Бельгийн шигшээ баг АНУ-ыг 4:1-ээр илт давуу хожиж, тэмцээнээс хаслаа.
Даваа гарагт болсон тоглолтын дараа АНУ-ын эмэгтэйчүүдийн шигшээ багийн домогт тоглогч Карли Ллойд багийнхаа тоглолтод эрс шүүмжлэлтэй хандлаа. Тэрээр Америкийн тоглогчид талбайд гарахаасаа өмнө сэтгэл зүйн хувьд ялагдсан, өөртөө итгэлгүй, айдастай байсныг онцолсон юм. Ялангуяа багийн гол найдвар Кристиан Пулишич чухал мөчид багтаа тус хүргэж чадаагүй нь харамсалтай байсныг тэрээр дурдав.
Тоглолтын өмнө шинжээч Стю Холден Кристиан Пулишичийг багийн хамгийн чухал тоглогч хэмээн онцолж байсан ч тоглолт эхэлснээс хойш түүний тоглолт өөртөө итгэлгүй, идэвх сул байсныг тэмдэглэжээ. Fox сувгийн шинжээчдийн зүгээс Фоларин Балогуны улаан хуудас болон тоглолтын үйл явцын талаарх дүн шинжилгээ нь шүүмжлэл дагуулсан ч тус сувгийн тоглолтын уур амьсгалыг хүргэсэн байдал нь өндөр үнэлгээ авсан юм.
Ллойд багийнхаа үзүүлсэн тоглолтыг шүүмжилсэн хэдий ч Америкийн хөл бөмбөгийн ирээдүй гэрэлтэй байгааг онцолсон байна. Тэрээр энэ удаагийн Дэлхийн аварга шалгаруулах тэмцээн Америкийн хөгжөөн дэмжигчдийг нэгтгэж, спортын хайрыг нь сэргээж чадсан хэмээн дүгнэв. Хэдийгээр АНУ-ын эрэгтэйчүүдийн шигшээ баг шөвгийн 16-д хожигдсон нь том цохилт болсон ч тэмцээний турш үзүүлсэн тоглолт нь ирээдүйн амжилтын үндэс болно гэдгийг тэрээр нэмж хэллээ.
Дэлгэрэнгүй эх сурвалжийг харах
Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
On Monday night, the United States needed a star midfielder to step up and deliver. After 90 minutes plus stoppage time, she finally did.
Carli Lloyd had the most incisive critique of the United States’ 4-1 shellacking from the feet of Belgium.
“I felt like they lost the game before they even stepped out on the pitch,” said Lloyd, the Fox Sports analyst on the post-match show. “And I’m not sure why, and I don’t know the reasons. But just from the beginning: Chasing. Tentative. Scared. Just not confident on the ball.”
It is one thing for fans to rage on social media, but it is quite another for one of the greatest players in American soccer history, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup winner and two-time Olympic gold medalist, to call out the disappointment. Then the woman from Delran Township continued with some more Jersey girl bluntness.
“And I think big time players, you wanted some of those big time players to step up in big time moments,” Lloyd said. “And I gotta be honest: I was a bit disappointed in Christian Pulisic. I think whether he wants to be the star of this team or not, we didn’t see enough from him in this particular game and really the whole World Cup. Little glimpses here and there.”
Lloyd has been refreshing this whole World Cup, and her candor is reminiscent of what the late MLB stalwart TV analyst Tim McCarver used to say, “My No. 1 obligation is to the people who are watching the game. And I’ve always felt that praise without objective criticism ceases to be praise. To me, any intelligent person can figure that out.”
Often, there are excuses by ex-players about the current lineup. On a desk featuring Alexi Lalas and Clint Dempsey, Lloyd’s analysis was the most memorable and impactful as she didn’t give any quarter.
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Overall, Fox’s coverage is the best it has been in its three World Cups, though completely shying away from President Trump aspect of the Folarin Balogun red card reversal was a mistake. It was swirling in the air and its impact should have been handled directly, at least, in terms how it might impact the players’ focus.
Besides that flaw, Fox did get the atmosphere right as leading up to the game, it mixed the “College GameDay”-style on-site approach with a lot of nuance into what needed to happen during the match. It felt big, and Lloyd was not alone in stepping to the forefront.
Game analyst Stu Holden was quick to point to Pulisic early. In the pregame on Monday, with anticipation high, Holden said he thought Pulisic was the most important player — not a dramatic statement considering his stature on the team. However, quickly from the opening whistle, Holden noted Pulisic not playing with moxie and lacking confidence. It gave context in real time.
It was Lloyd’s commentary, though, that cut through the most. The woman who probably had the greatest individual performance in American soccer history a little more than a decade ago with a hat trick, including her legendary half-field shot, in the 4-0 World Cup Final blowout of Japan, has the resume to have rhetorical impact.
While the dreams that the U.S. men’s team might match some of the women’s accomplishments always seemed far-fetched, a deeper run this year was in the offing. Lloyd gave some deserved flowers to the men.
“Aside from this loss, the brighter storyline is that it’s been a fantastic World Cup,” Lloyd said. “This team has united the country. They have gotten American fans to fall in love with them. And there is a bright future. But this is just a real disappointing loss to go out on.”
Her supportive words had more meaning because she had already told us her honest analysis.
