CONCACAF Rio 2016 Bound!

The 2016 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship wrapped up on February 21 with more whimper than bang. Unless you were on the USA team then you may have a few bruises which would suggest otherwise. Nevertheless, as expected the final featured USA vs Canada and while the former team showed up to play, the latter, well, were tactically wanting. And that’s all I’ll say on this particular topic.

The Daily Drool: 2015 WWC Group E: Costa Rica’s Shirley Cruz

Midfielder Shirley plays her club ball for Paris Saint-Germain. She has represented Costa Rica at the senior level since 2002.

2015 WWC Group E Update

It’s adios for Spain and Costa Rica while Brazil and South Korea are through.

2015 WWC – Group E Update: Brazil Are Through To The Round Of 16, Costa Rica Draw South Korea

It was a tight victory for the Brazilians. The lone goal on the match was scored by Andressa Alves in the 44th minute. Spain’s Boquette and Parades had chances in the second half, but they were unable to convert; Parades, a little heartbreakingly, hit the post in stoppage time. All of us Madridistas should have immense sympathy for this. It’s a tough loss for Spain, who played well and surely wanted more to show for it, but it continues an impressive unbeaten streak (14 group stage matches) for the Brazilians.

2015 WWC Group E Update

Two debuts and a handful of historic goals in Group E action in Montreal today! Spain and Costa Rica played to a 1-1 draw. Spain’s Vicky Losada opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a slick spin-and-shoot goal, but she and her teammates hardly had time to celebrate. Costa Rica’s Raquel Rodriguez grabbed the equalizer immediately. She would also receive player of the match honors. Penn State, where she plays her college soccer, celebrated on Instagram:

2015 Women’s World Cup: Group E Contenders

I was a bit stumped on how to characterize this group for a long time. Then it hit me. This is the group ‘punching at their own weight’. None of these teams have much diversity in terms of having game-changing options B through Z if needed. They stick wholeheartedly to their winning formulas because, well, they win. Here’s the problem though. For this WWC, Spain, Costa Rica, Korea, and especially Brazil are going to need to punch above their weight. They’re going to have to figure out how to kick the shit out of an option B when option A is not going to happen. And there is a good probability that, at some point, it isn’t.