A very subjective look into AWFC

Before I chat about McCabe I have to say that I’m gutted, absolutely gutted for Ruesha, for Louise Quinn, for Denise O’ Sullivan, for Ireland… Like most of the people watching, I was so damn confident that Ireland was going to get a win. They looked so good, poised, dominant. But things changed and they have been eliminated from the tournament with one match to go.

There are a few things that I could mention about the match, some players, tactics, subs and all that but I think it’s best to focus on the positives, and I think there are so many. However, the most positive of positives was what we all expected and wished would happen which is that Katie McCabe absolutely balled. I’m so happy that the whole entire world got to see first hand what Arsenal, Ireland and WSL fans get to see all the time… and let’s face it, even if fans from other teams don’t like her, its pretty objective that she is a fantastic footballer.

I’ve blogged about her before, I’ve watched her play in person twice and I’m just very happy that she scored THAT goal which, beyond it being stellar, it was historic. I can type that “nobody deserves it more” than her but that would be very ignorant. They all deserve it and specially all the female players for Ireland that came before and blazed the trail for Katie and Co to be able to live this glorious and heartbreaking experience.

I can’t speak highly enough about her display… her tenacity, her passing, her vision. All the usual stuff but to see it on the world stage again, with the millions upon millions of eyes and the fate of a whole nation… and to see her embrace that responsibility on top of emotions, personal life, jet lag and who the hell knows what else. It’s truly special and historic. Not just her but every player in this tournament.. but ok her specially.

One thing that was very interesting, that most of you definitely didn’t experience was the Spanish language commentary here in the USA. What was interesting and also kinda alarming, was how impressed they were by Katie, like they couldn’t believe it… they also said she played a lot as a holding midfielder at arsenal so yeah, that’s interesting too I guess haha.

As far as the NED vs USA match, I did a preview on my latest podcast which you can listen to HERE…:

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