It will be early, 7:30am EST, but it will be worth it. The US takes on Brazil in the FIFA Women's World Cup in what I predict will be the best game to date in this world cup.
And as excited as I am, I am a little worried. Brazil has not been scored on yet this tournament and they are playing good soccer. The US, on the other hand, is not playing that great--or at least like the #1 team. And the latest news is that starting goalie Hope Solo is being replaced by veteran Brianna Scurry.
It makes sense because 1. Scurry is a good goalie with significant international experience, and 2. she has never lost against Brazil. But Solo is not happy about the change and it seems that this change could shake up some team dynamics in tomorrow's game.
Additionally, as this NY Sun article points out the obvious, the US has not been playing a pretty game and have been relying heavily on forward Abby Wambach. It was no secret coming into the World Cup that Wambach was a key player, that she would likely be the primary goal scorer. But the US team was also touted as having great depth. But we haven't seen that. Perhaps because coach Greg Ryan is reluctant to go to his bench in the second half.
I see the logic in putting Scurry in goal, but if something goes wrong for the US team it will be on Ryan's shoulders and some of the other decisions he has made this tournament will hurt him. Not sure if he would be replaced given that the Summer Olympics are right around the corner but I think a loss in the semifinals will definitely put a lot of pressure on Ryan to perform will in 2008.
I vote for bringing back April Heinrichs.
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