It’s not 100% that it must be deliberate. If a player’s arm is in an “unnatural” position like outstretched or above the head, the ref can call it even if not deliberate.
It’s often a judgment call as to how far away from the body the arm is and if that is far enough to trigger the call. In this case her arm was very close to her body so the ref waved it off. There have been some questionable calls earlier, but that one didn’t seem egregious to me.
One of the braodcasters stated the USA’s game plan was to allow France to possess the ball as much as they wanted, because the US felt that France doesn’t know what to do with the ball. That sounds crazy to me at this level of play, but that’s what he/she said.
I meant that the commentators let it go and didn’t make a huge deal about it. Had France tied the game we would have heard a lot more, I think.
If the defenders hands and/or arms are in an “unnatural position,” then that sounds an awful lot like “deliberate” to me.
in the 2-2 game England was the better team for large parts of the game as well. Hopefully no letdown for the US like what happened against Japan 8 years ago after the impossible comeback against Brazil 3 days prior.
Amazing, amazing game. It’s now 12:15 am and I don’t know when I’ll sleep. I have too much adrenaline running through my veins…??
@ProfessorPlum168 , the US team did not play Japan 3 days after they beat Brazil in the thriller ending. They played France 3 days later in the semis and defeated them 3-1. They didn’t play Japan until a week after the Brazil game, losing in a poor PK showing of 3-1 after the 2-2 tie in regulation and overtime .
Every 4 years, we enthusiastically cheer on the USA in the World Cup, but this year it has been especially exciting. My son was married in February and his wife’s dream was to go to the World Cup Finals for the honeymoon. They postponed their honeymoon and bought tickets to both semi-finals and the finals, hoping of course to see the US team play but excited to go games of this level regardless. They landed in Amsterdam yesterday, dropped their bags at their hotel and headed to a pub to watch the game. They are beyond excited to head to Lyon on Monday! Go USA!
My son texted that when the other fans in the pub heard their story, they were cheering for the US as well. So today, they were headed back to cheer for the Netherlands with the Dutch folks who were so nice to them yesterday!
It’s very exciting to watch a game where you don’t have to root for a particular team. (Like, your own.) You just root for everyone and applaud every instance of athletic miracle. I yelled when Germany scored, yelled when Sweden did. So much fun.
I’m in a bar with both Swedish and German fans. Everyone’s cheering like crazy but being respectful of each other. We’re in Geneva, so on neutral ground.
Some nice goals so far.
Not sure why it isn’t really as hot a topic and talked about as previous teams. I’m glad they are playing great and hope they win. They are so talented. But something is missing in terms of interest and excitement. I remember the last few as must watch TV for lots of my friends and family. Not this time around. Any thoughts why. Or is it just in my little world.
@privatebanker, spoiled to too much success?
Yeah you’re probably right.
@privatebanker - my experience feels different than yours. My circles are at least as excited about this cup as the last one.
For the game yesterday, the bar closest to my office was as packed as it is for daytime USMNT world cup games
I haven’t seen the TV ratings for this WC, but the 2015 WC was played in Canada, 2011 WC was played in Germany. For me on the West Coast, games are being played at 9 AM and Noon. Those aren’t optimal times for TV viewing.
Also, the Gold Cup and Copa America tournaments are being played right now too. And the US men are in the quarterfinals playing Curaçao tomorrow and they’re looking very good. We only have so much bandwidth.
@sushiritto – games for US games have been generally down from 2015. But as you note, this is an apples/oranges comparison due to many of the 2015 being in prime-time.
But overall ratings for the entire tournament are up.
The overnight rating for US/France beat the rating for the US quarter-final on 2015
When I went for a bike ride with my (male) biking friends they brought up the World Cup. My son and I text back and forth during the game. So I have a different experience than you, @privatebanker, as my circle seems interested in the tournament.
I don’t remember an earlier time when boys wore jerseys of female athletes. https://www.chicagotribune.com/columns/heidi-stevens/ct-heidi-stevens-thursday-boys-wearing-womens-soccer-jerseys-0620-20190620-7qgm7t2j2rgonkosjfjwm4digq-story.html
Good to hear. They deserve a large audience and fan following. It’s good for the game.
Is anyone excited for the World Cup game between England and the United States on Tuesday? Also, do you know what channel it is going to be on? I’m pretty excited for this game. I haven’t really watched the other world cup games although I did watch a few parts of the US game against France. I heard England is pretty good. Would love to hear opinions on who you think is going to win on Tuesday.
@MoonKnight It’s currently scheduled to air on Fox at 3 pm ET.