Studs-up seems like it should be called every time and the Spanish defender should’ve known better in that situation. We could be in for a long game on Friday if this is the level of play that we take into Paris against the home team.
The defender's studs were up but the contact was pretty minimal. Lavelle went down very easily. Had it not been called, I wouldn't have had a problem with it. I was actually surprised when play was stopped. She got bailed out of a bad touch. But once that call was made, VAR had no choice but to uphold it because there was contact.
What does everyone think about the VAR, and its further use in the Men's WC etc...? I haven't watched enough of this tourney to have an opinion, but penalizing the goalie for moving off the line before the ball is struck (unless it is egregious and obvious) is ridiculous to me, so are technically correct offside calls made by the centimeter. I've seen one of each so far.
2nd goal is not a penalty. Call it a foul, give it a card if you want, but the ball was already kicked away. There was no immediate goal scoring opportunity there, It shouldn't be a penalty unless the player has the ball or there was an immediate goal scoring opportunity. USA got gifted this win.
VAR is definitely needed in soccer, but the way they are implementing it particularly in this WC has been poor. It has to be done quickly to maintain the flow of the game. The goal that was taken from France shouldn't have even been reviewed -- on top of that it wasn't a clear cut penalty just two players fighting for the ball. The penalties on goalies is beyond stupid -- goalies moving before the ball is struck is part of the game.
That’s not how the game works. A direct kick type foul in the box is a penalty kick, period. The type of foul determines if it’s direct or indirect...not the outcome.
The rules should be changed because with VAR penalties will be given much more often which ruins the game.
MLB replay says that the baserunner came off the bag for a split second during his slide while he's popping up safe....but he was tagged! Gotta be out then, right? MLB fixed this ****, I hope soccer does too.
You're talking about changing a basic rule of the game. FIFA Law 12 - Fouls, Direct Free Kick A direct free kick shall be awarded for the following: kicks or attempts to kick an opponent trips or attempts to trip an opponent jumps at an opponent charges an opponent strikes or attempts to strike an opponent pushes an opponent tackles an opponent to gain possession of the ball, making contact with the opponent before touching the ball holds an opponent spits on an opponent handles the ball deliberately (not the goalie) For these fouls, the referee is concerned only with whether the action occurred, not with how it was done. The only consideration of location is whether it was in the penalty box or not. If not, it's a direct free kick from the spot. If it is, it's a penalty kick. There is no ambiguity in the Law. The referee is allowed to consider the amount of force in so much as to determine if a yellow or red card is given. There's no levels of tripping or cleats up at the knee. It is or it isn't. If it is and it's in the box, it's a pk. The referee can't take into account the outcome of the game either. Everyone b****es and complains about how NBA refs tend to let things go in the last seconds of a game. How is that different here? Is VAR going to lead to more penalties, yes. But their also ones that should've been called...in most cases. I don't like it being used to see if the keeper moved off the line on a penalty kick. That's not the intent. But it should look at offsides and it should look at potential fouls in the box.
USA are now UEFA party crashers. Only non-Euro team left in this World Cup. I’m just hoping that USWNT can pull a “Germany 7-1 Brazil” 2014 against France in front of their home crowd. Lol.
Happy we advanced. I have good hopes against Italy. it has not Always been pretty, but everything can happen in this game.
Lots of takes being slung about how the all-Europe/US quarterfinals shows what happens when soccer-mad European countries actually devote resources to their women’s teams.
And it's only going to get bigger in Europe. The major teams have or are finally starting women's teams. The FA Women's Super league is expanding...with United and Tottenham's teams being promoted this year. I feel like that Americans will start to move over there more and more over the next decade. The NWSL, even with the success of the national team, is still not a good product (they really should've taken off for at least the round robin stage). Imagine a Dash player given the opportunity to keep training at HASP down off of 288 or at PSG's facility day in and day out...having access to the full club. That's what's happening over there. A few other reasons women might start to move more...12-month contracts and the chance to play in the Champions League. While the competition can be very top heavy in some of the leagues, that will start to even out more as more money is invested. The NWSL is more competitive top to bottom right now. But with a MAXIMUM salary of $46k, I'm not sure how they'll compete without a significant investment going forward (Lyon players average $182k, for example...though that is an outlier). World Cup success will only help to grow the game, professionally, in Europe...unlike it has here. At some point, the poor salaries and playing conditions will start to affect the overall quality in the US.
USWNT has been trying to make Alex Morgan happen for 3 World Cups now and each time someone else has stolen all her energy, lol. First it was Wambach, then it was Carli Lloyd, now it's Rapinoe.
