Secrets to Soccer Training: 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Recap
Canada has always suffered at the hands of the Americans and it was not any different this year. While the hosts were fancied to play the maximum seven matches at the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup, the only debate is whether they would face the Americans in the final or the third fourth place playoff.
As it were, England were the team that took Canada’s path to claim third position at the FIFA tourney. The Canadians were left in tears after they lost to England, going two goals down before roaring to a grand stand finish that ultimately proved in vain.
Canada was then put in further despair as the USA Women’s team then demolished the Germans in the final to claim glory on their own patch. To add insult to injury, the only award Canada won was the best young player as they watched their proud neighbors sweep the gongs.
As the dust settled, it was still feted as one of the greatest tournaments ever, let alone the best FIFA Women’s World Cup. The presentation of awards offered a chance to see whether the fans of the Women’s World Cup were abreast with the FIFA scandal and the jeers gave a resounding answer.
Issa Hayatou was sent to present the trophy and made history as the first man to hand a FIFA Trophy under embattled president’s Sepp Blatter’s reign. The secrets of soccer training as far as the American team were concerned was using the pain of the last tournament to spur them on to victory after a galling defeat in 2011 to Japan.
The Americans have dominated the sport with their interpretation of the game mixing physical aspects, technical skills and a competitive league. Their dominance was tested in this tourney with the presence of artificial pitches but they rotated their squad wisely and used the ball to do the movement for them to avoid exhaustion by chasing possession.
England’s Lionesses gained plenty of fans for their enterprising play and their rotation policy served them well as did training in similar climatic conditions to faster acclimatize to the Canadian climate.
The 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup served up plenty of goals and saw breakthroughs by plenty of other nations, notably England and Colombia. Germany retained their competitive nature despite losing their last two matches after a successful hosting duty in the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, ultimately won by Japan.
The final produced a stunning performance from Carlie Lloyd, the skipper for the American team, who scored a breathtaking hat trick including a sumptuous half pitch wonder goal that would have any of the men proud.
The desire to win from the USWNT was clear from day one and nobody epitomized that more than their captain. There was a sentimental motivation too as they sought a winner’s medal for legend Abby Wambach.
The use of ball possession and creative triangular patterns were among the secrets to soccer training the experienced sides used. The tournament also saw a better emphasis on defense, a strategy that saw some of the underdogs manage to upset the bigger teams and secure their passage into the latter stages of the showpiece.
The 2015 Women’s FIFA World Cup also saw plenty of fans turn out in their numbers to show the growth of soccer, as it is known in North America, is gathering pace aplenty. This is good for the game and it will only continue to contribute to the success of the tournament and the sport.
Some of the secrets to soccer training on show in this edition were an emphasis on set pieces. Most teams realized the artificial pitches would sap their energy and resorted to long balls, set pieces and slow possession strategies as opposed to the high octane, free flowing nature of other soccer matches.
The cerebral approach paid dividends for most teams but acumen and know how come with experience and this eventually favored the big teams. Japan ousted England despite being outplayed while the US was methodical in dismantling a promising German team that psychologically got weakened after top scorer Celia Sasic missed a penalty.
One thing became clear as the tournament progressed and that is; the more things change, the more they stay the same. For all the emergence of new powers and falling of sleeping giants, the winners of the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup were deserving winners and worthy of their place in history.
Secrets to Soccer Training: 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup Recap
written by: blessed
