Hope Solo caused quite a stir with her recent comments about Sweden playing like “cowards,” and one of her teammates has disavowed the remarks.
Alex Morgan spoke to Nicole Auerbach of USA Today and said that the criticism of such defensive play styles comes from fans, and that she doesn’t see it the same way Solo does.
“I saw her comments but I feel like those are opinions I don’t share,” Morgan said.
“When you see two attacking teams and a lot of counter-attacking and transition, that’s an exciting game for the fans,” Morgan added. “When you see someone kind of park the bus and sit in and value defense a lot more and have such a difference in possessions and shots between the two teams, I think for fans that’s not always the most exciting game to watch. I think it draws criticism from fans and obviously it draws frustration from the opponents.
“You find both in the men’s and women’s game when a team doesn’t attack but values defense more than offense, I think you see a game that’s more like a chess match and a game with the opponent starting to get frustrated — which you saw with us, which you saw with Brazil as well.”
Morgan has no issue with the tactics Sweden employed.
“They played their cards right,” she said. “They did the exact same thing with Brazil. They’re in the final, so you can’t really doubt their strategy now.”
It’s an opinion that Solo did not share, at least in the heat of the moment. Morgan is right, though. Sweden’s only responsibility is to win the game, not play into the hands of their opponents. The fact that they’re in the final is all the evidence you need to know who got it right.
