Madrid Spain Weather

Giase on the Women's World Cup: Former players question US title chances

What do Brianna Scurry, Kate Markgraf and Cat Whitehill have in common? If you’re a United States women’s national team fan, you probably don’t want to know.

In a poll of the seven former international players who will be involved in ESPN’s television coverage of the Women’s World Cup , the three former U.S. internationals did not predict the U.S. to win the tournament.

In fact, Scurry and Markgraf didn’t even have the Americans reaching the championship game.

What does that tell you? For one, they’re honest. For another, something may be amiss in the development of American players since 1999, the last time the United States won the World Cup.

The U.S. opens World Cup play against North Korea today in Dresden, Germany, looking to make a statement about the confidence of a team that was the final nation in the field to qualify. And that came after a win-or-go-home third-place game against Costa Rica in CONCACAF qualifying, followed by a home-and-home playoff series against Italy.

“We’ve lost our way as far as our player development scheme, and we haven’t developed the same level of players that I think we enjoyed earlier,” said former U.S. coach Tony DiCicco.

Mia Hamm talked about the same thing but, as a former player, was a little more diplomatic.

“What I was feeling was hopefully that all of us, as players, as a federation, as coaches, that we don’t sit there and use our success to hinder our development,” Hamm said. “That we sit there and go, ‘well, we’re ranked No. 1 in the world, we won a couple World Cups and a couple Olympics, and if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ We always need to be evolving.”

The U.S. is in a tough group, with No. 5 Sweden, No. 8 North Korea and No. 31 Colombia. And then it gets harder, with a possible game against Brazil in the quarterfinals, should one of them finish second in its group, and a likely game against two-time defending champion Germany in the semifinals.

If they get through all that, the final should be a piece of cake.

Even with his concerns, DiCicco picked the United States to beat Brazil in the final.

“You know, I love the fact that we want our women to win everything,” he said. “It reminds me of the Brazilian men. We’re not happy unless we’re winning it and we’re winning it with style and flair. And I think that’s awesome for the U.S. women to have that as their goal, and I think it’s also one of our strengths.

Spain Weather - Monday June 27 2011

Given the hot conditions, Protección Civil, recommend people to stay inside as much as possible and limit their exposure to the sun, and to drink frequently. Open air physical exercise is to be avoided during the central hours of the day, and people should choose light and regular meals, rich in water and mineral salts, such as fruit and vegeatables. Por favor, céntrate en el tema. Son las opiniones de los internautas, y no las de Typically Spanish. No está permitido verter comentarios contrarios a las leyes españolas o injuriantes. Reservado el derecho a eliminar los comentarios que consideremos fuera de tema. Escribir un comentario indica que has leído nuestros condiciones de uso y politica de privacidad .

Hearings

Weather modification, Hearings, Eighty-ninth Congress, first and second sessions, on S. 23 and S. 2916

Selling Destinations, Geography for the Travel Professional

International who's who in popular music

Madrid, city guide