The USWNT always had a mix of veterans and youngins together, thatâs how the team winning mentally was passed to the next generation, among other things, itâs been like this since the beginning, Lloyd retirement has finally started the process, you cannot just put the 20 years old in charge of the team and leave of the veterans behind just because they are not as effective as before, the game changes sure, but Vlatko isnât stupid, if a player doesnât fit anymore into the team itâs his decision to let them out, some players are more stubborn to let It go for sure, but in the end Vlatko wonât risk the success of the team for a single players âdemandsâ as it kinda happened with LloydâŚ
The young players should have been more present a while back imo, some effective players were left behind or not played at all,yes COVID and all screw the rhythm and momentum from the World Cup, but I think MR CP AM TH Broon (KO not much imo) still bring a lot to the team both inside and outside the pitch.
At the end of it these are 6 players over 30 (I think), thatâs not a lot, it happens that almost all of them are forwards, but I liked the last game where veterans and young players were Mixed together in the field.
Probably in the next cycle of tournament the young players will slowly take charge, but to completely remove the veterans doesnât seems a great move to me, it needs to happen gradually, for sure after the next World Cup we will see most of the veterans retire and itâs just 2 years, ppl need to chill, I just think Vlatko should have a camp for younger players to see who could be a good fit for the team.
Pinoe brings a lot to the team especially mentally, sheâs calm collected and knows how to handle pressure, she knows the game in and out, no young players is like her atm, and to remove her from the team, I think will be a mistake.
Sheâs also very open on understanding whatâs wrong with the team (fun and joy) and doesnât take or say shit.
All the veterans have something still valuable for the team, I have some preference of players sure both young and older but itâs not up to me, I love this team and it happens that they donât win all the time, itâs normal, also the world is catching up, a lot of talent out there, so I think blaming the veterans for every single thing that goes wrong is unfair, Vlatko made some bad decision sure but I still believe in him!
I find the polarity of the opinions in my asks right now as kind of interesting. I kind of agree here - our problems arenât all age related and having older players moving forward can be an asset if you look at it like that. Historically, vets have taught younger players the ropes of playing at their level with consistency and longevity.
Young players need to be challenged for these spots - they need to come full throttle and take them from players like Pinoe. If they arenât challenged at the highest level, they will never reach their true potential. I say that all the vets should keep pushing and the kids should keep pushing back. Thatâs how this team can reach the next level.