’s time to start querying the whereabouts of Aly Wagner. Healthier now than she was last fall, Wagner is the best playmaking option on a roster that looked short on them against Norway. Even in a best-case scenario, she won’t fix all that ails the American attack, but working in conjunction with Heather O’Reilly and Lindsay Tarpley’s tireless work on the flanks and Mitts’ overlapping runs, she could help put Natasha Kai in a better position to make use of her finishing skills.

And to add more info to Hays’ preview, Chalupny’s status won’t be announced until game-day. So, in all seriousness, I’d say, we are not overflowing with confidence but we are still hopeful. But I don’t want to leave everyone on a somber note, so here are some words form our fearless leader, Pia: “[Japan, when they played New Zealand] didn’t have a good start and they had a hard time playing under pressure, but they came back well in the second half. When they have a lot of time and space, they knock it around pretty nicely in the attacking third. They don’t hit too many crosses, but they are tricky, technical players who play one-two touch and try to find that shooting chance. Over the 90 minutes, they played poorly, and also very good, so in our match, a lot depends on how we play and how we start the game.” Sounds good to me.