I Hate Penalties!

I don’t care who is playing. I don’t care what event it is. I don’t care how even the match is. I hate penalties. I hate them. It’s a lousy way to end a match. Period. I hate them.

Welcome to the Sam Kerr Show!

That is not completely fair because, yes, Sam Kerr had an amazing showing but Jamaica ended their World Cup run with plenty to be proud of. Both sets of fans were ready for action.

What a Comeback! Australia comes from two goals behind to win against Brazil

Drama, drama, drama! VAR, an own goal, a penalty- What else could you want from a footie match! And these two rivals…who have knocked each other out of tournaments in the past … were coming in with two entirely different first round experiences. Australia was a bit shocked by their loss against Italy where Brazil were riding high from a 3-0 win against Jamaica.

The Daily Drool – WWC 2019 Group C – Australia: Steph Catley

Defender and Matildas vice-captain Steph has represented Australia at the U17, U20 and senior levels. She currently plays for Reign FC.

Mambo Italiana

“Buongiorno indeed !” Italian Americans may have said when they awoke on Sunday morning! The Azzure started off their 2019 World Cup campaign with what many considered a surprising win over the Matildas to start Group C action.

2019 Women’s World Cup: Group C Preview

Am I allowed to have a favourite group? ‘Coz this is it. There are so many different styles of football happening here I dare you to not be entertained. The Matildas, the Reggae Girlz, the Seleção, and the Azzurre. The conceptual style and strength combinations are insane to consider. I’ve got goosebumps imagining how it’ll play out on the pitch.

Tournament of Nations 2018: To the USA go the spoils

Embed from Getty Images

Congratulations to the United States on winning the 2018 Tournament of Nations (ToN)! The US narrowly defeated reigning champions Australia on goal differential (5 to 4), thanks to Alex Morgan’s 77′ goal vs Brazil in their final match.

Play Like a Girl: SheBelieves, Algarve, and Cyprus Cups

It’s almost March which means it is time to get ready for the Triwizard’s Cup of women’s football once more. But, not really. Over a 9-day period in March, three (3) tournaments are taking place in Cyprus, Portugal, and the USA for 28 national women’s football teams. Which is sorta like a Triwizard-esque event. But, again, not really. :^)

Cyprus Cup
Officially, the Cyprus Cup runs February 27 – March 9 though matches are taking place March 1 – 8 only. Unlike its companion tournaments, this Cup holds a group stage to determine group positions based on points followed by one day of classification matches to determine final rankings.

The twelve invited teams are split into three (3) groups. The participating teams are as follows, along with their current FIFA ranking:

Group A
Belgium, 25; Italy, 16; Korea DPR, 10; Switzerland, 17

Group B
Austria, 24 (current champions); Korea Rep, 18; New Zealand, 19; Scotland, 21

Group C
Czech Rep, 33; Rep.of Ireland, 34; Hungary, 40; Wales, 36

There are no announced broadcasts at the moment, though there was one stream available last year for the final.

Algarve Cup
Taking place March 1 – 8 in Portugal, the Algarve Cup is in its 24th year of operation. This year’s tournament should be a hotly contested one, with top EU teams gearing up for UEFA Women’s Euro 2017 in Netherlands in July.

The twelve invited teams are split into three (3) groups for a round-robin tournament with the winner determined based on the standard points systems. The participating teams are as follows, including their FIFA ranking:

Group A
Canada, 4 (current champions); Denmark, 15; Russia, 23; Portugal, 38

Group Two
Iceland, 20; Japan, 7; Norway, 11; Spain, 14

Group Three
Australia, 6; Sweden, 8; Netherlands, 12; China PR, 13

Eurosport has broadcast this tournament in the past; a search for this year’s schedule has proven fruitless thus far.

SheBelieves Cup
Is the unofficial slogan for this year’s SheBelieves Cup, “she persisted”? If not, it really, really should be. Timely and extremely relevant when it comes to women’s football. I highly encourage anyone able to attend any of these games to consider some signage.

Four of the top 5 FIFA-ranked teams are involved again this year: France (3), England (5), Germany (2), and the USA (1). This tournament is also a round robin, with the winner determined based on the standard points system.

Games are taking place in Chester, PA (March 1); Harrison, NJ (March 4); and Washington DC (March 7). Tickets for all the games are available through USSoccer.com.

It looks like Fox Sports will be airing the USA games only. French broadcasters D17 and Canal + Sport along with the BBC picked up all or some of the other games last year. Hopefully they will do the same this year.

If anyone is going to any of these tournament, we’d love to hear from you! Feel free to leave a comment below or connect on Twitter @hbandsandhbreak.

-hopechaser

The Daily Drool – Olympics Group F – Australia: Samantha Kerr

Right winger Samantha plays for Sky Blue FC. She has represented Australia at the Australia at the U17 and senior levels.

2015 WWC: Goal of the Tournament

View image | gettyimages.com

Time to vote for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015 goal of the tournament. FIFA has compiled a list of 12 candidates from which to choose your favorite. Since my two favorites didn’t make this list, my vote went to Ange N’Guessan for her power floater vs Norway. Which goal is your pick? You have until Monday July 13 10:00am (CET) to submit your selection.

– hopechaser